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Daniel 2
New King James Version

Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

2 Now in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; (A)and his spirit was so troubled that (B)his sleep left him. 2 (C)Then the king gave the command to call the magicians, the astrologers, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king. 3 And the king said to them, “I have had a dream, and my spirit is anxious to [a]know the dream.”

4 Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic, (D)“O[b] king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation.”

5 The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, “My [c]decision is firm: if you do not make known the dream to me, and its interpretation, you shall be (E)cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made an ash heap. 6 (F)However, if you tell the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts, 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 give its interpretation.”

8 The king answered and said, “I know for certain that you would gain time, because you see that my decision is firm: 9 if you do not make known the dream to me, there is only one decree for you! For you have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till the [d]time has changed. Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can [e]give me its interpretation.”

10 The Chaldeans answered the king, and said, “There is not a man on earth who can tell the king’s matter; therefore no king, lord, or ruler has ever asked such things of any magician, astrologer, or Chaldean. 11 It is a [f]difficult thing that the king requests, and there is no other who can tell it to the king (G)except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.”

12 For this reason the king was angry and very furious, and gave the command to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. 13 So the decree went out, and they began killing the wise men; and they sought (H)Daniel and his companions, to kill them.

God Reveals Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

14 Then with counsel and wisdom Daniel answered 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 [g]urgent?” Then Arioch made the decision known to Daniel.

16 So Daniel went in and asked the king to give him time, that he might tell the king the interpretation. 17 Then Daniel went to his house, and made the decision known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, 18 (I)that they might seek mercies 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. 19 Then the secret was revealed to Daniel (J)in a night vision. So Daniel blessed the God of heaven.

20 Daniel answered and said:

(K)“Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,
(L)For wisdom and might are His.
21 And He changes (M)the times and the seasons;
(N)He removes kings and raises up kings;
(O)He gives wisdom to the wise
And knowledge to those who have understanding.
22 (P)He reveals deep and secret things;
(Q)He knows what is in the darkness,
And (R)light dwells with Him.

23 “I thank You and praise You,
O God of my fathers;
You have given me wisdom and might,
And have now made known to me what we (S)asked of You,
For You have made known to us the king’s [h]demand.”

Daniel Explains the Dream

24 Therefore Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said thus to him: “Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; take me before the king, and I will tell the king the interpretation.”

25 Then Arioch quickly brought Daniel before the king, and said thus to him, “I have found a man of the [i]captives of Judah, who will 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 declare to the king. 28 (T)But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar (U)what will be in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your head upon your bed, were these: 29 As for you, O king, thoughts came to your mind while on your bed, about what would come to pass after this; (V)and He who reveals secrets has made known to you what will be. 30 (W)But as for me, this secret has not been revealed to me because I have more wisdom than anyone living, but for our sakes who make known the interpretation to the king, (X)and that you may [j]know the thoughts of your heart.

31 “You, O king, were watching; and behold, a great image! This great image, whose splendor was excellent, stood before you; and its form was awesome. 32 (Y)This image’s head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and [k]thighs of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of [l]clay. 34 You watched while a stone was cut out (Z)without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. 35 (AA)Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together, and became (AB)like chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them away so that (AC)no trace of them was found. And the stone that struck the image (AD)became a great mountain (AE)and filled the whole earth.

36 “This is the dream. Now we will tell the interpretation of it before the king. 37 (AF)You, O king, are a king of kings. (AG)For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory; 38 (AH)and wherever the children of men dwell, or the beasts of the field and the birds of the heaven, He has given them into your hand, and has made you ruler over them all—(AI)you are this head of gold. 39 But after you shall arise (AJ)another kingdom (AK)inferior to yours; then another, a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. 40 And (AL)the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others. 41 Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay. 42 And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, (AM)so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly [m]fragile. 43 As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay. 44 And in the days of these kings (AN)the God of heaven will set up a kingdom (AO)which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; (AP)it shall [n]break in pieces and [o]consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. 45 (AQ)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 will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure.”

Daniel and His Friends Promoted

46 (AR)Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, prostrate before Daniel, and commanded that they should present an offering (AS)and incense to him. 47 The king answered Daniel, and said, “Truly (AT)your God is the God of (AU)gods, the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since you could reveal this secret.” 48 (AV)Then the king promoted Daniel (AW)and gave him many great gifts; and he made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and (AX)chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon. 49 Also Daniel petitioned the king, (AY)and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego over the affairs of the province of Babylon; but Daniel (AZ)sat in [p]the gate of the king.

