Daniel 2

1 In the second year of [his] reign Nabuchodonosor dreamed a dream, and his spirit was amazed, and his sleep departed from him.

In anno secundo regni Nabuchodonosor, vidit Nabuchodonosor somnium, et conterritus est spiritus ejus, et somnium ejus fugit ab eo.

2 And the king gave orders to call the enchanters, and the magicians, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, to declare to the king his dreams. And they came and stood before the king.

Præcepit autem rex ut convocarentur arioli, et magi, et malefici, et Chaldæi, ut indicarent regi somnia sua. Qui cum venissent, steterunt coram rege.

3 And the king said to them, I have dreamed, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream.

Et dixit ad eos rex: Vidi somnium, et mente confusus ignoro quid viderim.

4 And the Chaldeans spoke to the king in the Syrian language, [saying], O king, live for ever: do you tell the dream to your servants, and we will declare the interpretation.

Responderuntque Chaldæi regi syriace: Rex, in sempiternum vive! dic somnium servis tuis, et interpretationem ejus indicabimus.

5 The king answered the Chaldeans, The thing has departed from me: if you do not make known to me the dream and the interpretation, you shall be destroyed, and your houses shall be spoiled.

Et respondens rex ait Chaldæis: Sermo recessit a me: nisi indicaveritis mihi somnium, et conjecturam ejus, peribitis vos, et domus vestræ publicabuntur.

6 But if you make known to me the dream, and the interpretation thereof, you shall receive of me gifts and presents and much honor: only tell me the dream, and the interpretation thereof.

Si autem somnium, et conjecturam ejus narraveritis, præmia, et dona, et honorem multum accipietis a me. Somnium igitur, et interpretationem ejus indicate mihi.

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

Responderunt secundo, atque dixerunt: Rex somnium dicat servis suis, et interpretationem illius indicabimus.

8 And the king answered and said, I verily know that you are trying to gain time, because you see that the thing has gone from me.

Respondit rex, et ait: Certe novi quod tempus redimitis, scientes quod recesserit a me sermo.

9 If then you do not tell me the dream, I know that you have concerted to utter before me a false and corrupt tale, until the time shall have past: tell me my dream, and I shall know that you will also declare to me the interpretation thereof.

Si ergo somnium non indicaveritis mihi, una est de vobis sententia, quod interpretationem quoque fallacem, et deceptione plenam composueritis, ut loquamini mihi donec tempus pertranseat. Somnium itaque dicite mihi, ut sciam quod interpretationem quoque ejus veram loquamini.

10 The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is no man upon the earth, who shall be able to make known the king's matter: forasmuch as no great king or ruler asks such a question of an enchanter, magician, or Chaldean.

Respondentes ergo Chaldæi coram rege, dixerunt: Non est homo super terram, qui sermonem tuum, rex, possit implere: sed neque regum quisquam magnus et potens verbum hujuscemodi sciscitatur ab omni ariolo, et mago, et Chaldæo.

11 For the question which the king asks is difficult, and there is no one else who shall answer it before the king, but the gods, whose dwelling is not with any flesh.

Sermo enim, quem tu quæris, rex, gravis est: nec reperietur quisquam qui indicet illum in conspectu regis, exceptis diis, quorum non est cum hominibus conversatio.

12 Then the king in rage and anger commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.

Quo audito, rex, in furore et in ira magna, præcepit ut perirent omnes sapientes Babylonis.

13 So the decree went forth, and they began to kill the wise men; and they sought Daniel and his fellows to kill [them].

Et egressa sententia, sapientes interficiebantur: quærebanturque Daniel et socii ejus, ut perirent.

14 Then Daniel answered [with] counsel and prudence to Arioch the captain of the royal guard, who was gone forth to kill the wise men of Babylon; [saying],

Tunc Daniel requisivit de lege atque sententia ab Arioch principe militiæ regis, qui egressus fuerat ad interficiendos sapientes Babylonis.

15 Chief magistrate of the king, therefore has the preemptory command proceeded from the king? So Arioch made known the matter to Daniel.

Et interrogavit eum, qui a rege potestatem acceperat, quam ob causam tam crudelis sententia a facie regis esset egressa. Cum ergo rem indicasset Arioch Danieli,

16 And Daniel entreated the king to give him time, and that he might [thus] declare to the king the interpretation of it.

Daniel ingressus rogavit regem ut tempus daret sibi ad solutionem indicandam regi.

17 So Daniel went into his house, and made known the matter to Ananias, and Misael, and Azarias, his friends.

Et ingressus est domum suam, Ananiæque et Misaëli et Azariæ, sociis suis, indicavit negotium,

18 And they sought mercies from the God of heaven concerning this mystery; that Daniel and his friends might not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

ut quærerent misericordiam a facie Dei cæli super sacramento isto, et non perirent Daniel et socii ejus cum ceteris sapientibus Babylonis.

