Daniel 2

Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

1In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; #[ch. 4:5; 5:9; Gen. 41:8] his spirit was troubled, and #[ch. 6:18; Esth. 6:1]his sleep left him. 2Then the king commanded that #[See ch. 1:20 above] the magicians, #[See ch. 1:20 above] the enchanters, the #Deut. 18:10, 11; 2 Chr. 33:6; Isa. 47:9, 12 sorcerers, and #See ch. 1:4 the Chaldeans be summoned to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and #See ch. 1:5stood before the king. 3And the king said to them, “I had a dream, and #[See ver. 1 above]my spirit is troubled to know the dream.” 4Then #[See ver. 2 above] the Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic,#2:4 The text from this point to the end of chapter 7 is in Aramaic #ch. 3:9; 5:10; 6:6, 21; See 1 Kgs. 1:31“O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.” 5The king answered and said to #[See ver. 2 above] the Chaldeans, “The word from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be #ch. 3:29 torn limb from limb, #ch. 3:29 and your #Ezra 6:11; [2 Kgs. 10:27]houses shall be laid in ruins. 6But if you show the dream and its interpretation, #[ch. 5:7, 16] you shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. #[ver. 7, 9]Therefore show me the dream and its interpretation.” 7They answered a second time and said, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show its interpretation.” 8The king answered and said, “I know with certainty that you are trying to #Eph. 5:16; Col. 4:5gain time, because you see that the word from me is firm— 9if you do not make the dream known to me, #Esth. 4:11 there is but one sentence for you. You have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till #[ver. 21; ch. 7:25] the times change. #ver. 6; [ver. 7]Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can show me its interpretation.” 10#See ch. 1:4The Chaldeans answered the king and said, “There is not a man on earth who can meet the king’s demand, for no great and powerful king has asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or #See ch. 1:4Chaldean. 11The thing that the king asks is difficult, and no one can show it to the king except #[ch. 5:11, 14]the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.”

12Because of this the king was angry and #[ch. 3:19] very furious, and #[ver. 24] commanded that all #ch. 4:6the wise men of Babylon be destroyed. 13So the decree went out, and the wise men were about to be killed; and they sought #See ch. 1:4-7Daniel and his companions, to kill them. 14Then Daniel replied with prudence and discretion to #ver. 24, 25 Arioch, the #[Gen. 37:36]captain of the king’s guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon. 15He declared#2:15 Aramaic answered and said; also verse 26 to Arioch, the king’s captain, “Why is the decree of the king #ch. 3:22so urgent?” Then Arioch made the matter known to Daniel. 16And Daniel went in and requested the king to appoint him a time, that he might show the interpretation to the king.

God Reveals Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

17Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to #ch. 1:6Hananiah, #ch. 1:6Mishael, and #ch. 1:6Azariah, his companions, 18#[Matt. 18:19] and told them to seek mercy from the #ver. 19, 28, 37, 44; Rev. 11:13 God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions might not #[ver. 12, 24]be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. 19Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in #[Num. 12:6; Job 33:15, 16] a vision of the night. Then Daniel #See Josh. 22:33 blessed the #[See ver. 18 above]God of heaven. 20Daniel answered and said:

# 1 Chr. 29:10; Ps. 72:18; 113:2; 115:18; Luke 1:68 “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,

# [Isa. 28:29] to whom belong wisdom and might.

21 # [ver. 9; ch. 7:25] He changes times and seasons;

# [ch. 4:17; 5:20; Job 12:18; Ps. 75:7; Rom. 13:1] he removes kings and sets up kings;

# See ch. 1:17 he gives wisdom to the wise

# See ch. 1:17 and knowledge to those who have understanding;

22 # Job 12:22; [Ps. 25:14; 139:12; Amos 4:13; Heb. 4:13] he reveals deep and hidden things;

# Job 12:22; [Ps. 25:14; 139:12; Amos 4:13; Heb. 4:13] he knows what is in the darkness,

# 1 Tim. 6:16; James 1:17; 1 John 1:5; [John 1:4, 5] and the light dwells with him.

23To you, O #Deut. 26:7; 1 Chr. 12:17; 29:18 God of my fathers,

# [ch. 6:10] I give thanks and praise,

for #[ver. 20]; See ch. 1:17 you have given me wisdom and might,

and have now made known to me what #[ver. 18]we asked of you,

for you have made known to us the king’s matter.”

24Therefore Daniel went in to #ver. 14, 15Arioch, 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; bring me in before the king, and I will show the king the interpretation.”

