Daniel 2
2
Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream
1In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams#Gn 40:5–8; Dn 4:5; 5:9 that troubled him, and sleep deserted him.#Gn 41:1,8; Est 6:1; Dn 6:18 2So the king gave orders to summon the magicians, mediums, sorcerers, and Chaldeans#2:2 In this chap. Chaldeans are influential Babylonian wise men.#Dt 18:10,11; 2Ch 33:6; Is 47:9,12 to tell the king his dreams. When they came and stood before the king, 3he said to them, “I have had a dream and am anxious to understand it.”
4The Chaldeans spoke to the king (Aramaic#2:4 Dn 2:4–7:28 is written in Aramaic.#Ezr 4:7; Is 36:11 begins here): “May the king live forever.#1Kg 1:31; Dn 3:9; 5:10; 6:6,21 Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation.”
5The 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,#2:5 Lit be made into limbs and your houses will be made a garbage dump.#Ezr 6:11; Dn 3:29 6But if you make the dream and its interpretation known to me, you’ll receive gifts, a reward, and great honor from me.#Dn 5:7,16 So make the dream and its interpretation known to me.”
7They answered a second time, “May the king tell the dream to his servants, and we will make known the interpretation.”
8The king replied, “I know for certain you are trying to gain some time, because you see that my word is final. 9If you don’t tell me the dream, there is one decree for you.#Is 41:23 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.”
10The Chaldeans answered the king, “No one on earth can make known what the king requests.#Dn 5:11–16 Consequently, no king, however great and powerful, has ever asked anything like this of any magician, medium, or Chaldean. 11What 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.”#Ex 29:45; Is 57:15 12Because of this, the king became violently angry#Ps 76:10; Dn 2:24; 3:13,19 and gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. 13The decree was issued that the wise men were to be executed, and they searched for Daniel and his friends, to execute them.
14Then Daniel responded with tact and discretion to Arioch, the captain of the king’s guard,#2:14 Or executioners#Gn 37:36 who had gone out to execute the wise men of Babylon. 15He asked Arioch, the king’s officer, “Why is the decree from the king so harsh?” #2:15 Or urgent#Dn 3:22 Then Arioch explained the situation to Daniel. 16So Daniel went and asked the king to give him some time, so that he could give the king the interpretation.
17Then Daniel went to his house and told his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah about the matter, 18urging them to ask the God of the heavens#Mt 18:19 for mercy#Jr 33:3 concerning this mystery, so Daniel and his friends would not be destroyed with the rest of Babylon’s wise men.#Mal 3:18 19The mystery was then revealed to Daniel in a vision#Nm 12:6; Jb 33:15–16; Am 3:7 at night, and Daniel praised the God of the heavens 20and declared:
May the name of God
be praised forever and ever,#1Ch 29:10; Ps 72:18; Lk 1:68
for wisdom#Jb 12:13; Is 28:29 and power belong to him.
21He changes the times and seasons;
he removes kings and establishes kings.#1Ch 29:11–12; Dn 4:17; Rm 13:1
He gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to those
who have understanding.#Jb 12:16–22
22He reveals the deep and hidden things;
he knows what is in the darkness,#Jb 12:22; Ps 139:12; Jr 23:24; Am 4:13; Heb 4:13
and light dwells with him.#Jn 1:4–5; 1Tm 6:16; Jms 1:17; 1Jn 1:5
23I offer thanks and praise to you,
God of my ancestors,#Gn 31:42; Ex 3:15; Dt 26:7; 1Ch 12:17; 29:18
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#Dn 1:17–18
the king’s mystery.#2:23 Lit matter
24Therefore Daniel went to Arioch,#Dn 2:14–15 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.”#Ac 27:24
25Then Arioch quickly brought Daniel before the king and said to him, “I have found a man among the Judean exiles#Ezr 4:1; 6:16,19–20; 10:7,16; Dn 5:13 who can let the king know the interpretation.”