19 Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night; and Daniel blessed the God of heaven, and said,

Tunc Danieli mysterium per visionem nocte revelatum est: et benedixit Daniel Deum cæli,

20 May the name of God be blessed from everlasting and to everlasting: for wisdom and understanding are his.

et locutus ait: Sit nomen Domini benedictum a sæculo et usque in sæculum: quia sapientia et fortitudo ejus sunt.

21 And he changes times and seasons: he appoints kings, and removes [them], giving wisdom to the wise, and prudence to them that have understanding:

Et ipse mutat tempora, et ætates: transfert regna, atque constituit: dat sapientiam sapientibus, et scientiam intelligentibus disciplinam.

22 he reveals deep and secret [matters]; knowing what is in darkness, and the light is with him.

Ipse revelat profunda et abscondita, et novit in tenebris constituta: et lux cum eo est.

23 I give thanks to you, and praise [you], O God of my fathers, for you has given me wisdom and power, and has made known to me the things which we asked of you; and you has made known to me the king's vision.

Tibi, Deus patrum nostrorum, confiteor, teque laudo, quia sapientiam et fortitudinem dedisti mihi, et nunc ostendisti mihi quæ rogavimus te, quia sermonem regis aperuisti nobis.

24 And Daniel came to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon, and said to him; Destroy not the wise men of Babylon, but bring me in before the king, and I will declare the interpretation to the king.

Post hæc Daniel ingressus ad Arioch, quem constituerat rex ut perderet sapientes Babylonis, sic ei locutus est: Sapientes Babylonis ne perdas: introduc me in conspectu regis, et solutionem regi narrabo.

25 Then Arioch in haste brought in Daniel before the king, and said to him, I have found a man of the children of the captivity of Judea, who will declare the interpretation to the king.

Tunc Arioch festinus introduxit Danielem ad regem, et dixit ei: Inveni hominem de filiis transmigrationis Juda, qui solutionem regi annuntiet.

26 And the king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Baltasar, Canst you declare to me the dream which I saw, and the interpretation thereof?

Respondit rex, et dixit Danieli, cujus nomen erat Baltassar: Putasne vere potes mihi indicare somnium, quod vidi, et interpretationem ejus?

27 And Daniel answered before the king, and said, The mystery which the king asks [the explanation of] is not [in the power] of the wise men, magicians, enchanters, [or] soothsayers to declare to the king.

Et respondens Daniel coram rege, ait: Mysterium, quod rex interrogat, sapientes, magi, arioli, et aruspices nequeunt indicare regi:

28 But there is a God in heaven revealing mysteries, and he has made known to king Nabuchodonosor what things must come to pass in the last days. Your dream, and the visions of your head upon your bed, are as follows,

sed est Deus in cælo revelans mysteria, qui indicavit tibi, rex Nabuchodonosor, quæ ventura sunt in novissimis temporibus. Somnium tuum, et visiones capitis tui in cubili tuo hujuscemodi sunt.

29 O king: your thoughts upon your bed arose [as to] what must come to pass hereafter: and he that reveals mysteries has made known to you what must come to pass.

Tu, rex, cogitare cœpisti in strato tuo, quid esset futurum post hæc: et qui revelat mysteria, ostendit tibi quæ ventura sunt.

30 Moreover, this mystery has not been revealed to me by reason of wisdom which is in me beyond all [others] living, but for the sake of making known the interpretation to the king, that you might know the thoughts of your heart.

Mihi quoque non in sapientia, quæ est in me plus quam in cunctis viventibus, sacramentum hoc revelatum est: sed ut interpretatio regi manifesta fieret, et cogitationes mentis tuæ scires.

31 You, O king, saw, and behold an image: that image was great, and the appearance of it excellent, standing before your face; and the form of it was terrible.

Tu, rex, videbas, et ecce quasi statua una grandis: statua illa magna, et statura sublimis stabat contra te, et intuitus ejus erat terribilis.

32 [It was] an image, the head of which was of fine gold, its hands and breast and arms of silver, [its] belly and thighs of brass,

Hujus statuæ caput ex auro optimo erat, pectus autem et brachia de argento, porro venter et femora ex ære,

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

tibiæ autem ferreæ: pedum quædam pars erat ferrea, quædam autem fictilis.

34 You saw until a stone was cut out of a mountain without hands, and it struck the image upon its feet of iron and earthenware, and utterly reduced them to powder.

Videbas ita, donec abscissus est lapis de monte sine manibus: et percussit statuam in pedibus ejus ferreis et fictilibus, et comminuit eos.

