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Daniel 2:24-45
New American Standard Bible
Daniel 2:24-45
New American Standard Bible
24 Thereupon, Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to kill the wise men of Babylon; he went and said this to him: “(A)Do not kill the wise men of Babylon! Take me [a]into the king’s presence, and I will declare the interpretation to the king.”
25 Then Arioch hurriedly (B)brought Daniel [b]into the king’s presence and spoke to him as follows: “I have found a man among the [c](C)exiles from Judah who can make the interpretation known to the king!” 26 The king said to Daniel, whose name was (D)Belteshazzar, “Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen and its interpretation?” 27 Daniel answered before the king and said, “As for the secret about which the king has inquired, neither (E)wise men, sorcerers, soothsayer priests, nor diviners are able to declare it to the king. 28 However, there is a (F)God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will take place in the [d](G)latter days. This was your dream and the (H)visions [e]in your mind while on your bed. 29 As for you, O king, while on your bed your thoughts [f]turned to what would take place [g]in the future; and (I)He who reveals secrets has made known to you what will take place. 30 But as for me, this secret has not been revealed to me [h]for any (J)wisdom [i]residing in me more than in any other living person, but for the purpose of making the interpretation known to the king, and that you may understand the (K)thoughts of your [j]mind.
The King’s Dream
31 “You, O king, were watching and behold, there was a single great statue; that statue, which was large and [k]of extraordinary radiance, was standing in front of you, and its appearance was [l](L)awesome. 32 The (M)head of that statue was made of fine gold, its chest and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, and its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. 34 You [m]continued watching until a (N)stone was broken off (O)without hands, and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay, and (P)crushed them. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed to pieces [n]all at the same time, and they were (Q)like chaff from the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away so that (R)not a trace of them was found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great (S)mountain and filled the entire earth.
The Interpretation—Babylon the First Kingdom
36 “This was the dream; and now we will tell (T)its interpretation before the king. 37 You, O king, are the (U)king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the [o]kingdom, the (V)power, the strength, and the honor; 38 and wherever the sons of mankind live, or the (W)animals of the field, or the birds of the sky, He has handed them over to you and has made you ruler over them all. You are the head of gold.
Medo-Persia and Greece
39 And after you another kingdom will arise inferior to you, then another third kingdom of bronze, which will rule over all the earth.
Rome
40 Then there will be a (X)fourth kingdom as strong as iron; just as iron smashes and crushes everything, so, like iron that crushes, it will smash and crush all these things. 41 And in that you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it will be a divided kingdom; but it will have within it some of the toughness of iron, since you saw the iron mixed with [p]common clay. 42 And just as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of pottery, so some of the kingdom will be strong, and part of it will be fragile. 43 In that you saw the iron mixed with [q]common clay, they will combine with one another [r]in [s]their descendants; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not combine with pottery.
The Divine Kingdom
44 And in the days of those kings the (Y)God of heaven will (Z)set up a (AA)kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be [t]left for another people; it will (AB)crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever. 45 Just as you saw that a (AC)stone was broken off from the mountain without hands, and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold, the (AD)great God has made known to the king what (AE)will take place [u]in the future; so the dream is certain and its interpretation is trustworthy.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Daniel 2:24 Lit in before the king
- Daniel 2:25 Lit in before the king
- Daniel 2:25 Lit sons of the exile of
- Daniel 2:28 Lit end of the days
- Daniel 2:28 Lit of your head
- Daniel 2:29 Lit came up
- Daniel 2:29 Lit after this
- Daniel 2:30 Or through
- Daniel 2:30 Lit which is
- Daniel 2:30 Lit heart
- Daniel 2:31 Lit its radiance was extraordinary
- Daniel 2:31 Or dreadful
- Daniel 2:34 Lit were
- Daniel 2:35 Lit as one
- Daniel 2:37 Or sovereignty
- Daniel 2:41 Lit wet clay
- Daniel 2:43 Lit wet clay
- Daniel 2:43 Or with
- Daniel 2:43 Lit the seed of men
- Daniel 2:44 Or passed on to
- Daniel 2:45 Lit after this
Daniel 2:24-45
New International Version
Daniel 2:24-45
New International Version
Daniel Interprets the Dream
24 Then Daniel went to Arioch,(A) whom the king had appointed to execute the wise men of Babylon, and said to him, “Do not execute the wise men of Babylon. Take me to the king, and I will interpret his dream for him.”
25 Arioch took Daniel to the king at once and said, “I have found a man among the exiles(B) from Judah(C) who can tell the king what his dream means.”
26 The king asked Daniel (also called Belteshazzar),(D) “Are you able to tell me what I saw in my dream and interpret it?”
27 Daniel replied, “No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about,(E) 28 but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries.(F) He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come.(G) Your dream and the visions that passed through your mind(H) as you were lying in bed(I) are these:(J)
29 “As Your Majesty was lying there, your mind turned to things to come, and the revealer of mysteries showed you what is going to happen.(K) 30 As for me, this mystery has been revealed(L) to me, not because I have greater wisdom than anyone else alive, but so that Your Majesty may know the interpretation and that you may understand what went through your mind.
31 “Your Majesty looked, and there before you stood a large statue—an enormous, dazzling statue,(M) awesome(N) in appearance. 32 The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay. 34 While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands.(O) It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed(P) them.(Q) 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were all broken to pieces and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away(R) without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain(S) and filled the whole earth.(T)
36 “This was the dream, and now we will interpret it to the king.(U) 37 Your Majesty, you are the king of kings.(V) The God of heaven has given you dominion(W) and power and might and glory; 38 in your hands he has placed all mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds in the sky. Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all.(X) You are that head of gold.
39 “After you, another kingdom will arise, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth.(Y) 40 Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron—for iron breaks and smashes everything—and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others.(Z) 41 Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom; yet it will have some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed with clay. 42 As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. 43 And just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay.
44 “In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush(AA) all those kingdoms(AB) and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever.(AC) 45 This is the meaning of the vision of the rock(AD) cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands(AE)—a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces.
“The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future.(AF) The dream is true(AG) and its interpretation is trustworthy.”
New American Standard Bible (NASB) 
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New International Version (NIV) 
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