The Babylonian Exile

But there is a God in heauen that reueileth secrets, and sheweth the King Nebuchad-nezzar what shall bee in the latter dayes. Thy dreame, and the things which thou hast seene in thine heade vpon thy bed, is this.

O King, when thou wast in thy bedde, thoughts came into thy mind, what should come to passe hereafter, and he that reueyleth secretes, telleth thee, what shall come.

As for me, this secret is not shewed mee for any wisedome that I haue, more then any other liuing, but onely to shewe the King the interpretation, and that thou mightest knowe the thoughts of thine heart.

O King, thou sawest, and beholde, there was a great image: this great image whose glory was so excellent, stood before thee, and the forme thereof was terrible.

This images head was of fine golde, his breast and his armes of siluer, his bellie and his thighs of brasse,

His legges of yron, and his feete were part of yron, and part of clay.

Thou beheldest it til a stone was cut without hands, which smote the image vpon his feete, that were of yron and clay, and brake them to pieces.

Then was the yron, the clay, the brasse, the siluer and the golde broken all together, and became like the chaffe of the sommer floures, and the winde caryed them away, that no place was founde for them: and the stone that smote the image, became a great mountaine, and filled the whole earth.

This is the dreame, and we will declare before the King the interpretation thereof.

O King, thou art a king of Kings: for the God of heauen hath giuen thee a kingdome, power, and strength, and glorie.

And in all places where the children of men dwell, the beasts of the fielde, and the foules of the heauen hath he giuen into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler ouer them al: thou art this heade of golde.

And after thee shall rise another kingdome, inferiour to thee, of siluer, and another third kingdome shalbe of brasse, which shall beare rule ouer all the earth.

And the fourth kingdome shall be strong as yron: for as yron breaketh in pieces, and subdueth all things, and as yron bruiseth all these things, so shall it breake in pieces, and bruise all.

Where as thou sawest the feete and toes, parte of potters clay, and part of yron: the kingdome shalbe deuided, but there shalbe in it of the strength of the yron, as thou sawest the yron mixt with the clay, and earth.

And as the toes of the feete were parte of yron, and parte of clay, so shall the kingdome be partly strong, and partly broken.

And where as thou sawest yron mixt with clay and earth, they shall mingle themselues with the seede of men: but they shall not ioyne one with another, as yron can not bee mixed with clay.

And in the dayes of these Kings, shall the God of heauen set vp a kingdome, which shall neuer be destroyed: and this kingdome shall not be giuen to another people, but it shall breake, and destroy al these kingdomes, and it shall stand for euer.

Where as thou sawest, that the stone was cut of the mountaine without handes, and that it brake in pieces the yron, the brasse, the clay, the siluer, and the golde: so the great God hath shewed the King, what shall come to passe hereafter, and the dreame is true, and the interpretation thereof is sure.

Then the King Nebuchad-nezzar fell vpon his face, and bowed himselfe vnto Daniel, and commanded that they should offer meate offrings, and sweete odours vnto him.

Also the King answered vnto Daniel, and said, I know of a trueth that your God is a God of gods, and the Lord of Kings, and the reueiler of secrets, seeing thou couldest open this secret.

So the King made Daniel a great man, and gaue him many and great giftes. Hee made him gouernour ouer the whole prouince of Babel, and chiefe of the rulers, and aboue all the wise men of Babel.

Then Daniel made request to the King, and hee set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego ouer the charge of the prouince of Babel: but Daniel sate in the gate of the King.

Nebuchad-nezzar the King made an image of gold, whose height was three score cubits, and the breadth thereof sixe cubites: hee set it vp in the plaine of Dura, in the prouince of Babel.

Then Nebuchad-nezzar ye King sent foorth to gather together the nobles, the princes and the dukes, the iudges, the receiuers, the counsellers, the officers, and all the gouernours of the prouinces, that they should come to the dedication of the image, which Nebuchad-nezzar the King had set vp.

So the nobles, princes and dukes, the iudges, the receiuers, the counsellers, the officers, and all the gouernours of the prouinces were assembled vnto the dedicating of the image, that Nebuchad-nezzar the King had set vp: and they stood before the image, which Nebuchad-nezzar had set vp.