I had a dream, and it frightened me; while in my bed, the images and visions in my mind alarmed me.
Parallel translations
- WEB I saw a dream which made me afraid; and the thoughts on my bed and the visions of my head troubled me.
- KJV I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts upon my bed and the visions of my head troubled me.
- NKJV I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts on my bed and the visions of my head troubled me.
- NASB I saw a dream and it startled me; and these appearances as I lay on my bed and the visions in my mind kept alarming me.
- NLT But one night I had a dream that frightened me; I saw visions that terrified me as I lay in my bed.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
A frightening dream disturbs the king's rest. God breaks into his comfort with a warning.
Overview
The dream troubles a man who thought himself untouchable, exposing the limits of his control. God often unsettles the proud to awaken them to truth. This fearful vision becomes the means by which the king will be led to repentance.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Dan 2:1In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams that troubled his spirit, and sleep escaped him.
- Gen 41:1After two full years had passed, Pharaoh had a dream: He was standing beside the Nile,
- Dan 7:28Thus ends the matter. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts troubled me greatly, and my face turned pale. But I kept the matter to myself.”
- Dan 5:5–6At that moment the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. As the king watched the hand that was writing,
- Job 7:13–14When I think my bed will comfort me and my couch will ease my complaint,
- Dan 2:28–29But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the latter days. Your dream and the visions that came into your mind as you lay on your bed were these:
- Dan 5:10Hearing the outcry of the king and his nobles, the queen entered the banquet hall. “O king, may you live forever!” she said. “Do not let your thoughts terrify you, or your face grow pale.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Daniel sees the stone cut without hands that shatters the kingdoms, and 'one like a son of man' given everlasting dominion — titles and visions Jesus claims as his own.
How Daniel 4:5 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.