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.

[One night] during the second year that Nebuchadnezzar ruled, he had a dream. The dream worried him very much; and [as a result] he could not 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.

[The next morning] he summoned his men who worked magic, fortune-tellers, those who worked sorcery, and those who studied the stars. [Because he had forgotten what he had dreamed, ] he insisted that they tell him what he had dreamed. As they stood there in front of the king,

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

he said, “I had a dream [last night] that worries me. [Tell me what I dreamed, because] I want to know what the dream [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 men who studied the stars replied to the king, speaking in the Aramaic [language]. They said, “King Nebuchadnezzar, we hope that you will live a long time! Tell us what you dreamed, and [then] we will tell you what it means!”

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;

But the king replied, “I have firmly decided that you must tell me the dream, and [also tell me] what it means. If you do not do that, I will [order my soldiers to] cut you into pieces, and to cause your houses to become only piles of stones!

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 me what I dreamed and what it means, I will reward you. I will give you wonderful gifts and greatly honor you. So tell me what I dreamed 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.

But again they said, “Tell us what you dreamed, and [then] we will tell you 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:

The king replied, “I know that you are just trying to get more time, because you know that I will do to you what I said that I would do.

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 do not tell me what I dreamed, you will be punished. [I think that] you have all agreed to tell me lies and [other] wicked things, because you hope that I will change ([my mind/what I am thinking]). But tell me the dream, and [then] I will know that you can [also] tell me 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 men who studied the stars replied, “There is no one on the earth who can do what you ask! There is no king, [even] a great and mighty king, who has [ever] asked his men who work magic or his fortune-tellers or men who study the stars to do something like that!

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 you are asking [us to do] is impossible. Only the gods can tell you what you dreamed, and they do not live among us!”

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

The king was very angry when he heard that, so he commanded [his soldiers] that they execute all such wise men in Babylon.

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 because of what the king commanded, they sent some men to find me and my [three] friends, to execute us [also].

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:

Arioch, the commander of the king’s guards, came to kill us. But I spoke to him very wisely and tactfully/skillfully.

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.

I asked Arioch, “Why has the king made such a harsh/terrible decree?” So Arioch told me all that had happened [because of the king’s dream].

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.

I [immediately] went to talk to the king and requested that the king give me some time, so that I could find out [what the dream was and] what the dream meant.

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

Then I went home, and I told my friends, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, what had happened.

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.

I urged them to ask God, who lives/rules in heaven, to have mercy on us by telling us the secret [meaning of what the king dreamed], in order that we and the other wise men in Babylon would not be executed.

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

And that night [God] gave to me a vision in which he revealed the secret. Then I praised God,

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

saying, “We should praise God [MTY] forever, because [only] he truly 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 determines what events will happen through the years. He removes [some] kings and gives their authority to [new] kings. He is the one who causes people to become wise and enables those who study to understand [many] things.

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

He reveals things that are very mysterious; he is surrounded by light, but he knows things that are hidden [as though they were] in the darkness.

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.

God, whom my ancestors [worshiped], I thank you and I praise you, because you have caused me to be wise and made me strong. You have told me what my friends and I asked you to tell us; and you have revealed to us what the king demanded to know.”

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.

Then I went to Arioch, the man whom the king had appointed to execute the wise men in Babylon. I said to him, “Do not kill those wise men. Take me to the king, and I will tell him what his dream means.”

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.

So Arioch quickly took me to the king. He said to the king, “I have found [this man], one of the men whom we brought from Judah who [says he can] can tell you 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 said to me, whose [new] name was Belteshazzar, “[Is this true]? Can you tell me what I dreamed 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;

I replied, “There are no wise men or fortune-tellers or men who work magic or men who work sorcery who can tell such things to you.

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 secrets. And he has shown in [your dream] what will happen in the future. Now I will tell you what you dreamed, the vision you saw [as you were lying] on your bed.

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.

O King, while you were sleeping, you dreamed about events that will happen in the future. The one who reveals mysteries has shown you what is going to happen.

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.

And it is not because I am wiser than anyone else on earth that I know the meaning of this mysterious dream. It is because God wanted you to understand what you were thinking.

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.

O King, [in your vision] you saw in front of you a huge and terrifying statue [of a man. It was] shining very brightly, and it was frightening and awesome.

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 [made] of pure gold. Its chest and arms [were made of] silver. Its belly and thighs [were made of] bronze.

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

Its legs [were made of] iron, and its feet were a mixture of clay and iron.

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.

As you watched, something cut a rock [from a mountain, but it was] not a human [who cut it]. The rock [tumbled down and] smashed the feet of the statue, feet [that were made of] iron and clay. It smashed them to bits.

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 collapsed into a big heap of iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold. The pieces of the statue were as small as bits of chaff on the ground where it is threshed, and the wind blew away all the tiny pieces. There was nothing left. But the rock that smashed the statue became a large mountain that covered the whole earth.

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

That was what you dreamed. Now I will tell you what it means.

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;

You are a king [who rules] over [many other] kings. The God who rules in heaven has caused you to rule over them and has given you great power [DOU] and has honored you.

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 has caused you to be the ruler over all people, and [even] the animals and birds are controlled by you. [So] the head [of the statue] represents you.

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 your [kingdom/rule] ends, there will be another [great] kingdom, [but it] will not be as great as yours. [The silver parts of the statue represent that kingdom]. Then there will be a third [great] kingdom [whose king] will rule over the whole earth. The bronze parts [of the statue represent] that kingdom.

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.

After that kingdom ends, there will be a fourth [great] kingdom. The iron [parts of the statue represent that kingdom]. [The army of] that kingdom will smash the previous kingdoms, just like iron smashes everything that it strikes.

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;

The feet and toes of the statue that you saw, that were a mixture of iron and clay, indicate that the kingdom they represent will [later] be divided.

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;

Some parts of that kingdom will be as strong as iron, but some parts will not remain together, just as iron and clay do not stick together.

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.

The mixture of iron and clay [in the statue] shows also that the rulers of those kingdoms that separate from each other will try to form alliances with each other as a result of members of the royal families of those kingdoms marrying each other. But that will not succeed, just as iron and clay do not stick together.

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 while those kings are ruling, God who rules in heaven will establish a kingdom that will never end. No one will ever defeat its king. He will completely destroy all those kingdoms, but his kingdom will remain 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.

That is the meaning of the rock that something cut from the mountain, the rock that will crush to tiny bits the statue that is made of iron, bronze, silver, and gold. O king, the great God has shown you what will truly happen in the future. And you can trust [what I told you about] the meaning of the dream.”

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 prostrated himself in front of me [in great respect]. He commanded [his people] that they burn incense and burn an offering of grain to honor me.

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 me, “[Your God has enabled] you to tell me the meaning of this dream/mystery, so now I truly know that your God is greater than all the other gods and all other kings. He reveals [to people] things that they cannot know.”

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 gave many gifts to me, and he [also] appointed me to rule over the entire province of Babylon, and [also] to be the boss of all his wise men.

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.

I asked the king to appoint Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to [also] have important positions in Babylon province, and the king did what I asked him to do. But [I did my work while] I stayed at the king’s palace.