Daniel 2
2
Nebuchadnezzar's Dream
1In the second year that Nebuchadnezzar was king, he had a dream. It worried him so much that he couldn't sleep, 2#Gen 41.8so he sent for his fortune tellers, magicians, sorcerers, and wizards to come and explain the dream to him. When they came and stood before the king, 3he said to them, “I'm worried about a dream I have had. I want to know what it means.”
4They answered the king in Aramaic,#2.4 From here to the end of chapter 7, the language used is Aramaic, not Hebrew. “May Your Majesty live for ever! Tell us your dream, and we will explain it to you.”
5The king said to them, “I have made up my mind that you must tell me the dream and then tell me what it means. If you can't, I'll have you torn limb from limb and make your houses a pile of ruins. 6But if you can tell me both the dream and its meaning, I will reward you with gifts and great honour. Now then, tell me what the dream was and what it means.”
7They answered the king again, “If Your Majesty will only tell us what the dream was, we will explain it.”
8At that, the king exclaimed, “Just as I thought! You are trying to gain time, because you see that I have made up my mind 9to give all of you the same punishment if you don't tell me the dream. You have agreed among yourselves to go on telling me lies because you hope that in time things will change. Tell me what the dream was, and then I will know that you can also tell me what it means.”
10The advisers replied, “There is no one on the face of the earth who can tell Your Majesty what you want to know. No king, not even the greatest and most powerful, has ever made such a demand of his fortune tellers, magicians, and wizards. 11What Your Majesty is asking for is so difficult that no one can do it for you except the gods, and they do not live among human beings.”
12At that, the king flew into a rage and ordered the execution of all the royal advisers in Babylon. 13So the order was issued for all of them to be killed, including Daniel and his friends.
God Shows Daniel what the Dream Means
14Then Daniel went to Arioch, commander of the king's bodyguard, who had been ordered to carry out the execution. Choosing his words carefully, 15he asked Arioch why the king had issued such a harsh order. So Arioch told Daniel what had happened.
16Daniel went at once and obtained royal permission for more time, so that he could tell the king what the dream meant. 17Then Daniel went home and told his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah what had happened. 18He told them to pray to the God of heaven for mercy and to ask him to explain the mystery to them so that they would not be killed along with the other advisers in Babylon. 19Then that same night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision, and he praised the God of heaven:
20“God is wise and powerful!
Praise him for ever and ever.
21He controls the times and the seasons;
he makes and unmakes kings;
it is he who gives wisdom and understanding.
22He reveals things that are deep and secret;
he knows what is hidden in darkness,
and he himself is surrounded by light.
23I praise you and honour you, God of my ancestors.
You have given me wisdom and strength;
you have answered my prayer
and shown us what to tell the king.”
Daniel Tells the King the Dream and Explains it
24So Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had commanded to execute the royal advisers. He said to him, “Don't put them to death. Take me to the king, and I will tell him what his dream means.”
25At once Arioch took Daniel into King Nebuchadnezzar's presence and told the king, “I have found one of the Jewish exiles, who can tell Your Majesty the meaning of your dream.”
26The king said to Daniel (who was also called Belteshazzar), “Can you tell me what I dreamt and what it means?”
27Daniel replied, “Your Majesty, there is no wizard, magician, fortune teller, or astrologer who can tell you that. 28But there is a God in heaven, who reveals mysteries. He has informed Your Majesty what will happen in the future. Now I will tell you the dream, the vision you had while you were asleep.
29“While Your Majesty was sleeping, you dreamt about the future; and God, who reveals mysteries, showed you what is going to happen. 30Now, this mystery was revealed to me, not because I am wiser than anyone else, but so that Your Majesty may learn the meaning of your dream and understand the thoughts that have come to you.
31“Your Majesty, in your vision you saw standing before you a giant statue, bright and shining, and terrifying to look at. 32Its head was made of the finest gold; its chest and arms were made of silver; its waist and hips of bronze; 33its legs of iron, and its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. 34While you were looking at it, a great stone broke loose from a cliff without anyone touching it, struck the iron and clay feet of the statue, and shattered them. 35At once the iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold crumbled and became like the dust on a threshing place in summer. The wind carried it all away, leaving not a trace. But the stone grew to be a mountain that covered the whole earth.
