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.
καὶ ἐν τῷ ἔτει τῷ δευτέρῳ τῆς βασιλείας Ναβουχοδονοσορ συνέβη εἰς ὁράματα καὶ ἐνύπνια ἐμπεσεῖν τὸν βασιλέα καὶ ταραχθῆναι ἐν τῷ ἐνυπνίῳ αὐτοῦ καὶ ὁ ὕπνος αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο ἀπ’ αὐτοῦ
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.
καὶ ἐπέταξεν ὁ βασιλεὺς εἰσενεχθῆναι τοὺς ἐπαοιδοὺς καὶ τοὺς μάγους καὶ τοὺς φαρμακοὺς τῶν Χαλδαίων ἀναγγεῖλαι τῷ βασιλεῖ τὰ ἐνύπνια αὐτοῦ καὶ παραγενόμενοι ἔστησαν παρὰ τῷ βασιλεῖ
3 “I've had a dream that has really upset me,” he told them. “I need to know what it means.”
καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς ὁ βασιλεύς ἐνύπνιον ἑώρακα καὶ ἐκινήθη μου τὸ πνεῦμα ἐπιγνῶναι οὖν θέλω τὸ ἐνύπνιον
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.”
καὶ ἐλάλησαν οἱ Χαλδαῖοι πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα Συριστί κύριε βασιλεῦ τὸν αἰῶνα ζῆθι ἀνάγγειλον τὸ ἐνύπνιόν σου τοῖς παισί σου καὶ ἡμεῖς σοι φράσομεν τὴν σύγκρισιν αὐτοῦ
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!
ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς εἶπε τοῖς Χαλδαίοις ὅτι ἐὰν μὴ ἀπαγγείλητέ μοι ἐπ’ ἀληθείας τὸ ἐνύπνιον καὶ τὴν τούτου σύγκρισιν δηλώσητέ μοι παραδειγματισθήσεσθε καὶ ἀναληφθήσεται ὑμῶν τὰ ὑπάρχοντα εἰς τὸ βασιλικόν
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!”
ἐὰν δὲ τὸ ἐνύπνιον διασαφήσητέ μοι καὶ τὴν τούτου σύγκρισιν ἀναγγείλητε λήψεσθε δόματα παντοῖα καὶ δοξασθήσεσθε ὑπ’ ἐμοῦ δηλώσατέ μοι τὸ ἐνύπνιον καὶ κρίνατε
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.”
ἀπεκρίθησαν δὲ ἐκ δευτέρου λέγοντες βασιλεῦ τὸ ὅραμα εἰπόν καὶ οἱ παῖδές σου κρινοῦσι πρὸς ταῦτα
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.
καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς ὁ βασιλεύς ἐπ’ ἀληθείας οἶδα ὅτι καιρὸν ὑμεῖς ἐξαγοράζετε καθάπερ ἑωράκατε ὅτι ἀπέστη ἀπ’ ἐμοῦ τὸ πρᾶγμα καθάπερ οὖν προστέταχα οὕτως ἔσται
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.”
ἐὰν μὴ τὸ ἐνύπνιον ἀπαγγείλητέ μοι ἐπ’ ἀληθείας καὶ τὴν τούτου σύγκρισιν δηλώσητε θανάτῳ περιπεσεῖσθε συνείπασθε γὰρ λόγους ψευδεῖς ποιήσασθαι ἐπ’ ἐμοῦ ἕως ἂν ὁ καιρὸς ἀλλοιωθῇ νῦν οὖν ἐὰν τὸ ῥῆμα εἴπητέ μοι ὃ τὴν νύκτα ἑώρακα γνώσομαι ὅτι καὶ τὴν τούτου κρίσιν δηλώσετε
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!
