Daniel 2
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 magicians, 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 make known 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 magician, 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 captain 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 the heavens(N) for mercy(O) concerning this mystery, so Daniel and his friends would not be destroyed 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 the heavens 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 ancestors,(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 destroy 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, magician, or diviner(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 “Your Majesty, as you were watching, suddenly 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 the heavens has given you sovereignty, power,(AR) strength, and glory. 38 Wherever people live—or wild animals, or birds of the sky—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 the heavens 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.(AZ) The dream is certain, and its interpretation reliable.”
Nebuchadnezzar’s Response
46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell facedown, worshiped 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)
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 2:2 In this chap. Chaldeans are influential Babylonian wise men.
- 2:4 Dn 2:4–7:28 is written in Aramaic.
- 2:5 Lit be made into limbs
- 2:14 Or executioners
- 2:15 Or urgent
- 2:23 Lit matter
- 2:29 Lit happen after this, also in v. 45
- 2:34 Lit off not by hands
- 2:40 Lit all these
- 2:43 Lit another in the seed of men
- 2:45 Lit mountain, not by hands
Daniel 2
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream
2 In the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed such dreams that his spirit was troubled and his sleep left him.(A) 2 So the king commanded that the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans be summoned to tell the king his dreams. When they came in and stood before the king,(B) 3 he said to them, “I have had such a dream that my spirit is troubled by the desire to understand it.”(C) 4 The Chaldeans said to the king (in Aramaic),[a] “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will reveal the interpretation.”(D) 5 The king answered the Chaldeans, “This is a public decree: if you do not tell me both the dream and its interpretation, you shall be torn limb from limb, and your houses shall be laid in ruins.(E) 6 But if you do tell me the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. Therefore tell me the dream and its interpretation.”(F) 7 They answered a second time, “Let the king first tell his servants the dream, then we can give its interpretation.”(G) 8 The king answered, “I know with certainty that you are trying to gain time because you see the decree from me is firm: 9 if you do not tell me the dream, there is but one verdict for you. You have agreed to speak lying and misleading words to me until things take a turn. Therefore, tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can give me its interpretation.”(H) 10 The Chaldeans answered the king, “There is no one on earth who can reveal what the king demands! In fact, no king, however great and powerful, has ever asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or Chaldean. 11 The thing that the king is asking is too difficult, and no one can reveal it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with mortals.”(I)
12 Because of this the king flew into a violent rage and commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be destroyed. 13 The decree was issued, and the wise men were about to be executed, and they looked for Daniel and his companions, to execute them. 14 Then Daniel responded with prudence and discretion to Arioch, the king’s chief executioner, who had gone out to execute the wise men of Babylon;(J) 15 he asked Arioch, the royal official, “Why is the decree of the king so urgent?” Arioch then explained the matter to Daniel.(K) 16 So Daniel went in and requested that the king give him time and he would tell the king the interpretation.
God Reveals Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream
17 Then Daniel went to his home and informed his companions, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, of the matter 18 and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions might not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.(L) 19 Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night, and Daniel blessed the God of heaven.(M)
20 Daniel said:
“Blessed be the name of God from age to age,
for wisdom and power are his.(N)
21 He changes times and seasons,
deposes kings and sets up kings;
he gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to those who have understanding.(O)
22 He reveals deep and hidden things;
he knows what is in the darkness,
and light dwells with him.(P)
23 To you, O God of my ancestors,
I give thanks and praise,
for you have given me wisdom and power
and have now revealed to me what we asked of you,
for you have revealed to us what the king ordered.”
Daniel Interprets the Dream
24 Therefore Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon, and said to him, “Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will give the king the interpretation.”
25 Then Arioch quickly brought Daniel before the king and said to him: “I have found among the exiles from Judah a man who can tell the king the interpretation.”(Q) 26 The king said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to tell me the dream that I have seen and its interpretation?” 27 Daniel answered the king, “No wise men, enchanters, magicians, or diviners can show to the king the mystery that the king is asking, 28 but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has disclosed to King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen at the end of days. Your dream and the visions of your head as you lay in bed were these:(R) 29 To you, O king, as you lay in bed, came thoughts of what would be hereafter, and the revealer of mysteries disclosed to you what is to be.(S) 30 But as for me, this mystery has not been revealed to me because of any wisdom that I have more than any other living being, but in order that the interpretation may be known to the king and that you may understand the thoughts of your mind.(T)
31 “You were looking, O king, and there appeared a great statue. That statue was huge, its brilliance extraordinary; it was standing before you, and its appearance was frightening.(U) 32 The head of that statue was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its midsection and thighs of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. 34 As you looked on, a stone was cut out, not by human hands, and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and broke them in pieces.(V) 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were all broken in pieces and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors, and the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.(W)
36 “That was the dream; now we will tell the king its interpretation. 37 You, O king, the king of kings—to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the might, and the glory,(X) 38 into whose hand he has given human beings wherever they live, the wild animals of the field, and the birds of the air and whom he has established as ruler over them all—you are the head of gold.(Y) 39 After you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours and yet a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over the whole earth.(Z) 40 And there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron; just as iron crushes and smashes everything,[b] it shall crush and shatter all these.(AA) 41 As you saw the feet and toes partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom, but some of the strength of iron shall be in it, as you saw the iron mixed with the clay.(AB) 42 As the toes of the feet were part iron and part clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. 43 As you saw the iron mixed with clay, so will they mix with one another in marriage,[c] but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay. 44 And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall this kingdom be left to another people. It shall crush all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever,(AC) 45 just as you saw that a stone was cut from the mountain not by hands and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. The great God has informed the king what shall be hereafter. The dream is certain and its interpretation trustworthy.”(AD)
Daniel and His Friends Promoted
46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, worshiped Daniel, and commanded that a grain offering and incense be offered to him.(AE) 47 The king said to Daniel, “Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery!”(AF) 48 Then the king promoted Daniel, gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon.(AG) 49 Daniel made a request of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the affairs of the province of Babylon. But Daniel remained at the king’s court.(AH)
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New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.