Daniel 2
New Living Translation
Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream
2 One night during the second year of his reign,[a] Nebuchadnezzar had such disturbing dreams that he couldn’t sleep. 2 He called in his magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and astrologers,[b] and he demanded that they tell him what he had dreamed. As they stood before the king, 3 he said, “I have had a dream that deeply troubles me, and I must know what it means.”
4 Then the astrologers answered the king in Aramaic,[c] “Long live the king! Tell us the dream, and we will tell you what it means.”
5 But the king said to the astrologers, “I am serious about this. If you don’t tell me what my dream was and what it means, you will be torn limb from limb, and your houses will be turned into heaps of rubble! 6 But if you tell me what I dreamed and what the dream means, I will give you many wonderful gifts and honors. Just tell me the dream and what it means!”
7 They said again, “Please, Your Majesty. Tell us the dream, and we will tell you what it means.”
8 The king replied, “I know what you are doing! You’re stalling for time because you know I am serious when I say, 9 ‘If you don’t tell me the dream, you are doomed.’ So you have conspired to tell me lies, hoping I will change my mind. But tell me the dream, and then I’ll know that you can tell me what it means.”
10 The astrologers replied to the king, “No one on earth can tell the king his dream! And no king, however great and powerful, has ever asked such a thing of any magician, enchanter, or astrologer! 11 The king’s demand is impossible. No one except the gods can tell you your dream, and they do not live here among people.”
12 The king was furious when he heard this, and he ordered that all the wise men of Babylon be executed. 13 And because of the king’s decree, men were sent to find and kill Daniel and his friends.
14 When Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard, came to kill them, Daniel handled the situation with wisdom and discretion. 15 He asked Arioch, “Why has the king issued such a harsh decree?” So Arioch told him all that had happened. 16 Daniel went at once to see the king and requested more time to tell the king what the dream meant.
17 Then Daniel went home and told his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah what had happened. 18 He urged them to ask the God of heaven to show them his mercy by telling them the secret, so they would not be executed along with the other wise men of Babylon. 19 That night the secret was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven. 20 He said,
“Praise the name of God forever and ever,
for he has all wisdom and power.
21 He controls the course of world events;
he removes kings and sets up other kings.
He gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to the scholars.
22 He reveals deep and mysterious things
and knows what lies hidden in darkness,
though he is surrounded by light.
23 I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors,
for you have given me wisdom and strength.
You have told me what we asked of you
and revealed to us what the king demanded.”
Daniel Interprets the Dream
24 Then Daniel went in to see Arioch, whom the king had ordered to execute the wise men of Babylon. Daniel said to him, “Don’t kill the wise men. Take me to the king, and I will tell him the meaning of his dream.”
25 Arioch quickly took Daniel to the king and said, “I have found one of the captives from Judah who will tell the king the meaning of his dream!”
26 The king said to Daniel (also known as Belteshazzar), “Is this true? Can you tell me what my dream was and what it means?”
27 Daniel replied, “There are no wise men, enchanters, magicians, or fortune-tellers who can reveal the king’s secret. 28 But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and he has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the future. Now I will tell you your dream and the visions you saw as you lay on your bed.
29 “While Your Majesty was sleeping, you dreamed about coming events. He who reveals secrets has shown you what is going to happen. 30 And it is not because I am wiser than anyone else that I know the secret of your dream, but because God wants you to understand what was in your heart.
31 “In your vision, Your Majesty, you saw standing before you a huge, shining statue of a man. It was a frightening sight. 32 The head of the statue was made of fine gold. Its chest and arms were silver, its belly and thighs were bronze, 33 its legs were iron, and its feet were a combination of iron and baked clay. 34 As you watched, a rock was cut from a mountain,[d] but not by human hands. It struck the feet of iron and clay, smashing them to bits. 35 The whole statue was crushed into small pieces of iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold. Then the wind blew them away without a trace, like chaff on a threshing floor. But the rock that knocked the statue down became a great mountain that covered the whole earth.
36 “That was the dream. Now we will tell the king what it means. 37 Your Majesty, you are the greatest of kings. The God of heaven has given you sovereignty, power, strength, and honor. 38 He has made you the ruler over all the inhabited world and has put even the wild animals and birds under your control. You are the head of gold.
