22. He reveals deep and mysterious thingsand knows what lies hidden in darkness,though he is surrounded by light.
23. I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors,for you have given me wisdom and strength.You have told me what we asked of youand revealed to us what the king demanded.”
24. Then Daniel went in to see Arioch, whom the king had ordered to execute the wise men of Babylon. Daniel said to him, “Don’t kill the wise men. Take me to the king, and I will tell him the meaning of his dream.”
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.