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          DASV: Daniel 2    

1 In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar
had several dreams which troubled his mind so that he could
not sleep.
2 The king summoned the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and
the Chaldean astrologers to tell the king his dreams. So they
came in and stood before the king.
3 The king told them, "I have had a dream that troubles my
mind and I want to understand the dream."
4 Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic, "O king,
live forever. Tell your servants the dream, and we will explain
its interpretation."
5 The king replied to the Chaldeans, "This is what I have decided:
you must tell me the dream as well as its interpretation
or you will be cut in pieces and your houses will be reduced
to rubble.
6 If you tell me the dream and its interpretation you will
receive gifts, rewards and great honor from me. So tell me
the dream and its interpretation."
7 They answered a second time, "Let the king tell his servants
the dream, then we will tell you what it means."
8 The king replied, "I know for certain you are trying to
stall for time, because you are aware that my decision is final
. 9 But if you do not make known the dream to me, there is but
one verdict left for you. You have prepared lying and corrupt
words to tell me, until the situation changes. So tell me
the dream itself, then I will know that you can actually
tell me its meaning."
10 The Chaldeans answered the king, "No one on the earth can
do what the king demands. No king, lord, or ruler, has ever
asked such a thing of any magician, enchanter, or Chaldean
astrologer.
11 What the king is demanding is too hard. No one can tell this
to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with mortals."

12 Because of this the king became furious, and commanded to
destroy all the wise men of Babylon.
13 So the decree went forth, and the wise men were about to be
executed. They also searched for Daniel and his companions to
execute them.
14 Then Daniel replied with discretion and prudence to Arioch the
commander of the king's guard, who had gone out to execute the
wise men of Babylon.
15 He asked Arioch the king's commander, "Why is the decree so
urgent from the king?" Then Arioch explained what was going on
to Daniel.
16 Daniel went in and requested that the king set a time, and he
would tell the king the interpretation of the dream.
17 Then Daniel went to his house and told his friends Hananiah,
Mishael, and Azariah about the matter.
18 He asked them to pray for mercy from the God of heaven concerning
this secret so that Daniel and his companions would not perish
with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

19 The secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. Then
Daniel praised the God of heaven.
20 Daniel said,
      "Praise be the name of God forever and ever;
           wisdom and power are his.
21 He changes times and the seasons;
           he removes kings and sets up others.
      He gives wisdom to the wise,
           and knowledge to those who have understanding.
22 He reveals the deep and hidden things;
      he knows what is in the darkness,
           and light dwells with him.
23 I thank you, and praise you, O God of my fathers,
           who has given me wisdom and might,
      and has now made known to me what we asked from you,
           for you have made known to us
                the solution of the king's question."

24 Then Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed
to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He came and said to him:
"Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; take me in to the king,
and I will tell the king the dream's meaning."
25 So Arioch quickly brought Daniel in before the king and told
him, "I have found a man among the captives of Judah who can
make known the meaning of the dream for the king."
26 The king asked Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, "Are you
able to tell me the dream which I have seen, as well as its
interpretation?"
27 Daniel answered the king, "While there are no wise men,
enchanters, magicians, or soothsayers who can reveal the
mystery the king has asked about,
28 there is, however, a God in heaven who reveals mysteries,
and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen
in the future. Your dream, and the visions of your head you
received while lying in bed, are these:
29 As for you, O king, when you were on your bed your thoughts
were about what will take place in the future. He who reveals
mysteries has made known to you what will come to pass.
30 But as for me, this mystery was not revealed to me because
of any special wisdom that I have more than anyone else, but
so that the meaning may be known to the king, and that you
may understand the thoughts of your heart.
31 You, O king, gazed on and saw a tremendous image. This huge
extremely shiny statue stood before you; its appearance was
terrifying.
32 As for this statue, its head was made of fine gold, its
chest and arms were silver, its belly and thighs were bronze,
33 its legs were iron, its feet were part iron and part clay.
34 You watched while a stone was cut out but without human
hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay,
and shattered them into pieces.
35 Then the iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold, were crushed
together. They were blown away like the chaff of the summer
threshing floors without a trace being left. Then the stone
that struck the image became a great mountain and filled
the whole earth.

36 This is the dream and now we will tell the king its
interpretation.
37 You, O king, are king of kings, to whom the God of heaven
has given the kingdom, power, might, and glory.
38 He has given into your hand human beings, wherever they
live, the animals of the field and the birds of the sky.
He has made you ruler over them all. You are the head of
gold.
39 After you will arise another kingdom inferior to yours;
then a third kingdom of bronze, which will rule over all
the earth.
40 At last a fourth kingdom will be strong as iron. Just as
iron shatters and smashes everything; so it will crush and
shatter all these.
41 As you saw, the feet and toes were partly of potters' clay
and partly of iron, it will be a divided kingdom. Some of
the strength of iron will be in it, just as you saw the
iron mixed with clay.
42 As the toes of the feet were part of iron and part of clay,
so the kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle.
43 As you saw the iron mixed with miry clay, they will mix
themselves with one another, but they will not really bond
to one another, even as iron does not mix with clay.
44 In the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up
a kingdom which will never be destroyed, nor will its
sovereignty be conquered by another people. It will break
in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it will last
forever.
45 You saw a stone cut out of the mountain without human hands,
and that it broke the iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold
into pieces. The great God has made known to the king what
will happen in the future. The dream is certain and its
interpretation sure."

46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, and paid homage to
Daniel. He commanded that they should offer a
sacrifice and
burn incense to him.
47 The king responded to Daniel, "Truly your God is the God of
gods, and the Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries,
seeing you have been able to reveal this mystery."
48 Then the king promoted Daniel, and gave him many splendid
gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon,
and the chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon.
49 At Daniel's request, the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach,
and Abednego over the affairs of the province of Babylon while
Daniel himself served in the king's court.

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