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, with which his spirit was troubled, and his sleep broke from 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.

Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, to show the king his dream. So they came and stood 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 to them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was 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 the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Syriac, O king, live for ever: tell thy servants the dream, and we will 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 answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from me: if ye will not make known to me the dream, with the interpretation of it, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made 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 shall show the dream, and the interpretation of it, ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honor: therefore show me the dream, and the interpretation of it.

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 again and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation of it.

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 certainty that ye would gain the time, because ye see 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.”

But if ye will not make known to me the dream, [there is but] one decree for you: for ye have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me, till the time be changed: therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that ye can show me the interpretation of it.

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 earth that can show the king's matter: therefore [there is] no king, lord, nor ruler, [that] hath asked such things 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 [it is] a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is no other that can 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.

For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and 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 decree went forth that the wise [men] should be slain; and they sought Daniel and his fellows 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 answered with counsel and wisdom to Arioch the captain of the king's guard, who had 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 answered and said to Arioch the king's captain, Why [is] the decree [so] hasty from the king? Then Arioch 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.

Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would give him time, and that he would show the king the interpretation.

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

Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, 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.

That they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his companions should not perish 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 was the secret revealed to Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.

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

Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: 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 the times and the seasons; he removeth kings, and setteth up kings; he giveth wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding:

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

He revealeth the deep and secret things: 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.”

I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast made known to me now what we desired of thee: for thou hast [now] made known to 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 Daniel went into Arioch, whom the king had ordained to destroy the wise [men] of Babylon: he went and said thus to him; Destroy not the wise [men] of Babylon: bring me in before the king, and I will show to 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 Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said thus to him, I have found a man of the captives of Judah, that will make known to 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 to me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation of it?

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, the wise [men], the astrologers, the magicians, the sooth-sayers, cannot 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 heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy 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.

As for thee, O king, thy thoughts came [into thy mind] upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter: and he that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee what shall 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 is not revealed to me for [any] wisdom that I have more than any living, but for [their] sakes that shall make known the interpretation to the king, and that thou mayest know 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 a great image. This great image, whose brightness [was] excellent, stood before thee; and its form [was] terrible.

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

The head of this image [was] of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass,

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

His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part 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 sawest till a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet [that were] of iron and clay, and broke 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 was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great 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 we will tell the interpretation of it 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: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.

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 the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thy hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou [art] 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 thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall 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 shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all [things]: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.

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 whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potter's clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with the 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 iron, and part of clay, [so] the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.

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 mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to 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 shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, [but] it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand 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.”

Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain, without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream [is] certain, and the interpretation of it sure.

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

Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshiped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odors 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 answered to 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, seeing thou couldst 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 made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors 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 Daniel requested of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel [sat] in the gate of the king.