Daniel 2
Modern English Version
Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream
2 And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams, and his spirit was troubled and his sleep left him. 2 Then the king gave the command to call the magicians and the astrologers and the sorcerers and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king. 3 The king said to them, “I have had a dream, and my spirit is anxious to understand the dream.”
4 Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic,[a] “O king, live forever. Tell your servants the dream, and we will tell the interpretation.”
5 The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, “The command from me is firm: If you will not make known to me the dream with its interpretation, you shall be cut in pieces and your houses shall be made a dunghill. 6 But if you tell the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. Therefore tell me the dream and its interpretation.”
7 They answered again and said, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will tell the interpretation.”
8 The king answered and said, “I know of certainty that you are bargaining for time, because you see that the command from me is firm: 9 If you will not make known to me the dream, there is but one decree for you. For you have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me until the circumstance is changed. Therefore tell me the dream so that I know that you can tell me its interpretation.”
10 The Chaldeans answered before the king and said, “There is not a man on the earth who can tell the king’s matter, inasmuch as no great king or ruler has ever asked such things of any magician or astrologer or Chaldean. 11 Also, it is a rare thing that the king requires, and there is no one else who can tell it before the king, except the gods whose dwelling is not with flesh.”
12 For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. 13 Therefore the decree went out that the wise men should be slain. And they sought for Daniel and his companions to be slain.
14 Then Daniel answered with discretion and wisdom to Arioch the captain of the king’s guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon. 15 He answered and said to Arioch the king’s captain, “Why is the decree from the king so urgent?” Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel. 16 Then Daniel went in and desired of the king that he would give him time in order that he could tell the king the interpretation.
17 Then Daniel went to his house and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, 18 so that they might ask for compassion from the God of heaven concerning this secret, so that Daniel and his companions might not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
God Reveals Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream
19 Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. 20 Daniel answered and said:
“Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,
for wisdom and might are His.
21 It is He who changes the times and the seasons;
He removes kings and sets up kings;
He gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to those who know understanding.
22 He reveals the deep and secret things;
He knows what is in the darkness,
and the light dwells with Him.
23 I thank and praise You, O God of my fathers;
for You have given me wisdom and might,
and have made known to me now what we asked of You,
for You have made known to us the king’s matter.”
Daniel Interprets the Dream
24 Therefore Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had ordained to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said to him: “Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon. Bring me in before the king, and I will tell the king the interpretation.”
25 Then in haste Arioch brought Daniel before the king and said thus to him, “I have found a man of the captives of Judah who can make known to the king the interpretation.”
26 The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen, and its interpretation?”
27 Daniel answered in the presence of the king and said, “The secret which the king has demanded, the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, and the soothsayers cannot tell the king. 28 But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets and makes known to King Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Your dream and the visions of your head upon your bed are these:
29 “As for you, O king, your thoughts came into your mind upon your bed about what would come to pass hereafter, and He who reveals secrets makes known to you what shall come to pass. 30 But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living man, but for the purpose of making known the interpretation to the king, and that you might understand the thoughts of your heart.
31 “You, O king, were watching, and there was a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before you. And its form was awesome. 32 This image’s head was of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. 34 You watched until a stone was cut out without hands which struck the image upon its feet, which were of iron and clay, and broke them to pieces. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors. And the wind carried them away so that not a trace of them was found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.
36 “This was the dream. Now we will tell its interpretation before the king. 37 You, O king, are the king of kings. For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory. 38 Wherever the sons of men dwell, or the animals of the field, or the fowl of the heavens, He has given them into your hand and has made you ruler over them all. You are the head of gold.
39 “After you, another kingdom inferior to you shall arise, and a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. 40 And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron, for iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, it shall crush and shatter all these. 41 As you saw the feet and toes, partly of potters’ clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided. But there shall be in it some of the strength of the iron, inasmuch as you saw the iron mixed with miry clay. 42 As the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly broken. 43 Whereas you saw iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men, but they shall not cleave to one another, even as iron does not mix with clay.