26The king said in reply to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar,#Dn 1:7; 5:12 “Are you able to tell me the dream I had and its interpretation?” #Dn 5:16
27Daniel answered the king, “No wise man, medium, magician, or diviner#Dn 1:20; 4:7; 5:7,11 is able to make known to the king the mystery he asked about. 28But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has let King Nebuchadnezzar know what will happen in the last days.#Is 2:2; Dn 10:14; Hs 3:5; Mc 4:1 Your dream and the visions that came into your mind as you lay in bed#Dn 4:5; 7:15 were these: 29Your Majesty, while you were in your bed, thoughts came to your mind about what will happen in the future.#2:29 Lit happen after this, also in v. 45#Rv 1:1 The revealer of mysteries#Jb 12:20–22; Dn 2:45 has let you know what will happen. 30As for me, this mystery has been revealed to me,#Eph 3:3 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.#Gn 41:16; Ec 3:18; Am 4:13; Ac 3:12
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. 32The head of the statue was pure gold, its chest and arms were silver, its stomach and thighs were bronze, 33its legs were iron, and its feet were partly iron and partly fired clay. 34As you were watching, a stone broke off without a hand touching it,#2:34 Lit off not by hands#Jb 34:20; Lm 4:6; Dn 8:25; 2Co 5:1 struck the statue#Mt 21:44; Lk 20:18 on its feet of iron and fired clay, and crushed them.#Ps 2:9; Is 60:12 35Then the iron, the fired clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were shattered and became like chaff#Ps 1:4; Is 17:13; 41:15–16; Hs 13:3 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#Is 2:2; Mc 4:1 the whole earth.
36“This was the dream; now we will tell the king its interpretation. 37Your Majesty, you are king of kings.#Is 47:5; Jr 27:6–7; Ezk 26:7 The God of the heavens has given you sovereignty, power,#Pr 8:15 strength, and glory. 38Wherever people live — or wild animals, or birds of the sky — he has handed them over to you and made you ruler over them all.#Ps 50:10; Jr 27:6; 28:14; Dn 4:21 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.#Dn 5:28,31; 7:6 40A 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.#2:40 Lit all these#Dn 7:7,23 41You 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, 42and 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. 43You saw the iron mixed with clay — the peoples will mix with one another#2:43 Lit another in the seed of men 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,#Ps 145:13; Ezk 37:25; Dn 4:3; 6:26; 7:14; Lk 1:33 and this kingdom will not be left to another people. It will crush all these kingdoms#Ps 2:9; Mt 21:44 and bring them to an end, but will itself endure forever. 45You saw a stone#Is 28:16 break off from the mountain without a hand touching it,#2:45 Lit mountain, not by hands#Dn 2:34 and it crushed the iron, bronze, fired clay, silver, and gold. The great God has told the king what will happen in the future.#Jr 32:18–19; Dn 2:29; Mal 1:11 The dream is certain, and its interpretation reliable.”
Nebuchadnezzar’s Response
46Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell facedown, worshiped Daniel, and gave orders to present an offering and incense to him.#Mt 8:2; Ac 10:25; 14:13; Rv 19:10; 22:8 47The king said to Daniel, “Your God is indeed God of gods, Lord of kings,#Dt 10:17; Ps 136:2–3; 1Tm 6:15; Rv 17:14; 19:16 and a revealer of mysteries,#Am 3:7 since you were able to reveal this mystery.” 48Then 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.#Gn 41:41; Dn 3:1,12,30 49At Daniel’s request, the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego#Dn 1:17; 3:12 to manage the province of Babylon. But Daniel remained at the king’s court.#Est 2:19,21; Am 5:15
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Daniel 2: CSB
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© 2017 Holman Bible Publishers
Daniel 2
2
An impossible challenge
1In the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s rule, he had many dreams. The dreams made him anxious, but he kept sleeping. 2The king summoned the dream interpreters, enchanters, diviners, and Chaldeans to explain his dreams to him. They came and stood before the king.
3Then the king said to them: “I had a dream, and I’m anxious to know its meaning.”
4The Chaldeans answered the king in Aramaic:#2.4 The book switches into Aramaic at this point, returning to Hebrew in 8:1. “Long live the king! Tell your servants the dream, and we will explain its meaning.”
5The king answered the Chaldeans: “My decision is final: If you can’t tell me the dream and its meaning, you will be torn limb from limb, and your houses will be turned into trash dumps. 6But if you do explain the dream and its meaning, you’ll receive generous gifts and glorious honor from me. So explain to me the dream as well as its meaning.”
7They answered him again: “The king must tell his servants the dream. We will then explain the meaning.”
8The king replied: “Now I definitely know you are stalling for time, because you see that my decision is final 9and that if you can’t tell me the dream, your fate is certain. You’ve conspired to make false and lying speeches before me until the situation changes. Tell me the dream now! Then I’ll know you can explain its meaning to me.”
10The Chaldeans answered the king: “No one on earth can do what the king is asking! No king or ruler, no matter how great, has ever asked such a thing of any dream interpreter, enchanter, or Chaldean. 11What the king is asking is impossible! No one could declare the dream to the king but the gods, who don’t live among mere humans.”
12At this, the king exploded in a furious rage and ordered that all Babylon’s sages be wiped out. 13So the command went out: The sages were to be killed. Daniel and his friends too were hunted down; they were to be killed as well.
