Daniel 2

1 And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams; and his spirit was troubled, and his sleep broke from him.

In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams that troubled his spirit, and sleep escaped him.

2 Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the enchanters, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, to tell the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king.

So the king gave orders to summon the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and astrologers to explain his dreams. When they came and stood before the king,

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

he said to them, “I have had a dream, and my spirit is anxious to understand it.”

4 Then spoke the Chaldeans to the king in Aramaic: 'O king, live for ever! tell thy servants the dream, and we will declare the interpretation.'

Then the astrologers answered the king in Aramaic, “O king, may you live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation.”

5 The king answered and said to the Chaldeans: 'The thing is certain with me; if ye make not known unto me the dream and the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill.

The king replied to the astrologers, “My word is final: If you do not tell me the dream and its interpretation, you will be cut into pieces and your houses will be reduced to rubble.

6 But if ye declare the dream and the interpretation thereof, ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honour; only declare unto me the dream and the interpretation thereof.'

But if you tell me the dream and its interpretation, you will receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. So tell me the dream and its interpretation.”

7 They answered the second time and said: 'Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will declare the interpretation.'

They answered a second time, “Let the king tell the dream to his servants, and we will give the interpretation.”

8 The king answered and said: 'I know of a truth that ye would gain time, inasmuch as ye see the thing is certain with me,

The king replied, “I know for sure that you are stalling for time, because you see that my word is final.

9 that, if ye make not known unto me the dream, there is but one law for you; and ye have agreed together to speak before me lying and corrupt words, till the time be changed; only tell me the dream, and I shall know that ye can declare unto me the interpretation thereof.'

If you do not tell me the dream, there is only one decree for you. You have conspired to speak before me false and fraudulent words, hoping the situation will change. Therefore tell me the dream, and I will know that you can give me its interpretation.”

10 The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said: 'There is not a man upon the earth that can declare the king's matter; forasmuch as no great and powerful king hath asked such a thing of any magician, or enchanter, or Chaldean.

The astrologers answered the king, “No one on earth can do what the king requests! No king, however great and powerful, has ever asked anything like this of any magician, enchanter, or astrologer.

11 And it is a hard thing that the king asketh, and there is none other that can declare it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.'

What the king requests is so difficult that no one can tell it to him except the gods, whose dwelling is not with mortals.”

12 For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.

This response made the king so furious with anger that he gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.

13 So the decree went forth, and the wise men were to be slain; and they sought Daniel and his companions to be slain.

So the decree went out that the wise men were to be executed, and men went to look for Daniel and his friends to execute them.

14 Then Daniel returned answer with counsel and discretion to Arioch the captain of the king's guard, who was gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon;

When Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard, had gone out to execute the wise men of Babylon, Daniel replied with discretion and tact.

15 he answered and said to Arioch the king's captain: 'Wherefore is the decree so peremptory from the king?' Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel.

“Why is the decree from the king so harsh?” he asked. At this time Arioch explained the situation to Daniel.

16 Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would give him time, that he might declare unto the king the interpretation.

So Daniel went in and asked the king to give him some time, so that he could give him the interpretation.

17 Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions;

Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,

18 that they might ask mercy 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.

urging them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his friends would not be killed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

19 Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.

During the night, the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision, and he blessed the God of heaven

20 Daniel spoke and said: Blessed be the name of God from everlasting even unto everlasting; for wisdom and might are His;

and declared: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to Him.

21 And He changeth the times and the seasons; He removeth kings, and setteth up kings; He giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding;

He changes the times and seasons; He removes kings and establishes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.

22 He revealeth the deep and secret things; He knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with Him.

He reveals the deep and hidden things; He knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with Him.

23 I thank Thee, and praise Thee, O Thou God of my fathers, who hath given me wisdom and might, and hast now made known unto me what we desired of Thee; for Thou hast made known unto us the king's matter.

To You, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, because You have given me wisdom and power. And now You have made known to me what we have requested, for You have made known to us the dream of the king.”

24 Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon; he went and said thus unto him: 'Destroy not the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will declare unto the king the interpretation.'

Therefore Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon, and said to him, “Do not execute the wise men of Babylon! Bring me before the king, and I will give him the interpretation.”