44 “In the days of these kings the God of heaven shall set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed. And the kingdom shall not be left to another people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. 45 Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold, the great God has made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter. And the dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.”
The Promotion of Daniel
46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face and did homage to Daniel, and commanded that they should present an offering and sweet incense to him. 47 The king answered Daniel and said, “Truly your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since you could reveal this secret.”
48 Then the king advanced Daniel and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon. 49 Then Daniel requested of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the affairs of the province of Babylon. But Daniel sat at the court of the king.
Footnotes
- Daniel 2:4 2:4–7:28 is originally from the Aramaic language.
Daniel 2
21st Century King James Version
2 And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled and his sleep departed from him.
2 Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans to show the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king.
3 And the king said unto them, “I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream.”
4 Then spoke the Chaldeans to the king in Syriac, “O king, live for ever! Tell thy servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.”
5 The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, “The thing is gone from me. If ye will not make known unto me the dream with the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill.
6 But if ye show the dream and the interpretation thereof, ye shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. Therefore show me the dream and the interpretation thereof.”
7 They answered again and said, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation of it.”
8 The king answered and said, “I know with certainty that ye would gain the time, because ye see the thing is gone from me.
9 But if ye will not make known unto me the dream, there is but one decree for you; for ye have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me, till the time is changed. Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that ye can show me the interpretation thereof.”
10 The Chaldeans answered before the king and said, “There is not a man upon the earth who can show the king’s matter. Therefore there is no king, lord, or ruler who asked such things of any magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean.
11 And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is no other who can show it before the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.”
12 For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.
13 And the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain, and they sought Daniel and his fellows to be slain.
14 Then Daniel answered with counsel and wisdom to Arioch, the captain of the king’s guard, who had gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon.
15 He answered and said to Arioch the king’s captain, “Why is the decree from the king so hasty?” Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel.
16 Then Daniel went in and desired of the king that he would give him time, and that he would show the king the interpretation.
17 Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions,
18 that they would desire mercies from the God of heaven concerning this secret, that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
19 Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.
20 Daniel answered and said, “Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever, for wisdom and might are His.
21 And He changeth the times and the seasons; He removeth kings and setteth up kings. He giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding.
22 He revealeth the deep and secret things; He knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with Him.
23 I thank Thee and praise Thee, O Thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast made known unto me now what we desired of Thee; for Thou hast now made known unto us the king’s matter.”
24 Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said thus unto him: “Destroy not the wise men of Babylon. Bring me in before the king, and I will show unto the king the interpretation.”
25 Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said thus unto him, “I have found a man of the captives of Judah, who will make known unto the king the interpretation.”
26 The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Art thou able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof?”
27 Daniel answered in the presence of the king and said, “The secret which the king hath demanded, the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, and the soothsayers cannot show unto the king.
28 But there is a God in heaven who revealeth secrets, and maketh known to King Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream and the visions of thy head upon thy bed are these:
29 As for thee, O king, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter; and He that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee what shall come to pass.
30 But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than anyone living, but for their sakes who shall make known the interpretation to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart.
31 “Thou, O king, sawest; and behold, a great image! This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible.
32 This image’s head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass,
33 his legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.
34 Thou sawest until a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and broke them to pieces.
35 Then were the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them. And the stone that smote the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.
36 “This is the dream, and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king.
37 Thou, O king, art a king of kings; for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.
38 And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath He given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold.
39 And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.
40 And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things; and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.
41 And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potter’s clay and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it the strength of the iron, inasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay.
42 And as the toes of the feet were part of iron and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly broken.
43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men; but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.
44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a Kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the Kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.
45 Inasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold, the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter. And the dream is certain and the interpretation thereof sure.”
46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face and worshiped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet incense unto him.
47 The king answered unto Daniel and said, “In truth it is, that your God is a God of gods and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret.”
48 Then the king made Daniel a great man and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon.
49 Then Daniel requested of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the affairs of the province of Babylon; but Daniel sat in the gate of the king.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.
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