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 Nebuchadnezzar's reign the king had dreams that upset him so much that he found it difficult to sleep.

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.

So the king summoned the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and astrologers to tell him what he had dreamed. They came in and stood before him.

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

“I've had a dream that has really upset me,” he told them. “I need to know what it means.”

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.

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.”

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;

“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!

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 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!”

7 They answered again and said, —Let, the king, tell, the dream, to his servants, and, the interpretation thereof, we will declare.

Again they said the same thing: “If Your Majesty the king would tell us his servants the dream, we will explain what it means.”

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:

“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.

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 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.”

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;

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!

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.

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.”

12 For this cause, the king, was provoked and exceedingly indignant, —and gave word to destroy all the wise men of Babylon;

This made the king extremely angry, and he ordered all the wise men of Babylon executed.

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.

The decree was issued. The wise men were about to be executed, and the king's men went looking for Daniel and his friends.

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:

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

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.

Daniel asked him, “Why would the king issue such a harsh decree?” So Arioch explained to Daniel what had happened.

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 immediately went to see the king and asked for more time to explain the dream and its meaning to him.

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

Then Daniel went home and shared with Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah what was going on.

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.

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.

19 Then, unto Daniel—in a vision of the night, the secret was revealed, —whereupon, Daniel, blessed the God of the heavens:

That night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised 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;

“Praise the wonderful nature of God forever and ever, for he is wise and powerful.

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:

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.

22 He, revealeth the deep things, and the hidden, —knoweth what is in the darkness, and, light, with him, doth dwell.

He reveals deep, mysterious things. He knows what lies in darkness, and light lives in his presence.

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.

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.”

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.

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.”

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.

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.”

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 asked Daniel (also called Belteshazzar), “Are you really able to tell me what my dream was, and what it means?”

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;

“No wise men or enchanters or magicians or diviners can explain the mystery Your Majesty wants to know,” Daniel replied.

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 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.

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.

As Your Majesty lay there, your thoughts turned to the future, and the revealer of mysteries showed you what would take place.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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 the statue was gold, the chest and arms were silver, its middle and thighs were bronze,

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

its legs were iron, and its feet were iron and baked 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.

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.

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 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.

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

This was the dream, and now we will explain what it means to the 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;

Your Majesty, you are the king of kings to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, and power, strength, 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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;

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.

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;

As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, the kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle.

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.

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.

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.

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,

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.

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.”

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 Nebuchadnezzar fell down before Daniel and worshiped him, and ordered offerings of grain and incense to be made to him.

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.

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.”

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 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.

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.

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.