Daniel 2
1 In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams that troubled his spirit, and sleep escaped him.
And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, dreamed hath Nebuchadnezzar dreams, and his spirit doth move itself, and his sleep hath been against him;
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,
and the king saith to call for scribes, and for enchanters, and for sorcerers, and for Chaldeans, to declare to the king his dreams. And they come in and stand before the king;
3 he said to them, “I have had a dream, and my spirit is anxious to understand it.”
and the king saith to them, 'A dream I have dreamed, and moved is my spirit to know the dream.'
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.”
And the Chaldeans speak to the king [in] Aramaean, 'O king, to the ages live, tell the dream to thy servants, and the interpretation we do shew.'
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.
The king hath answered and said to the Chaldeans, 'The thing from me is gone; if ye do not cause me to know the dream and its interpretation, pieces ye are made, and your houses are made dunghills;
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.”
and if the dream and its interpretation ye do shew, gifts, and fee, and great glory ye receive from before me, therefore the dream and its interpretation shew ye me.'
7 They answered a second time, “Let the king tell the dream to his servants, and we will give the interpretation.”
They have answered a second time, and are saying, 'Let the king tell the dream to his servants, and the interpretation we do shew.
8 The king replied, “I know for sure that you are stalling for time, because you see that my word is final.
The king hath answered and said, 'Of a truth I know that time ye are gaining, because that ye have seen that the thing is gone from me,
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.”
[so] that, if the dream ye do not cause me to know — one is your sentence, seeing a word lying and corrupt ye have prepared to speak before me, till that the time is changed, therefore the dream tell ye to me, then do I know that its interpretation ye do shew me.'
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 Chaldeans have answered before the king, and are saying, 'There is not a man on the earth who is able to shew the king's matter; therefore, no king, chief, and ruler, hath asked such a thing as this of any scribe, and enchanter, and Chaldean;
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.”
and the thing that the king is asking [is] precious, and others are there not that do shew it before the king, save the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.'
12 This response made the king so furious with anger that he gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.
Therefore the king hath been angry and very wroth, and hath said to destroy all the wise men of Babylon;
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.
And the sentence hath gone forth, and the wise men are being slain, and they have sought Daniel and his companions to be slain.
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.
Then Daniel hath replied [with] counsel and discretion to Arioch chief of the executioners of the king, who hath gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon.
15 “Why is the decree from the king so harsh?” he asked. At this time Arioch explained the situation to Daniel.
He hath answered and said to Arioch the king's captain, 'Wherefore [is] the sentence so urgent from before the king?' Then Arioch hath made the thing known to Daniel,
16 So Daniel went in and asked the king to give him some time, so that he could give him the interpretation.
and Daniel hath gone up, and sought of the king that he would give him time to shew the interpretation to the king.
17 Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,
Then Daniel to his house hath gone, and to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, he hath made the thing known,
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.
and to seek mercies from before the God of the heavens concerning this secret, that they destroy not Daniel and his companions 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
Then to Daniel, in a vision of the night, the secret hath been revealed. Then hath Daniel blessed the God of the heavens.
20 and declared: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to Him.
Daniel hath answered and said, 'Let the name of God be blessed from age even unto age, for wisdom and might — for they are His.
21 He changes the times and seasons; He removes kings and establishes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.
And He is changing times and seasons, He is causing kings to pass away, and He is raising up kings; He is giving wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to those possessing understanding.
22 He reveals the deep and hidden things; He knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with Him.
He is revealing deep and hidden things; He hath known what [is] in darkness, and light with Him hath dwelt.
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.”
Thee, O God of my fathers, I am thanking and praising, for wisdom and might Thou hast given to me; and now, Thou hast caused me to know that which we have sought from Thee, for the king's matter Thou hast caused us to know.'
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.”
Therefore Daniel hath gone up unto Arioch, whom the king hath appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon; he hath gone, and thus hath said to him, 'The wise men of Babylon thou dost not destroy, bring me up before the king, and the interpretation to the king I do shew.'
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.”
