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.
In the secounde yeer of the rewme of Nabugodonosor, Nabugodonosor siy a dreem; and his spirit was aferd, and his dreem fledde awei fro hym.
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.
Therfor the kyng comaundide, that the dyuynours, and astronomyens, and witchis, and Caldeis schulden be clepid togidere, that thei schulden telle to the kyng hise dremys; and whanne thei weren comun, thei stoden bifor 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 seide to hem, Y siy a dreem, and Y am schent in mynde, and Y knowe not what Y siy.
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 Caldeis answeriden the kyng bi Sirik langage, Kyng, liue thou with outen ende; seie thi dreem to thi seruauntis, and we schulen schewe to thee the expownyng therof.
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!
And the kyng answeride, and seide to Caldeis, The word is goen awei fro me; if ye schewen not to me the dreem, and expownyng therof, ye schulen perische, and youre housis schulen be forfetid.
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!”
Forsothe if ye tellen the dreem, and the expownyng therof, ye schulen take of me meedis and yiftis, and myche onour; therfor schewe ye to me the dreem, and the interpretyng therof.
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.”
Thei answeriden the secounde tyme, and seiden, The kyng seie the dreem to hise seruauntis, and we schulen schewe the interpretyng therof.
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 kyng answeride, and seide, Certis Y woot, that ye ayenbien the tyme, and witen that the word is goen awei fro 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.”
Therfor if ye schewen not to me the dreem, o sentence is of you, for ye maken an interpretyng bothe fals and ful of disseit, that ye speke to me til the tyme passe; therfor seie ye the dreem to me, that Y wite, that ye speke also the veri interpretyng therof.
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!
Therfor Caldeis answeriden bifor the kyng, and seiden, Kyng, no man is on erthe, that mai fille thi word; but nether ony greet man and myyti of kyngis axith siche a word of ony dyuynour, and astronomyen, and of a man of Caldee.
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.”
For the word which thou, kyng, axist, is greuouse, nether ony schal be foundun, that schal schewe it in the siyt of the king, outakun goddis, whos lyuyng is not with men.
12 This made the king extremely angry, and he ordered all the wise men of Babylon executed.
And whanne this word was herd, the kyng comaundide, in woodnesse and in greet ire, that alle the wise men of Babiloyne schulden perische.
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 bi the sentence goon out, the wise men weren slayn; and Danyel and hise felows weren souyt, that thei schulden perische.
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
Thanne Danyel axide of the lawe and sentence, of Ariok, prynce of chyualrie of the kyng, that was gon out to sle the wise men of Babiloyne.
15 Daniel asked him, “Why would the king issue such a harsh decree?” So Arioch explained to Daniel what had happened.
And he axide hym, that hadde take power of the kyng, for what cause so cruel a sentence yede out fro the face of the kyng. Therfor whanne Ariok hadde schewid the thing to Danyel,
16 Daniel immediately went to see the king and asked for more time to explain the dream and its meaning to him.
Danyel entride, and preyede the kyng, that he schulde yyue tyme to hym to schewe the soilyng to the kyng.
17 Then Daniel went home and shared with Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah what was going on.
And he entride in to his hous, and schewide the nede to Ananye, and to Misael, and Asarie,
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.
hise felowis, that thei schulden axe merci of the face of God of heuene on this sacrament; and that Danyel and hise felowis schulden not perische with othere wise men of Babiloyne.
19 That night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven:
Thanne the priuyte was schewid to Danyel bi a visioun in nyyt. And Danyel blesside God of heuene, and seide,
20 “Praise the wonderful nature of God forever and ever, for he is wise and powerful.
The name of the Lord be blessid fro the world, and til in to the world, for wisdom and strengthe ben hise;
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 chaungith tymes and ages, he translatith rewmes and ordeyneth; he yyueth wisdom to wise men, and kunnyng to hem that vndurstonden techyng, ether chastisyng;
22 He reveals deep, mysterious things. He knows what lies in darkness, and light lives in his presence.
he schewith deepe thingis and hid, and he knowith thingis set in derknessis, and liyt is with hym.
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.”
God of oure fadris, Y knowleche to thee, and Y herie thee, for thou hast youe wisdom and strengthe to me; and now thou hast schewid to me tho thingis, whiche we preieden thee, for thou hast openyd to vs the word of the kyng.
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.”
Aftir these thingis Danyel entride to Ariok, whom the kyng hadde ordeyned, that he schulde leese the wise men of Babiloyne, and thus he spak to hym, Leese thou not the wise men of Babiloyne; leede thou me in bifor the siyt of the kyng, and Y schal telle the soilyng to the kyng.
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.”
Thanne Ariok hastynge ledde in Danyel to the kyng, and seide to him, Y haue foundun a man of the sones of passyng ouer of Juda, that schal telle the soilyng to the kyng.
26 The king asked Daniel (also called Belteshazzar), “Are you really able to tell me what my dream was, and what it means?”