God reveals the mystery
14Then Daniel, with wisdom and sound judgment, responded to Arioch the king’s chief executioner, who had gone out to kill Babylon’s sages. 15He said to Arioch the king’s royal officer, “Why is the king’s command so unreasonable?” After Arioch explained the situation to Daniel, 16Daniel went and asked the king to give him some time so he could explain the dream’s meaning to him. 17Then Daniel went to his house and explained the situation to his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah 18so that they would ask the God of heaven for help about this mystery, in hopes that Daniel and his friends wouldn’t die with the rest of Babylon’s sages. 19Then, in a vision by night, the mystery was revealed to Daniel! Daniel praised the God of heaven:
20God’s name be praised
from age to eternal age!
Wisdom and might are his!
21God is the one who changes times and eras,
who dethrones one king, only to establish another,
who grants wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those with insight.
22God is the one who uncovers what lies deeply hidden;
he knows what hides in darkness;
light lives with him!
23I acknowledge and praise you, my fathers’ God!
You’ve given me wisdom and might,
and now you’ve made known to me what we asked of you:
you’ve made known to us the king’s demand.
Daniel recounts the dream
24So Daniel went to Arioch, the man the king had appointed to wipe out Babylon’s sages. Daniel said to him, “Don’t wipe out the sages of Babylon! Bring me before the king, and I will explain the dream’s meaning to him.” 25Wasting no time, Arioch brought Daniel before the king, telling him, “I have found someone from the Judean exiles who will tell the dream’s meaning to the king.”
26In reply the king said to Daniel (whose name was Belteshazzar), “Can you really tell me the dream that I saw, as well as its meaning?”
27Daniel answered the king, “Sages, enchanters, dream interpreters, and diviners can’t explain to the king the mystery he seeks. 28But there is a God in heaven, a revealer of mysteries, who has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the days to come! Now this was your dream—this was the vision in your head as you lay in your bed:
29“As you lay in bed, Your Majesty, your thoughts turned to what will happen in the future. The revealer of mysteries has revealed to you what will happen. 30Now this mystery was revealed to me, not because I have more wisdom than any other living person but so that the dream’s meaning might be made known to the king, and so that you might know the thoughts of your own mind.
31“Your Majesty, you were looking, and there, rising before you, was a single, massive statue. This statue was huge, shining with dazzling light, and was awesome to see. 32The statue’s head was made of pure gold; its chest and arms were made from silver; its abdomen and hips were made of bronze. 33Its legs were of iron, and its feet were a mixture of iron and clay. 34You observed this until a stone was cut, but not by hands; and it smashed the statue’s feet of iron and clay and shattered them. 35Then all the parts shattered simultaneously—iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold. They became like chaff, left on summer threshing floors. The wind lifted them away until no trace of them remained. But the stone that smashed the statue became a mighty mountain, and it filled the entire earth.
The dream’s meaning: four future rulers
36“This was the dream. Now we will tell the king its meaning: 37You, Your Majesty, are the king of kings. The God of heaven has given kingship, power, might, and glory to you! 38God has delivered into your care human beings, wild creatures, and birds in the sky—wherever they live—and has made you ruler of all of them. You are the gold head. 39But in your place, another kingdom will arise, one inferior to yours, and then a third, bronze kingdom will rule over all the earth. 40Then will come a fourth kingdom, mighty like iron. Just as iron shatters and crushes everything; so like an iron that smashes, it will shatter and crush all these others. 41As for the feet and toes that you saw, which were a mixture of potter’s clay and iron, that signifies a divided kingdom; but it will possess some of the unyielding strength of iron. Even so, you saw the iron mixed with earthy clay 42so that the toes were made from a mixture of iron and clay. Part of the kingdom will be mighty, but part of it will be fragile. 43Just as you saw the iron mixed with earthy clay, they will join together by intermarrying, but they will not bond to each other, just as iron does not fuse with clay.
44“But in the days of those kings, the God of heaven will raise up an everlasting kingdom that will be indestructible. Its rule will never pass to another people. It will shatter other kingdoms. It will put an end to all of them. It will stand firm forever, 45just like you saw when the stone, which was cut from the mountain, but not by hands, shattered the iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold. A great God has revealed to the king what will happen in the future. The dream is certain. Its meaning can be trusted.”
Nebuchadnezzar honors Daniel
46Then King Nebuchadnezzar bowed low and honored Daniel. The king ordered that grain and incense offerings be made to Daniel. 47The king declared to Daniel, “No doubt about it: your God is God of gods, Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries because you were able to reveal this mystery!” 48Then the king exalted Daniel and lavished gifts on him, making him ruler over all the province of Babylon and chief minister over all Babylon’s sages. 49At Daniel’s urging, the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to administer the province of Babylon, but Daniel himself remained at the royal court.
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