rsv Daniel:2:24-49 SEEK
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Therefore Daniel went in to Ar '
i-och ,
whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon ;
he went and said thus to him , "
Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon ;
bring me in before the king ,
and I will show the king the interpretation ."
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Then Ar '
i-och brought in Daniel before the king in haste ,
and said thus to him : "
I have found among the exiles from Judah a man who can make known to the king the interpretation ."
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The king said to Daniel ,
whose name was Belteshaz '
zar , "
Are you able to make known to me the dream that I have seen and its interpretation ?"
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Daniel answered the king , "
No wise men ,
enchanters ,
magicians ,
or astrologers can show to the king the mystery which the king has asked ,
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but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries ,
and he has made known to King Nebuchadnez '
zar what will be in the latter days .
Your dream and the visions of your head as you lay in bed are these :
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To you ,
O king ,
as you lay in bed came thoughts of what would be hereafter ,
and he who reveals mysteries made known to you what is to be .
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But as for me ,
not because of any wisdom that I have more than all the living has this mystery been revealed to me ,
but in order that the interpretation may be made known to the king ,
and that you may know the thoughts of your mind .
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You saw ,
O king ,
and behold ,
a great image .
This image ,
mighty and of exceeding brightness ,
stood before you ,
and its appearance was frightening .
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The head of this image was of fine gold ,
its breast 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 clay .
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As you looked ,
a stone was cut out by no human hand ,
and it smote the image on its feet of iron and clay ,
and broke them in pieces ;
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then the iron ,
the clay ,
the bronze ,
the silver ,
and the gold ,
all together were broken in pieces ,
and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors ;
and the wind carried them away ,
so that not a trace of them could be found .
But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth .
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This was the dream ;
now we will tell the king its interpretation .
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You ,
O king ,
the king of kings ,
to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom ,
the power ,
and the might ,
and the glory ,
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and into whose hand he has given ,
wherever they dwell ,
the sons of men ,
the beasts of the field ,
and the birds of the air ,
making you rule over them all--you are the head of gold .
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After you shall arise another kingdom inferior to you ,
and yet a third kingdom of bronze ,
which shall rule over all the earth .
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And there shall be a fourth kingdom ,
strong as iron ,
because iron breaks to pieces and shatters all things ;
and like iron which crushes ,
it shall break and crush all these .
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And as you saw the feet and toes partly of potter '
s clay and partly of iron ,
it shall be a divided kingdom ;
but some of the firmness of iron shall be in it ,
just as you saw iron mixed with the miry clay .
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And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay ,
so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle .
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As you saw the iron mixed with miry clay ,
so they will mix with one another in marriage ,
but they will not hold together ,
just as iron does not mix with clay .
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And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed ,
nor shall its sovereignty be left to another people .
It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end ,
and it shall stand for ever ;
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just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand ,
and that it broke in pieces the iron ,
the bronze ,
the clay ,
the silver ,
and the gold .
A great God has made known to the king what shall be hereafter .
The dream is certain ,
and its interpretation sure ."
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Then King Nebuchadnez '
zar fell upon his face ,
and did homage to Daniel ,
and commanded that an offering and incense be offered up to him .
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The king said to Daniel , "
Truly ,
your God is God of gods and Lord of kings ,
and a revealer of mysteries ,
for you have been able to reveal this mystery ."
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Then the king gave Daniel high honors and many great gifts ,
and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon ,
and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon .
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Daniel made request of the king ,
and he appointed Shadrach ,
Meshach ,
and Abed '
nego over the affairs of the province of Babylon ;
but Daniel remained at the king '
s court .