καὶ ἀπεκρίθησαν οἱ Χαλδαῖοι ἐπὶ τοῦ βασιλέως ὅτι οὐδεὶς τῶν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς δυνήσεται εἰπεῖν τῷ βασιλεῖ ὃ ἑώρακε καθάπερ σὺ ἐρωτᾷς καὶ πᾶς βασιλεὺς καὶ πᾶς δυνάστης τοιοῦτο πρᾶγμα οὐκ ἐπερωτᾷ πάντα σοφὸν καὶ μάγον καὶ Χαλδαῖον
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.”
καὶ ὁ λόγος ὃν ζητεῖς βασιλεῦ βαρύς ἐστι καὶ ἐπίδοξος καὶ οὐδείς ἐστιν ὃς δηλώσει ταῦτα τῷ βασιλεῖ εἰ μήτι ἄγγελος οὗ οὐκ ἔστι κατοικητήριον μετὰ πάσης σαρκός ὅθεν οὐκ ἐνδέχεται γενέσθαι καθάπερ οἴει
12 This made the king extremely angry, and he ordered all the wise men of Babylon executed.
τότε ὁ βασιλεὺς στυγνὸς γενόμενος καὶ περίλυπος προσέταξεν ἐξαγαγεῖν πάντας τοὺς σοφοὺς τῆς Βαβυλωνίας
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.
καὶ ἐδογματίσθη πάντας ἀποκτεῖναι ἐζητήθη δὲ ὁ Δανιηλ καὶ πάντες οἱ μετ’ αὐτοῦ χάριν τοῦ συναπολέσθαι
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
τότε Δανιηλ εἶπε βουλὴν καὶ γνώμην ἣν εἶχεν Αριώχῃ τῷ ἀρχιμαγείρῳ τοῦ βασιλέως ᾧ προσέταξεν ἐξαγαγεῖν τοὺς σοφιστὰς τῆς Βαβυλωνίας
15 Daniel asked him, “Why would the king issue such a harsh decree?” So Arioch explained to Daniel what had happened.
καὶ ἐπυνθάνετο αὐτοῦ λέγων περὶ τίνος δογματίζεται πικρῶς παρὰ τοῦ βασιλέως τότε τὸ πρόσταγμα ἐσήμανεν ὁ Αριώχης τῷ Δανιηλ
16 Daniel immediately went to see the king and asked for more time to explain the dream and its meaning to him.
ὁ δὲ Δανιηλ εἰσῆλθε ταχέως πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα καὶ ἠξίωσεν ἵνα δοθῇ αὐτῷ χρόνος παρὰ τοῦ βασιλέως καὶ δηλώσῃ πάντα ἐπὶ τοῦ βασιλέως
17 Then Daniel went home and shared with Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah what was going on.
τότε ἀπελθὼν Δανιηλ εἰς τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ τῷ Ανανια καὶ Μισαηλ καὶ Αζαρια τοῖς συνεταίροις ὑπέδειξε πάντα
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.
καὶ παρήγγειλε νηστείαν καὶ δέησιν καὶ τιμωρίαν ζητῆσαι παρὰ τοῦ κυρίου τοῦ ὑψίστου περὶ τοῦ μυστηρίου τούτου ὅπως μὴ ἐκδοθῶσι Δανιηλ καὶ οἱ μετ’ αὐτοῦ εἰς ἀπώλειαν ἅμα τοῖς σοφισταῖς Βαβυλῶνος
19 That night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven:
τότε τῷ Δανιηλ ἐν ὁράματι ἐν αὐτῇ τῇ νυκτὶ τὸ μυστήριον τοῦ βασιλέως ἐξεφάνθη εὐσήμως τότε Δανιηλ εὐλόγησε τὸν κύριον τὸν ὕψιστον
20 “Praise the wonderful nature of God forever and ever, for he is wise and powerful.
καὶ ἐκφωνήσας εἶπεν ἔσται τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ κυρίου τοῦ μεγάλου εὐλογημένον εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα ὅτι ἡ σοφία καὶ ἡ μεγαλωσύνη αὐτοῦ ἐστι
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.
