Daniel 2

1 And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, on account of which his spirit was troubled, and his sleep went from him.

In the second year of the reign of Nabuchodonosor, Nabuchodonosor had a dream, and his spirit was terrified, and his dream went out of his mind.

2 Then the king commanded to call the scribes, and the magicians, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldaeans, that they might show the king his dreams; and they came and stood before the king.

Then the king commanded to call together the diviners and the wise men, and the magicians, and the Chaldeans: to declare to the king his dreams: so they came and stood before the king.

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

And the king said to them: I saw a dream: and being troubled in mind I know not what I saw.

4 And the Chaldaeans said to the king in Aramaean, O king, live forever! Tell thy servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.

And the Chaldeans answered the king in Syriac: O king, live for ever: tell to thy servants thy dream, and we will declare the interpretation thereof.

5 The king answered and said to the Chaldaeans: The word has gone from me. If ye will not make known to me the dream and the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill.

And the king answering said to the Chaldeans: The thing is gone out of my mind: unless you tell me the dream, and the meaning thereof, you shall be put to death, and your houses shall be confiscated.

6 But if ye show the dream and the interpretation thereof, ye shall receive from me gifts, and rewards, and great honor. Therefore show me the dream, and its interpretation!

But if you tell the dream, and the meaning of it, you shall receive of me rewards, and gifts, and great honour: therefore tell me the dream, and the interpretation thereof.

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

They answered again and said: Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will declare the interpretation of it.

8 The king answered and said, I know of a certain, that ye seek to gain time, because ye see that the word hath gone forth from me.

The king answered, and said: I know for certain that you seek to gain time, since you know that the thing is gone from me.

9 For if ye do not make known to me the dream, this alone is your purpose, and ye have prepared lying and deceitful words to speak before me till the time be changed. Tell me therefore the dream, and I shall know that ye can show me the interpretation thereof.

If therefore you tell me not the dream, there is one sentence concerning you, that you have also framed a lying interpretation, and full of deceit, to speak before me till the time pass away. Tell me therefore the dream, that I may know that you also give a true interpretation thereof.

10 The Chaldaeans answered before the king, and said: There is not a man upon the earth who can show what the king requireth; on which account no king, however great and powerful, hath asked such things of any scribe, or magician, or Chaldaean.

Then the Chaldeains answered before the king, and said: There is no man upon earth, that can accomplish thy word, O king, neither doth any king, though great and mighty, ask such a thing of any diviner, or wise man, or Chaldean.

11 It is a hard thing which the king requireth, and there is none other that can show it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with men.

For the thing that thou askest, O king, is difficult; nor can any one be found that can shew it before the king, except the gods, whose conversation is not with men.

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

Upon hearing this, the king in fury, and in great wrath, commanded that all the wise men of Babylon should be put to death.

13 And the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they sought Daniel and his fellows, to slay them.

And the decree being gone forth, the wise men were slain: and Daniel and his companions were sought for, to be put to death.

14 Then Daniel answered with understanding and wisdom to Arioch, the captain of the king's guard, who was gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon.

Then Daniel inquired concerning the law and the sentence, of Arioch the general of the king’s army, who was gone forth to kill the wise men of Babylon.

15 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.

And he asked him that had received the orders of the king, why so cruel a sentence was gone forth from the face of the king. And when Arioch had told the matter to Daniel,

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

Daniel went in and desired of the king, that he would give him time to resolve the question and declare it to the king.

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

And he went into his house, and told the matter to Ananias, and Misael, and Azarias his companions:

18 that they would desire mercies of the God of heaven, concerning this secret; that Daniel and his fellows should not perish, with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

To the end that they should ask mercy at the face of the God of heaven concerning this secret, and that Daniel and his companions might not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

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

Then was the mystery revealed to Daniel by a vision in the night: and Daniel blessed the God of heaven,

20 Daniel spake and said: Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever! for wisdom and might are his.

And speaking he said: Blessed be the name of the Lord from eternity and for evermore: for wisdom and fortitude are his.

21 And he changeth times and seasons; he removeth kings, and setteth up kings; he giveth wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to them that have understanding.

And he changeth times and ages: taketh away kingdoms and establisheth them, giveth wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to them that have understanding.

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

He revealeth deep and hidden things, and knoweth what is in darkness: and light is with him.

23 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.

To thee, O God of our fathers, I give thanks, and I praise thee: because thou hast given me wisdom and strength: and now thou hast shewn me what we desired of thee, for thou hast made known to us, the king’s discourse.

24 Therefore Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed 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.

After this Daniel went in to Arioch, to whom the king had given orders to destroy the wise men of Babylon, and he spoke thus to him: Destroy not the wise men of Babylon: bring me in before the king, and I will tell the solution to the king.

25 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.