Footnotes

  1. Daniel 2:3 Or understand
  2. Daniel 2:4 The original language of Daniel 2:4b through 7:28 is Aramaic.
  3. Daniel 2:5 The command
  4. Daniel 2:9 Situation
  5. Daniel 2:9 Or declare to me
  6. Daniel 2:11 Or rare
  7. Daniel 2:15 Or harsh
  8. Daniel 2:23 Lit. word
  9. Daniel 2:25 Lit. sons of the captivity
  10. Daniel 2:30 Understand
  11. Daniel 2:32 Or sides
  12. Daniel 2:33 Or baked clay, also vv. 34, 35, 42
  13. Daniel 2:42 Or brittle
  14. Daniel 2:44 Or crush
  15. Daniel 2:44 Lit. put an end to
  16. Daniel 2:49 The king’s court
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Daniel 2
International Standard Version

King Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

2 During the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams that troubled him.[a] As a result, he couldn’t sleep.[b] 2 So the king gave orders to summon diviners, enchanters,[c] sorcerers, and Chaldeans to reveal to the king what he had dreamed. When they came and stood before him,[d] 3 the king told them, “I have dreamed a dream and I[e] will remain troubled until I can understand it.”[f]

4 The Chaldeans responded to the king in Aramaic:[g] “May the king live forever. Tell the dream to your servants, and we’ll reveal its meaning.”

5 In reply the king told the Chaldeans, “Here is what I have commanded: If you don’t tell me both the dream and its meaning, you’ll be destroyed and your houses will be reduced to rubble. 6 But if you do relate the dream to me as well as its meaning, you’ll receive gifts, rewards, and great honor from me. Therefore reveal the dream to me, along with its meaning.”

7 They replied again, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we’ll disclose its meaning.”

8 The king responded,[h] “I’m convinced that you’re stalling for time because you’re aware of what I’ve commanded. 9 So if you don’t disclose the dream to me, there will be only one sentence for all of you. You have conspired together to present lies and corrupt interpretations until the situation changes. Now tell me the dream and I’ll know that you can reveal its true[i] meaning.”

10 The Chaldeans answered the king directly, “There’s not a single man on earth who can do[j] what the king has commanded. No king, lord, or ruler has ever asked such a thing from any diviner, enchanter,[k] or Chaldean. 11 Furthermore, what the king is asking is so difficult that no one can reveal it except the gods—and they don’t live with human beings.”

12 At this point, the king flew into a rage[l] and issued an order to destroy all the advisors[m] of Babylon. 13 When the order went out to kill the advisors,[n] they searched for Daniel and his friends to kill them, too.[o]

Daniel Requests Time to Answer the King

14 Daniel responded with wisdom and discretion to Arioch, the king’s executioner, who had gone out to execute the advisors[p] of Babylon. 15 He asked[q] him,[r] “Why such a harsh decree from the king?” Then Arioch informed Daniel, 16 so Daniel went to ask Nebuchadnezzar[s] for an appointment to see him[t], and it was granted him so that he could reveal the meaning to the king. 17 Then Daniel went home and told his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah about the king’s[u] command. 18 Daniel[v] was seeking mercy, in order to ask about this mystery in the presence of the God of heaven, so that Daniel and his friends might not be executed along with the rest of the advisors[w] of Babylon.

The King’s Dream is Revealed to Daniel

19 When the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision later that night, Daniel blessed the God of heaven 20 and said,

“May the name of God be blessed forever and ever;
    wisdom and power are his for evermore.
21 It is God[x] who alters the times and seasons,
    and he removes kings and promotes kings.
He gives wisdom to the wise
    and knowledge to the discerning.
22 He reveals what is profoundly mysterious
    and knows what is in the darkness;
        with him dwells light.
23 To you, God of my ancestors, I give thanks and praise,
    because you have given me wisdom and power;
you have now revealed to me what we asked of you
    by making known to us what the king commanded.”

24 After this,[y] Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to execute the advisors[z] of Babylon. He told him, “Don’t destroy the advisors[aa] of Babylon. Bring me before the king and I’ll explain the meaning to him.”[ab]

25 Then Arioch quickly brought Daniel into the king’s presence and informed him: “I’ve found a man from the Judean captives who will make known the meaning to the king.”

Daniel Reveals the Meaning of the Dream

26 King Nebuchadnezzar[ac] replied by saying to Daniel (whose Babylonian[ad] name is Belteshazzar), “Are you able to tell me about the dream[ae] and its meaning?”

27 By way of answer, Daniel addressed the king:[af]

“None of the advisors,[ag] enchanters,[ah] diviners, or astrologers[ai] can explain the secret that the king has requested to be made known.[aj] 28 But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and he is making known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the latter days.

“While you were in bed, the dream and the visions that came to your head were as follows: 29 Your majesty,[ak] when you were in bed, thoughts came to your mind[al] about what would happen in the future, and the Revealer of Secrets has made known to you what will take place. 30 As for me, this secret was made known to me, not because my own wisdom is greater than anyone else alive, but in order that the meaning may be made known to the king, and that you might understand the thoughts of your heart.

31 “Your majesty, while you were watching, you observed an enormous statue. This magnificent statue stood before you with extraordinary brilliance. Its appearance was terrifying. 32 That statue had a head made[am] of pure gold, with its chest and arms made[an] of silver, its abdomen and thighs made[ao] of bronze, 33 its legs made[ap] of iron, and its feet made[aq] partly of iron and partly of clay.