25Then #[See ver. 24 above] Arioch brought in Daniel before the king #ch. 3:24 in haste and said thus to him: “I have found #ch. 5:13; Ezra 4:1; 6:16, 19, 20; 10:7, 16among the exiles from Judah a man who will make known to the king the interpretation.” 26The king declared to Daniel, #See ch. 1:7 whose name was Belteshazzar, #[ch. 5:16]“Are you able to make known to me the dream that I have seen and its interpretation?” 27Daniel answered the king and said, “No wise men, #See ch. 1:20 enchanters, #See ch. 1:20 magicians, or #ch. 4:7; 5:7astrologers can show to the king the mystery that the king has asked, 28but #See ver. 22 there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar #ch. 10:14; Hos. 3:5 what will be in the latter days. Your dream and #ch. 4:5; 7:15the visions of your head as you lay in bed are these: 29To you, O king, as you lay in bed came thoughts of what would be after this, #ver. 45and he who reveals mysteries made known to you what is to be. 30But #[Gen. 41:16; Acts 3:12] as for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because of any wisdom that I have more than all the living, but in order that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that #[Eccles. 3:18]you may know the thoughts of your mind.

Daniel Interprets the Dream

31“You saw, O king, and behold, a great image. This image, mighty and of exceeding brightness, stood before you, and its appearance was frightening. 32#[ver. 38] The head of this image was of fine gold, #[ver. 39]its chest and arms of silver, its middle and #[ver. 39]thighs of bronze, 33#[ver. 40]its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. 34As you looked, a stone was cut out #[ch. 8:25; Job 34:20; Lam. 4:6; 2 Cor. 5:1] by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and #ver. 35, 40, 44, 45; Isa. 8:9; [Matt. 21:44; Luke 20:18]broke them in pieces. 35Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became #Ps. 1:4 like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that #[Rev. 20:11] not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became #[Isa. 2:2] a great mountain #[Ps. 80:9]and filled the whole earth.

36“This was the dream. Now we will tell the king its interpretation. 37You, O king, #Ezra 7:12; Ezek. 26:7 the king of kings, to whom #ver. 19 the God of heaven #ch. 5:18; [Ezra 1:2]; See ver. 21has given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory, 38and into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man, #ch. 4:21; Jer. 27:6 the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them all—you are #[ver. 32]the head of gold. 39#[ver. 32; ch. 5:28, 31] Another kingdom inferior to you shall arise after you, and yet a third kingdom #[See ver. 38 above] of bronze, #[ch. 7:6]which shall rule over all the earth. 40And #[ch. 7:7, 23] there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, because iron #See ver. 34breaks to pieces and shatters all things. And like iron that crushes, it shall #See ver. 34break and crush all these. 41And as you saw #[ver. 33] the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom, but some of the #[See ver. 40 above]firmness of iron shall be in it, just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay. 42And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. 43As you saw the iron mixed with soft clay, so they will mix with one another in marriage,#2:43 Aramaic by the seed of men but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay. 44And in the days of those kings #ver. 19 the God of heaven will set up #ch. 4:3, 34; 6:26; 7:14, 27; Mic. 4:7; [Matt. 3:2; Luke 1:33; John 18:36] a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. #[Isa. 60:12]; See ver. 34It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and #ch. 4:3, 34; 6:26; 7:14, 27; Mic. 4:7; [Matt. 3:2; Luke 1:33; John 18:36] it shall stand forever, 45just as #[ver. 34] you saw that #[Isa. 28:16] a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that #[See ver. 44 above] it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A #ver. 28great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.”

Daniel Is Promoted

46Then King Nebuchadnezzar #[2 Sam. 14:22] fell upon his face and #[Matt. 8:2; Acts 10:25] paid homage to Daniel, and commanded that #[Acts 14:13] an offering and #[Ezra 6:10]incense be offered up to him. 47The king answered and said to Daniel, “Truly, your #Deut. 10:17 God is God of gods and #[1 Tim. 6:15; Rev. 17:14; 19:16] Lord of kings, and #See ver. 22a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery.” 48Then the king gave Daniel high honors and many great #[ver. 6] gifts, and made him ruler over the whole #ch. 3:1, 12, 30; [Esth. 1:1] province of Babylon and #ch. 5:11; [ch. 4:9]chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon. 49Daniel made a request of the king, and he #ch. 3:12 appointed #[ch. 1:7] Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the affairs of #[See ver. 48 above] the province of Babylon. But Daniel #Esth. 2:19remained at the king’s court.

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