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
- Daniel 2:3 Or understand
- Daniel 2:4 The original language of Daniel 2:4b through 7:28 is Aramaic.
- Daniel 2:5 The command
- Daniel 2:9 Situation
- Daniel 2:9 Or declare to me
- Daniel 2:11 Or rare
- Daniel 2:15 Or harsh
- Daniel 2:23 Lit. word
- Daniel 2:25 Lit. sons of the captivity
- Daniel 2:30 Understand
- Daniel 2:32 Or sides
- Daniel 2:33 Or baked clay, also vv. 34, 35, 42
- Daniel 2:42 Or brittle
- Daniel 2:44 Or crush
- Daniel 2:44 Lit. put an end to
- Daniel 2:49 The king’s court
但以理書 2
Chinese Contemporary Bible (Traditional)
尼布甲尼撒的夢
2 尼布甲尼撒在執政第二年做了夢，心裡煩亂，無法入睡， 2 便派人召來術士、巫師、行法術的和占星家[a]，為他解夢。他們都來到王面前。 3 王對他們說：「我做了一個夢，心裡煩亂，想知道夢的意思。」 4 占星家用亞蘭話對王說：「願王萬歲！請將夢告訴僕人，僕人好解釋夢的意思。」 5 王對占星家說：「我的旨意已定，你們若不能將夢和夢的意思告訴我，必被碎屍萬段，你們的家必淪為廢墟。 6 你們若能將夢和夢的意思告訴我，我必給你們禮物、賞賜和極大的尊榮。所以你們要將夢和夢的意思告訴我。」 7 他們再次對王說：「請王將夢告訴僕人，僕人好解釋夢的意思。」 8 王說：「我敢肯定，你們是在拖延時間，因為你們知道我的旨意已定， 9 你們若不將夢告訴我，我必懲治你們。你們串通起來在我面前胡言亂語，期待情況會改變。現在將夢告訴我，我就相信你們能解夢。」 10 占星家說：「王所要求的，世上無人能做到，因為再偉大、再有權勢的君王也沒問過術士、巫師或占星家這樣的事。 11 王問的事太難，除了不在人間居住的神明外，無人能為王解答。」 12 王大怒，下令處死巴比倫所有的智者。 13 於是，處死智者的諭旨發出，但以理和他的同伴都在被殺之列。
14 王的護衛長亞略奉命要處死巴比倫的智者，但以理機智、謹慎地應對。 15 他問王的護衛長亞略：「王的命令為何這樣緊急？」亞略就把情況告訴他。 16 但以理便進宮求王寬限，以便為王解夢。 17 然後，他回到居所將這事告訴同伴哈拿尼雅、米沙利和亞撒利雅， 18 要同伴祈求天上的上帝施憐憫，顯明這奧秘，以免他們和其他巴比倫的智者一起被殺。 19 這奧秘在夜間的異象中向但以理顯明，他便頌讚天上的上帝， 20 說：
「上帝的名永永遠遠當受稱頌，
因為智慧和能力都屬於祂。
21 祂改變時令和季節，廢王立王，
賜智慧給智者，賜知識給哲士。
22 祂顯明深奧隱秘之事，
洞悉暗中的隱情，
有光與祂同住。
23 我祖先的上帝啊，我感謝你，讚美你，
因你賜我智慧和能力，
應允我們的祈求，
使我們明白王的夢。」
但以理解夢
24 於是，但以理去見王指派處死巴比倫智者的亞略，對他說：「不要處死巴比倫的智者，請帶我去見王，我要為王解夢。」 25 亞略急忙帶但以理去見王，對王說：「我在被擄的猶大人中找到一個能為王解夢的。」 26 王就問又名伯提沙撒的但以理：「你能將我做的夢和夢的意思告訴我嗎？」 27 但以理回答說：「沒有智者、術士、巫師或占星家可以解答王所問的奧秘， 28-30 但天上的上帝能揭開奧秘，祂已把將來要發生的事告訴了王。王啊，你在床上夢見了將來的事，揭開奧秘的上帝已把將來的事指示給你。上帝將王做的夢啟示給我，並非因為我的智慧勝過其他人，而是要讓王知道夢的意思和王的心事。以下是王在床上做的夢和腦中出現的異象。
31 「王啊，你夢見一個高大宏偉、極其明亮的塑像站在你面前，相貌可怕， 32 有純金的頭、銀的胸和臂、銅的肚腹和大腿、 33 鐵的小腿和半鐵半泥的腳。 34 在你觀看的時候，有一塊非人手鑿出的石頭打在塑像半鐵半泥的腳上，砸碎了腳。 35 鐵、泥、銅、銀、金隨即粉碎，猶如夏天麥場上的糠秕，被風吹得無影無蹤。但打碎這像的石頭變成一座大山，充滿整個大地。
36 「這就是夢的內容。現在我們要為王解夢。 37 王啊，你是萬王之王，天上的上帝已將國度、權柄、能力和尊榮賜給你， 38 也將居住在各地的世人、走獸和飛禽都交在你手中，讓你管理。你就是那金頭。 39 在你之後，必有另一國興起，不及你的國強大。之後是將要統治天下的第三個國，是銅的。 40 接著是堅如鐵的第四國，能擊垮、打碎列國，正如鐵能擊垮、打碎一切。 41 你看見半鐵半陶泥的腳和腳趾，表示那將是一個分裂的國。正如你看見鐵和泥混雜在一起，它必有鐵一般的力量。 42 半鐵半泥的腳趾表示那國必半強半弱。 43 你看見鐵和泥混雜在一起，這表示那國的民族彼此混雜通婚，卻不能團結，正如鐵和泥無法混合。 44 在以上列王統治的時候，天上的上帝必設立一國——永不滅亡、外族無法奪其政權。這國將擊垮、消滅列國，並且永遠長存。 45 你看見那塊非人手從山中鑿出的石頭打碎鐵、銅、泥、銀和金。偉大的上帝已把將來的事告訴了王。這夢是真實的，解釋是可靠的。」
46 尼布甲尼撒王俯伏在地，向但以理下拜，並下令給他獻供物和香。 47 王對但以理說：「你們的上帝真是萬神之神、萬王之主、奧秘的啟示者，因為你能揭開這個奧秘。」 48 王賜但以理高官及許多貴重的禮物，派他治理巴比倫全省，管理巴比倫所有的智者。 49 王又應允但以理的請求，派沙得拉、米煞和亞伯尼歌負責巴比倫省的事務。但以理仍在朝中供職。
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
