ACV - Daniel - 2

2:1  And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams. And his spirit was troubled, and his sleep went from him.

2:2  Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the enchanters, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king.

2:3  And the king said to them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.

2:4  Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in the Syrian language, O king, live forever. Tell thy servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.

2:5  The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from me. If ye do not make the dream and the interpretation of it known to me, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill.

2:6  But if ye show the dream and the interpretation of it, ye shall receive gifts and rewards and great honor from me. Therefore show the dream and the interpretation of it to me.

2:7  They answered the second time and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.

2:8  The king answered and said, I know of a certainty that ye would gain time, because ye see the thing has gone from me.

2:9  But if ye do not make known to me the dream, there is but one law for you, for ye have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me till the time is changed. Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that ye can show me the interpretation of it.

2:10  The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is not a man upon the earth who can show the king's matter. Inasmuch as no king, lord, or ruler, has asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or Chaldean.

2:11  And it is a rare thing that the king requires, and there is no other who can show it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.

2:12  For this reason the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.

2:13  So the decree went forth, and the wise men were to be slain. And they sought Daniel and his companions to be slain.

2:14  Then Daniel returned answer with counsel and prudence to Arioch, the captain of the king's guard, who went forth to kill the wise men of Babylon.

2:15  He answered and said to Arioch the king's captain, Why is the decree so urgent from the king? Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel.

2:16  And Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would appoint him a time, and he would show the king the interpretation.

2:17  Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions,

2:18  that they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret, that Daniel and his companions should nor perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

2:19  Then the secret was shown to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.

2:20  Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and might are his.

2:21  And he changes the times and the seasons. He removes kings, and sets up kings. He gives wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to those who have understanding.

2:22  He reveals the deep and secret things. He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him.

2:23  I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who has given me wisdom and might, and has now made known to me what we desired of thee, for thou have made known to us the king's matter.

2:24  Therefore Daniel went in 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. Bring me in before the king, and I will show to the king the interpretation.

2:25  Then Arioch brought Daniel in before the king in haste, and said thus to him: I have found a man of the sons of the captivity of Judah, who will make known the interpretation to the king.

2:26  The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Are thou able to make known to me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation of it?

2:27  Daniel answered before the king, and said, The secret which the king has demanded, neither wise men, enchanters, magicians, nor soothsayers, can show to the king,

2:28  but there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets. And he has made known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these:

2:29  As for thee, O king, thy thoughts came upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter. And he who reveals secrets has made known to thee what shall come to pass.

2:30  But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living man, but to the intent that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that thou may know the thoughts of thy heart.

2:31  Thou, O king, saw, and, behold, a great image. This image, which was mighty, and whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee, and the appearance of it was fearful.

2:32  As for this image, its head was of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of brass,

2:33  its legs of iron, its feet part of iron, and part of clay.

2:34  Thou looked until a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon its feet that were of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces.

2:35  Then the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, was broken in pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors. And the wind carried them away, so that no place was found for them. And the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.

2:36  This is the dream, and we will tell the interpretation of it before the king.

2:37  Thou, O king, are a king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the strength, and the glory.

2:38  And wherever the sons of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the birds of the heavens, he has given into thy hand, and has made thee to rule over them all. Thou are the head of gold.

2:39  And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.

2:40  And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and subdues all things. And as iron that crushes all these, it shall break in pieces and crush.

2:41  And whereas thou saw the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom. But there shall be of the strength of the iron in it, inasmuch as thou saw the iron mixed with miry clay.

2:42  And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.

2:43  And whereas thou saw the iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men, but they shall not cling one to another, even as iron does not mix with clay.

2:44  And in the days of those kings the God of heaven shall set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the sovereignty of it be left to another people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.

2:45  Inasmuch as thou saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold, the great God has made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter. And the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.

2:46  Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshiped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odors to him.

2:47  The king answered to Daniel, and said, Of a truth your God is the God of gods, and Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since thou have been able to reveal this secret.

2:48  Then the king made Daniel great, and gave him many great gifts, and made him to rule over the whole province of Babylon, and to be chief governor over all the wise men of Babylon.

2:49  And Daniel requested of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon, but Daniel was in the gate of the king.