Daniel 2:1

⁵I saw a dream which made me afraid; and the thoughts on my bed and the visions of my head troubled me.

¹On that night, the king couldn’t sleep. He commanded the book of records of the chronicles to be brought, and they were read to the king.

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

⁵They both dreamed a dream, each man his dream, in one night, each man according to the interpretation of his dream, the cup bearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were bound in the prison. ⁶Joseph came in to them in the morning, and saw them, and saw that they were sad. ⁷He asked Pharaoh’s officers who were with him in custody in his master’s house, saying, “Why do you look so sad today?”

⁸They said to him, “We have dreamed a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it.” Joseph said to them, “Don’t interpretations belong to God? Please tell it to me.”

¹⁵In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on men, in slumbering on the bed, ¹⁶then he opens the ears of men, and seals their instruction, ¹⁷that he may withdraw man from his purpose, and hide pride from man.

¹At the end of two full years, Pharaoh dreamed, and behold, he stood by the river. ²Behold, seven cattle came up out of the river. They were sleek and fat, and they fed in the marsh grass. ³Behold, seven other cattle came up after them out of the river, ugly and thin, and stood by the other cattle on the brink of the river. ⁴The ugly and thin cattle ate up the seven sleek and fat cattle. So Pharaoh awoke. ⁵He slept and dreamed a second time; and behold, seven heads of grain came up on one stalk, healthy and good. ⁶Behold, seven heads of grain, thin and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them. ⁷The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven healthy and full ears. Pharaoh awoke, and behold, it was a dream. ⁸In the morning, his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called for all of Egypt’s magicians and wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them to Pharaoh.

⁹Then the chief cup bearer spoke to Pharaoh, saying, “I remember my faults today. ¹⁰Pharaoh was angry with his servants, and put me in custody in the house of the captain of the guard, with the chief baker. ¹¹We dreamed a dream in one night, he and I. Each man dreamed according to the interpretation of his dream. ¹²There was with us there a young man, a Hebrew, servant to the captain of the guard, and we told him, and he interpreted to us our dreams. He interpreted to each man according to his dream. ¹³As he interpreted to us, so it was. He restored me to my office, and he hanged him.”

¹⁴Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon. He shaved himself, changed his clothing, and came in to Pharaoh. ¹⁵Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I have dreamed a dream, and there is no one who can interpret it. I have heard it said of you, that when you hear a dream you can interpret it.”

¹⁶Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, “It isn’t in me. God will give Pharaoh an answer of peace.”

¹⁷Pharaoh spoke to Joseph, “In my dream, behold, I stood on the brink of the river; ¹⁸and behold, seven fat and sleek cattle came up out of the river. They fed in the marsh grass; ¹⁹and behold, seven other cattle came up after them, poor and very ugly and thin, such as I never saw in all the land of Egypt for ugliness. ²⁰The thin and ugly cattle ate up the first seven fat cattle; ²¹and when they had eaten them up, it couldn’t be known that they had eaten them, but they were still ugly, as at the beginning. So I awoke. ²²I saw in my dream, and behold, seven heads of grain came up on one stalk, full and good; ²³and behold, seven heads of grain, withered, thin, and blasted with the east wind, sprung up after them. ²⁴The thin heads of grain swallowed up the seven good heads of grain. I told it to the magicians, but there was no one who could explain it to me.”

²⁵Joseph said to Pharaoh, “The dream of Pharaoh is one. What God is about to do he has declared to Pharaoh. ²⁶The seven good cattle are seven years; and the seven good heads of grain are seven years. The dream is one. ²⁷The seven thin and ugly cattle that came up after them are seven years, and also the seven empty heads of grain blasted with the east wind; they will be seven years of famine. ²⁸That is the thing which I have spoken to Pharaoh. God has shown Pharaoh what he is about to do. ²⁹Behold, seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of Egypt are coming. ³⁰Seven years of famine will arise after them, and all the plenty will be forgotten in the land of Egypt. The famine will consume the land, ³¹and the plenty will not be known in the land by reason of that famine which follows; for it will be very grievous. ³²The dream was doubled to Pharaoh, because the thing is established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass.

³³“Now therefore let Pharaoh look for a discreet and wise man, and set him over the land of Egypt. ³⁴Let Pharaoh do this, and let him appoint overseers over the land, and take up the fifth part of the land of Egypt’s produce in the seven plenteous years. ³⁵Let them gather all the food of these good years that come, and store grain under the hand of Pharaoh for food in the cities, and let them keep it. ³⁶The food will be to supply the land against the seven years of famine, which will be in the land of Egypt; so that the land will not perish through the famine.”

¹In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. ²The Lord^[+] gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some of the vessels of the house of God; ^[+] and he carried them into the land of Shinar to the house of his god. He brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god.

³The king spoke to Ashpenaz, the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring in some of the children of Israel, even of the royal offspring^[+] and of the nobles: ⁴youths in whom was no defect, but well-favored, skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding science, and who had the ability to stand in the king’s palace; and that he should teach them the learning and the language of the Chaldeans. ⁵The king appointed for them a daily portion of the king’s delicacies and of the wine which he drank, and that they should be nourished three years, that at its end they should stand before the king.

⁵Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. He did that which was evil in the LORD his God’s sight. ⁶Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against him, and bound him in fetters to carry him to Babylon. ⁷Nebuchadnezzar also carried some of the vessels of the LORD’s house to Babylon, and put them in his temple at Babylon.

¹The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah (this was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon),

¹⁸Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting. No musical instruments were brought before him; and his sleep fled from him.