< Daniel 2 >

1 In the second year of [his] reign Nabuchodonosor dreamed a dream, and his spirit was amazed, and his sleep departed from him.
And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar has dreamed dreams, and his spirit moves itself, and his sleep has been against him;
2 And the king gave orders to call the enchanters, and the magicians, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, to declare to the king his dreams. And they came and stood before the king.
and the king says to call for enchanters, and for conjurers, and for sorcerers, and for Chaldeans, to declare to the king his dreams. And they come in and stand before the king;
3 And the king said to them, I have dreamed, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream.
and the king says to them, “I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit is moved to know the dream.”
4 And the Chaldeans spoke to the king in the Syrian language, [saying], O king, live for ever: do thou tell the dream to thy servants, and we will declare the interpretation.
And the Chaldeans speak to the king [in] Aramaic, “O king, live for all ages, tell the dream to your servants, and we show the interpretation.”
5 The king answered the Chaldeans, The thing has departed from me: if ye do not make known to me the dream and the interpretation, ye shall be destroyed, and your houses shall be spoiled.
The king has answered and said to the Chaldeans, “The thing is gone from me; if you do not cause me to know the dream and its interpretation, you are made pieces, and your houses are made dunghills;
6 But if ye make known to me the dream, and the interpretation thereof, ye shall receive of me gifts and presents and much honour: only tell me the dream, and the interpretation thereof.
and if the dream and its interpretation you show, gifts, and fee, and great glory you receive from before me, therefore the dream and its interpretation you show me.”
7 They answered the second time, and said, Let the king tell the dream to his servants, and we will declare the interpretation.
They have answered a second time, and are saying, “Let the king tell the dream to his servants, and we show the interpretation.”
8 And the king answered and said, I verily know that ye are trying to gain time, because ye see that the thing has gone from me.
The king has answered and said, “Of a truth I know that you are gaining time, because that you have seen that the thing is gone from me,
9 If then ye do not tell me the dream, I know that ye have concerted to utter before me a false and corrupt tale, until the time shall have past: tell me my dream, and I shall know that ye will also declare to me the interpretation thereof.
[so] that, if you do not cause me to know the dream—one is your sentence, seeing a lying and corrupt word you have prepared to speak before me, until the time is changed, therefore tell the dream to me, then I know that you show me its interpretation.”
10 The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is no man upon the earth, who shall be able to make known the king’s matter: forasmuch as no great king or ruler asks such a question of an enchanter, magician, or Chaldean.
The Chaldeans have answered before the king, and are saying, “There is not a man on the earth who is able to show the king’s matter; therefore, no king, chief, and ruler, has asked such a thing as this of any scribe, and enchanter, and Chaldean;
11 For the question which the king asks is difficult, and there is no one else who shall answer it before the king, but the gods, whose dwelling is not with any flesh.
and the thing that the king is asking [is] precious, and there are no others that show it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.”
12 Then the king in rage and anger commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.
Therefore the king has been furious and very angry, and has said to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.
13 So the decree went forth, and they began to slay the wise men; and they sought Daniel and his fellows to slay [them].
And the sentence has gone forth, and the wise men are being slain, and they have sought Daniel and his companions to be slain.
14 Then Daniel answered [with] counsel and prudence to Arioch the captain of the royal guard, who was gone forth to kill the wise men of Babylon; [saying],
Then Daniel has replied [with] counsel and discretion to Arioch chief of the executioners of the king, who has gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon.
15 Chief magistrate of the king, wherefore has the peremptory command proceeded from the king? So Arioch made known the matter to Daniel.
He has answered and said to Arioch the king’s captain, “Why [is] the sentence so urgent from before the king?” Then Arioch has made the thing known to Daniel,
16 And Daniel intreated the king to give him time, and that he might [thus] declare to the king the interpretation of it.
and Daniel has gone up, and sought of the king that he would give him time to show the interpretation to the king.
