18. so that they would ask the God of heaven for help about this mystery, in hopes that Daniel and his friends wouldn’t die with the rest of Babylon’s sages.
19. Then, in a vision by night, the mystery was revealed to Daniel! Daniel praised the God of heaven:
20. God’s name be praisedfrom age to eternal age!Wisdom and might are his!
21. God is the one who changes times and eras,who dethrones one king, only to establish another,who grants wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those with insight.
22. God is the one who uncovers what lies deeply hidden;he knows what hides in darkness;light lives with him!
23. I acknowledge and praise you, my fathers’ God!You’ve given me wisdom and might,and now you’ve made known to me what we asked of you:you’ve made known to us the king’s demand.
24. So Daniel went to Arioch, the man the king had appointed to wipe out Babylon’s sages. Daniel said to him, "Don’t wipe out the sages of Babylon! Bring me before the king, and I will explain the dream’s meaning to him."
25. Wasting no time, Arioch brought Daniel before the king, telling him, "I have found someone from the Judean exiles who will tell the dream’s meaning to the king."
26. In reply the king said to Daniel (whose name was Belteshazzar), "Can you really tell me the dream that I saw, as well as its meaning?"
27. Daniel answered the king, “Sages, enchanters, dream interpreters, and diviners can’t explain to the king the mystery he seeks.
28. But there is a God in heaven, a revealer of mysteries, who has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the days to come! Now this was your dream—this was the vision in your head as you lay in your bed:
29. “As you lay in bed, Your Majesty, your thoughts turned to what will happen in the future. The revealer of mysteries has revealed to you what will happen.
30. Now this mystery was revealed to me, not because I have more wisdom than any other living person but so that the dream’s meaning might be made known to the king, and so that you might know the thoughts of your own mind.
31. “Your Majesty, you were looking, and there, rising before you, was a single, massive statue. This statue was huge, shining with dazzling light, and was awesome to see.
32. The statue’s head was made of pure gold; its chest and arms were made from silver; its abdomen and hips were made of bronze.