The kyng answeride, and seide to Danyel, to whom the name was Balthasar, Whethir gessist thou, that thou maist verili schewe to me the dreem which Y siy, and the interpretyng therof?
27 “No wise men or enchanters or magicians or diviners can explain the mystery Your Majesty wants to know,” Daniel replied.
And Danyel answeride bifore the king, and seide, The priuytee which the kyng axith, wise men, and astronomyens, and dyuynours, and lokeris of auteris, moun not schewe to the kyng.
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 God is in heuene, that schewith priuytees, which hath schewid to thee, thou king Nabugodonosor, what thingis schulen come in the laste tymes. Thi dreem and visiouns of thin heed, in thi bed, ben sich.
29 As Your Majesty lay there, your thoughts turned to the future, and the revealer of mysteries showed you what would take place.
Thou, kyng, bigunnest to thenke in thi bed, what was to comynge aftir these thingis; and he that schewith priuetees, schewide to thee what thingis schulen come.
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.
And this sacrament is schewid to me, not bi wisdom which is in me more than in alle lyuynge men, but that the interpretyng schulde be maad opyn to the kyng, and thou schuldist knowe the thouytis of thi soule.
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, kyng, siyest, and lo! as o greet ymage; thilke ymage was greet, and hiy in stature, and stood bifore thee, and the loking therof was ferdful.
32 The head of the statue was gold, the chest and arms were silver, its middle and thighs were bronze,
The heed of this ymage was of best gold, but the brest and armes weren of siluer; certis the wombe and thies weren of bras,
33 its legs were iron, and its feet were iron and baked clay.
but the leggis weren of irun; forsothe sum part of the feet was of irun, sum was of erthe.
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 siyest thus, til a stoon was kit doun of the hil, with outen hondis, and smoot the ymage in the irun feet therof and erthene feet, and al to-brak tho.
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.
Thanne the irun, tijl stoon, ether erthene vessel, bras, siluer, and gold, weren al to-brokun togidere, and dryuun as in to a deed sparcle of a large somer halle, that ben rauyschid of wynd, and no place is foundun to tho; forsothe the stoon, that smoot the ymage, was maad a greet hil, and fillide al erthe.
36 This was the dream, and now we will explain what it means to the king.
This is the dreem. Also, thou kyng, we schulen seie bifor thee the interpretyng therof.
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 art kyng of kyngis, and God of heuene yaf to thee rewme, strengthe, and empire, and glorie;
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 he yaf in thin hond alle thingis, in whiche the sones of men, and the beestis of the feeld, and the briddis of the eir dwellen, and ordeynede alle thingis vndur thi lordschip; therfor thou art the goldun heed.
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 another rewme lesse than thou schal rise aftir thee; and the thridde rewme, an other of bras, that schal haue the empire of al erthe.
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 fourthe rewme schal be as irun, as irun makith lesse, and makith tame alle thingis, so it schal make lesse, and schal al to-breke alle these rewmes.
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.
Forsothe that thou siest a part of the feet and fyngris of erthe of a pottere, and a part of irun, the rewme shal be departid; which netheles schal rise of the plauntyng of irun, `bi that that thou siest irun meynd with a tijl stoon of clei,
42 As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, the kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle.
and the toos of the feet in parti of irun, and in parti of erthe, in parti the rewme schal be sad, and in parti to-brokun.
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.
Forsothe that thou siest irun meynd with a tiel stoon of clei, sotheli tho schulen be meynd togidere with mannus seed; but tho schulen not cleue to hem silf, as irun mai not be meddlid with tyel stoon.
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,
Forsothe in the daies of tho rewmes, God of heuene shal reise a rewme, that schal not be distried with outen ende, and his rewme schal not be youun to another puple; it schal make lesse, and schal waste alle these rewmes, and it schal stonde with outen ende,
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.”
bi this that thou siest, that a stoon was kit doun of the hil with outen hondis, and maad lesse the tiel stoon, and irun, and bras, and siluer, and gold. Greet God hath schewid to the kyng, what thingis schulen come aftirward; and the dreem is trewe, and the interpretyng therof is feithful.
46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell down before Daniel and worshiped him, and ordered offerings of grain and incense to be made to him.
Thanne king Nabugodonosor felle doun on his face, and worschipide Danyel, and comaundide sacrifices and encense to be brouyt, that tho schulden be sacrifised to hym.
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.”
Therfor the kyng spak, and seide to Danyel, Verili youre God is God of goddis, and Lord of kyngis, that schewith mysteries, for thou miytist opene this sacrament.
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.
Thanne the kyng reiside Danyel an hiy, and yaf many yiftis and grete to hym; and ordeynede hym prince and prefect, ether cheef iustise, ouer alle the prouynces of Babiloyne, and maister ouer alle the wise men of Babiloyne.
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.
Forsothe Danyel axide of the kyng, and ordeynede Sidrac, Misaac, and Abdenago ouer alle the werkis of the prouynce of Babiloyne; but Danyel hym silf was in the yatis of the kyng.
