Lexicon :: Strong's H4481 - min

“But if you make the dream and its interpretation known to me, you’ll receive gifts, a reward, and great honor from me. So make the dream and its interpretation known to me.”

The king replied, “I know for certain you are trying to gain some time, because you see that my word is final.

He asked Arioch, the king’s officer, “Why is the decree from the king so harsh? ”[fn] Then Arioch explained the situation to Daniel.

So Daniel went and asked the king to give him some time, so that he could give the king the interpretation.

urging them to ask the God of the heavens for mercy concerning this mystery, so Daniel and his friends would not be destroyed with the rest of Babylon’s wise men.

and declared:

May the name of God

be praised forever and ever,

for wisdom and power belong to him.

I offer thanks and praise to you,

God of my ancestors,

because you have given me

wisdom and power.

And now you have let me know

what we asked of you,

for you have let us know

the king’s mystery.[fn]

Then Arioch quickly brought Daniel before the king and said to him, “I have found a man among the Judean exiles who can let the king know the interpretation.”

“As for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because I have more wisdom than anyone living, but in order that the interpretation might be made known to the king, and that you may understand the thoughts of your mind.

“its legs were iron, and its feet were partly iron and partly fired clay.

“Then the iron, the fired clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were shattered and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors. The wind carried them away, and not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.

“After you, there will arise another kingdom, inferior to yours, and then another, a third kingdom, of bronze, which will rule the whole earth.

“You saw the feet and toes, partly of a potter’s fired clay and partly of iron ​— ​it will be a divided kingdom, though some of the strength of iron will be in it. You saw the iron mixed with clay,

“and that the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly fired clay ​— ​part of the kingdom will be strong, and part will be brittle.

The king said to Daniel, “Your God is indeed God of gods, Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries, since you were able to reveal this mystery.”

At Daniel’s request, the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to manage the province of Babylon. But Daniel remained at the king’s court.

“If the God we serve exists, then he can rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire, and he can[fn] rescue us from the power of you, the king.

Since the king’s command was so urgent[fn] and the furnace extremely hot, the raging flames[fn] killed those men who carried up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

Nebuchadnezzar then approached the door of the furnace of blazing fire and called, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, you servants of the Most High God ​— ​come out! ” So Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came out of the fire.

“Therefore I issue a decree that anyone of any people, nation, or language who says anything offensive against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego will be torn limb from limb and his house made a garbage dump. For there is no other god who is able to deliver like this.”

“Its leaves were beautiful, its fruit was abundant,

and on it was food for all.

Wild animals found shelter under it,

the birds of the sky lived in its branches,

and every creature was fed from it.

“As I was lying in my bed, I also saw in the visions of my mind a watcher, a holy one,[fn] coming down from heaven.

“He called out loudly:

Cut down the tree and chop off its branches;

strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit.

Let the animals flee from under it,

and the birds from its branches.

“Let his mind be changed from that of a human,

and let him be given the mind of an animal

for seven periods of time.[fn][fn]

“The king saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Cut down the tree and destroy it, but leave the stump with its roots in the ground and with a band of iron and bronze around it in the tender grass of the field. Let him be drenched with dew from the sky and share food with the wild animals for seven periods of time.’

“You will be driven away from people to live with the wild animals. You will feed on grass like cattle and be drenched with dew from the sky for seven periods of time, until you acknowledge that the Most High is ruler over human kingdoms, and he gives them to anyone he wants.

“As for the command to leave the tree’s stump with its roots, your kingdom will be restored[fn] to you as soon as you acknowledge that Heaven[fn] rules.

While the words were still in the king’s mouth, a voice came from heaven: “King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is declared that the kingdom has departed from you.

“You will be driven away from people to live with the wild animals, and you will feed on grass like cattle for seven periods of time, until you acknowledge that the Most High is ruler over human kingdoms, and he gives them to anyone he wants.”

At that moment the message against Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled. He was driven away from people. He ate grass like cattle, and his body was drenched with dew from the sky, until his hair grew like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws.

So they brought in the gold[fn] vessels that had been taken from the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, wives, and concubines drank from them.

Then Daniel was brought before the king. The king said to him, “Are you Daniel, one of the Judean exiles that my predecessor the king brought from Judah?

“Because of the greatness he gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages were terrified and fearful of him. He killed anyone he wanted and kept alive anyone he wanted; he exalted anyone he wanted and humbled anyone he wanted.

“But when his heart was exalted and his spirit became arrogant, he was deposed from his royal throne and his glory was taken from him.

“He was driven away from people, his mind was like an animal’s, he lived with the wild donkeys, he was fed grass like cattle, and his body was drenched with dew from the sky until he acknowledged that the Most High God is ruler over human kingdoms and sets anyone he wants over them.

“Therefore, he sent the hand, and this writing was inscribed.

“All the administrators of the kingdom ​— ​the prefects, satraps, advisers, and governors ​— ​have agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce an edict that, for thirty days, anyone who petitions any god or man except you, the king, will be thrown into the lions’ den.

When Daniel learned that the document had been signed, he went into his house. The windows in its upstairs room opened toward Jerusalem, and three times a day he got down on his knees, prayed, and gave thanks to his God, just as he had done before.

So they approached the king and asked about his edict: “Didn’t you sign an edict that for thirty days any person who petitions any god or man except you, the king, will be thrown into the lions’ den? ”

The king answered, “As a law of the Medes and Persians, the order stands[fn] and is irrevocable.”

Then they replied to the king, “Daniel, one of the Judean exiles, has ignored you, the king, and the edict you signed, for he prays three times a day.”

When he reached the den, he cried out in anguish to Daniel. “Daniel, servant of the living God,” the king said,[fn] “has your God, whom you continually serve, been able to rescue you from the lions? ”

The king was overjoyed and gave orders to take Daniel out of the den. When Daniel was brought up from the den, he was found to be unharmed, for he trusted in his God.

“I issue a decree that in all my royal dominion, people must tremble in fear before the God of Daniel:

For he is the living God,

and he endures forever;

his kingdom will never be destroyed,

and his dominion has no end.

“He rescues and delivers;

he performs signs and wonders

in the heavens and on the earth,

for he has rescued Daniel

from the power of the lions.”