| New King James Version | New Living Translation |
| 1Now in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; and his spirit was so troubled that his sleep left him. | 1One night during the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had such disturbing dreams that he couldn’t sleep. |
| 2Then the king gave the command to call the magicians, the astrologers, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king. | 2He called in his magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and astrologers, and he demanded that they tell him what he had dreamed. As they stood before the king, |
| 3And the king said to them, “I have had a dream, and my spirit is anxious to know the dream.” | 3he said, “I have had a dream that deeply troubles me, and I must know what it means.” |
| 4Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic, “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation.” | 4Then the astrologers answered the king in Aramaic, “Long live the king! Tell us the dream, and we will tell you what it means.” |
| 5The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, “My decision is firm: if you do not make known the dream to me, and its interpretation, you shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made an ash heap. | 5But the king said to the astrologers, “I am serious about this. If you don’t tell me what my dream was and what it means, you will be torn limb from limb, and your houses will be turned into heaps of rubble! |
| 6However, if you tell the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts, rewards, and great honor. Therefore tell me the dream and its interpretation.” | 6But if you tell me what I dreamed and what the dream means, I will give you many wonderful gifts and honors. Just tell me the dream and what it means!” |
| 7They answered again and said, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will give its interpretation.” | 7They said again, “Please, Your Majesty. Tell us the dream, and we will tell you what it means.” |
| 8The king answered and said, “I know for certain that you would gain time, because you see that my decision is firm: | 8The king replied, “I know what you are doing! You’re stalling for time because you know I am serious when I say, |
| 9if you do not make known the dream to me, there is only one decree for you! For you have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till the time has changed. Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can give me its interpretation.” | 9‘If you don’t tell me the dream, you are doomed.’ So you have conspired to tell me lies, hoping I will change my mind. But tell me the dream, and then I’ll know that you can tell me what it means.” |
| 10The Chaldeans answered the king, and said, “There is not a man on earth who can tell the king’s matter; therefore no king, lord, or ruler has ever asked such things of any magician, astrologer, or Chaldean. | 10The astrologers replied to the king, “No one on earth can tell the king his dream! And no king, however great and powerful, has ever asked such a thing of any magician, enchanter, or astrologer! |
| 11It is a difficult thing that the king requests, and there is no other who can tell it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.” | 11The king’s demand is impossible. No one except the gods can tell you your dream, and they do not live here among people.” |
| 12For this reason the king was angry and very furious, and gave the command to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. | 12The king was furious when he heard this, and he ordered that all the wise men of Babylon be executed. |
| 13So the decree went out, and they began killing the wise men; and they sought Daniel and his companions, to kill them. | 13And because of the king’s decree, men were sent to find and kill Daniel and his friends. |
| 14Then with counsel and wisdom Daniel answered Arioch, the captain of the king’s guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon; | 14When Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard, came to kill them, Daniel handled the situation with wisdom and discretion. |
| 15he answered and said to Arioch the king’s captain, “Why is the decree from the king so urgent?” Then Arioch made the decision known to Daniel. | 15He asked Arioch, “Why has the king issued such a harsh decree?” So Arioch told him all that had happened. |
| 16So Daniel went in and asked the king to give him time, that he might tell the king the interpretation. | 16Daniel went at once to see the king and requested more time to tell the king what the dream meant. |
| 17Then Daniel went to his house, and made the decision known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, | 17Then Daniel went home and told his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah what had happened. |
| 18that they might seek mercies from the God of heaven concerning this secret, so that Daniel and his companions might not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. | 18He urged them to ask the God of heaven to show them his mercy by telling them the secret, so they would not be executed along with the other wise men of Babylon. |
| 19Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. So Daniel blessed the God of heaven. | 19That night the secret was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven. |
| 20Daniel answered and said: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, For wisdom and might are His. | 20He said, “Praise the name of God forever and ever, for he has all wisdom and power. |
| 21And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise And knowledge to those who have understanding. | 21He controls the course of world events; he removes kings and sets up other kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the scholars. |
| 22He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, And light dwells with Him. | 22He reveals deep and mysterious things and knows what lies hidden in darkness, though he is surrounded by light. |
| 23“I thank You and praise You, O God of my fathers; You have given me wisdom and might, And have now made known to me what we asked of You, For You have made known to us the king’s demand.” | 23I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors, for you have given me wisdom and strength. You have told me what we asked of you and revealed to us what the king demanded.” Daniel Interprets the Dream |
| 24Therefore Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said thus to him: “Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; take me before the king, and I will tell the king the interpretation.” | 24Then Daniel went in to see Arioch, whom the king had ordered to execute the wise men of Babylon. Daniel said to him, “Don’t kill the wise men. Take me to the king, and I will tell him the meaning of his dream.” |
| 25Then Arioch quickly brought Daniel before the king, and said thus to him, “I have found a man of the captives of Judah, who will make known to the king the interpretation.” | 25Arioch quickly took Daniel to the king and said, “I have found one of the captives from Judah who will tell the king the meaning of his dream!” |
