Narrator: And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled, and his sleep brake from him.
Narrator: Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans for the shew the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king. And the king said unto them:
King Nebuchadnezzar: I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream.
Narrator: Then spake the Chaldeans unto the king:
Chaldean #1: O king, live forever: tell they servants the dreams and we will shew the interpretation.
King Nebuchadnezzar: The thing is gone from me: if ye will not make known unto me the dream, with the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill. But if ye shew the dream, and the interpretation thereof, ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honour: therefore shew me the dream, and the interpretation thereof.
Chaldean #2: Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation of it.
King Nebuchadnezzar: I know of certainty that ye would gain the time, because ye see the thing is gone from me. If ye will not make known unto me the dream, there is but one decree for you: for ye have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me, till the time be changed: therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that ye can shew me the interpretation thereof.
Chaldean #3: There is not a man upon the earth that can shew the king's matter... And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is none other that can shew it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.
Narrator: For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. And the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they sought Daniel and his fellows to be slain. Then Daniel said to the king’s captain:
Daniel: Why is the decree so hasty from the king? Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel.
Narrator: The captain made the thing known to Daniel and Daniel asked the king for time and he would show the king the dream and its interpretation. And Daniel asked his companions, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego:
Daniel: Pray for the tender mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that we will no perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
Narrator: Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. And, Daniel said:
Daniel: Blessed be the name of God forever and ever; for wisdom and might are His. I thank thee and praise thee, O though God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and has made known unto me now what we desired of thee.
Narrator: Then Daniel was brought before the king who asked: Art thou able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof?
Daniel: Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible. This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, his legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.
Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.
King Nebuchadnezzar: And what is the interpretation of the dream?
Daniel: Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. Thou art this head of gold. And after thee shall arise another kingdom (silver) inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron. The feet and toes, part clay and part iron, are the fourth kingdom divided.
And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.
**Note: My friend Laura put this reading together and it was a hit in our Sunday School Class & in Family Night! So, I thought I would share.
We pointed out to the kids that President Obama lives in the White House, that the White House is a symbol of kingdom. It is interesting to discuss other examples of Kingdoms living and dead... Then, explain the symbolism of the stone cut without hands (made by God). Point out that the temples of God are covering the earth and that this revelation given by Daniel 600 years before the birth of Christ is coming true in their (the children's) lifetime.
