Daniel Chapter 2

   The Chaldeans spoke first to the king saying, "Oh king, may you live forever, and kindly tell your servants of your dream, so we might interpret it." The wise king answered the Chaldeans saying, "This dream is now gone from me, and if you cannot show it to me and properly interpret it, then I shall have you cut to pieces, and your homes turned into dunghills! But if you can correctly show me the dream and its exact interpretation, then you shall receive gifts and honors and great rewards. Therefore kindly tell me of my dream and its true interpretation."

   The Chaldeans answered the king saying, "Let the king kindly tell his servants about the dream, and we will show him the correct interpretation of it." The king answered once again saying, "I know that you are trying to gain time because you see the dream is gone from me, but if you cannot make the dream known to me now there is only one decree I'll have for you, because you are always preparing your lying and corrupt words for me in order to deceive me. So kindly tell me of the dream now, then I will know that you are truly able to interpret it". The Chaldeans answered the king once again saying, "Great king, there is no man on Earth that can show this matter to the king, and there is no king, or lord, or ruler who has ever asked such things from any magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean. And it is an impossible thing that the king asks. There is no one who can show this to the king except the gods, who do not dwell with us." Then the king flew into a rage and issued an order that all the wise men of Babylon should be slain.

   And so went forth a decree that all the wise men of Babylon should be killed, and they also sought Daniel and his servants to be killed as well. But Daniel answered with great counsel and wisdom to Arioch, captain of the guards who'd come to carry out the King's orders, saying "Why has this decree been issued so hastily?" And Arioch, captain of the guard made it known to Daniel what had happened. And so Daniel went immediately to the king and promised to interpret his dream for him, if the king would just give him time to consult with his three companions. And so Daniel went and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishaiel and Azariah, his companions, so they could pray to God with him for mercy, so they might not be killed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. And then the secret of the king's dream was revealed unto Daniel in a night vision, and Daniel blessed the God of heaven saying "Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever, for all wisdom and might are his. He changes times and seasons, he removes kings, and gives wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to those of understanding. He reveals the deep and secret things and knows what is in the darkness and the light dwells only with him. I thank thee oh God of my fathers, who hath given me wisdom and might, and who has made known to us what we asked of thee, for now thou hast revealed to us the king's dream."

   Then Daniel went immediately to Arioch, who had been sent to destroy the wise men of Babylon and said, "Destroy not the wise men, but instead bring me in before the king, and I will show him the interpretation of his dream." And so Arioch brought Daniel in before the King in great haste, and said, "I have found a man from among the captives of Judah who can make known to the king the interpretation of his dream." Then the king said to Daniel, whose Babylonian name was Belte-shaz'zar, "Art thou able to show me the dream which I have seen, and also interpret it?" And Daniel answered the king saying, "This secret which the king has demanded to be revealed to him cannot be revealed by wise men, astrologers, magicians or soothsayers. But there is a God in heaven that revealeth such secrets, and it is he that hath made known to the king of what shall be in the future. The dream and visions that appeared in your head are these:

   As for you oh king your thoughts came to your mind in the nighttime of what shall come to pass hereafter, and he that revealeth secrets hath made known to thee what shall come to pass in the future. And as for myself this secret wasn't revealed to me for any wisdom of my own, but for the sake of those now showing this interpretation to you, so that you may know the thoughts of your heart. You saw, oh King, a great image. The image was brilliant, and it stood before you, and its form was frightening. The head of this image was of bright gold, and its breast and arms were of silver, its belly and thighs of shiny brass, its legs of iron, and its feet were partly iron and partly clay. You beheld this image until a great stone was cut out without hands, which smashed the image upon its feet. Then were the iron, clay, brass, silver, and gold broken into many pieces, which became like the chaff on the summer threshing floor. And the wind carried the pieces away and no place was found for them. And then the stone which smote the image became a great mountain, filling the whole Earth. This was your dream oh great king, and now I shall tell you of its interpretation.

   You oh king, are truly a king of kings, for God has given you a kingdom, and power, and strength, and great glory. And wherever the children of men do dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of heaven he has given into your hand, and he has made you ruler over them all. You, oh king, are that head of gold (Babylon). And after you shall arise another kingdom, inferior to yours (Persia), and also a third kingdom of brass (Greece), which shall rule over all the Earth. And a fourth kingdom (Rome) shall also arise, strong as iron, for in so much as iron breaks into pieces and subdues all lesser things, so shall this iron kingdom bruise and break into pieces all those before it. And, whereas you saw the feet and the toes, partly of potters clay, and partly of iron, so shall it have the strength of iron, inasmuch as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay and as the toes of the feet were partly iron, and partly of clay, so shall this kingdom be partly strong and partly weak. And as the iron was mixed in with the miry clay, so shall they mingle themselves with the seed of men. But they shall not cling to each other as iron doesn't mix with clay. And in the time of these last ten kings (the 10 Roman provinces circa 1776), the god of heaven shall set up a kingdom of his own (Ephraim) which will never be destroyed and his kingdom will not be left to others, but shall consume and break into pieces all others, and stand forever. For in as much as you saw that this stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it breaks into pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver and the gold, so the great god has made known to the king what shall be in future time. And this dream is for certain, and it's interpretation is sure."