17 So Daniel went into his house, and made known the matter to Ananias, and Misael, and Azarias, his friends.
Then Daniel has gone to his house, and to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, he has made the thing known,
18 And they sought mercies from the God of heaven concerning this mystery; that Daniel and his friends might not perish 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 do not destroy Daniel and his companions with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
19 Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night: and Daniel blessed the God of heaven, and said,
Then to Daniel, in a vision of the night, the secret has been revealed. Then Daniel has blessed the God of the heavens.
20 May the name of God be blessed from everlasting and to everlasting: for wisdom and understanding are his.
Daniel has answered and said, “Let the Name of God be blessed from age even to age, for wisdom and might—for they are His.
21 And he changes times and seasons: he appoints kings, and removes [them], giving wisdom to the wise, and prudence to them that have understanding:
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 deep and secret [matters]; knowing what is in darkness, and the light is with him.
He is revealing deep and hidden things; He has known what [is] in darkness, and light has dwelt with Him.
23 I give thanks to thee, and praise [thee], O God of my fathers, for thou hast given me wisdom and power, and hast made known to me the things which we asked of thee; and thou hast made known to me the king’s vision.
You, O God of my fathers, I am thanking and praising, for wisdom and might You have given to me; and now, You have caused me to know that which we have sought from You, for the king’s matter You have caused us to know.”
24 And Daniel came to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon, and said to him; Destroy not the wise men of Babylon, but bring me in before the king, and I will declare the interpretation to the king.
Therefore Daniel has gone up to Arioch, whom the king has appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon; he has gone, and thus has said to him, “You do not destroy the wise men of Babylon, bring me up before the king, and I show the interpretation to the king.”
25 Then Arioch in haste brought in Daniel before the king, and said to him, I have found a man of the children of the captivity of Judea, who will declare the interpretation to the king.
Then Arioch in haste has brought up Daniel before the king, and thus has said to him, “I have found a man of the sons of the expulsion of Judah, who makes known the interpretation to the king.”
26 And the king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Baltasar, Canst thou declare to me the dream which I saw, and the interpretation thereof?
The king has answered and said to Daniel, whose name [is] Belteshazzar, “Are you able to cause me to know the dream that I have seen, and its interpretation?”
27 And Daniel answered before the king, and said, The mystery which the king asks [the explanation of] is not [in the power] of the wise men, magicians, enchanters, [or] soothsayers to declare to the king.
Daniel has 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 show to the king;
28 But there is a God in heaven revealing mysteries, and he has made known to king Nabuchodonosor what things must come to pass in the last days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are as follows,
but there is a God in the heavens, a revealer of secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar that which [is] to be in the latter end of the days. Your dream and the visions of your head on your bed are these:
29 O king: thy thoughts upon thy bed arose [as to] what must come to pass hereafter: and he that reveals mysteries has made known to thee what must come to pass.
You, O king, your thoughts on your bed have come up [concerning] that which [is] to be after this, and the Revealer of secrets has caused you to know that which [is] to be.
30 Moreover, this mystery has not been revealed to me by reason of wisdom which is in me beyond all [others] living, but for the sake of making known the interpretation to the king, that thou mightest know the thoughts of thine heart.
As for me—not for [any] wisdom that is in me above any living has this secret been revealed to me; but for the intent that the interpretation to the king they make known, and the thoughts of your heart you know.
31 Thou, O king, sawest, and behold an image: that image was great, and the appearance of it excellent, standing before thy face; and the form of it was terrible.
You, O king, were looking, and behold, a certain great image. This image [is] mighty, and its brightness excellent; it is standing before you, and its appearance [is] terrible.
32 [It was] an image, the head of which was of fine gold, its hands and breast and arms of silver, [its] belly and thighs of brass,
This image! Its head [is] of fine gold, its breasts and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze;
33 its legs of iron, its feet, part of iron and part of earthenware.
its legs of iron, its feet, part of them of iron, and part of them of clay.
