Dani’ĕl (Daniel) 2
2
1And in the second year of the reign of Neḇuḵaḏnetstsar, Neḇuḵaḏnetstsar had dreams. And his spirit was so troubled that his sleep left him.
2And the sovereign gave orders to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and the practisers of witchcraft, and the Kasdim to declare to the sovereign his dreams. So they came and stood before the sovereign.
3And the sovereign said to them, “I have had a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.”
4And the Kasdim spoke to the sovereign in Aramaic,#The Aramaic text starts here, chapter 2 verse 4 and ends at chapter 7 verse 28. “O sovereign, live forever! Relate the dream to your servants, and we shall reveal the interpretation.”
5The sovereign answered and said to the Kasdim, “My decision is firm: if you do not make known the dream and its interpretation to me, your limbs shall be taken from you, and your houses made dunghills.
6“But if you reveal the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive gifts, and rewards, and great esteem from me. So reveal to me the dream and its interpretation.”
7They answered again and said, “Let the sovereign relate to his servants the dream, and we shall reveal its interpretation.”
8The sovereign 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 time has changed. So relate the dream to me, then I shall know that you shall reveal its interpretation for me.”
10The Kasdim answered the sovereign, and said, “There is no one on earth who is able to reveal the matter of the sovereign. Because no sovereign, master, or ruler has ever asked a matter like this of any magician, or astrologer, or Kasdim.
11“And the matter that the sovereign is asking is difficult, and there is no other who is able to reveal it to the sovereign except the elahin, whose dwelling is not with flesh.”
12Because of this the sovereign was enraged and very wroth, and gave orders to destroy all the wise ones of Baḇel.
13So the decree went out, and they began killing the wise ones. And they sought Dani’ĕl and his companions, to kill them.
14Then with counsel and wisdom Dani’ĕl answered Aryoḵ, the chief of the sovereign’s guard, who had gone out to kill the wise ones of Baḇel –
15he answered and said to Aryoḵ the sovereign’s officer, “Why is the decree from the sovereign so urgent?” So Aryoḵ made the decision known to Dani’ĕl.
16And Dani’ĕl went in and asked the sovereign to give him time, and he would show the sovereign the interpretation.
17Then Dani’ĕl went to his house, and made the decision known to Ḥananyah, Misha’ĕl, and Azaryah, his companions,
18to seek compassion from the Elah of the heavens concerning this secret, so that Dani’ĕl and his companions should not perish with the rest of the wise ones of Baḇel.
19Then the secret was revealed to Dani’ĕl in a night vision, and Dani’ĕl blessed the Elah of the heavens.
20Dani’ĕl responded and said, “Blessed be the Name of Elah forever and ever, for wisdom and might are His.
21“And He changes the times and the seasons. He removes sovereigns and raises up sovereigns. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who possess understanding.
22“He reveals deep and secret matters. He knows what is in the darkness, and light dwells with Him.
23“I thank You and praise You, O Elah of my fathers. You have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we asked of You, for You have made known to us the sovereign’s matter.”
24So Dani’ĕl went to Aryoḵ, whom the sovereign had appointed to destroy the wise ones of Baḇel. He went and said this to him, “Do not destroy the wise ones of Baḇel. Bring me in before the sovereign, and I shall show the interpretation to the sovereign.”
25Then Aryoḵ brought Dani’ĕl in a hurry before the sovereign, and said thus to him, “I have found a man among the sons of the exile of Yehuḏah, who does make known to the sovereign the interpretation.”
26The sovereign answered and said to Dani’ĕl, whose name was Bĕlteshatstsar, “Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen, and its interpretation?”
27Dani’ĕl answered before the sovereign, and said, “The secret which the sovereign is asking – the wise ones, the astrologers, the magicians, and the diviners are unable to show it to the sovereign.
28“But there is an Elah in the heavens who reveals secrets, and He has made known to Sovereign Neḇuḵaḏnetstsar what is to be in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your head upon your bed, were these:
29“As for you, O sovereign, on your bed your thoughts came up: What is going to take place after this. And He who reveals secrets has made known to you what shall be after this.
