Daniel 2

1 And, in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, —and his spirit, was troubled, and, his sleep, had gone 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 So the king gave word to call for the sacred scribes and for the magicians, and for the users of incantations, and for the Chaldeans, that they might tell the king his dreams, —they came in therefore, 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, A dream, have I dreamed, —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 Then spake the Chaldeans to the king, in Aramaic, —O king, to the ages, live! Tell the dream to thy servants, and, the interpretation, we will declare.

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 Chaldeans, The word from me, is unalterable: If ye shall not make known to me the dream and the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and, your houses, into a dunghill, shall be turned;

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, the dream and the interpretation thereof, ye will declare, gifts and a present and great dignity, shall ye receive from before me, —therefore, the dream and the interpretation thereof, declare ye unto me.

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, the dream, to his servants, and, the interpretation thereof, we will declare.

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, Of a certainty, I know, that, time, ye, would gain, —merely because ye see that, unalterable, from me, is the word:

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 That, if, the dream, ye shall not make known to me, one and the same, is the decree, and, a lying and wicked word, have ye agreed to speak before me, that meanwhile the time may be changed, —therefore, the dream, tell ye me, so shall I know that, the interpretation thereof, ye can declare for me.

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 Chaldeans answered before the king and said, There is not a man upon the earth, who can declare, the matter of the king, —although indeed, there is no king, chief ruler who, a thing like this, hath asked of any sacred scribe or magician or Chaldean;

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 and, the thing which the king hath asked, is difficult, and, none other, is there, who can declare it before the king, —saving the gods whose dwelling is, not with flesh.

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 provoked and exceedingly indignant, —and gave word 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 companions that they might be slain.

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 Immediately, Daniel, made answer with prudence and discretion, to Arioch, chief of the executioners of the king, —who had come 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 began to speak and said to Arioch the king’s captain, —For what cause, is the decree raging forth from before the king? Then did Arioch make the matter known unto 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 So Daniel entered in, and desired of the king, —that, an appointed time, he would give him, and then, the interpretation, he would declare unto the king.

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, to his own house, departed, —and, to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, made the matter known;

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

18 that, tender compassion, they might seek from before the God of the heavens, concerning this secret, —that Daniel and his companions, might not be destroyed, 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, unto Daniel—in a vision of the night, the secret was revealed, —whereupon, Daniel, blessed the God of the heavens:

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

20 Daniel responded, and said, Let the name of God be blessed from age to age, —in that wisdom and might, to him belong;

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, removeth kings, and setteth up kings, —giving wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to them who are skilled in 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 the deep things, and the hidden, —knoweth what is in the darkness, and, light, with him, doth dwell.

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

23 Unto the, O God of my fathers, do I render thanks and praise, in that, wisdom and might, thou hast given unto me, —yea, already, hast thou made known to me that which we desired of thee, for, the matter of the king, hast thou made known unto us.

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 entered in unto Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon, —he went in, and, thus, he said unto him, The wise men of Babylon, do not thou destroy, bring me in before the king, and, the interpretation—unto the king, will I declare.

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 Thereupon, Arioch—with haste, brought in Daniel before the king, —and, thus, he said to him—I have found a man of the sons of the exile of Judah, who, the interpretation—unto the king, will make known.

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 unto 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 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 before the king, and said, —The secret which the king hath asked, the wise men, the magicians, the sacred scribes, the astrologers, are not able to declare unto 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 the heavens, who revealeth secrets, and hath made known to King Nebuchadnezzar, what shall come to pass, in the afterpart of the days: Thy dream and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are, 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 As for thee, O king, thy thoughts upon thy bed, arose regarding what should come to pass hereafter; and, he that revealeth secrets, made 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—not for any wisdom that is in me, more than any of the living, is, this secret, revealed to me, —therefore, it is in order that, the interpretation—unto the king, they should make known, and that, the thoughts of thy heart, thou shouldst get to know.

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 As for thee, O king, thou wast looking, when lo! a great image, this image, being mighty, and the brightness thereof surpassing, was standing before thee, —and, the appearance thereof, 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 As for this image, its head, was of fine gold, its breast and its arms, were of silver, —its belly and its thighs, of bronze;

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 its legs, of iron, —and, its feet, part of them, of iron, and, part of them, of clay.

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

34 Thou didst look, until that a stone tare itself away, not by the aid of hands, and smote the image upon its feet, which were of iron and clay, —and they were broken in 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 were broken in pieces at once, the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, and became like chaff out of the summer threshing-floors, and the wind, carried them away, and, no place, was found for them, —but, the stone that smote the image, became a mighty rock, and filled all the land.

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, the interpretation thereof, we will tell before the king.

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

37 Thou, O king, art the king of kings, —for, the God of the heavens, hath given unto thee, the kingship, the might, the power and the dignity;

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 sons of men do dwell, the wild beasts of the field and the birds of the heavens, 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—a third kingdom, of bronze, which shall bear rule throughout 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, the fourth kingdom, shall be hard as iron, —in like manner as iron breaketh in pieces and crusheth all things, —even as iron which bringeth to ruins all these, shall it break in pieces and bring to ruins.

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 the toes, part of them of potter’s clay, and part of them of iron, the kingdom, shall be, divided, and, of the hardness of the iron, shall there be in it, —forasmuch as thou sawest, the iron, combined with the 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, the toes of the feet, part of them, iron, and, part, of clay, —some part of the kingdom, shall be strong, but, a part thereof, shall be brittle;

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, the iron, combined with the miry clay, they shall be combined with the seed of men, but shall not cleave firmly one to another, —lo! as iron is not to be combined 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 And, in the days of those kings, shall the God of the heavens, set up, a kingdom which, to the ages, shall not be destroyed, and, the kingdom, to another people, shall not be left, —it shall break in pieces and make an end of all these kingdoms, but, itself, shall stand to the ages.

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 Forasmuch as thou sawest that, out of the rock, a stone tare itself away, but not with hands, and brake in pieces the clay, the iron, the bronze, the silver and the gold, the mighty God, hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter. Exact then is the dream, and trusty its interpretation.

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, unto Daniel, paid adoration; and, a present and sweet odours, gave he word to pour out unto 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 a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a Revealer of secrets, —seeing thou wast able to 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, exalted, Daniel, and, many large presents, gave he unto him, and set him to be ruler over all the province of Babylon, —and chief of the nobles, 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 And, Daniel, desired of the king, and he appointed—over the business of the province of Babylon—Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, —but, Daniel himself, 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.