Nebuchadnezzar’s Second Dream

4 King Nebuchadnezzar sent this letter to all the people of every nation and language who live in all the world: “May you have much peace! ² I am pleased to tell you about the wonderful things which the Most High God has done for me. ³ How great are the special things He shows us! How powerful are His wonderful works! His nation lasts forever, and His rule is for all people for all time.

⁴ “I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at rest in my house. Everything was going well for me there. ⁵ But I had a dream that made me afraid. As I lay on my bed the pictures that passed through my mind filled me with fear. ⁶ So I called for all the wise men of Babylon to come and tell me the meaning of my dream. ⁷ Then the wonder-workers, those who learn from stars, and those who use their secret ways, came in. I told them about the dream, but they could not tell me what it meant. ⁸ At last Daniel came to me, who was given the name Belteshazzar after the name of my god. A spirit of the holy gods is in him, and I told him about my dream. I said, ⁹ ‘O Belteshazzar, head of the wonder-workers, I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you and that no secret is hidden from you. So tell me what dream I had, and what it means. ¹⁰ This is what I saw in my mind as I lay on my bed: I saw a tree in the center of the land. It was very tall. ¹¹ The tree grew and became strong. Its top went up to the sky, and it could be seen to the end of the whole earth. ¹² Its leaves were beautiful and it had much fruit. It had enough food for everyone. The wild animals of the field rested in its shadow. The birds of the air lived in its branches. And every living thing was fed from it.

¹³ ‘In the dreams I had as I lay on my bed, I looked and saw an angel who kept watch. He was a holy one who came down from heaven. ¹⁴ He said in a loud voice, “Cut down the tree and cut off its branches. Tear off its leaves and throw away its fruit. Let the animals run from under it and the birds fly from its branches. ¹⁵ Yet leave the base of the tree with its roots in the ground, and tie a chain of iron and brass around it. Leave it there in the new grass of the field. Let him be wet with the water from heaven on the grass in the early morning. Let him share with the wild animals in the grass of the earth. ¹⁶ Let his mind be changed from that of a man, and for seven years let him have the mind of an animal. ¹⁷ This penalty is by the law of the angels who keep watch. This is what the holy ones have decided, so that the living may know that the Most High is ruler over the nation of all people. He gives it to whomever He wants, and lets the least important of men rule over it.” ¹⁸ This is the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, have seen. Now, Belteshazzar, tell me what it means. None of the wise men in my nation can tell me what it means, but you can. For the spirit of the holy gods is in you.’

Daniel Tells the Meaning of the Second Dream

¹⁹ “Then Daniel (also called Belteshazzar) was afraid for a while. His thoughts filled him with fear. The king said, ‘Belteshazzar, do not be afraid of the dream or its meaning.’ Belteshazzar answered, ‘My lord, if only the dream and its meaning had to do with those who hate you and fight against you! ²⁰ You saw the tree which grew large and strong, whose top went up to the sky and could be seen over all the earth. ²¹ Its leaves were beautiful and it had much fruit, enough food for all. Wild animals of the field rested under it, and birds of the air lived in its branches. ²² This tree is you, O king! For you have become great and strong. Your power has become great and has gone up to the sky, and your rule has gone to the end of the earth. ²³ The king saw an angel who kept watch, a holy one coming down from heaven and saying, “Cut down the tree and destroy it. Yet leave its base with its roots in the ground. Put a chain of iron and brass around it and leave it in the new grass of the field. And let him be wet with the water from heaven on the grass in the early morning. Let him share with the wild animals of the field for seven years.” ²⁴ This is what it means, O king. This is what the Most High said would happen to my lord the king: ²⁵ You will be driven away from all people and will live with the wild animals of the field. You will eat grass like cattle and become wet with the water from heaven. Seven years will pass until you understand that the Most High is ruler over the nations of men, and gives them to whomever He wants. ²⁶ It was said that the base of the tree and its roots must be left. This means that your nation will be returned to you after you understand that it is Heaven that rules. ²⁷ So, O king, may my words be pleasing to you. Turn away from your sins by doing what is right and good. Turn away from your wrong-doing by being kind to the poor. Then it may be that things will keep going well for you.’

The King Loses Everything

²⁸ “All this happened to King Nebuchadnezzar. ²⁹ Twelve months later he was walking on the roof of his beautiful house in Babylon. ³⁰ And he said, ‘Is not this the great Babylon which I have built as a beautiful place for the king? I have built it by my great strength and for the greatness of my power.’ ³¹ Before the king was finished speaking, a voice came from heaven, saying, ‘King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is said: Your power over the nation has been taken from you. ³² You will be driven away from all people and will live with the wild animals of the field. You will eat grass like cattle. And seven years will pass until you understand that the Most High is ruler over the nations of men, and gives them to whomever He wants.’ ³³ At once these words about Nebuchadnezzar came true. He was driven away from all people and began eating grass like cattle. His body became wet with the water from heaven, until his hair grew as long as eagles’ feathers and his nails like those of birds.