30“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 sovereign, and that you should know the thoughts of your heart.
31“You, O sovereign, were looking on, and saw a great image! This great image, and its brightness excellent, was standing before you, and its form was awesome.
32“This image’s head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze,
33its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay.
34“You were looking on, until a stone was cut out without hands, and it smote the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces.
35“Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together, and became like chaff from the summer threshing-floors. And the wind took them away so that no trace of them was found. And the stone that smote the image became a great mountain and filled all the earth.
36“This is the dream, and its interpretation we declare before the sovereign.
37“You, O sovereign, are a sovereign of sovereigns. For the Elah of the heavens has given you a reign, power, and strength, and preciousness,
38and wherever the children of men dwell, or the beasts of the field and the birds of the heavens, He has given them into your hand, and has made you ruler over them all. You are the head of gold.
39“And after you rises up another reign lower than yours, and another third reign of bronze that rules over all the earth.
40“And the fourth reign is as strong as iron, because iron crushes and shatters all. So, like iron that breaks in pieces, it crushes and breaks all these.
41“Yet, as you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, the reign is to be divided. But some of the strength of the iron is to be in it, because you saw the iron mixed with muddy clay.
42“And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the reign is partly strong and partly brittle.
43“And as you saw iron mixed with muddy clay, they are mixing themselves with the seed of men, but they are not clinging to each other, even as iron does not mix with clay.
44“And in the days of these sovereigns the Elah of the heavens shall set up a reign which shall never be destroyed, nor the reign pass on to other people – it crushes and puts to an end all these reigns, and it shall stand forever.#See Dan. 7; Psa. 22:28; Jer. 30:11; Joel 3:16; Obad. 1:15-17; Hab. 3:12, 13; Zeph. 3:8; Hagg. 2:22; Rev. 11:15
45“Because you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold, the great Elah has made known to the sovereign what shall be after this. And the dream is true, and its interpretation is trustworthy.”
46Then Sovereign Neḇuḵaḏnetstsar fell on his face, and did obeisance before Dani’ĕl, and gave orders to present to him an offering and incense.
47The sovereign answered Dani’ĕl, and said, “Truly your Elah is the Elah of elahin, the Master of sovereigns, and a revealer of secrets, since you were able to reveal this secret.”
48Then the sovereign made Dani’ĕl great and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over all the province of Baḇel, and chief of the nobles, over all the wise ones of Baḇel.
49And Dani’ĕl asked of the sovereign, and he set Shaḏraḵ, Mĕyshaḵ, and Aḇĕḏ-Neḡo over the work of the province of Baḇel, and Dani’ĕl in the gate of the sovereign.
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Dani’ĕl (Daniel) 2: TS2009
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Daniel 2
2
The King’s Forgotten Dream
1Now in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; and his spirit was troubled and his sleep left him. 2Then the king gave orders to call in the #Or soothsayer priestsmagicians, the conjurers, the sorcerers and the #Or master astrologers, and so throughout the chChaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king. 3The king said to them, “I had a dream and my spirit is anxious to understand the dream.”
4Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic: “O king, live forever! Tell the dream to your servants, and we will declare the interpretation.” 5The king replied to the Chaldeans, “The command from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you will be torn limb from limb and your houses will be made a rubbish heap. 6But if you declare the dream and its interpretation, you will receive from me gifts and a reward and great honor; therefore declare to me the dream and its interpretation.” 7They answered a second time and said, “Let the king tell the dream to his servants, and we will declare the interpretation.” 8The king replied, “I know for certain that you are bargaining for time, inasmuch as you have seen that the command from me is firm, 9that if you do not make the dream known to me, there is only one decree for you. For you have agreed together to speak lying and corrupt words before me until the situation is changed; therefore tell me the dream, that I may know that you can declare to me its interpretation.” 10The Chaldeans answered the king and said, “There is not a man on earth who could declare the matter for the king, inasmuch as no great king or ruler has ever asked anything like this of any magician, conjurer or Chaldean. 11Moreover, the thing which the king demands is difficult, and there is no one else who could declare it to the king except gods, whose dwelling place is not with mortal flesh.”
