²⁸ However, there is a ^(A)God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will take place in the ^[a](B)last days. This was your dream and the ^(C)visions of your head while on your bed. ²⁹ As for you, O king, while on your bed your thoughts ^[b]turned to what would happen ^[c]in the future; and ^(D)He who reveals mysteries has made known to you what will happen. ³⁰ But as for me, this mystery has not been revealed to me by any ^(E)wisdom which is in me more than in any other living man, but for the purpose of making the interpretation known to the king, and that you may know the ^(F)thoughts of your heart.

Daniel Interprets the Dream

³¹ “You, O king, were looking, and behold, there was a single great ^[d]image; that image, which was large and ^[e]of extraordinary splendor, was rising up in front of you, and its appearance was ^[f](G)awesome. ³² The ^(H)head of that image was made of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze, ³³ its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. ³⁴ You ^[g]continued looking until a ^(I)stone was cut out ^(J)without hands, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay and ^(K)crushed them. ³⁵ Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed ^[h]all at the same time and became ^(L)like chaff from the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away so that ^(M)not a trace of them was found. But the stone that struck the image became a great ^(N)mountain and filled the whole earth.

³⁶ “This was the dream; now we will say ^(O)its interpretation before the king. ³⁷ You, O king, are the ^(P)king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the ^[i]kingdom, the ^(Q)power, the strength, and the glory; ³⁸ and wherever the sons of men inhabit, or the ^(R)beasts of the field, or the birds of the sky, He has given them into your hand and has made you rule with power over them all. You are the head of gold. ³⁹ But after you there will arise another kingdom inferior to you, then another third kingdom of bronze, which will rule with power over all the earth. ⁴⁰ Then there will be a ^(S)fourth kingdom as strong as iron; inasmuch as iron crushes and shatters all things, so, like iron that breaks in pieces, it will crush and break all these in pieces. ⁴¹ Now in that you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron; it will be a divided kingdom; but it will have in it the toughness of iron, inasmuch as you saw the iron mixed with ^[j]common clay. ⁴² And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so some of the kingdom will be strong and part of it will be brittle. ⁴³ And in that you saw the iron mixed with ^[k]common clay; they will combine with one another ^[l]in the seed of men; but they will not cling to one another, even as iron does not combine with clay. ⁴⁴ And in the days of those kings the ^(T)God of heaven will ^(U)cause a ^(V)kingdom to rise up which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be ^[m]left for another people; it will ^(W)crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself stand forever. ⁴⁵ Inasmuch as you saw that a ^(X)stone was cut out of the mountain without hands and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold, the ^(Y)great God has made known to the king what ^(Z)will happen ^[n]in the future; so the dream is certain, and its interpretation is trustworthy.”

Daniel and Friends Promoted

⁴⁶ Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face and did ^(AA)homage to Daniel and said for them to present to him an offering and ^[o](AB)fragrant incense. ⁴⁷ The king answered Daniel and said, “Truly ^(AC)your God is a ^(AD)God of gods and a Lord of kings and a ^(AE)revealer of mysteries since you have been able to reveal this mystery.” ⁴⁸ Then the king ^[p](AF)promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts, and he made him rule with power over the whole ^(AG)province of Babylon and chief ^[q]prefect over all the wise men of Babylon. ⁴⁹ And Daniel sought of the king, and he ^(AH)appointed ^(AI)Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego over the administration of the province of Babylon, while Daniel was at the king’s ^[r](AJ)court.

¹⁹ Therefore ^(A)write ^(B)the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place ^(C)after these things.