Nebuchadnezzar Praises God

³⁴ “But at the end of that time I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up toward heaven and my understanding returned to me. And I gave thanks to the Most High and praised and honored Him Who lives forever. For His nation lasts forever, and His rule is for all people for all time. ³⁵ All the people of the earth are thought of as nothing. He does as He pleases with the angels of heaven and the people of the earth. No one can hold back His hand or say to Him, ‘What have You done?’ ³⁶ At that time my understanding returned to me. And my honor and power were returned to me for the greatness of my nation. My wise men and my leaders began looking for me, and I was made king again, with even more greatness added to me. ³⁷ Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and honor the King of heaven. For all His works are true and His ways are right. And He is able to bring down those who walk in pride.”

Belshazzar’s Special Supper

5 King Belshazzar gave a special supper for a thousand of his important men, and drank wine with them. ² When Belshazzar tasted the wine, he had all the gold and silver cups brought which his father Nebuchadnezzar had taken out of the Lord’s house in Jerusalem. The king sent for them so that he and his important men and all his wives could drink from them. ³ So they brought the gold cups that had been taken from the house of God in Jerusalem. And the king and his important men and all his wives drank from them. ⁴ They drank wine and praised the gods of gold and silver, brass, iron, wood, and stone.

⁵ All at once the fingers of a man’s hand were seen writing on the wall near the lamp-stand of the king’s house. And the king saw the back of the hand as it wrote. ⁶ Then the king’s face turned white, and his thoughts turned to fear. His legs became weak and his knees began shaking. ⁷ The king called in a loud voice for the wonder-workers, the men who learned from stars and those who used their secret ways. He said to the wise men of Babylon, “Any man who can read this writing and tell me what it means will be dressed with purple clothing and have a chain of gold around his neck. And he will be the third in power in the nation.” ⁸ Then all the king’s wise men came in. But they could not read the writing or tell the king what it meant. ⁹ Then King Belshazzar was very afraid. His face lost even more of its color, and his important men did not know what to do.

¹⁰ The queen heard the words of the king and his men, and came into the room where they were eating. She said, “O king, live forever! Do not let your thoughts make you afraid or your face turn white. ¹¹ There is a man in your nation who has the spirit of the holy gods in him. In your father’s time light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, were found in him. And King Nebuchadnezzar, your father, made him the head of the wonder-workers, the men who learned from stars, and those who use their secret ways. ¹² This was because a special spirit was found in this Daniel whom the king called Belteshazzar. He had much learning and understanding to tell the meaning of dreams and secrets and to give answers to problems. Call for Daniel, and he will tell you what this means.”

Daniel Tells What the Writing Means

¹³ So Daniel was brought to the king. And the king said to him, “Are you that Daniel who is one of the people whom my father the king brought from Judah? ¹⁴ I have heard that the spirit of the gods is in you. Light and understanding and special wisdom have been found in you also. ¹⁵ The wise men and wonder-workers were brought in to me so that they might read this writing and tell me what it means. But they could not tell me its meaning. ¹⁶ Now I have heard that you are able to tell the meaning of such things and give answers to hard problems. If you are able to read the writing and tell me what it means, you will be dressed in purple and wear a chain of gold around your neck. And you will be the third in power in the nation.”

¹⁷ Then Daniel answered the king, saying, “Keep your gifts for yourself, or give them to someone else. But I will read the writing to the king and tell him what it means. ¹⁸ O king, the Most High made your father Nebuchadnezzar king, and gave him greatness, honor, and power. ¹⁹ Because of the greatness He gave to him, all the people of every nation and language shook in fear in front of him. He killed whomever he wanted. And he let live whomever he wanted. He gave honor to whomever he wanted. And he put down whomever he wanted. ²⁰ But when his heart and spirit became proud and he acted in pride, he was taken from his throne and his greatness was taken from him. ²¹ He was driven away from people, and his mind became like that of an animal. He lived with the wild donkeys. He ate grass like cattle, and his body became wet with the water from heaven. It was like this for him until he understood that the Most High God is ruler over the nation of all men, and that He lets whomever He wants rule it. ²² Yet you, his son Belshazzar, have not put away the pride from your heart, even though you knew all this. ²³ You have honored yourself more than the Lord of heaven. The cups of His house have been brought to you. And you and your important men and all your wives have been drinking wine from them. You have praised the gods of silver, gold, brass, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see, hear or understand. But you have not honored the God Who holds your life and your ways in His hand. ²⁴ So the hand was sent from Him to write on your wall. ²⁵ “This is what was written: ‘MENE, MENE, TEKEL, and PARSIN.’ ²⁶ And this is what it means: ‘MENE’ means that God has numbered the days of your rule and has brought it to an end. ²⁷ ‘TEKEL’ means that you have been weighed and found to be too light. ²⁸ ‘PERES’ means that your nation has been divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”

²⁹ Then Belshazzar had them dress Daniel in purple and put a chain of gold around his neck. And he made it known that Daniel was the third most powerful ruler in the nation.