39 “But after your kingdom comes to an end, another kingdom, inferior to yours, will rise to take your place. After that kingdom has fallen, yet a third kingdom, represented by bronze, will rise to rule the world. 40 Following that kingdom, there will be a fourth one, as strong as iron. That kingdom will smash and crush all previous empires, just as iron smashes and crushes everything it strikes. 41 The feet and toes you saw were a combination of iron and baked clay, showing that this kingdom will be divided. Like iron mixed with clay, it will have some of the strength of iron. 42 But while some parts of it will be as strong as iron, other parts will be as weak as clay. 43 This mixture of iron and clay also shows that these kingdoms will try to strengthen themselves by forming alliances with each other through intermarriage. But they will not hold together, just as iron and clay do not mix.
44 “During the reigns of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed or conquered. It will crush all these kingdoms into nothingness, and it will stand forever. 45 That is the meaning of the rock cut from the mountain, though not by human hands, that crushed to pieces the statue of iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold. The great God was showing the king what will happen in the future. The dream is true, and its meaning is certain.”
Nebuchadnezzar Rewards Daniel
46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar threw himself down before Daniel and worshiped him, and he commanded his people to offer sacrifices and burn sweet incense before him. 47 The king said to Daniel, “Truly, your God is the greatest of gods, the Lord over kings, a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this secret.”
48 Then the king appointed Daniel to a high position and gave him many valuable gifts. He made Daniel ruler over the whole province of Babylon, as well as chief over all his wise men. 49 At Daniel’s request, the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to be in charge of all the affairs of the province of Babylon, while Daniel remained in the king’s court.
Daniel 2
New American Standard Bible
The King’s Dream
2 Now in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar [a](A)had dreams; and his spirit was troubled and his (B)sleep [b]left him. 2 Then the king [c]gave orders to call in the (C)soothsayer priests, the conjurers, the sorcerers, and the [d]Chaldeans, to [e]tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king. 3 The king said to them, “I [f](D)had a dream, and my spirit [g]is anxious to [h]understand the dream.”
4 Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in [i](E)Aramaic: “(F)O king, live forever! (G)Tell the dream to your servants, and we will declare the interpretation.” 5 The king replied to the Chaldeans, “The command [j]from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you will be [k](H)torn limb from limb and your houses will be turned into a rubbish heap. 6 But if you declare the dream and its interpretation, you will receive from me (I)gifts and a reward and great honor; therefore declare to me the dream and its interpretation.” 7 They answered a second time and said, “Let the king (J)tell the dream to his servants, and we will declare the interpretation.” 8 The king replied, “I know for certain that you are trying to buy time, because you have perceived that the command [l]from me is firm, 9 that if you do not make the dream known to me, there is only (K)one [m]decree for you. For you have agreed together to speak lying and corrupt [n]words before me until the [o]situation is changed; therefore tell me the dream, so that I may (L)know that you can declare to me its interpretation.” 10 The Chaldeans answered [p]the king and said, “There is no person on earth who could declare the matter [q]to the king, because no great king or ruler has ever asked anything like this of any (M)soothsayer priest, sorcerer, or Chaldean. 11 Moreover, the thing which the king demands is difficult, and there is no one else who could declare it [r]to the king except (N)gods, whose (O)dwelling place is not with mortal flesh.”
12 Because of this, the king became (P)angry and extremely furious, and he gave orders to kill all the wise men of Babylon. 13 So the [s]decree was issued that the wise men be killed; and they looked for (Q)Daniel and his friends, to [t]kill them.
14 Then Daniel replied with discretion and discernment to (R)Arioch, the captain of the king’s [u]bodyguard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon; 15 he said to Arioch, the king’s officer, “For what reason is the decree from the king so harsh?” Then Arioch informed Daniel of the matter. 16 So Daniel went in and requested of the king that he would give him a grace period, so that he might declare the interpretation to the king.
17 Then Daniel went to his house and informed his friends, (S)Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, about the matter, 18 so that they might (T)request compassion from the God of heaven concerning this secret, so that Daniel and his friends would not be (U)killed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
The Secret Is Revealed to Daniel
19 Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night (V)vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven; 20 Daniel said,
“May the name of God be (W)blessed forever and ever,
For (X)wisdom and power belong to Him.