36“This was the dream. Now I will tell Your Majesty what it means. 37Your Majesty, you are the greatest of all kings. The God of heaven has made you emperor and given you power, might, and honour. 38He has made you ruler of all the inhabited earth and ruler over all the animals and birds. You are the head of gold. 39After you there will be another empire, not as great as yours, and after that a third, an empire of bronze, which will rule the whole earth. 40And then there will be a fourth empire, as strong as iron, which shatters and breaks everything. And just as iron shatters everything, it will shatter and crush all the earlier empires. 41You also saw that the feet and the toes were partly clay and partly iron. This means that it will be a divided empire. It will have something of the strength of iron, because there was iron mixed with the clay. 42The toes — partly iron and partly clay — mean that part of the empire will be strong and part of it weak. 43You also saw that the iron was mixed with the clay. This means that the rulers of that empire will try to unite their families by intermarriage, but they will not be able to, any more than iron can mix with clay. 44At the time of those rulers the God of heaven will establish a kingdom that will never end. It will never be conquered, but will completely destroy all those empires, and then last for ever. 45You saw how a stone broke loose from a cliff without anyone touching it and how it struck the statue made of iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold. The great God is telling Your Majesty what will happen in the future. I have told you exactly what you dreamt, and have given you its true meaning.”
The King Rewards Daniel
46Then King Nebuchadnezzar bowed to the ground and gave orders for sacrifices and offerings to be made to Daniel. 47The king said, “Your God is the greatest of all gods, the Lord over kings, and the one who reveals mysteries. I know this because you have been able to explain this mystery.” 48Then he gave Daniel a high position, presented him with many splendid gifts, put him in charge of the province of Babylon, and made him the head of all the royal advisers. 49At Daniel's request the king put Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in charge of the affairs of the province of Babylon; Daniel, however, remained at the royal court.
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.
Daniel 2
2
Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream
1During Nebuchadnezzar’s second year as king, he had some dreams. Those dreams bothered him, and he could not sleep. 2So the king called for his fortune-tellers, magicians, wizards and wise men. The king wanted those men to tell him what he had dreamed. So they came in and stood in front of the king.
3Then the king said to them, “I had a dream that bothers me. I want to know what the dream means.”
4Then the wise men answered the king in the Aramaic language. They said, “Our king, live forever! We are your servants. Please tell us your dream. Then we will tell you what it means.”
5Then King Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “No! You must tell me the dream. And then you must tell me what it means. If you don’t do these things, I will have you torn apart. And I will turn your houses into piles of stones. 6But if you tell me my dream and its meaning, I will reward you. I will give you gifts and great honor. So tell me the dream, and tell me what it means.”
7Again the wise men said to the king, “Please, tell us the dream. And we will tell you what it means.”
8King Nebuchadnezzar answered, “Now I know that you are trying to get more time. You know that I meant what I said. 9If you don’t tell me my dream, you will be punished. You have all agreed to tell me lies and wicked things. You are hoping things will change. Now, tell me the dream. Then I will know you can tell me what it really means!”
10The wise men answered the king. They said, “No one on earth can do what the king asks! Not even a great and powerful king has ever asked the fortune-tellers, magicians or wise men to do this. 11The king is asking something that is too hard. Only the gods could tell the king this. But the gods do not live among people.”
12When the king heard that, he became very angry. He gave an order for all the wise men of Babylon to be killed. 13So King Nebuchadnezzar’s order was announced. All the wise men were to be put to death. Men were sent to look for Daniel and his friends to kill them.
14Arioch was the commander of the king’s guards. He was going to put to death the wise men of Babylon. But Daniel spoke to him with wisdom and skill. 15Daniel asked, “Why did the king order such a terrible punishment?” Then Arioch explained everything to Daniel. 16When Daniel heard the story, he went to King Nebuchadnezzar. Daniel asked him to give him some more time. Then he would tell the king what he had dreamed and what it meant.
17So Daniel went to his house. He explained the whole story to his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. 18Daniel asked his friends to pray to the God of heaven. Daniel asked them to pray that God would show them mercy and help them understand this secret. Then Daniel and his friends would not be put to death with the other wise men of Babylon.
19During the night God explained the secret to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven. 20Daniel said:
“Praise God forever and ever.