12Because of this the king became indignant and very furious and gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. 13So the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they looked for Daniel and his friends to kill them.
14Then Daniel replied with discretion and discernment to Arioch, the captain of the king’s bodyguard, who had gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon; 15he said to Arioch, the king’s commander, “For what reason is the decree from the king so urgent?” Then Arioch informed Daniel about the matter. 16So Daniel went in and requested of the king that he would give him time, in order that he might declare the interpretation to the king.
17Then Daniel went to his house and informed his friends, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, about the matter, 18so that they might request compassion from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his friends would not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
The Secret Is Revealed to Daniel
19Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven; 20Daniel said,
“Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever,
For wisdom and power belong to Him.
21It is He who changes the times and the epochs;
He removes kings and establishes kings;
He gives wisdom to wise men
And knowledge to men of understanding.
22It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things;
He knows what is in the darkness,
And the light dwells with Him.
23To You, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise,
For You have given me wisdom and power;
Even now You have made known to me what we requested of You,
For You have made known to us the king’s matter.”
24Therefore, Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon; he went and spoke to him as follows: “Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon! Take me into the king’s presence, and I will declare the interpretation to the king.”
25Then Arioch hurriedly brought Daniel into the king’s presence and spoke to him as follows: “I have found a man among the exiles from Judah who can make the interpretation known to the king!” 26The king said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen and its interpretation?” 27Daniel answered before the king and said, “As for the mystery about which the king has inquired, neither wise men, conjurers, magicians nor diviners are able to declare it to the king. 28However, there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will take place in the latter days. This was your dream and the visions in your mind while on your bed. 29As for you, O king, while on your bed your thoughts turned to what would take place in the future; and He who reveals mysteries has made known to you what will take place. 30But as for me, this mystery has not been revealed to me for any wisdom residing in me more than in any other living man, but for the purpose of making the interpretation known to the king, and that you may understand the thoughts of your mind.
The King’s Dream
31“You, O king, were looking and behold, there was a single great statue; that statue, which was large and of extraordinary splendor, was standing in front of you, and its appearance was awesome. 32The head of that statue was made of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze, 33its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. 34You continued looking until a stone was cut out without hands, and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and crushed them. 35Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were crushed all at the same time and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away so that not a trace of them was found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.
The Interpretation—Babylon the First Kingdom
36“This was the dream; now we will tell its interpretation before the king. 37You, O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the strength and the glory; 38and wherever the sons of men dwell, or the beasts of the field, or the birds of the sky, He has given them into your hand and has caused you to rule over them all. You are the head of gold.
Medo-Persia and Greece
39After you there will arise another kingdom inferior to you, then another third kingdom of bronze, which will rule over all the earth.
Rome
40Then there will be a fourth kingdom as strong as iron; inasmuch as iron crushes and shatters all things, so, like iron that breaks in pieces, it will crush and break all these in pieces. 41In that you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it will be a divided kingdom; but it will have in it the toughness of iron, inasmuch as you saw the iron mixed with common clay. 42As the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of pottery, so some of the kingdom will be strong and part of it will be brittle. 43And in that you saw the iron mixed with common clay, they will combine with one another in the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, even as iron does not combine with pottery.
The Divine Kingdom
44In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever. 45Inasmuch as you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold, the great God has made known to the king what will take place in the future; so the dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy.”
Daniel Promoted
46Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face and did homage to Daniel, and gave orders to present to him an offering and fragrant incense. 47The king answered Daniel and said, “Surely your God is a God of gods and a Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, since you have been able to reveal this mystery.” 48Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts, and he made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon. 49And Daniel made request of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego over the administration of the province of Babylon, while Daniel was at the king’s court.
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