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Daniel 2
Holman Christian Standard Bible

Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

2 In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams(A) that troubled him, and sleep deserted him.(B) 2 So the king gave orders to summon the diviner-priests, mediums, sorcerers, and Chaldeans[a](C) to tell the king his dreams. When they came and stood before the king, 3 he said to them, “I have had a dream and am anxious to understand it.”

4 The Chaldeans spoke to the king (Aramaic[b](D) begins here): “May the king live forever.(E) Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation.”

5 The king replied to the Chaldeans, “My word is final: If you don’t tell me the dream and its interpretation, you will be torn limb from limb,[c] and your houses will be made a garbage dump.(F) 6 But if you make the dream and its interpretation known to me, you’ll receive gifts, a reward, and great honor from me.(G) So make the dream and its interpretation known to me.”

7 They answered a second time, “May the king tell the dream to his servants, and we will give the interpretation.”

8 The king replied, “I know for certain you are trying to gain some time, because you see that my word is final. 9 If you don’t tell me the dream, there is one decree for you.(H) You have conspired to tell me something false or fraudulent until the situation changes. So tell me the dream and I will know you can give me its interpretation.”

10 The Chaldeans answered the king, “No one on earth can make known what the king requests.(I) Consequently, no king, however great and powerful, has ever asked anything like this of any diviner-priest, medium, or Chaldean. 11 What the king is asking is so difficult that no one can make it known to him except the gods, whose dwelling is not with mortals.”(J) 12 Because of this, the king became violently angry(K) and gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. 13 The decree was issued that the wise men were to be executed, and they searched for Daniel and his friends, to execute them.

14 Then Daniel responded with tact and discretion to Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard,[d](L) who had gone out to execute the wise men of Babylon. 15 He asked Arioch, the king’s officer, “Why is the decree from the king so harsh?”[e](M) Then Arioch explained the situation to Daniel. 16 So Daniel went and asked the king to give him some time, so that he could give the king the interpretation.

17 Then Daniel went to his house and told his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah about the matter, 18 urging them to ask the God of heaven(N) for mercy(O) concerning this mystery, so Daniel and his friends would not be killed with the rest of Babylon’s wise men.(P) 19 The mystery was then revealed to Daniel in a vision(Q) at night, and Daniel praised the God of heaven 20 and declared:

May the name of God
be praised forever and ever,(R)
for wisdom(S) and power belong to Him.
21 He changes the times and seasons;
He removes kings and establishes kings.(T)
He gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to those
who have understanding.(U)
22 He reveals the deep and hidden things;
He knows what is in the darkness,(V)
and light dwells with Him.(W)
23 I offer thanks and praise to You,
God of my fathers,(X)
because You have given me
wisdom and power.
And now You have let me know
what we asked of You,
for You have let us know(Y)
the king’s mystery.[f]

24 Therefore Daniel went to Arioch,(Z) whom the king had assigned to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He came and said to him, “Don’t kill the wise men of Babylon! Bring me before the king, and I will give him the interpretation.”(AA)

25 Then Arioch quickly brought Daniel before the king and said to him, “I have found a man among the Judean exiles(AB) who can let the king know the interpretation.”

26 The king said in reply to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar,(AC) “Are you able to tell me the dream I had and its interpretation?”(AD)

27 Daniel answered the king: “No wise man, medium, diviner-priest, or astrologer(AE) is able to make known to the king the mystery he asked about. 28 But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has let King Nebuchadnezzar know what will happen in the last days.(AF) Your dream and the visions that came into your mind as you lay in bed(AG) were these: 29 Your Majesty, while you were in your bed, thoughts came to your mind about what will happen in the future.[g](AH) The revealer of mysteries(AI) has let you know what will happen. 30 As for me, this mystery has been revealed to me,(AJ) not because I have more wisdom than anyone living, but in order that the interpretation might be made known to the king, and that you may understand the thoughts of your mind.(AK)

The Dream’s Interpretation

31 “My king, as you were watching, a colossal statue appeared. That statue, tall and dazzling, was standing in front of you, and its appearance was terrifying. 32 The head of the statue was pure gold, its chest and arms were silver, its stomach and thighs were bronze, 33 its legs were iron, and its feet were partly iron and partly fired clay. 34 As you were watching, a stone broke off without a hand touching it,[h](AL) struck the statue(AM) on its feet of iron and fired clay, and crushed them.(AN) 35 Then the iron, the fired clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were shattered and became like chaff(AO) from the summer threshing floors. The wind carried them away, and not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled(AP) the whole earth.