Then Arioch in haste hath brought up Daniel before the king, and thus hath said to him — 'I have found a man of the sons of the Removed of Judah, who the interpretation to the king doth make known.'
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 hath answered and said to Daniel, whose name [is] Belteshazzar, 'Art thou able to cause me to know the dream that I have seen, and its interpretation?'
27 Daniel answered the king, “No wise man, enchanter, medium, or magician can explain to the king the mystery of which he inquires.
Daniel hath answered before the king and said, 'The secret that the king is asking, the wise men, the enchanters, the scribes, the soothsayers, are not able to shew to the king;
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 the heavens, a revealer of secrets, and He hath made known to king Nebuchadnezzar that which [is] to be in the latter end of the days. 'Thy dream and the visions of thy head on thy bed are 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.
Thou, O king, thy thoughts on thy bed have come up [concerning] that which [is] to be after this, and the Revealer of secrets hath caused thee to know that which [is] to be.
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.
As to me — not for [any] wisdom that is in me above any living hath this secret been revealed to me; but for the intent that the interpretation to the king they make known, and the thoughts of thy heart thou dost know.
31 As you, O king, were watching, a great statue appeared. A great and dazzling statue stood before you, and its form was awesome.
'Thou, O king, wast looking, and lo, a certain great image. This image [is] mighty, and its brightness excellent; it is standing over-against thee, and its appearance [is] terrible.
32 The head of the statue was pure gold, its chest and arms were silver, its belly and thighs were bronze,
This image! its head [is] of good gold, its breasts and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of brass;
33 its legs were iron, and its feet were part iron and part clay.
its legs of iron, its feet, part of them of iron, and part of them of 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.
Thou wast looking till that a stone hath been cut out without hands, and it hath smitten the image on its feet, that [are] of iron and of clay, and it hath broken them small;
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 broken small together have been the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, and they have been as chaff from the summer threshing-floor, and carried them away hath the wind, and no place hath been found for them: and the stone that smote the image hath become a great mountain, and hath filled all the land.
36 This was the dream; now we will tell the king its interpretation.
This [is] the dream, and its interpretation we do tell before the king.
37 You, O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given sovereignty, power, strength, and glory.
'Thou, O king, art a king of kings, for the God of the heavens a kingdom, strength, and might, and glory, hath given to thee;
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.
and whithersoever sons of men are dwelling, the beast of the field, and the fowl of the heavens, He hath given into thy hand, and hath caused thee to rule over them all; thou [art] this 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.
And after thee doth rise up another kingdom lower than those, and another third kingdom of brass, that doth rule overall the earth.
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.
And the fourth kingdom is strong as iron, because that iron is breaking small, and making feeble, all [things], even as iron that is breaking all these, it beateth small and breaketh.
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.
As to that which thou hast seen: the feet and toes, part of them potter's clay, and part of them iron, the kingdom is divided: and some of the standing of the iron [is] to be in it, because that thou hast seen the iron mixed with miry 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 to the toes of the feet, part of them iron, and part of them clay: some part of the kingdom is strong, and some part of it is 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.
Because thou hast seen iron mixed with miry clay, they are mixing themselves with the seed of men: and they are not adhering one with another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.
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.
'And in the days of these kings raise up doth the God of the heavens a kingdom that is not destroyed — to the age, and its kingdom to another people is not left: it beateth small and endeth all these kingdoms, and it standeth to the age.
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.”
Because that thou hast seen that out of the mountain cut hath been a stone without hands, and it hath beaten small the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king that which [is] to be after this; and the dream [is] true, and its interpretation stedfast.
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 hath king Nebuchadnezzar fallen on his face, and to Daniel he hath done obeisance, and present, and sweet things, he hath said to pour out 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 hath answered Daniel and said, 'Of a truth [it is] that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since thou hast been able to reveal this secret.'
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 hath made Daniel great, and many great gifts he hath given to him, and hath caused him to rule over all the province of Babylon, and chief of the perfects over 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.
And Daniel hath sought from the king, and he hath appointed over the work of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, and Daniel [is] in the gate of the king.
