Daniel 2

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

And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, whereat his spirit was troubled, and his sleep that was upon him was gone.

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

Then said the king to call the magicians, and the astrologers and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, to solve for the king his dreams: and they came and placed themselves before the king.

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

And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.

4 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.”

Then spoke the Chaldeans to the king in Aramic, O king, live for ever: recite the dream to thy servants, and we will tell the interpretation.

5 “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!

The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The decree is firmly resolved on by me: If ye do not make known unto me the dream with its interpretation, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be changed into a dunghill.

6 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!”

But if ye tell the dream and its interpretation, then shall ye receive gifts and rewards and great honor from me. Therefore tell me the dream and its interpretation.

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

They answered the second time and said, Let the king recite the dream to his servants, and we will tell its interpretation.

8 “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.

The king answered and said, I know of a certainty that ye wish to gain time, because ye see the decree is firmly resolved on by me:

9 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.”

That if ye do not make known unto me the dream, there is but one sentence for you; for ye have prepared lying and deceptive words to speak before me, till the time be changed. Therefore relate to me the dream, and I shall know that ye can tell me its interpretation.

10 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!

The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is not a man upon the habitable earth that can tell the king's matter: wherefore no mighty and powerful king ever hath asked such a thing of any magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean.

11 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.”

And the matter which the king requireth is difficult, and there is no other that can tell it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.

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

For all this cause the king became angry, and very furious; and he commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.

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

And the law went forth and [some of] the wise men were slain: and they sought Daniel and his companions to slay them.

14 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

Then made Daniel representations with intelligence and prudence to Aryoch the captain of the king's guard, who was gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon.

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

He commenced and said to Aryoch the king's commander, Wherefore is the law so hasty from the king? Then made Aryoch the matter known to Daniel.

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

But Daniel went in, and requested of the king that he would give him time, that he might tell the interpretation to the king.

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

Then went Daniel to his house, and made the matter known to Chananyah, Mishael, and 'Azaryah, his companions.

18 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.

In order that they might pray for mercy of the God of heaven concerning this secret: so that Daniel and his companions might not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

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

Thereupon was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a vision of the night. Then did Daniel bless the God of heaven.

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

Daniel commenced and said, May the name of God be blessed from eternity and to all eternity; for wisdom and might are his;

21 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.

And he changeth times and seasons; he removeth kings, and raiseth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to those that possess understanding.

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

He it is that revealeth what is deep and secret; he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.

23 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.”

To thee, O God of my father, do I give thanks, and I praise thee, who hast given me wisdom and might, and because thou hast made known unto me what we prayed for of thee; for thou hast made known unto us the king's matter.

24 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.”

Therefore did Daniel go in unto Aryoch, whom the king had ordered to destroy the wise men of Babylon, He went and said thus unto him, the wise men of Babylon must thou not destroy: bring me before the king, and I will tell unto the king the interpretation.

25 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.”

Then did Aryoch bring Daniel before the king in haste, and thus he said unto him, Here have I found a man out of the children of the exiles of Judah, who will make known unto the king the interpretation.

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

The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Art thou able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and its interpretation?

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

Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded no wise men, astrologers, magicians, or soothsayers, can tell unto the king;

28 “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.

But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and he hath made known to king Nebuchadnezzar what is to be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy couch, were these.

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

As for thee, O king, thy thoughts, when thou wast on thy couch, rose [within thee] concerning what is to come to pass hereafter; and the Revealer of secrets hath made known to thee what is to come to pass.

30 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.

But as for me, this secret hath not been revealed to me because of any wisdom that is in me more than in all other living; but for the sake that men might make known the interpretation to the king, and that thou mightest understand the thoughts of thy heart.

31 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!

Thou, O king, sawest, and behold there was a large image; this image was mighty, and its brightness was excellent; it stood opposite to thee; and its form was fear-inspiring.

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

As regardeth this image, its head was of fine gold, its breast and its arms were of silver, its belly and its thighs of copper,

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

Its legs of iron, its feet part of them of iron and part of them of clay.

34 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.

Thou didst look on till the moment that a stone tore itself loose, not through [human] hands, and it struck the image upon its feet that were of iron and clay, and ground them to pieces.

35 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.

Then were the iron, the clay, the copper, the silver, and the gold ground up together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors; and the wind carried them away, that no trace was found of them; and the stone that had stricken the image became a mighty mountain, and filled the whole earth.

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

This is the dream; and its interpretation will we relate before the king.

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

Thou, O king, art a king of kings, to whom the God of heaven hath given kingdom, power, and strength, and honor:

38 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.

And wheresoever the children of men dwell, hath he given the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven into thy hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art the head of gold.

39 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.

And after thee there will arise another kingdom inferior to thee; and another third kingdom of copper, which will bear rule over all the earth.

40 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.

And the fourth kingdom will be as strong as iron; forasmuch as iron grindeth up and beateth down all things, and as iron that breaketh [every thing], will it grind up and break all these.

41 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.

And that thou sawest the feet and toes, and part of them of potter's clay, and part of them of iron, [signifieth] that it will be a divided kingdom, although there will be in it of the strength of the iron; forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mingled with miry clay.

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

And as the toes of the feet were part of them of iron, and part of them of clay: so will the kingdom be partly strong and partly brittle.

43 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.

And whereas thou sawest iron mingled with miry clay: so will they mingle themselves among the seed of men; but they will not cleave firmly one to another, even as iron cannot be mingled with clay.

44 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,

But in the days of these kings will the God of heaven set up a kingdom: which shall to eternity not be destroyed, and its rule shall not be transferred to any other people; [but] it will grind up and make an end of all these kingdoms, while it will itself endure for ever.

45 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.”

Whereas thou sawest that out of the mountain a stone tore itself loose, not through [human] hands, and that it ground up the iron, the copper, the clay, the silver, and the gold: the great God hath made known to the king what is to come to pass after this. And the dream is reliable, and its interpretation certain.

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

Then did king Nebuchadnezzar fall upon his face, and he bowed down to Daniel, and ordered that they should offer an oblation and sweet odors unto him.

47 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.”

The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is, that your God is the God of gods, and the Lord of kings, and the revealer of secrets; because thou hast been able to reveal this secret.

48 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.

Then did the king elevate Daniel, and gave him many great presents, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the superintendents over all the wise men of Babylon.

49 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.

Then requested Daniel of the king, that he might appoint Shadrach, Meshach, and 'Abed-nego, over the public service of the province of Babylon; but Daniel remained in the gate of the king.