Belshazzar Is Killed

³⁰ That very night Belshazzar the king of Babylon was killed. ³¹ So Darius the Mede became the king when he was sixty-two years old.

Daniel Is Thrown to the Lions

6 It pleased Darius to choose 120 captains to rule over the people. They would rule over the whole nation. ² And three leaders were to rule over them, and Daniel was one. The captains were to answer to them, so that the king might suffer no loss. ³ Then Daniel showed that he could do better work than the other leaders and captains because a special spirit was in him. So the king planned to give him power over the whole nation. ⁴ Then the leaders and captains tried to find a reason to complain against Daniel about his duties over the nation. But they could not find any reason to complain or anything to blame him for, because he was faithful and honest and did not do anything wrong. ⁵ Then these men said, “We will not find anything to say against Daniel unless it has to do with the Law of his God.” ⁶ So these leaders and captains came as a group to the king and said, “King Darius, live forever! ⁷ All the leaders of the nation, the captains, the important men and the rulers have spoken with each other and have agreed that a new law should be made. The king should make a law that must be obeyed, saying that anyone who asks something of any god or man besides you, O king, for thirty days, must be thrown to the lions. ⁸ O king, make this law now and write your name on it so that it may not be changed. It will be by the law of the Medes and Persians, and cannot be changed.” ⁹ So King Darius made the law and wrote his name on it.

¹⁰ When Daniel knew that the king had written his name on this law, he went into his house where, in his upper room, he had windows open toward Jerusalem. There he got down on his knees three times each day, praying and giving thanks to his God, as he had done before. ¹¹ Then these men came as a group and found Daniel praying and asking favor from his God. ¹² So they went to the king and spoke to him about his law, saying, “Did you not write your name on a law which says that anyone who asks something of any god or man besides you, O king, for thirty days, is to be thrown to the lions?” The king answered, “This is true. It is by the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be changed.” ¹³ Then they said to the king, “Daniel, who is one of the people brought from Judah, does not listen to you, O king. He is not obeying the law that you wrote your name on. He is still asking things of his God three times a day.” ¹⁴ When the king heard this, he was very troubled and tried to think of a way to save Daniel. Even until sunset he was trying to find a way to save him. ¹⁵ Then these men came as a group to the king and said, “Understand, O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that any law the king makes cannot be changed.”

¹⁶ So the king had Daniel brought in and thrown into the place where lions were kept. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, Whom you are faithful to serve, save you.” ¹⁷ And a stone was brought and laid over the mouth of the hole. The king marked it with his own special ring and with the rings of his important men, so that no one could save Daniel. ¹⁸ Then the king went to his beautiful house and spent the night without food and sleep. And nothing was brought to make him feel better.

Daniel Is Saved from the Lions

¹⁹ The king got up at sunrise and went in a hurry to the place where lions were kept. ²⁰ When he came to the hole in the ground where Daniel was, he called to him with a troubled voice, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, Whom you always serve, been able to save you from the lions?” ²¹ Then Daniel said to the king, “O king, live forever! ²² My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths. They have not hurt me, because He knows that I am not guilty, and because I have done nothing wrong to you, O king.” ²³ Then the king was very pleased and had Daniel taken up out of the hole in the ground. So they took Daniel out of the hole and saw that he had not been hurt at all, because he had trusted in his God. ²⁴ Then the king had those men brought to him who had spoken against Daniel. And they threw them with their wives and children into the hole with the lions. Even before they hit the bottom of the hole, the lions went after them and crushed all their bones.

²⁵ Then King Darius wrote to all the people of every nation and language who were living on the earth. He wrote, “May you have much peace! ²⁶ I make a law that all those under my rule are to fear and shake before the God of Daniel. For He is the living God and He lives forever. His nation will never be destroyed and His rule will last forever. ²⁷ He saves and brings men out of danger, and shows His great power in heaven and on earth. And He has saved Daniel from the power of the lions.”

²⁸ So things went well for Daniel during the rule of Darius and during the rule of Cyrus the Persian.