34 “As you were watching, a rock was quarried—but not with human hands—and it struck the iron and clay feet of the statue, breaking them to pieces. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were broken in pieces together and became like chaff from a summer threshing floor that the breeze carries away without leaving a trace.[ar] Then the rock that struck the statue grew into[as] a huge mountain and filled the entire earth.

36 “This was the dream, and we’ll now relate its meaning to the king. 37 You, your majesty, king of kings—to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the strength, and the glory, 38 so that wherever people,[at] wild animals, or birds of the sky live, he has placed them under your control, giving you dominion over them all—you’re that head of gold.

39 “After you, another kingdom will arise that is inferior to[au] yours, and then a third kingdom of bronze will arise to rule all the earth. 40 Then there will be a fourth kingdom, as strong as iron. Just as all things are broken to pieces and shattered by iron, so it will shatter and crush everything.

41 “The feet and toes that you saw, made partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, represent[av] a divided kingdom. It will still have the strength of iron, in that you saw iron mixed with clay. 42 Just as their toes and feet are part iron and part clay, so will the kingdom be both strong and brittle. 43 Just as you saw iron mixed with clay, so they will mix themselves with human offspring.[aw] Furthermore,[ax] they won’t remain together, just as iron doesn’t mix with clay.

44 “During the reigns of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor its sovereignty[ay] left in the hands of another people. It will shatter and crush all of these kingdoms, and it will stand forever. 45 Now, just as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without human hands—and that it crushed the iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold to pieces—so also the great God has revealed to the king what will take place after this. Your dream will come true, and its meaning will prove trustworthy.”

Nebuchadnezzar Promotes Daniel and His Friends

46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face before Daniel, paid honor to him, and commanded that an offering and incense be presented on his behalf. 47 The king told Daniel, “Truly your God is the God of gods, the Lord of kings, and the Revealer of Secrets, because you were able to reveal this mystery.” 48 Then the king promoted Daniel to a high position and lavished many great gifts on him, including making him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and chief administrator over the advisors[az] of Babylon. 49 Moreover, Daniel requested that the king appoint Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego administrators over the province of Babylon, while Daniel himself remained in the royal court.

Footnotes

  1. Daniel 2:1 Lit. troubled his spirit
  2. Daniel 2:1 Lit. result, sleep departed from him
  3. Daniel 2:2 Or conjurers and so throughout the book
  4. Daniel 2:2 Lit. before the king
  5. Daniel 2:3 Lit. and my spirit
  6. Daniel 2:3 Lit. understand the dream
  7. Daniel 2:4 At this point the text changes from Heb. to Aram. until the end of ch. 7.
  8. Daniel 2:8 Lit. responded and said
  9. Daniel 2:9 The Aram. lacks true
  10. Daniel 2:10 Lit. reveal
  11. Daniel 2:10 Or occult practitioner
  12. Daniel 2:12 Lit. king was furious and very angry
  13. Daniel 2:12 Lit. the wise men
  14. Daniel 2:13 Lit. the wise men
  15. Daniel 2:13 The Aram. lacks too
  16. Daniel 2:14 Lit. the wise men
  17. Daniel 2:15 Lit. answered and said
  18. Daniel 2:15 Lit. asked Arioch, the king’s executioner
  19. Daniel 2:16 Lit. the king
  20. Daniel 2:16 Lit. for time
  21. Daniel 2:17 The Aram. lacks king’s
  22. Daniel 2:18 Lit. He
  23. Daniel 2:18 Lit. the wise men
  24. Daniel 2:21 Lit. he
  25. Daniel 2:24 Lit. All on account of that
  26. Daniel 2:24 Lit. the wise men
  27. Daniel 2:24 Lit. the wise men
  28. Daniel 2:24 Lit. the king
  29. Daniel 2:26 Lit. The king
  30. Daniel 2:26 The Aram. lacks Babylonian
  31. Daniel 2:26 Lit. dream I saw
  32. Daniel 2:27 Lit. answered and said before the king
  33. Daniel 2:27 Lit. the wise men
  34. Daniel 2:27 Or occult practitioners
  35. Daniel 2:27 Or those who gaze at entrails
  36. Daniel 2:27 The Aram. lacks to be made known
  37. Daniel 2:29 Lit. O King, and so throughout the book
  38. Daniel 2:29 The Aram. lacks to your mind
  39. Daniel 2:32 The Aram. lacks made
  40. Daniel 2:32 The Aram. lacks made
  41. Daniel 2:32 The Aram. lacks made
  42. Daniel 2:33 The Aram. lacks made
  43. Daniel 2:33 The Aram. lacks made
  44. Daniel 2:35 Lit. trace of them
  45. Daniel 2:35 Lit. became
  46. Daniel 2:38 Lit. sons of mankind
  47. Daniel 2:39 Or lower than
  48. Daniel 2:41 The Aram. lacks represent
  49. Daniel 2:43 Lit. seed
  50. Daniel 2:43 Or will develop alliances through intermarriages, and
  51. Daniel 2:44 Or kingdom
  52. Daniel 2:48 Lit. the wise men
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New King James Version (NKJV)

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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