He has wisdom and power.
21He changes the times and seasons of the year.
He takes away the power of kings.
And he gives their power to new kings.
He gives wisdom to people so they become wise.
And he helps people learn and know things.
22He makes known secrets that are deep and hidden.
He knows what is hidden in darkness,
and light lives with him.
23I thank you and praise you, God of my ancestors.
You have given me wisdom and power.
You told me what we asked of you.
You told us about the king’s dream.”
The Meaning of the Dream
24Then Daniel went to Arioch. King Nebuchadnezzar had chosen Arioch to put to death the wise men of Babylon. Daniel said to Arioch, “Don’t put the wise men of Babylon to death. Take me to the king. I will tell him what his dream means.”
25So very quickly Arioch took Daniel to the king. Arioch said to the king, “I have found a man among the captives from Judah. He can tell the king what his dream means.”
26The king asked Daniel (also called Belteshazzar) a question. He asked, “Are you able to tell me what I dreamed and what it means?”
27Daniel answered, “No person can explain to the king the secret he has asked about. No wise man, magician or fortune-teller can do this. 28But there is a God in heaven who explains secret things. God has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen at a later time. This is your dream. This is the vision you saw while lying on your bed: 29My king, as you were lying there, you thought about things to come. God, who can tell people about secret things, showed you what is going to happen. 30God also told this secret to me. It is not because I have greater wisdom than other men. It is so that you, my king, may know what it means. In that way you will understand what went through your mind.
31“My king, in your dream you saw a large statue in front of you. It was huge, shiny and frightening. 32The head of the statue was made of pure gold. Its chest and arms were made of silver. Its middle and the upper part of its legs were made of bronze. 33The lower part of the legs were made of iron. Its feet were made partly of iron and partly of baked clay. 34While you were looking at the statue, you saw a rock cut free. But no human being touched the rock. It hit the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. 35Then the iron, clay, bronze, silver and gold broke to pieces at the same time. They became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summertime. The wind blew them away, and there was nothing left. Then the rock that hit the statue became a very large mountain. It filled the whole earth.
36“That was your dream. Now we will tell the king what it means. 37My king, you are the greatest king. God of heaven has given you a kingdom. He has given you power, strength and glory. 38God has given you power over people, wild animals and birds. Wherever they live, God has made you ruler over them all. King Nebuchadnezzar, you are the head of gold on that statue.
39“Another kingdom will come after you. But that kingdom will not be as great as yours. Next a third kingdom will rule over the earth. That is the bronze part. 40Then there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron. Iron crushes and smashes things to pieces. In the same way the fourth kingdom will smash and crush all the other kingdoms.
41“You saw that the statue’s feet and toes were partly baked clay and partly iron. That means the fourth kingdom will be a divided kingdom. It will have some of the strength of iron in it. As you saw, iron was mixed with clay. 42The toes of the statue were partly iron and partly clay. So the fourth kingdom will be partly strong like iron and partly breakable like clay. 43You saw the iron mixed with clay. But iron and clay don’t mix completely together. In the same way the people of the fourth kingdom will be a mixture. Those people will not be united as one people.
44“During the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up another kingdom. It will never be destroyed. And it will not be given to another group of people. This kingdom will crush all the other kingdoms. It will bring them to an end. But that kingdom itself will continue forever.
45“King Nebuchadnezzar, you saw a rock cut from a mountain. But no human being touched it. The rock broke the iron, bronze, clay, silver and gold to pieces. In this way the great God showed you what will happen. The dream is true, and you can trust this explanation.”
46Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell facedown on the ground in front of Daniel. The king honored him. He ordered that an offering and incense be presented to Daniel. 47Then the king said to Daniel, “Truly I know your God is the greatest of all gods. And he is the Lord of all the kings. He tells people about things they cannot know. I know this is true. You were able to tell these secret things to me.”
48Then the king gave Daniel an important position in his kingdom. And he gave many gifts to Daniel. Nebuchadnezzar made him ruler over the whole area of Babylon. And he put Daniel in charge of all the wise men of Babylon. 49Daniel asked the king to make Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego important leaders over the area of Babylon. And the king did as Daniel asked. Daniel himself became one of the important people who stayed at the royal court.
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