καὶ αὐτὸς ἀλλοιοῖ καιροὺς καὶ χρόνους μεθιστῶν βασιλεῖς καὶ καθιστῶν διδοὺς σοφοῖς σοφίαν καὶ σύνεσιν τοῖς ἐν ἐπιστήμῃ οὖσιν
22 He reveals deep, mysterious things. He knows what lies in darkness, and light lives in his presence.
ἀνακαλύπτων τὰ βαθέα καὶ σκοτεινὰ καὶ γινώσκων τὰ ἐν τῷ σκότει καὶ τὰ ἐν τῷ φωτί καὶ παρ’ αὐτῷ κατάλυσις
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.”
σοί κύριε τῶν πατέρων μου ἐξομολογοῦμαι καὶ αἰνῶ ὅτι σοφίαν καὶ φρόνησιν ἔδωκάς μοι καὶ νῦν ἐσήμανάς μοι ὅσα ἠξίωσα τοῦ δηλῶσαι τῷ βασιλεῖ πρὸς ταῦτα
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.”
εἰσελθὼν δὲ Δανιηλ πρὸς τὸν Αριωχ τὸν κατασταθέντα ὑπὸ τοῦ βασιλέως ἀποκτεῖναι πάντας τοὺς σοφιστὰς τῆς Βαβυλωνίας εἶπεν αὐτῷ τοὺς μὲν σοφιστὰς τῆς Βαβυλωνίας μὴ ἀπολέσῃς εἰσάγαγε δέ με πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα καὶ ἕκαστα τῷ βασιλεῖ δηλώσω
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.”
τότε Αριωχ κατὰ σπουδὴν εἰσήγαγεν τὸν Δανιηλ πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὅτι εὕρηκα ἄνθρωπον σοφὸν ἐκ τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας τῶν υἱῶν τῆς Ιουδαίας ὃς τῷ βασιλεῖ δηλώσει ἕκαστα
26 The king asked Daniel (also called Belteshazzar), “Are you really able to tell me what my dream was, and what it means?”
ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς εἶπε τῷ Δανιηλ ἐπικαλουμένῳ δὲ Χαλδαϊστὶ Βαλτασαρ δυνήσῃ δηλῶσαί μοι τὸ ὅραμα ὃ εἶδον καὶ τὴν τούτου σύγκρισιν
27 “No wise men or enchanters or magicians or diviners can explain the mystery Your Majesty wants to know,” Daniel replied.
ἐκφωνήσας δὲ ὁ Δανιηλ ἐπὶ τοῦ βασιλέως εἶπεν τὸ μυστήριον ὃ ἑώρακεν ὁ βασιλεύς οὐκ ἔστι σοφῶν καὶ φαρμακῶν καὶ ἐπαοιδῶν καὶ γαζαρηνῶν ἡ δήλωσις
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.
ἀλλ’ ἔστι θεὸς ἐν οὐρανῷ ἀνακαλύπτων μυστήρια ὃς ἐδήλωσε τῷ βασιλεῖ Ναβουχοδονοσορ ἃ δεῖ γενέσθαι ἐπ’ ἐσχάτων τῶν ἡμερῶν βασιλεῦ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα ζῆθι τὸ ἐνύπνιον καὶ τὸ ὅραμα τῆς κεφαλῆς σου ἐπὶ τῆς κοίτης σου τοῦτό ἐστι
29 As Your Majesty lay there, your thoughts turned to the future, and the revealer of mysteries showed you what would take place.
σύ βασιλεῦ κατακλιθεὶς ἐπὶ τῆς κοίτης σου ἑώρακας πάντα ὅσα δεῖ γενέσθαι ἐπ’ ἐσχάτων τῶν ἡμερῶν καὶ ὁ ἀνακαλύπτων μυστήρια ἐδήλωσέ σοι ἃ δεῖ γενέσθαι
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.
