Storybook

The Book of Daniel · The Dream

The dream the kingforgot.

Nebuchadnezzar wakes from a nightmare he cannot remember — and decrees death for every wise man in Babylon unless someone tells him both the dream and what it means. Every scene below is a real frame from our animated film.

Real film frames Daniel 2 Scroll to dream
Scroll to begin
Babylon's rooftops glow purple in the dusk The four friends share supper on a rooftop Azariah tells a story, bread in hand Mishael and Azariah trade grins over the meal The four eat their greens above the glowing city Three of them sit on the parapet, watching the city dim
Scene IThe Roof

The four exiles were young men in the king's service now — still eating their vegetables, still eating them together, up on a roof above the most powerful city on earth. Below them Babylon glittered, certain of itself. That certainty had about one night left.

The king's golden bedchamber, candles low Nebuchadnezzar asleep beneath a golden canopy The king's face twists in his sleep In the dream, molten gold pours down over his eyes A dark jagged shape looms through the mist of the dream Cold blue flames flicker around the royal bed A bead of sweat rolls over the king's clenched fist
Scene IIThe Nightmare

Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams; and his spirit was troubled, and his sleep went from him. Something of gold. Something enormous. Something that fell. The most powerful man alive lay sweating under his own canopy while the dream did to him what no army could. Daniel 2 : 1

The bed in the dark, sheets rising The king bolts upright with a scream Servants scramble through the dark with lamps Attendants rush the bedchamber, flames guttering The king sits rigid, gripping the bedclothes He stares into the dark, trying to catch the dream Rage floods in where the dream used to be
Scene IIIThe Scream

He woke with the terror still on him — and reached for the dream, and it was gone. Gone like a name on the tip of the tongue, huge and urgent and unreachable. A king can command armies, cities, harvests, lives. He cannot command a dream to come back. Daniel 2 : 3

“The thing has gone from me.”

A star-spangled cloak sweeps toward the throne steps The chief astrologer spreads his arms before the king The astrologer bows low, robes pooling The old astrologer pleads, palms out The king rises from the fire-flanked throne Nebuchadnezzar stands, fists clenched, roaring the decree The king's shadow spreads across the golden lions over the cowering court The throne hall goes dark and quiet
Scene IVNo Man on Earth

The wise men offered the usual deal: tell us the dream, we'll invent a meaning. The king's answer ended the industry: tell me the dream ITSELF — or die. “There is not a man on the earth who can show the king's matter,” they pleaded. “No other can show it, except the gods.” Exactly, said the silence on the throne. And the order went out: kill every wise man in Babylon. Daniel 2 : 10–13

The four at a small supper table, one candle burning A shadow looms up the wall beside the candle The friends freeze at the pounding on the door Azariah crosses to the door in the dark He peers out into the night, eyes wide Arioch, captain of the guard, fills the alley with a torch and a warrant The four stare at the death warrant The warrant is thrust forward — their names are on the list
Scene VThe Knock at the Door

The four weren't at court that day. The first they heard of the decree was the fist on the door after dark, and the biggest soldier in Babylon holding a list with their names on it. They sought Daniel and his companions to be slain. Daniel asked Arioch one question — why is the decree so urgent? — and then did the maddest thing in the book: he asked the king for an appointment. Daniel 2 : 13–16

The four kneel in a circle around one oil lamp Heads bowed close over the small flame Four hands stack together beside the lamp Hands pressed over hands in the lamplight Across the dark city, one tower window burns with light The single lit window holds against the whole night Inside, the four pray on into the small hours
Scene VIOne Lit Window

With the executioner's list already signed, Daniel went home — and called a prayer meeting. The four asked the God of heaven for mercies concerning this secret, that they might not die with the wise men of Babylon. All over the city, lights went out one by one. One window stayed lit. Daniel 2 : 17–18

Daniel sleeps by the window under a sky of stars The stars brighten over his sleeping face Star by star, lines of light knit across the sky The heavens web together into a blazing map In the dream, a stone hangs in the mist with a core of fire Shards of silver, gold and iron tumble through the dark Stone fragments swarm together, glowing at the seams The fragments assemble into a vast cracked face Daniel sleeps on, gold light gathering over him A shimmer of gold settles over the sleeping Daniel
Scene VIIThe Vision of the Night

And while Daniel slept, the answer came down like starlight. The whole dream, end to end — the image, the metals, the stone — handed to a praying exile in the dark. Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. Daniel 2 : 19

He reveals the deep and secret things.

