HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 1144
D A N IEL 3
25 Arioch 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!”
26 The king said to Daniel (also known as Belteshazzar), “Is this true? Can you tell me what
my dream was and what it means?”
27 Daniel replied, “There are no wise men, enchanters, magicians, or fortune-tellers who can
reveal the king’s secret. 28 But 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.
29 “While Your Majesty was sleeping, you
dreamed about coming events. He who reveals
secrets has shown you what is going to happen.
30 And 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 “In your vision, Your Majesty, you saw
standing before you a huge, shining statue of
a man. It was a frightening sight. 32 The head
of the statue was made of fine gold. Its chest
and arms were silver, its belly and thighs were
bronze, 33 its legs were iron, and its feet were a
combination of iron and baked clay. 34 As 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. 35 The 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 “That was the dream. Now we will tell the
king what it means. 37 Your Majesty, you are the
greatest of kings. The God of heaven has given
you sovereignty, power, strength, and honor.
38 He 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.
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. 40 Following 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. 41 The 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. 42 But while some parts of
it will be as strong as iron, other parts will be as
weak as clay. 43 This mixture of iron and clay also
shows that these kingdoms will try to strengthen
themselves by forming alliances with each other
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through intermarriage. But they will not hold
together, just as iron and clay do not mix.
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. 45 That 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
46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar threw himself
down before Daniel and worshiped him, and
he commanded his people to offer sacrifices
and burn sweet incense before him. 47 The 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.”
48 Then 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.
49 At 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.
Nebuchadnezzar’s Gold Statue
King Nebuchadnezzar made a gold statue
ninety feet tall and nine feet wide* and
set it up on the plain of Dura in the province
of Babylon. 2 Then he sent messages to the high
officers, officials, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the provincial
officials to come to the dedication of the statue
he had set up. 3 So all these officials* came and
stood before the statue King Nebuchadnezzar
had set up.
4 Then a herald shouted out, “People of all
races and nations and languages, listen to the
king’s command! 5 When you hear the sound
of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipes, and
other musical instruments,* bow to the ground
to worship King Nebuchadnezzar’s gold statue.
6 Anyone who refuses to obey will immediately
be thrown into a blazing furnace.”
7 So at the sound of the musical instruments,*
all the people, whatever their race or nation or
language, bowed to the ground and worshiped
the gold statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had
set up.
8 But some of the astrologers* went to the king
and informed on the Jews. 9 They said to King
3
2:34 As in Greek version (see also 2:45); Hebrew lacks from a
mountain. 3:1 Aramaic 60 cubits [27 meters] tall and 6 cubits
[2.7 meters] wide. 3:3 Aramaic the high officers, officials,
governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all
the provincial officials. 3:5 The identification of some of
these musical instruments is uncertain. 3:7 Aramaic the
horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, and other musical instruments.
3:8 Aramaic Chaldeans.