35 Then once for all the earthenware, the iron, the brass, the silver, the gold, were ground to powder, and became as chaff from the summer threshing floor; and the violence of the wind carried them away, and no place was found for them: and the stone which had struck the image became a great mountain, and filled all the earth.

Tunc contrita sunt pariter ferrum, testa, æs, argentum, et aurum, et redacta quasi in favillam æstivæ areæ, quæ rapta sunt vento, nullusque locus inventus est eis: lapis autem, qui percusserat statuam, factus est mons magnus, et implevit universam terram.

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

Hoc est somnium: interpretationem quoque ejus dicemus coram te, rex.

37 You, O king, are a king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given a powerful and strong and honorable kingdom,

Tu rex regum es: et Deus cæli regnum, et fortitudinem, et imperium, et gloriam dedit tibi:

38 in every place where the children of men dwell: and he has given into your hand the wild beasts of the field, and the birds of the sky and the fish of the sea, and he has made you lord of all.

et omnia, in quibus habitant filii hominum, et bestiæ agri: volucres quoque cæli dedit in manu tua, et sub ditione tua universa constituit: tu es ergo caput aureum.

39 You are the head of gold. And after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to you, an a third kingdom which is the brass, which shall have dominion over all the earth;

Et post te consurget regnum aliud minus te argenteum: et regnum tertium aliud æreum, quod imperabit universæ terræ.

40 and a fourth kingdom, which shall be strong as iron: as iron beats to powder and subdues all things, so shall it beat to powder and subdue.

Et regnum quartum erit velut ferrum: quomodo ferrum comminuit, et domat omnia, sic comminuet, et conteret omnia hæc.

41 And whereas you saw the feet and the toes, part of earthenware and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet there shall be in it of the strength of iron, as you saw the iron mixed with earthenware.

Porro quia vidisti pedum, et digitorum partem testæ figuli, et partem ferream, regnum divisum erit: quod tamen de plantario ferri orietur, secundum quod vidisti ferrum mistum testæ ex luto.

42 And [whereas] the toes of the feet were part of iron and part of earthenware, part of the kingdom shall be strong, and [part] of it shall be broken.

Et digitos pedum ex parte ferreos, et ex parte fictiles: ex parte regnum erit solidum, et ex parte contritum.

43 Whereas you saw the iron mixed with earthenware, they shall be mingled with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave together, as the iron does not mix itself with earthenware.

Quod autem vidisti ferrum mistum testæ ex luto, commiscebuntur quidem humano semine, sed non adhærebunt sibi, sicut ferrum misceri non potest testæ.

44 And in the days of those kings the God of heaven shall set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed: and his kingdom shall not be left to another people, [but] it shall beat to pieces and grind to powder all [other] kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.

In diebus autem regnorum illorum suscitabit Deus cæli regnum, quod in æternum non dissipabitur, et regnum ejus alteri populo non tradetur: comminuet autem, et consumet universa regna hæc, et ipsum stabit in æternum.

45 Whereas you saw that a stone was cut out of a mountain without hands, and it beat to pieces the earthenware, the iron, the brass, the silver, the gold; the great God has made known to the king what must happen hereafter: and the dream is true, and the interpretation thereof sure.

Secundum quod vidisti, quod de monte abscissus est lapis sine manibus, et comminuit testam, et ferrum, et æs, et argentum, et aurum, Deus magnus ostendit regi quæ ventura sunt postea: et verum est somnium, et fidelis interpretatio ejus.

46 Then king Nabuchodonosor fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and gave orders to offer to him gifts and incense.

Tunc rex Nabuchodonosor cecidit in faciem suam, et Danielem adoravit, et hostias, et incensum præcepit ut sacrificarent ei.

47 And the king answered and said to Daniel, Of a truth your God is a God of gods, and Lord of kings, who reveals mysteries; for you has been able to reveal this mystery.

Loquens ergo rex, ait Danieli: Vere Deus vester Deus deorum est, et Dominus regum, et revelans mysteria: quoniam tu potuisti aperire hoc sacramentum.

48 And the king promoted Daniel, and gave him great and abundant gifts, and set him over the whole province of Babylon, and [made him] chief satrap over all the wise men of Babylon.

Tunc rex Danielem in sublime extulit, et munera multa et magna dedit ei: et constituit eum principem super omnes provincias Babylonis, et præfectum magistratuum super cunctos sapientes Babylonis.

49 And Daniel asked of the king, and he appointed Sedrach, Misach, and Abdenago, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel was in the king's palace.

Daniel autem postulavit a rege, et constituit super opera provinciæ Babylonis Sidrach, Misach, et Abdenago: ipse autem Daniel erat in foribus regis.