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 has dreamed dreams, and his spirit moves itself, and his sleep has been against him;

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.

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

and the king says to them, “I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit is moved 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.”

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 “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 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 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!”

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 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 have answered a second time, and are saying, “Let the king tell the dream to his servants, and we show the 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 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 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.”

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

Therefore the king has been furious and very angry, and has said 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 sentence has gone forth, and the wise men are being slain, and they have sought Daniel and his companions to be slain.

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

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

and Daniel has gone up, and sought of the king that he would give him time to show the interpretation to the king.

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

Then Daniel has gone to his house, and to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, he has made the thing known,

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.

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

Then to Daniel, in a vision of the night, the secret has been revealed. Then Daniel has blessed the God of the heavens.

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

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

He is revealing deep and hidden things; He has known what [is] in darkness, and light has dwelt 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.”

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

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

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

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 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.

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 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!

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

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 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.

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

This [is] the dream, and its interpretation we tell 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.

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 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 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 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 you another kingdom arises lower than those, and another third kingdom of bronze, that rules 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 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 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.

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

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 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.

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 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,

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 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.”

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

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 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 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 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 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 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.

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.