κἀμοὶ δὲ οὐ παρὰ τὴν σοφίαν τὴν οὖσαν ἐν ἐμοὶ ὑπὲρ πάντας τοὺς ἀνθρώπους τὸ μυστήριον τοῦτο ἐξεφάνθη ἀλλ’ ἕνεκεν τοῦ δηλωθῆναι τῷ βασιλεῖ ἐσημάνθη μοι ἃ ὑπέλαβες τῇ καρδίᾳ σου ἐν γνώσει
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!
καὶ σύ βασιλεῦ ἑώρακας καὶ ἰδοὺ εἰκὼν μία καὶ ἦν ἡ εἰκὼν ἐκείνη μεγάλη σφόδρα καὶ ἡ πρόσοψις αὐτῆς ὑπερφερὴς ἑστήκει ἐναντίον σου καὶ ἡ πρόσοψις τῆς εἰκόνος φοβερά
32 The head of the statue was gold, the chest and arms were silver, its middle and thighs were bronze,
καὶ ἦν ἡ κεφαλὴ αὐτῆς ἀπὸ χρυσίου χρηστοῦ τὸ στῆθος καὶ οἱ βραχίονες ἀργυροῖ ἡ κοιλία καὶ οἱ μηροὶ χαλκοῖ
33 its legs were iron, and its feet were iron and baked clay.
τὰ δὲ σκέλη σιδηρᾶ οἱ πόδες μέρος μέν τι σιδήρου μέρος δέ τι ὀστράκινον
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.
ἑώρακας ἕως ὅτου ἐτμήθη λίθος ἐξ ὄρους ἄνευ χειρῶν καὶ ἐπάταξε τὴν εἰκόνα ἐπὶ τοὺς πόδας τοὺς σιδηροῦς καὶ ὀστρακίνους καὶ κατήλεσεν αὐτά
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.
τότε λεπτὰ ἐγένετο ἅμα ὁ σίδηρος καὶ τὸ ὄστρακον καὶ ὁ χαλκὸς καὶ ὁ ἄργυρος καὶ τὸ χρυσίον καὶ ἐγένετο ὡσεὶ λεπτότερον ἀχύρου ἐν ἅλωνι καὶ ἐρρίπισεν αὐτὰ ὁ ἄνεμος ὥστε μηδὲν καταλειφθῆναι ἐξ αὐτῶν καὶ ὁ λίθος ὁ πατάξας τὴν εἰκόνα ἐγένετο ὄρος μέγα καὶ ἐπάταξε πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν
36 This was the dream, and now we will explain what it means to the king.
τοῦτο τὸ ὅραμα καὶ τὴν κρίσιν δὲ ἐροῦμεν ἐπὶ τοῦ βασιλέως
37 Your Majesty, you are the king of kings to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, and power, strength, and glory.
σύ βασιλεῦ βασιλεὺς βασιλέων καὶ σοὶ ὁ κύριος τοῦ οὐρανοῦ τὴν ἀρχὴν καὶ τὴν βασιλείαν καὶ τὴν ἰσχὺν καὶ τὴν τιμὴν καὶ τὴν δόξαν ἔδωκεν
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.
ἐν πάσῃ τῇ οἰκουμένῃ ἀπὸ ἀνθρώπων καὶ θηρίων ἀγρίων καὶ πετεινῶν οὐρανοῦ καὶ τῶν ἰχθύων τῆς θαλάσσης παρέδωκεν ὑπὸ τὰς χεῖράς σου κυριεύειν πάντων σὺ εἶ ἡ κεφαλὴ ἡ χρυσῆ
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.
καὶ μετὰ σὲ ἀναστήσεται βασιλεία ἐλάττων σου καὶ τρίτη βασιλεία ἄλλη χαλκῆ ἣ κυριεύσει πάσης τῆς γῆς
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.
καὶ βασιλεία τετάρτη ἰσχυρὰ ὥσπερ ὁ σίδηρος ὁ δαμάζων πάντα καὶ πᾶν δένδρον ἐκκόπτων καὶ σεισθήσεται πᾶσα ἡ γῆ
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.
