Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream
1In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his mind was troubled and he could not sleep. 2So the king summoned the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers2:2 Or Chaldeans; also in verses 4, 5 and 10 to tell him what he had dreamed. When they came in and stood before the king, 3he said to them, “I have had a dream that troubles me and I want to know what it means.2:3 Or was”
4Then the astrologers answered the king,2:4 At this point the Hebrew text has in Aramaic, indicating that the text from here through the end of chapter 7 is in Aramaic. “May the king live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will interpret it.”
5The king replied to the astrologers, “This is what I have firmly decided: If you do not tell me what my dream was and interpret it, I will have you cut into pieces and your houses turned into piles of rubble. 6But if you tell me the dream and explain it, you will receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. So tell me the dream and interpret it for me.”
7Once more they replied, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will interpret it.”
8Then the king answered, “I am certain that you are trying to gain time, because you realize that this is what I have firmly decided: 9If you do not tell me the dream, there is only one penalty for you. You have conspired to tell me misleading and wicked things, hoping the situation will change. So then, tell me the dream, and I will know that you can interpret it for me.”
10The astrologers answered the king, “There is no one on earth who can do what the king asks! No king, however great and mighty, has ever asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or astrologer. 11What the king asks is too difficult. No one can reveal it to the king except the gods, and they do not live among humans.”
12This made the king so angry and furious that he ordered the execution of all the wise men of Babylon. 13So the decree was issued to put the wise men to death, and men were sent to look for Daniel and his friends to put them to death.
14When Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard, had gone out to put to death the wise men of Babylon, Daniel spoke to him with wisdom and tact. 15He asked the king’s officer, “Why did the king issue such a harsh decree?” Arioch then explained the matter to Daniel. 16At this, Daniel went in to the king and asked for time, so that he might interpret the dream for him.
17Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. 18He urged them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that he and his friends might not be executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. 19During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven 20and said:
“Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever;
wisdom and power are his.
21He changes times and seasons;
he deposes kings and raises up others.
He gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to the discerning.
22He reveals deep and hidden things;
he knows what lies in darkness,
and light dwells with him.
23I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors:
You have given me wisdom and power,
you have made known to me what we asked of you,
you have made known to us the dream of the king.”
Daniel Interprets the Dream
24Then Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to execute the wise men of Babylon, and said to him, “Do not execute the wise men of Babylon. Take me to the king, and I will interpret his dream for him.”
25Arioch took Daniel to the king at once and said, “I have found a man among the exiles from Judah who can tell the king what his dream means.”
26The king asked Daniel (also called Belteshazzar), “Are you able to tell me what I saw in my dream and interpret it?”
27Daniel replied, “No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about, 28but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come. Your dream and the visions that passed through your mind as you were lying in bed are these:
29“As Your Majesty was lying there, your mind turned to things to come, and the revealer of mysteries showed you what is going to happen. 30As for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because I have greater wisdom than anyone else alive, but so that Your Majesty may know the interpretation and that you may understand what went through your mind.
31“Your Majesty looked, and there before you stood a large statue—an enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance. 32The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, 33its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay. 34While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. 35Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were all broken to pieces and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth.
36“This was the dream, and now we will interpret it to the king. 37Your Majesty, you are the king of kings. The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory; 38in your hands he has placed all mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds in the sky. Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all. You are that head of gold.
39“After you, another kingdom will arise, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth. 40Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron—for iron breaks and smashes everything—and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others. 41Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom; yet it will have some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed with clay. 42As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. 43And just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay.
44“In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever. 45This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands—a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces.
“The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future. The dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy.”
46Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell prostrate before Daniel and paid him honor and ordered that an offering and incense be presented to him. 47The king said to Daniel, “Surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you were able to reveal this mystery.”
48Then the king placed Daniel in a high position and lavished many gifts on him. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and placed him in charge of all its wise men. 49Moreover, at Daniel’s request the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego administrators over the province of Babylon, while Daniel himself remained at the royal court.