Morning light through the barred window — Daniel's eyes open A grin spreads across Daniel's whole face He wakes the other three, talking fast The four sit up in the morning light — he has it, all of it
Scene VIIIThe Morning After

He woke up smiling on execution day. Shook the others awake before breakfast: I have it. All of it. Then he went and found Arioch — the man carrying the sword meant for him — and said: wait. Give me until morning. Take me to the king. Daniel 2 : 24

Arioch marches Daniel down the endless blue hall Daniel walks small beside the armored captain The bull-horned throne rises ahead of them Daniel's face, quiet, walking toward the throne The king leans over his golden bulls, demanding Nebuchadnezzar bellows the question: can you do this? Daniel stands alone on the great floor and answers Calm, he lifts his eyes to the throne
Scene IXNot in Me

“Are you able to make known to me the dream?” Every wise man left alive was listening for the answer. Daniel gave the throne room a no — and heaven the credit: “The secret which the king has demanded can't be shown by wise men… but there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets.” Not my wisdom, he added. His. Daniel 2 : 27–30

There is a God in heaven.

A cracked, empty plain under a white sky — one tiny figure A colossus looms out of the mist above the tiny man The statue's legs rise like towers from the plain Gold, silver and bronze gleam up the statue's body The king's eyes go wide — that is HIS dream The king stands small before a mountain filling the horizon The mountain — the stone grown huge — fills the frame Stone slopes rise into the light
Scene XThe Dream, Told Back

Then Daniel told the king his own secret. A great image, mighty, its brightness excellent, its appearance terrifying. A head of fine gold. Chest of silver. Belly of bronze, legs of iron, feet of iron mixed with clay. And then a stone cut out without hands that struck the feet — and the whole gleaming giant came down like chaff, and the stone became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth. Daniel 2 : 31–35

A stone, cut out without hands.

The king rises from his throne among the wise men He comes down the steps, cape trailing Daniel waits as the king approaches Daniel, earnest, delivers the meaning Boy and king, face to face in the light The king searches the young man's face
Scene XIThe Meaning

You are the head of gold, Daniel told him — and after you, lesser kingdoms, silver then bronze then iron, empire after empire grinding down the centuries. And then the stone: the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed… it will break in pieces all these kingdoms, and it will stand forever. Every empire ends. One kingdom doesn't. Daniel 2 : 36–44

The court holds its breath around the throne The king's arms fly wide in astonishment Nebuchadnezzar declares it from the golden throne The king points, proclaiming to the whole hall Daniel can hardly believe what he is hearing Daniel stands stunned in the great hall
Scene XIIThe Confession

Then the man who had conquered the world fell on his face before an exile from a burned city — and said the unthinkable out loud: “Of a truth your God is the God of gods, and the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets.” The proudest throat in Babylon, saying it first. Daniel 2 : 46–47

“Your God is the God of gods.”

On the dais, a purple robe is draped over Daniel's shoulders Attendants dress the bowed young man in purple A golden signet ring slides onto his hand A collar of gold settles around his neck Daniel in purple and gold, head bowed, almost embarrassed The king faces his new governor of Babylon On the execution list, a stylus strikes through name after name Arioch reads the cancelled order — and breathes again The captain allows himself a smile
Scene XIIIThe Ring and the List

The king made Daniel great — ruler over the whole province of Babylon, chief over all its wise men. Daniel's first requests: posts for Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego — and, somewhere in the palace, a stylus drew a line through every name on the execution list. The men who had called his God “the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh” were alive because that God had come rather close. Daniel 2 : 48–49

◆ The stone

Babylon fell to the silver kingdom, and the silver to the bronze, and the bronze to the iron — just as the dream said. And the stone cut without hands has been growing ever since. Nebuchadnezzar got his answer and his sleep back; Daniel got a purple robe he never asked for — and Babylon learned the name of the God who reveals secrets. The king would need three more lessons. The next one involves a furnace.

One lit window burns in the dark city wall The single window glows against the night
The night Babylon's wise men were saved by four exiles praying behind one lit window.

Voices of the dream · hover or tap to turn

Daniel Daniel

"…but there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets…"

— Daniel 2:28
Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar

"Of a truth your God is the God of gods, and the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets…"

— Daniel 2:47
An astrologer of Babylon, wide-eyed The Astrologer

"There is not a man on the earth who can show the king's matter…"

— Daniel 2:10

Before the furnace

How well do you remember the dream?

1. Why did the king condemn ALL the wise men?

2. What did Daniel do first when he heard the decree?

3. What was the great statue made of?

4. What became of the stone that struck the statue?

What this story teaches

Panic → prayer, in that order.

Daniel heard the death sentence and called three friends to pray before he tried anything else. The answer came to the ones who asked.

“…that they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret.” Daniel 2 : 18

Pass the credit upward.

Handed the scoop of the century, Daniel opened with "this isn't me." The gifts God gives are for pointing back at the Giver.

“…but there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets.” Daniel 2 : 28

Empires end. One kingdom doesn't.

Gold, silver, bronze, iron — every superpower in the statue fell on schedule. The stone nobody carved is still growing.