36 “This was the dream; now we will tell the king its interpretation. 37 Your Majesty, you are king of kings.(AQ) The God of heaven has given you sovereignty, power,(AR) strength, and glory. 38 Wherever people live—or wild animals, or birds of the air—He has handed them over to you and made you ruler over them all.(AS) You are the head of gold.

39 “After you, there will arise another kingdom, inferior to yours, and then another, a third kingdom, of bronze, which will rule the whole earth.(AT) 40 A fourth kingdom will be as strong as iron; for iron crushes and shatters everything, and like iron that smashes, it will crush and smash all the others.[i](AU) 41 You saw the feet and toes, partly of a potter’s fired clay and partly of iron—it will be a divided kingdom, though some of the strength of iron will be in it. You saw the iron mixed with clay, 42 and that the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly fired clay—part of the kingdom will be strong, and part will be brittle. 43 You saw the iron mixed with clay—the peoples will mix with one another[j] but will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with fired clay.

44 “In the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed,(AV) and this kingdom will not be left to another people. It will crush all these kingdoms(AW) and bring them to an end, but will itself endure forever. 45 You saw a stone(AX) break off from the mountain without a hand touching it,[k](AY) and it crushed the iron, bronze, fired clay, silver, and gold. The great God has told the king what will happen in the future.[l](AZ) The dream is true, and its interpretation certain.”

Nebuchadnezzar’s Response

46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell down, paid homage to Daniel, and gave orders to present an offering and incense to him.(BA) 47 The king said to Daniel, “Your God is indeed God of gods, Lord of kings,(BB) and a revealer of mysteries,(BC) since you were able to reveal this mystery.” 48 Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many generous gifts. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and chief governor over all the wise men of Babylon.(BD) 49 At Daniel’s request, the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego(BE) to manage the province of Babylon. But Daniel remained at the king’s court.(BF)

Footnotes

  1. Daniel 2:2 In this chap. Chaldeans are influential Babylonian wise men.
  2. Daniel 2:4 Dn 2:4–7:28 is written in Aram.
  3. Daniel 2:5 Lit be made into limbs
  4. Daniel 2:14 Or executioners
  5. Daniel 2:15 Or urgent
  6. Daniel 2:23 Lit matter
  7. Daniel 2:29 Lit happen after this
  8. Daniel 2:34 Lit off not by hands
  9. Daniel 2:40 Lit all these
  10. Daniel 2:43 Lit another in the seed of men
  11. Daniel 2:45 Lit mountain, not by hands
  12. Daniel 2:45 Lit happen after this
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Daniel 2
Lexham English Bible

The King’s Troubling Dream

2 Now[a] in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams; and his spirit was troubled and his sleep left him. 2 So the king said to call the magicians[b] and the conjurers[c] and the sorcerers and the astrologers[d] to tell to the king his dreams. And they came in and they stood before[e] the king. 3 And the king said to them, “I have had a dream[f] and my spirit is anxious to know the dream.”

4 And the astrologers[g] said to the king in Aramaic,[h] “O king, live forever! Tell the dream to your servants and we will reveal the explanation.” 5 The king answered and said to the astrologers,[i] “The command from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its explanation,[j] then you will be broken into pieces and your houses will be laid in ruins. 6 But if you tell me the dream and its explanation, you will receive gifts and rewards[k] and great honor from me. Therefore, tell me the dream and its explanation.”[l] 7 They answered once more and said, “Let the king tell the dream to his servants and we will make the explanation known.” 8 The king answered and said, “Certainly[m] I know that you are trying to gain time[n] because[o] you have seen that this matter is firmly decreed by me,[p] 9 for if you do not make the dream known to me, your verdict is fixed,[q] and you have conspired to say a lying and deceitful word to me until the circumstances[r] will change. Therefore, tell me the dream, and I will know that you can tell me its explanation.” 10 The astrologers[s] answered the king and said, “There is not a man on earth that is able to reveal the word of the king; in fact,[t] no great and powerful king has ever asked a thing like this of any magician[u] or conjurer[v] or astrologer.[w] 11 And the thing that the king is asking is too difficult and there is no one who[x] can reveal it to the king except the gods whose dwelling is not with mortals.”[y]

12 Because of this the king became angry, and he became very much enraged, and he said that all the wise men of Babylon are to be destroyed. 13 And the decree was issued, and the wise men were on the verge of being executed,[z] and they searched for Daniel and his companions to be executed. 14 Then Daniel responded prudently and discretely to Arioch, the commander of the imperial guard of the king, who had gone out to execute the wise men of Babylon. 15 He asked[aa] and said to Arioch, the royal official of the king, “Why[ab] is the decree from the king so severe?” Then Arioch explained the matter[ac] to Daniel. 16 And Daniel went in and requested from the king that he would give him time, and he would tell the king[ad] the explanation.[ae]

17 Then Daniel went to his home, and he made the matter known to Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, his companions, 18 and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven[af] concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions, along with the remainder of the wise men of Babylon, would not be killed.

