Daniel 2:21–38

²¹He changes the times and seasons;

He removes kings and establishes them.

He gives wisdom to the wise

and knowledge to the discerning.

²²He reveals the deep and hidden things;

He knows what lies in darkness,

and light dwells with Him.

²³To You, O God of my fathers,

I give thanks and praise,

because You have given me

wisdom and power.

And now You have made known to me

what we have requested,

for You have made known to us

the dream of the king.”

²⁴Therefore Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon, and said to him, “Do not execute the wise men of Babylon! Bring me before the king, and I will give him the interpretation.”

²⁵Arioch hastily brought Daniel before the king and said to him, “I have found a man among the exiles from Judah who will tell the king the interpretation.”

²⁶The king responded to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to tell me what I saw in the dream, as well as its interpretation?”

²⁷Daniel answered the king, “No wise man, enchanter, medium, or magician can explain to the king the mystery of which he inquires. ²⁸But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the latter days. Your dream and the visions that came into your mind as you lay on your bed were these:

²⁹As you lay on your bed, O king, your thoughts turned to the future, and the Revealer of Mysteries made known to you what will happen. ³⁰And to me this mystery has been revealed, not because I have more wisdom than any man alive, but in order that the interpretation might be made known to the king, and that you may understand the thoughts of your mind.

³¹As you, O king, were watching, a great statue^c appeared. A great and dazzling statue stood before you, and its form was awesome. ³²The head of the statue was pure gold, its chest and arms were silver, its belly and thighs were bronze, ³³its legs were iron, and its feet were part iron and part clay.

³⁴As you watched, a stone was cut out,^d but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay, and crushed them. ³⁵Then the iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold were shattered and became like chaff on the threshing floor in summer. The wind carried them away, and not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that had struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.

³⁶This was the dream; now we will tell the king its interpretation.

³⁷You, O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given sovereignty, power, strength, and glory. ³⁸Wherever the sons of men or beasts of the field or birds of the air dwell, He has given them into your hand and has made you ruler over them all. You are that head of gold.