“…a kingdom which will never be destroyed… it will stand forever.” Daniel 2 : 44
Read the scripture itself. Daniel 2 · World English Bible

Daniel 2

1In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams; and his spirit was troubled, and his sleep went from him.

2Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the enchanters, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king.

3The king said to them, “I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.”

4Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in the Syrian language, “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.”

5The king answered the Chaldeans, “The thing has gone from me. If you don’t make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you will be cut in pieces, and your houses will be made a dunghill.

6But if you show the dream and its interpretation, you will receive of me gifts and rewards and great honor. Therefore show me the dream and its interpretation.”

7They answered the second time and said, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.”

8The king answered, “I know of a certainty that you are trying to gain time, because you see the thing has gone from me.

9But if you don’t make known to me the dream, there is but one law for you; for you have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me, until the situation changes. Therefore tell me the dream, and I will know that you can show me its interpretation.”

10The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, “There is not a man on the earth who can show the king’s matter, because no king, lord, or ruler, has asked such a thing of any magician, or enchanter, or Chaldean.

11It is a rare thing that the king requires, and there is no other who can show it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.”

12Because of this, the king was angry and very furious, and commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be destroyed.

13So the decree went out, and the wise men were to be slain. They sought Daniel and his companions to be slain.

14Then Daniel returned answer with counsel and prudence to Arioch the captain of the king’s guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon.

15He answered Arioch the king’s captain, “Why is the decree so urgent from the king?” Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel.

16Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would appoint him a time, and he would show the king the interpretation.

17Then Daniel went to his house and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions:

18that they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his companions would not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

19Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.

20Daniel answered, “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever; for wisdom and might are his.

21He changes the times and the seasons. He removes kings, and sets up kings. He gives wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to those who have understanding.

22He reveals the deep and secret things. He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him.

23I thank you, and praise you, you God of my fathers, who have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we desired of you; for you have made known to us the king’s matter.”

24Therefore Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said this to him: “Don’t destroy the wise men of Babylon. Bring me in before the king, and I will show to the king the interpretation.”

25Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said this to him: “I have found a man of the children of the captivity of Judah who will make known to the king the interpretation.”

26The king answered Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen, and its interpretation?”

27Daniel answered before the king, and said, “The secret which the king has demanded can’t be shown to the king by wise men, enchanters, magicians, or soothsayers;

28but there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and he has made known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your head on your bed, are these:

29“As for you, O king, your thoughts came on your bed, what should happen hereafter; and he who reveals secrets has made known to you what will happen.

30But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but to the intent that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your heart.

31“You, O king, saw, and behold, a great image. This image, which was mighty, and whose brightness was excellent, stood before you; and its appearance was terrifying.

32As for this image, its head was of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of brass,

33its legs of iron, its feet part of iron, and part of clay.

34You saw until a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet that were of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces.

35Then the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold were broken in pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors. The wind carried them away, so that no place was found for them. The stone that struck the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.

36“This is the dream; and we will tell its interpretation before the king.

37You, O king, are king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the strength, and the glory.

38Wherever the children of men dwell, he has given the animals of the field and the birds of the sky into your hand, and has made you rule over them all. You are the head of gold.

39“After you, another kingdom will arise that is inferior to you; and another third kingdom of brass, which will rule over all the earth.

40The fourth kingdom will be strong as iron, because iron breaks in pieces and subdues all things; and as iron that crushes all these, it will break in pieces and crush.

41Whereas you saw the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, it will be a divided kingdom; but there will be in it of the strength of the iron, because you saw the iron mixed with miry clay.

42As the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom will be partly strong, and partly broken.

43Whereas you saw the iron mixed with miry clay, they will mingle themselves with the seed of men; but they won’t cling to one another, even as iron does not mix with clay.

44“In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, nor will its sovereignty be left to another people; but it will break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it will stand forever.

45Because you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God has made known to the king what will happen hereafter. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.”

46Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, worshiped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an offering and sweet odors to him.

47The king answered to Daniel, and said, “Of a truth your God is the God of gods, and the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since you have been able to reveal this secret.”

48Then the king made Daniel great, and gave him many great gifts, and made him rule over the whole province of Babylon, and to be chief governor over all the wise men of Babylon.

49Daniel requested of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the affairs of the province of Babylon; but Daniel was in the king’s gate.

World English Bible (WEB) — a public-domain modern English translation. Read it freely, share it freely.

THE STORY CONTINUES

The fourth man in the fire.

The king builds a golden god ninety feet tall and commands the world to bow. Three friends stand up instead — and meet Someone in the flames.

Read the episode ›

The Book of Daniel — animated film 40% in production

These scenes are real frames from the film.

Help us finish it — and every story like it — free for the world.

Support the Mission Back to the Storybook