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

20 Daniel said:[ag]

“Let his name, the name of God,[ah] be blessed throughout the ages,[ai]
    for the wisdom and the power are his.[aj]
21 And he changes the times and the seasons,
    and he deposes kings and he sets up kings;
he gives wisdom[ak] to wise men
    and knowledge to men who know understanding.
22 He reveals the deep and the hidden things;
    he knows what is in the darkness,
    and the light dwells with him.
23 To you, O God of my ancestors,[al]
    I give thanks and I give praises,
for the wisdom and the power you gave to me,
    and now you have made known to me
what we have asked from you,
    for you have made known to us the matter of the king.”

Daniel Praises God and Interprets the King’s Dream

24 Therefore[am] Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed[an] to destroy the wise men of Babylon; he went and thus he said to him: “You must not destroy the wise men of Babylon; take me in before the king and I will give the explanation[ao] to the king.”

25 Then Arioch quickly[ap] brought Daniel in before the king and thus he said to him: “I have found a man among the exiles[aq] of Judah[ar] who can relate[as] the explanation[at] to the king. 26 The king then asked[au] and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to make known to me the dream that I have seen and its explanation?”[av] 27 Daniel answered the king and said, “The mystery that the king asks, no wise men, conjurers,[aw] magicians,[ax] or diviners are able to make known to the king. 28 But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what it is that will be at the end of days. This is your dream and the visions of your head on your bed.

29 “As for you, king,[ay] your thoughts on your bed turned to[az] what it was that would be in the future,[ba] and the revealer of mysteries has made known to you what that would be. 30 And as for me, it is not because of wisdom that is in me more than any other living person[bb] that this mystery is revealed to me, but in order that[bc] the explanation[bd] may be made known to the king and you will understand[be] the thoughts of your mind.[bf]

31 “You, O king, were looking and, look, there was one great statue. This statue was huge and its brilliance extraordinary, standing there before you, and its appearance was frightening.[bg] 32 The head of this statue was of fine gold, its chest and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, its feet, part of them of iron and part of them of clay. 34 You were looking on until[bh] a stone was chiseled out[bi]—that not by hands—and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay, and it broke them in pieces. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold all at once[bj] broke into pieces[bk] and they became like chaff from the summer threshing floor, and the wind carried them away and any trace of them could not be found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and it filled the whole earth.

36 “This was the dream, and now we will tell its interpretation to the king. 37 You, O king, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power and the might and the glory, 38 and also human beings wherever they dwell,[bl] the animals of the field and the birds[bm] of heaven[bn]—he has given into your hand and made you ruler over all of them—you are the head of gold. 39 And after you another kingdom inferior to yours will arise, and another third kingdom of bronze that will rule over the whole earth. 40 And a fourth kingdom will be strong as iron, and just as[bo] iron crushes and smashes everything,[bp] and as iron shatters all of these other metals, so it will crush and it will shatter these nations. 41 And just as[bq] you saw the feet and the toes, partly potter’s clay[br] and partly iron,[bs] it will be a divided kingdom; and some hardness[bt] of the iron will be in it, just as[bu] you have seen the iron mixed with the wet clay. 42 And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so part of the kingdom will be strong and partly brittle.[bv] 43 And in that you saw the iron was mixed with wet clay, so they will mix in marriage[bw] and they will not cling to one another,[bx] just as iron does not mix with clay. 44 And in the day of those kings,[by] the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never[bz] be destroyed, and the kingdom will not be left for another nation,[ca] and it will bring an end to all these kingdoms, but it will stand forever.[cb] 45 Inasmuch as[cc] you saw that a stone from the mountain was chiseled out[cd] but not by hands, and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold, thereby the great God made known to the king what will be in the future,[ce] and the dream is certain and its explanation trustworthy.”

The King’s Response to Daniel and His God

46 Then the king, Nebuchadnezzar, fell on his face and he paid homage to Daniel; and he commanded them to offer a grain offering and incense offering to him. 47 The king answered Daniel and said, “Truly[cf] your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings, and he reveals mysteries, for you are able to reveal this mystery.” 48 Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and the chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon. 49 And Daniel made a request from the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego over the affairs of the province of Babylon, while Daniel remained in the court of the king.