| 26The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen, and its interpretation?” | 26The king said to Daniel (also known as Belteshazzar), “Is this true? Can you tell me what my dream was and what it means?” |
| 27Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, “The secret which the king has demanded, the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, and the soothsayers cannot declare to the king. | 27Daniel replied, “There are no wise men, enchanters, magicians, or fortune-tellers who can reveal the king’s secret. |
| 28But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your head upon your bed, were these: | 28But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and he has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the future. Now I will tell you your dream and the visions you saw as you lay on your bed. |
| 29As for you, O king, thoughts came to your mind while on your bed, about what would come to pass after this; and He who reveals secrets has made known to you what will be. | 29“While Your Majesty was sleeping, you dreamed about coming events. He who reveals secrets has shown you what is going to happen. |
| 30But as for me, this secret has not been revealed to me because I have more wisdom than anyone living, but for our sakes who make known the interpretation to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your heart. | 30And it is not because I am wiser than anyone else that I know the secret of your dream, but because God wants you to understand what was in your heart. |
| 31“You, O king, were watching; and behold, a great image! This great image, whose splendor was excellent, stood before you; and its form was awesome. | 31“In your vision, Your Majesty, you saw standing before you a huge, shining statue of a man. It was a frightening sight. |
| 32This image’s head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, | 32The head of the statue was made of fine gold. Its chest and arms were silver, its belly and thighs were bronze, |
| 33its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. | 33its legs were iron, and its feet were a combination of iron and baked clay. |
| 34You watched while a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. | 34As you watched, a rock was cut from a mountain, but not by human hands. It struck the feet of iron and clay, smashing them to bits. |
| 35Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together, and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them away so that no trace of them was found. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. | 35The whole statue was crushed into small pieces of iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold. Then the wind blew them away without a trace, like chaff on a threshing floor. But the rock that knocked the statue down became a great mountain that covered the whole earth. |
| 36“This is the dream. Now we will tell the interpretation of it before the king. | 36“That was the dream. Now we will tell the king what it means. |
| 37You, O king, are a king of kings. For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory; | 37Your Majesty, you are the greatest of kings. The God of heaven has given you sovereignty, power, strength, and honor. |
| 38and wherever the children of men dwell, or the beasts of the field and the birds of the heaven, He has given them into your hand, and has made you ruler over them all—you are this head of gold. | 38He has made you the ruler over all the inhabited world and has put even the wild animals and birds under your control. You are the head of gold. |
| 39But after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours; then another, a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. | 39“But after your kingdom comes to an end, another kingdom, inferior to yours, will rise to take your place. After that kingdom has fallen, yet a third kingdom, represented by bronze, will rise to rule the world. |
| 40And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others. | 40Following that kingdom, there will be a fourth one, as strong as iron. That kingdom will smash and crush all previous empires, just as iron smashes and crushes everything it strikes. |
| 41Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay. | 41The feet and toes you saw were a combination of iron and baked clay, showing that this kingdom will be divided. Like iron mixed with clay, it will have some of the strength of iron. |
| 42And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile. | 42But while some parts of it will be as strong as iron, other parts will be as weak as clay. |
| 43As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay. | 43This mixture of iron and clay also shows that these kingdoms will try to strengthen themselves by forming alliances with each other through intermarriage. But they will not hold together, just as iron and clay do not mix. |
| 44And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. | 44“During the reigns of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed or conquered. It will crush all these kingdoms into nothingness, and it will stand forever. |
| 45Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold—the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure.” | 45That is the meaning of the rock cut from the mountain, though not by human hands, that crushed to pieces the statue of iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold. The great God was showing the king what will happen in the future. The dream is true, and its meaning is certain.” Nebuchadnezzar Rewards Daniel |
| 46Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, prostrate before Daniel, and commanded that they should present an offering and incense to him. | 46Then King Nebuchadnezzar threw himself down before Daniel and worshiped him, and he commanded his people to offer sacrifices and burn sweet incense before him. |
| 47The king answered Daniel, and said, “Truly your God is the God of gods, the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since you could reveal this secret.” | 47The king said to Daniel, “Truly, your God is the greatest of gods, the Lord over kings, a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this secret.” |
| 48Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts; and he made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon. | 48Then the king appointed Daniel to a high position and gave him many valuable gifts. He made Daniel ruler over the whole province of Babylon, as well as chief over all his wise men. |
| 49Also Daniel petitioned the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego over the affairs of the province of Babylon; but Daniel sat in the gate of the king. | 49At Daniel’s request, the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to be in charge of all the affairs of the province of Babylon, while Daniel remained in the king’s court. |
| The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved. | Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. |
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