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He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.
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He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him.
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I 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
24 Then 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.”
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Arioch 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.”
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The king asked Daniel (also called Belteshazzar), “Are you able to tell me what I saw in my dream and interpret it?”
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Daniel replied, “No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about,
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but 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:
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“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.
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As 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.
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The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze,
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its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay.
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While 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.
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Then 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.
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“This was the dream, and now we will interpret it to the king.
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Your Majesty, you are the king of kings. The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory;
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in 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.