34 Thou sawest until a stone was cut out of a mountain without hands, and it smote the image upon its feet of iron and earthenware, and utterly reduced them to powder.
You were looking until a stone has been cut out without hands, and it has struck the image on its feet, that [are] of iron and of clay, and it has broken them small;
35 Then once for all the earthenware, the iron, the brass, the silver, the gold, were ground to powder, and became as chaff from the summer threshingfloor; and the violence of the wind carried them away, and no place was found for them: and the stone which had smitten the image became a great mountain, and filled all the earth.
then broken small together have been the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, and they have been as chaff from the summer threshing-floor, and the wind has carried them away, and no place has been found for them: and the stone that struck the image has become a great mountain, and has filled all the land.
36 This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king.
This [is] the dream, and its interpretation we tell before the king.
37 Thou, O king, art a king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given a powerful and strong and honourable kingdom,
You, O king, are a king of kings, for the God of the heavens a kingdom, strength, and might, and glory, has given to you;
38 in every place where the children of men dwell: and he has given into thine hand the wild beasts of the field, and the birds of the sky and the fish of the sea, and he has made thee lord of all.
and wherever sons of men are dwelling, the beast of the field, and the bird of the heavens, He has given into your hand, and has caused you to rule over them all; you [are] this head of gold.
39 Thou art the head of gold. And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and a third kingdom which is the brass, which shall have dominion over all the earth;
And after you another kingdom arises lower than those, and another third kingdom of bronze, that rules over all the earth.
40 and a fourth kingdom, which shall be strong as iron: as iron beats to powder and subdues all things, so shall it beat to powder and subdue.
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 beats small and breaks.
41 And whereas thou sawest the feet and the toes, part of earthenware and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet there shall be in it of the strength of iron, as thou sawest the iron mixed with earthenware.
As for that which you have 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 you have seen the iron mixed with miry clay.
42 And [whereas] the toes of the feet were part of iron and part of earthenware, part of the kingdom shall be strong, and [part] of it shall be broken.
As for 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 Whereas thou sawest the iron mixed with earthenware, they shall be mingled with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave together, as the iron does not mix itself with earthenware.
Because you have seen iron mixed with miry clay, they are mixing themselves with the seed of men: and they are not adhering with one another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.
44 And in the days of those kings the God of heaven shall set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed: and his kingdom shall not be left to another people, [but] it shall beat to pieces and grind to powder all [other] kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.
And in the days of these kings the God of the heavens raises up a kingdom that is not destroyed for all time, and its kingdom is not left to another people: it beats small and ends all these kingdoms, and it stands for all time.
45 Whereas thou sawest that a stone was cut out of a mountain without hands, and it beat to pieces the earthenware, the iron, the brass, the silver, the gold; the great God has made known to the king what must happen hereafter: and the dream is true, and the interpretation thereof sure.
Because that you have seen that out of the mountain a stone has been cut without hands, and it has beaten the iron small, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God has made known to the king that which [is] to be after this; and the dream [is] true, and its interpretation steadfast.”
46 Then king Nabuchodonosor fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and gave orders to offer to him gifts and incense.
Then King Nebuchadnezzar has fallen on his face, and to Daniel he has done homage, and present, and sweet things, he has said to pour out to him.
47 And the king answered and said to Daniel, Of a truth your God is a God of gods, and Lord of kings, who reveals mysteries; for thou hast been able to reveal this mystery.
The king has 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 you have been able to reveal this secret.”
48 And the king promoted Daniel, and gave him great and abundant gifts, and set him over the whole province of Babylon, and [made him] chief satrap over all the wise men of Babylon.
Then the king has made Daniel great, and many great gifts he has given to him, and has caused him to rule over all the province of Babylon, and chief of the prefects over all the wise men of Babylon.
49 And Daniel asked of the king, and he appointed Sedrach, Misach, and Abdenago, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel was in the king’s palace.
And Daniel has sought from the king, and he has appointed over the work of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, and Daniel [is] in the gate of the king.

< Daniel 2 >