Footnotes

  1. Daniel 2:1 Hebrew “And”
  2. Daniel 2:2 Or “soothsayer-priests”
  3. Daniel 2:2 Or “enchanters”
  4. Daniel 2:2 Literally “Chaldeans”
  5. Daniel 2:2 Literally “to the face of”
  6. Daniel 2:3 Literally “A dream I have dreamed”
  7. Daniel 2:4 Literally “Chaldeans”
  8. Daniel 2:4 The text of Daniel is in Aramaic from this point on through Daniel chapter 7. Then the text resumes in Hebrew to the end of the book
  9. Daniel 2:5 Literally “Chaldeans”
  10. Daniel 2:5 Or “interpretation”
  11. Daniel 2:6 Aramaic “reward”
  12. Daniel 2:6 Or “interpretation”
  13. Daniel 2:8 Literally “From a certainty”
  14. Daniel 2:8 Literally “the time you are gaining”
  15. Daniel 2:8 Literally “all because of that”
  16. Daniel 2:8 Literally “that firm from me is the decree”
  17. Daniel 2:9 Literally “one is your verdict”
  18. Daniel 2:9 Literally “time”
  19. Daniel 2:10 Literally “Chaldeans”
  20. Daniel 2:10 Literally “all because that”
  21. Daniel 2:10 Or “soothsayer-priest”
  22. Daniel 2:10 Or “enchanter”
  23. Daniel 2:10 Literally “Chaldean”
  24. Daniel 2:11 Literally “there is not another”
  25. Daniel 2:11 Literally “concerning their dwelling is not with flesh”
  26. Daniel 2:13 Literally “were in the process of being killed”
  27. Daniel 2:15 Literally “he answered”
  28. Daniel 2:15 Literally “Over what”
  29. Daniel 2:15 Or “situation”
  30. Daniel 2:16 Literally “to tell/reveal to the king”
  31. Daniel 2:16 Or “interpretation”
  32. Daniel 2:18 Literally “from before the God of the heaven”
  33. Daniel 2:20 Literally “answered and he said”
  34. Daniel 2:20 Aramaic “the God”
  35. Daniel 2:20 Literally “from the age unto the age”
  36. Daniel 2:20 Literally “of to him it is”
  37. Daniel 2:21 Aramaic “the wisdom”
  38. Daniel 2:23 Or “fathers”
  39. Daniel 2:24 Literally “Now because this”
  40. Daniel 2:24 Aramaic “has appointed”
  41. Daniel 2:24 Or “interpretation”
  42. Daniel 2:25 Literally “in haste”
  43. Daniel 2:25 Literally “the children of exiles”
  44. Daniel 2:25 Aramaic “Jehud”
  45. Daniel 2:25 Literally “he will make known”
  46. Daniel 2:25 Or “interpretation”
  47. Daniel 2:26 Literally “The king answered”
  48. Daniel 2:26 Or “interpretation”
  49. Daniel 2:27 Or “enchanters”
  50. Daniel 2:27 Or “soothsayer-priests”
  51. Daniel 2:29 Aramaic “the king”
  52. Daniel 2:29 Literally “they went up”
  53. Daniel 2:29 Literally “after this”
  54. Daniel 2:30 Literally “all of living beings”
  55. Daniel 2:30 Literally “concerning the matter of”
  56. Daniel 2:30 Or “interpretation”
  57. Daniel 2:30 Literally “know”
  58. Daniel 2:30 Literally “heart”
  59. Daniel 2:31 Or “dreadful”
  60. Daniel 2:34 Literally “until that”
  61. Daniel 2:34 Or “became loose”
  62. Daniel 2:35 Literally “like one”
  63. Daniel 2:35 Or “were crushed”
  64. Daniel 2:38 Literally “and into all that dwell sons of humankind”
  65. Daniel 2:38 Aramaic “bird”
  66. Daniel 2:38 Or “the sky”
  67. Daniel 2:40 Literally “all of because”
  68. Daniel 2:40 Literally “the whole thing”
  69. Daniel 2:41 Literally “And that”
  70. Daniel 2:41 Literally “from them clay of the potter”
  71. Daniel 2:41 Literally “from them iron”
  72. Daniel 2:41 Literally “from the hardness”
  73. Daniel 2:41 Literally “all of because that”
  74. Daniel 2:42 Literally “and from it, it will be brittle”
  75. Daniel 2:43 Literally “mixing they will in the seed of man”
  76. Daniel 2:43 Literally “this one with that one”
  77. Daniel 2:44 Literally “in their days of those kings”
  78. Daniel 2:44 Literally “to forever not”
  79. Daniel 2:44 Or “people”
  80. Daniel 2:44 Literally “to eternity”
  81. Daniel 2:45 Literally “All of because that”
  82. Daniel 2:45 Or “became loose”
  83. Daniel 2:45 Literally “after this”
  84. Daniel 2:47 Literally “From truth that”
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