Daniel 2

1 In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams that troubled his spirit, and sleep escaped him.

In the second year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign the king had dreams that upset him so much that he found it difficult to sleep.

2 So the king gave orders to summon the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and astrologers to explain his dreams. When they came and stood before the king,

So the king summoned the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and astrologers to tell him what he had dreamed. They came in and stood before him.

3 he said to them, “I have had a dream, and my spirit is anxious to understand it.”

“I've had a dream that has really upset me,” he told them. “I need to know what it means.”

4 Then the astrologers answered the king in Aramaic, “O king, may you live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation.”

The astrologers answered the king in Aramaic, “May Your Majesty the king live forever! Tell us your dream and we your servants will interpret it for you.”

5 The king replied to the astrologers, “My word is final: If you do not tell me the dream and its interpretation, you will be cut into pieces and your houses will be reduced to rubble.

“I can't recall it,” the king told the astrologers. “If you can't reveal the dream to me, and its meaning, you will be cut into pieces and your houses will be totally destroyed!

6 But if you tell me the dream and its interpretation, you will receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. So tell me the dream and its interpretation.”

But if you can tell me the dream and its meaning you will receive from me gifts, rewards, and great honor. So tell me the dream and what it means!”

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

Again they said the same thing: “If Your Majesty the king would tell us his servants the dream, we will explain what it means.”

8 The king replied, “I know for sure that you are stalling for time, because you see that my word is final.

“It's obvious to me that you're just trying to buy time!” said the king. “You can see that I can't remember the dream.

9 If you do not tell me the dream, there is only one decree for you. You have conspired to speak before me false and fraudulent words, hoping the situation will change. Therefore tell me the dream, and I will know that you can give me its interpretation.”

If you can't reveal the dream to me, you will all receive the same punishment! You have conspired against me, telling me lies, hoping things will change. So tell me what my dream was and then I'll know that you can explain what it means.”

10 The astrologers answered the king, “No one on earth can do what the king requests! No king, however great and powerful, has ever asked anything like this of any magician, enchanter, or astrologer.

The astrologers answered the king, “No one on earth could tell the king what he dreamed! Never before has a king, however great and powerful, demanded this of any magician, enchanter, or astrologer!

11 What the king requests is so difficult that no one can tell it to him except the gods, whose dwelling is not with mortals.”

What Your Majesty is asking is impossible! No one can tell Your Majesty what you dreamed, except the gods, and they do not live among us mortals.”

12 This response made the king so furious with anger that he gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.

This made the king extremely angry, and he ordered all the wise men of Babylon executed.

13 So the decree went out that the wise men were to be executed, and men went to look for Daniel and his friends to execute them.

The decree was issued. The wise men were about to be executed, and the king's men went looking for Daniel and his friends.

14 When Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard, had gone out to execute the wise men of Babylon, Daniel replied with discretion and tact.

Daniel approached Arioch, the commander of the imperial guard, whom the king had put in charge of the order to execute all the wise men of Babylon. Wisely and tactfully

15 “Why is the decree from the king so harsh?” he asked. At this time Arioch explained the situation to Daniel.

Daniel asked him, “Why would the king issue such a harsh decree?” So Arioch explained to Daniel what had happened.

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

Daniel immediately went to see the king and asked for more time to explain the dream and its meaning to him.

17 Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,

Then Daniel went home and shared with Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah what was going on.

18 urging them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his friends would not be killed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

He told them to pray to the God of heaven, asking for help regarding this mystery, so that he and his friends would not be killed along with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

19 During the night, the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision, and he blessed the God of heaven

That night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven:

20 and declared: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to Him.

“Praise the wonderful nature of God forever and ever, for he is wise and powerful.

21 He changes the times and seasons; He removes kings and establishes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.

He is in charge of time and history. He removes kings, and he sets kings in place. He gives wisdom to make people wise; he gives knowledge to people so they can understand.

22 He reveals the deep and hidden things; He knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with Him.

He reveals deep, mysterious things. He knows what lies in darkness, and light lives in his presence.

23 To You, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, because You have given me wisdom and power. And now You have made known to me what we have requested, for You have made known to us the dream of the king.”

I give thanks and praise to you, God of my fathers, for you have given me wisdom and power. Now you have revealed to me what we asked you; you have revealed to us the king's dream.”

24 Therefore Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon, and said to him, “Do not execute the wise men of Babylon! Bring me before the king, and I will give him the interpretation.”

So Daniel went to Arioch whom the king had ordered to execute the wise men of Babylon and told him, “Don't execute the wise men of Babylon! Take me to see the king and I will explain to him his dream.”

25 Arioch hastily brought Daniel before the king and said to him, “I have found a man among the exiles from Judah who will tell the king the interpretation.”