尼布甲尼撒的梦
1尼布甲尼撒在执政第二年做了梦，心里烦乱，无法入睡， 2便派人召来术士、巫师、行法术的和占星家2:2 “占星家”亚兰文作“迦勒底人”，同下2:4、5、10节；3:8；4:7；5:7、11。，为他解梦。他们都来到王面前。 3王对他们说：“我做了一个梦，心里烦乱，想知道梦的意思。” 4占星家用亚兰话对王说：“愿王万岁！请将梦告诉仆人，仆人好解释梦的意思。” 5王对占星家说：“我的旨意已定，你们若不能将梦和梦的意思告诉我，必被碎尸万段，你们的家必沦为废墟。 6你们若能将梦和梦的意思告诉我，我必给你们礼物、赏赐和极大的尊荣。所以你们要将梦和梦的意思告诉我。” 7他们再次对王说：“请王将梦告诉仆人，仆人好解释梦的意思。” 8王说：“我敢肯定，你们是在拖延时间，因为你们知道我的旨意已定， 9你们若不将梦告诉我，我必惩治你们。你们串通起来在我面前胡言乱语，以拖待变。现在将梦告诉我，我就相信你们能解梦。” 10占星家说：“王所要求的，世上无人能做到，因为再伟大、再有权势的君王，也没问过术士、巫师或占星家这样的事。 11王问的事太难，除了不在人间居住的神明外，无人能为王解答。” 12王大怒，下令处死巴比伦所有的智者。 13于是，处死智者的谕旨发出，有人便搜寻但以理和他的同伴，要处死他们。
14王的护卫长亚略奉命去处死巴比伦的智者，但以理机智、谨慎地应对。 15他问王的护卫长亚略：“王的命令为何这样紧急？”亚略就把情况告诉他。 16但以理便进宫求王宽限，以便为王解梦。 17然后，他回到居所将这事告诉同伴哈拿尼雅、米沙利和亚撒利雅， 18要同伴祈求天上的上帝施怜悯，显明这奥秘，以免他们和其他巴比伦的智者一起被杀。 19这奥秘在夜间的异象中向但以理显明，他便颂赞天上的上帝， 20说：
“上帝的名永永远远当受称颂，
因为智慧和能力都属于祂。
21祂改变时令和季节，废王立王，
赐智慧给智者，赐知识给哲士。
22祂显明深奥隐秘之事，
洞悉暗中的隐情，
有光与祂同住。
23我祖先的上帝啊，我感谢你，赞美你，
因你赐我智慧和能力，
应允我们的祈求，
使我们明白王的梦。”
但以理解梦
24于是，但以理去见王指派处死巴比伦智者的亚略，对他说：“不要处死巴比伦的智者，请带我去见王，我要为王解梦。” 25亚略急忙带但以理去见王，对王说：“我在被掳的犹大人中找到一个能为王解梦的。” 26王就问又名伯提沙撒的但以理：“你能将我做的梦和梦的意思告诉我吗？” 27但以理回答说：“没有智者、术士、巫师或占星家可以解答王所问的奥秘， 28-30但天上的上帝能揭开奥秘，祂已把将来要发生的事告诉了王。王啊，你躺在床上时想到了将来的事，揭开奥秘的上帝已把将来的事指示给你。上帝将王做的梦启示给我，并非因为我智慧超群，而是要让王知道梦的意思和王的心思。以下是王在床上做的梦和脑中出现的异象。
31“王啊，你梦见一个高大宏伟、极其明亮的塑像站在你面前，相貌可怕， 32有纯金的头、银的胸和臂、铜的肚腹和大腿、 33铁的小腿和半铁半泥的脚。 34在你观看的时候，有一块非人手凿出的石头砸在塑像半铁半泥的脚上，砸碎了脚。 35铁、泥、铜、银、金随即粉碎，犹如夏天麦场上的糠秕，被风吹得无影无踪。但打碎这像的石头变成一座大山，充满整个大地。
36“这就是梦的内容。现在我们要为王解梦。 37王啊，你是王中之王，天上的上帝已将国度、权柄、能力和尊荣赐给你， 38也将居住在各地的世人、走兽和飞禽都交在你手中，让你管理。你就是那金头。 39在你之后，必有另一国兴起，不及你的国强大。之后是将要统治天下的第三个国，是铜的。 40接着是坚如铁的第四国，能击垮、打碎列国，正如铁能击垮、打碎一切。 41你看见半铁半陶泥的脚和脚趾，表示那将是一个分裂的国。正如你看见铁和泥混杂在一起，它必有铁一般的力量。 42半铁半泥的脚趾表示那国必半强半弱。 43你看见铁和泥混杂在一起，这表示那国的民族彼此混杂通婚，却不能团结，正如铁和泥无法混合。 44在以上列王统治的时候，天上的上帝必设立一个永不被毁的国，这国必不会落入其他民族手中。它将击垮、消灭列国，并且永远长存。 45你看见那块非人手从山中凿出的石头打碎铁、铜、泥、银和金。伟大的上帝已把将来的事告诉了王。这梦是真实的，解释是可靠的。”
46尼布甲尼撒王俯伏在地，向但以理下拜，并下令给他献供物和香。 47王对但以理说：“你们的上帝真是万神之神、万王之主、奥秘的启示者，因为你能揭开这个奥秘。” 48王赐但以理高官及许多贵重的礼物，派他治理巴比伦全省，管理巴比伦所有的智者。 49王又应允但以理的请求，派沙得拉、米煞和亚伯尼歌负责巴比伦省的事务。但以理仍在朝中供职。