καὶ ὡς ἑώρακας τοὺς πόδας αὐτῆς μέρος μέν τι ὀστράκου κεραμικοῦ μέρος δέ τι σιδήρου βασιλεία ἄλλη διμερὴς ἔσται ἐν αὐτῇ καθάπερ εἶδες τὸν σίδηρον ἀναμεμειγμένον ἅμα τῷ πηλίνῳ ὀστράκῳ
42 As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, the kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle.
καὶ οἱ δάκτυλοι τῶν ποδῶν μέρος μέν τι σιδηροῦν μέρος δέ τι ὀστράκινον μέρος τι τῆς βασιλείας ἔσται ἰσχυρὸν καὶ μέρος τι ἔσται συντετριμμένον
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.
καὶ ὡς εἶδες τὸν σίδηρον ἀναμεμειγμένον ἅμα τῷ πηλίνῳ ὀστράκῳ συμμειγεῖς ἔσονται εἰς γένεσιν ἀνθρώπων οὐκ ἔσονται δὲ ὁμονοοῦντες οὔτε εὐνοοῦντες ἀλλήλοις ὥσπερ οὐδὲ ὁ σίδηρος δύναται συγκραθῆναι τῷ ὀστράκῳ
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,
καὶ ἐν τοῖς χρόνοις τῶν βασιλέων τούτων στήσει ὁ θεὸς τοῦ οὐρανοῦ βασιλείαν ἄλλην ἥτις ἔσται εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας καὶ οὐ φθαρήσεται καὶ αὕτη ἡ βασιλεία ἄλλο ἔθνος οὐ μὴ ἐάσῃ πατάξει δὲ καὶ ἀφανίσει τὰς βασιλείας ταύτας καὶ αὐτὴ στήσεται εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα
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.”
καθάπερ ἑώρακας ἐξ ὄρους τμηθῆναι λίθον ἄνευ χειρῶν καὶ συνηλόησε τὸ ὄστρακον τὸν σίδηρον καὶ τὸν χαλκὸν καὶ τὸν ἄργυρον καὶ τὸν χρυσόν ὁ θεὸς ὁ μέγας ἐσήμανε τῷ βασιλεῖ τὰ ἐσόμενα ἐπ’ ἐσχάτων τῶν ἡμερῶν καὶ ἀκριβὲς τὸ ὅραμα καὶ πιστὴ ἡ τούτου κρίσις
46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell down before Daniel and worshiped him, and ordered offerings of grain and incense to be made to him.
τότε Ναβουχοδονοσορ ὁ βασιλεὺς πεσὼν ἐπὶ πρόσωπον χαμαὶ προσεκύνησε τῷ Δανιηλ καὶ ἐπέταξε θυσίας καὶ σπονδὰς ποιῆσαι αὐτῷ
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.”
καὶ ἐκφωνήσας ὁ βασιλεὺς πρὸς τὸν Δανιηλ εἶπεν ἐπ’ ἀληθείας ἐστὶν ὁ θεὸς ὑμῶν θεὸς τῶν θεῶν καὶ κύριος τῶν βασιλέων ὁ ἐκφαίνων μυστήρια κρυπτὰ μόνος ὅτι ἐδυνάσθης δηλῶσαι τὸ μυστήριον τοῦτο
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.
τότε ὁ βασιλεὺς Ναβουχοδονοσορ Δανιηλ μεγαλύνας καὶ δοὺς δωρεὰς μεγάλας καὶ πολλὰς κατέστησεν ἐπὶ τῶν πραγμάτων τῆς Βαβυλωνίας καὶ ἀπέδειξεν αὐτὸν ἄρχοντα καὶ ἡγούμενον πάντων τῶν σοφιστῶν Βαβυλωνίας
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.
καὶ Δανιηλ ἠξίωσε τὸν βασιλέα ἵνα κατασταθῶσιν ἐπὶ τῶν πραγμάτων τῆς Βαβυλωνίας Σεδραχ Μισαχ Αβδεναγω καὶ Δανιηλ ἦν ἐν τῇ βασιλικῇ αὐλῇ