Arioch immediately took Daniel to the king and told him, “I've found one of the captives from Judah who can tell Your Majesty what your dream means.”

26 The king responded to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to tell me what I saw in the dream, as well as its interpretation?”

The king asked Daniel (also called Belteshazzar), “Are you really able to tell me what my dream was, and what it means?”

27 Daniel answered the king, “No wise man, enchanter, medium, or magician can explain to the king the mystery of which he inquires.

“No wise men or enchanters or magicians or diviners can explain the mystery Your Majesty wants to know,” Daniel replied.

28 But 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:

“But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has revealed to King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the last days. Your dream and the visions that came to your mind as you were lying in bed were these.

29 As you lay on your bed, O king, your thoughts turned to the future, and the Revealer of Mysteries made known to you what will happen.

As Your Majesty lay there, your thoughts turned to the future, and the revealer of mysteries showed you what would take place.

30 And to me this mystery has been revealed, not because I have more wisdom than any man alive, but in order that the interpretation might be made known to the king, and that you may understand the thoughts of your mind.

It's not because I have any more wisdom than anyone else that this mystery has been revealed to me, but to explain to Your Majesty what you were thinking about so you could understand.

31 As you, O king, were watching, a great statue appeared. A great and dazzling statue stood before you, and its form was awesome.

Your Majesty, as you looked, there before you stood a great statue. The statue standing in front of you was huge, and blazingly bright. It looked terrifying!

32 The head of the statue was pure gold, its chest and arms were silver, its belly and thighs were bronze,

The head of the statue was gold, the chest and arms were silver, its middle and thighs were bronze,

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

its legs were iron, and its feet were iron and baked clay.

34 As you watched, a stone was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay, and crushed them.

While you were watching, a stone was quarried, but not by human hands. It struck the iron and clay feet of the statue and smashed them to pieces.

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

Then the rest of the statue—the bronze, the silver, and the gold—broke into pieces like the iron and clay. The wind blew them all away like chaff from the summer threshing floor, so that no trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.

36 This was the dream; now we will tell the king its interpretation.

This was the dream, and now we will explain what it means to the king.

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

Your Majesty, you are the king of kings to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, and power, strength, and glory.

38 Wherever the sons of men or beasts of the field or birds of the air dwell, He has given them into your hand and has made you ruler over them all. You are that head of gold.

He gave you control over all peoples, as well as the wild animals and birds. He made you ruler of all of them. You are the head of gold.

39 But after you, there will arise another kingdom, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule the whole earth.

But after you another kingdom will rise that is inferior to your kingdom and will replace yours. After that a third kingdom that is bronze will rise and rule over the whole world.

40 Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom as strong as iron; for iron shatters and crushes all things, and like iron that crushes all things, it will shatter and crush all the others.

The fourth kingdom will be strong as iron and in the same way that iron crushes and smashes everything; it will crush and smash all others.

41 And just as you saw that the feet and toes were made partly of fired clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom, yet some of the strength of iron will be in it—just as you saw the iron mixed with clay.

You saw the feet and toes made from iron and baked clay, and this indicates it will be a divided kingdom. It will have some of the strength of iron but mixed with clay.

42 And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle.

As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, the kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle.

43 As you saw the iron mixed with clay, so the peoples will mix with one another, but will not hold together any more than iron mixes with clay.

In the same way that you saw the iron mixed with ordinary clay, so the people will mix but they will not stick together just as iron and clay do not mix.

44 In the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will shatter all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, but will itself stand forever.

During the time of these kings the God of heaven will set up an eternal kingdom that will never be destroyed or taken over by others. It will crush all these kingdoms, bringing them to an end, and it will last forever,

45 And just as you saw a stone being cut out of the mountain without human hands, and it shattered the iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold, so the great God has told the king what will happen in the future. The dream is true, and its interpretation is trustworthy.”

in the same way that you saw the stone quarried from the mountain, but not by human hands, crush the iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold. The great God has revealed to Your Majesty what is to come. The dream is true, and the explanation is trustworthy.”

46 At this, King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, paid homage to Daniel, and ordered that an offering of incense be presented to him.

Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell down before Daniel and worshiped him, and ordered offerings of grain and incense to be made to him.

47 The king said to Daniel, “Your God is truly the God of gods and Lord of kings, the Revealer of Mysteries, since you were able to reveal this mystery.”

The king said to Daniel, “Truly, your God is the God of gods, the Lord of kings, the revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery.”

48 Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many generous gifts. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon.

Then the king promoted Daniel to a high position and gave him many expensive gifts, making him governor over the whole province of Babylon and head of all the wise men of Babylon.

49 And at Daniel’s request, the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to manage the province of Babylon, while Daniel remained in the king’s court.

At Daniel's request, the king placed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in charge of the province of Babylon, and Daniel remained at the king's court.