Then Arioch in haste brought in Daniel to the king, and said to him: I have found a man of the children of the captivity of Juda, that will resolve the question to the king.

26 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 thereof?

The king answered, and said to Daniel, whose name was Baltassar: Thinkest thou indeed that thou canst tell me the dream that I saw, and the interpretation thereof?

27 Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded, the wise men, the scribes, the magicians, the astrologers cannot show to the king;

And Daniel made answer before the king, and said: The secret that the king desireth to know, none of the wise men, or the philosophers, or the diviners, or the soothsayers can declare to the king.

28 but there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to King Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the days to come. Thy dream and the visions of thy head upon thy bed were these.

But there is a God in heaven that revealeth mysteries, who hath shewn to thee, O king Nabuchodonosor, what is to come to pass in the latter times. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these:

29 Thy thoughts, O king, came into thy mind, what should come to pass hereafter; and he that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee what shall come to pass.

Thou, O king, didst begin to think in thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter: and he that revealeth mysteries shewed thee what shall come to pass.

30 But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me through any wisdom which I have more than all the living, but to the end that the interpretation might be made known to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart.

To me also this secret is revealed, not by any wisdom that I have more than all men alive: but that the interpretation might be made manifest to the king, and thou mightest know the thoughts of thy mind.

31 Thou, O king, sawest, and behold, a great image. This image, which was high and of surpassing brightness, stood before thee; and its form was terrible.

Thou, O king, sawest, and behold there was as it were a great statue: this statue, which was great and high, tall of stature, stood before thee, and the look thereof was terrible.

32 The head of this image was of fine gold; his breast and his arms of silver; his belly and his thighs of brass;

The head of this statue was of fine gold, but the breast and the arms of silver, and the belly and the thighs of brass:

33 his legs of iron; his feet, part of iron and part of clay.

And the legs of iron, the feet part of iron and part of clay.

34 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.

Thus thou sawest, till a stone was cut out of a mountain without hands: and it struck the statue upon the feet thereof that were of iron and of clay, and broke them in pieces.

35 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold broken to pieces together, and became like chaff from 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 was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of a summer’s thrashingfloor, and they were carried away by the wind: and there was no place found for them: but the stone that struck the statue, became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.

36 This is the dream, and now we will tell the interpretation of it before the king.

This is the dream: we will also tell the interpretation thereof before thee, O king.

37 Thou, O king, art a king of kings; for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power and strength and glory.

Thou art a king of kings: and the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, and strength, and power, and glory:

38 And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the birds of heaven hath he given into thy hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art the head of gold.

And all places wherein the children of men, and the beasts of the field do dwell: he hath also given the birds of the air into thy hand, and hath put all things under thy power: thou therefore art the 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.

And after thee shall rise up another kingdom, inferior to thee, of silver: and another third kingdom of brass, which shall rule over all the world.

40 And a fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron; forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things; even as iron, that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.

And the fourth kingdom shall be as iron. As iron breaketh into pieces, and subdueth all things, so shall that break and destroy all these.

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

Arid whereas thou sawest the feet, and the toes, part of potter’s clay, and part of iron: the kingdom shall be divided, but yet it shall take its origin from the iron, according as thou sawest the iron mixed with the miry clay.

42 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.

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

43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves by marriage, but they shall not cleave to each other, even as iron is not mixed with clay.

And whereas thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay, they shall be mingled indeed together with the seed of man, but they shall not stick fast one to another, as iron cannot be mixed with clay.

44 But in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall be left to no other people but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever;

But in the days of those kingdoms the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, and his kingdom shall not be delivered up to another people, and it shall break in pieces, and shall consume all these kingdoms, and itself shall stand for ever.

45 even 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 thereof sure.

According as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and broke in pieces, the clay, and the iron, and the brass, and the silver, and the gold, the great God hath shewn the king what shall come to pass hereafter, and the dream is true, and the interpretation thereof is faithful.

46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odors to him.

Then king Nabuchodonosor fell on his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer in sacrifice to him victims and incense.

47 The king answered Daniel and said, Of a truth, your God is the God of gods, and the Lord of kings, and the revealer of secrets, since thou couldst reveal this secret.

And the king spoke to Daniel, and said: Verily your God is the God of gods, and Lord of kings, and a revealer of hidden things: seeing thou couldst discover this secret.

48 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.

Then the king advanced Daniel to a high station, and gave him many and great gifts: and he made him governor over all the provinces of Babylon, and chief of the magistrates over all the wise men of Babylon.

49 Then Daniel requested of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the affairs of the province of Babylon; but Daniel was in the gate of the king.

And Daniel requested of the king, and he appointed Sidrach, Misach, and Abdenago over the works of the province of Babylon: but Daniel himself was in the king’s palace.