25 Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said thus unto him: 'I have found a man of the children of the captivity of Judah, that will make known unto the king the interpretation.'

Arioch hastily brought Daniel before the king and said to him, “I have found a man among the exiles from Judah who will tell the king the interpretation.”

26 The king spoke and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar: 'Art thou able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof?'

The king responded to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to tell me what I saw in the dream, as well as its interpretation?”

27 Daniel answered before the king, and said: 'The secret which the king hath asked can neither wise men, enchanters, magicians, nor astrologers, declare unto the king;

Daniel answered the king, “No wise man, enchanter, medium, or magician can explain to the king the mystery of which he inquires.

28 but there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and He hath made known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the end of days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these:

But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the latter days. Your dream and the visions that came into your mind as you lay on your bed were these:

29 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 hath made known to thee what shall come to pass.

As you lay on your bed, O king, your thoughts turned to the future, and the Revealer of Mysteries made known to you what will happen.

30 But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but to the intent that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that thou mayest know the thoughts of thy heart.

And to me this mystery has been revealed, not because I have more wisdom than any man alive, but in order that the interpretation might be made known to the king, and that you may understand the thoughts of your mind.

31 Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This image, which was mighty, and whose brightness was surpassing, stood before thee; and the appearance thereof was terrible.

As you, O king, were watching, a great statue appeared. A great and dazzling statue stood before you, and its form was awesome.

32 As for that image, its head was of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of brass,

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

33 its legs of iron, its feet part of iron and part of clay.

its legs were iron, and its feet were part iron and part clay.

34 Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon its feet that were of iron and clay, and broke them to pieces.

As you watched, a stone was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay, and crushed them.

35 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken in pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors; and the wind carried them away, so that no place was found for them; and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.

Then the iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold were shattered and became like chaff on the threshing floor in summer. The wind carried them away, and not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that had struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.

36 This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king.

This was the dream; now we will tell the king its interpretation.

37 Thou, O king, king of kings, unto whom the God of heaven hath given the kingdom, the power, and the strength, and the glory;

You, O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given sovereignty, power, strength, and glory.

38 and wheresoever the children of men, the beasts of the field, and the fowls of the heaven dwell, hath He given them into thy hand, and hath made thee to rule over them all; thou art the head of gold.

Wherever the sons of men or beasts of the field or birds of the air dwell, He has given them into your hand and has made you ruler over them all. You are that head of gold.

39 And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee; and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.

But after you, there will arise another kingdom, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule the whole earth.

40 And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron; forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and beateth down all things; and as iron that crusheth all these, shall it break in pieces and crush.

Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom as strong as iron; for iron shatters and crushes all things, and like iron that crushes all things, it will shatter and crush all the others.

41 And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom; but there shall be in it of the firmness of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay.

And just as you saw that the feet and toes were made partly of fired clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom, yet some of the strength of iron will be in it—just as you saw the iron mixed with clay.

42 And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so part of the kingdom shall be strong, and part thereof broken.

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

43 And whereas thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves by the seed of men; but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron doth not mingle with clay.

As you saw the iron mixed with clay, so the peoples will mix with one another, but will not hold together any more than iron mixes with clay.

44 And in the days of those kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed; nor shall the kingdom be left to another people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, but it shall stand for ever.

In the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will shatter all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, but will itself stand forever.

45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that a 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 thereof sure.'

And just as you saw a stone being cut out of the mountain without human hands, and it shattered the iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold, so the great God has told the king what will happen in the future. The dream is true, and its interpretation is trustworthy.”

46 Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an offering and sweet odours unto him.

At this, King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, paid homage to Daniel, and ordered that an offering of incense be presented to him.

47 The king spoke unto Daniel, and said: 'Of a truth it is, that your God is the God of gods, and the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou hast been able to reveal this secret.'

The king said to Daniel, “Your God is truly the God of gods and Lord of kings, the Revealer of Mysteries, since you were able to reveal this mystery.”

48 Then the king made Daniel great, and gave him many great gifts, and made him to rule over the whole province of Babylon, and to be chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon.

Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many generous gifts. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon.

49 And Daniel requested of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon; but Daniel was in the gate of the king.

And at Daniel’s request, the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to manage the province of Babylon, while Daniel remained in the king’s court.