21 It is He who (Y)changes the times and the periods;
He (Z)removes kings and appoints kings;
He gives (AA)wisdom to wise men,
And knowledge to [v]people of understanding.
22 It is He who (AB)reveals the profound and hidden things;
(AC)He knows what is in the darkness,
And the (AD)light dwells with Him.
23 To You, (AE)God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise,
For You have given me (AF)wisdom and power;
Even now You have made known to me what we (AG)requested of You,
For You have made known to us the king’s matter.”
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: “(AH)Do not kill the wise men of Babylon! Take me [w]into the king’s presence, and I will declare the interpretation to the king.”
25 Then Arioch hurriedly (AI)brought Daniel [x]into the king’s presence and spoke to him as follows: “I have found a man among the [y](AJ)exiles from Judah who can make the interpretation known to the king!” 26 The king said to Daniel, whose name was (AK)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 (AL)wise men, sorcerers, soothsayer priests, nor diviners are able to declare it to the king. 28 However, there is a (AM)God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will take place in the [z](AN)latter days. This was your dream and the (AO)visions [aa]in your mind while on your bed. 29 As for you, O king, while on your bed your thoughts [ab]turned to what would take place [ac]in the future; and (AP)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 [ad]for any (AQ)wisdom [ae]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 (AR)thoughts of your [af]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 [ag]of extraordinary radiance, was standing in front of you, and its appearance was [ah](AS)awesome. 32 The (AT)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 [ai]continued watching until a (AU)stone was broken off (AV)without hands, and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay, and (AW)crushed them. 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed to pieces [aj]all at the same time, and they were (AX)like chaff from the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away so that (AY)not a trace of them was found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great (AZ)mountain and filled the entire earth.
The Interpretation—Babylon the First Kingdom
36 “This was the dream; and now we will tell (BA)its interpretation before the king. 37 You, O king, are the (BB)king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the [ak]kingdom, the (BC)power, the strength, and the honor; 38 and wherever the sons of mankind live, or the (BD)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 (BE)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 [al]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 [am]common clay, they will combine with one another [an]in [ao]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 (BF)God of heaven will (BG)set up a (BH)kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be [ap]left for another people; it will (BI)crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever. 45 Just as you saw that a (BJ)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 (BK)great God has made known to the king what (BL)will take place [aq]in the future; so the dream is certain and its interpretation is trustworthy.”
Daniel Promoted
46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face and paid (BM)humble respect to Daniel, and gave orders to present to him an offering and (BN)incense. 47 The king responded to Daniel and said, “(BO)Your God truly is a (BP)God of gods and a Lord of kings and a (BQ)revealer of secrets, since you have been able to reveal this secret.” 48 Then the king [ar](BR)promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts, and he made him ruler over the entire (BS)province of Babylon, and chief [as]prefect over all the wise men of Babylon. 49 And Daniel made a request of the king, and he (BT)appointed (BU)Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego over the administration of the province of Babylon, while Daniel was at the king’s [at](BV)court.
Footnotes
- Daniel 2:1 Lit dreamed dreams
- Daniel 2:1 Lit was gone upon him
- Daniel 2:2 Lit said to call
- Daniel 2:2 Probably master astrologers, diviners, etc., and so throughout the ch
- Daniel 2:2 Lit explain to
- Daniel 2:3 Lit dreamed
- Daniel 2:3 Lit was troubled
- Daniel 2:3 Lit know
- Daniel 2:4 The text is in Aramaic from here through 7:28
- Daniel 2:5 Another reading is is issued by me
- Daniel 2:5 Lit turned into limbs
- Daniel 2:8 See note 1 v 5
- Daniel 2:9 Or verdict
- Daniel 2:9 Lit word
- Daniel 2:9 Lit time
- Daniel 2:10 Lit before the
- Daniel 2:10 Lit of
- Daniel 2:11 Lit before
- Daniel 2:13 Or law
- Daniel 2:13 Lit be killed
- Daniel 2:14 Or executioners
- Daniel 2:21 Lit knowers of
- 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 2:48 Lit made Daniel great
- Daniel 2:48 Lit of the prefects
- Daniel 2:49 Lit gate
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
