Daniel 2

¹In the second year of the rule of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; and his spirit was troubled and his sleep went from him.

²Then the king gave orders that the wonder-workers, and the users of secret arts, and those who made use of evil powers, and the Chaldaeans, were to be sent for to make clear to the king his dreams. So they came and took their places before the king.

³And the king said to them, I have had a dream, and my spirit is troubled by the desire to have the dream made clear to me.

⁴Then the Chaldaeans said to the king in the Aramaean language, O King, have life for ever: give your servants an account of your dream, and we will make clear to you the sense of it.

⁵The king made answer and said to the Chaldaeans, This is my decision: if you do not make clear to me the dream and the sense of it, you will be cut in bits and your houses made waste.

⁶But if you make clear the dream and the sense of it, you will have from me offerings and rewards and great honour: so make clear to me the dream and the sense of it.

⁷A second time they said in answer, Let the king give his servants an account of his dream, and we will make clear the sense.

⁸The king made answer and said, I am certain that you are attempting to get more time, because you see that my decision is fixed;

⁹That if you do not make my dream clear to me there is only one fate for you: for you have made ready false and evil words to say before me till the times are changed: so give me an account of the dream, and I will be certain that you are able to make the sense of it clear.

¹⁰Then the Chaldaeans said to the king in answer, There is not a man on earth able to make clear the king's business; for no king, however great his power, has ever made such a request to any wonder-worker or user of secret arts or Chaldaean.

¹¹The king's request is a very hard one, and there is no other who is able to make it clear to the king, but the gods, whose living-place is not with flesh.

¹²Because of this the king was angry and full of wrath, and gave orders for the destruction of all the wise men of Babylon.

¹³So the order went out that the wise men were to be put to death; and they were looking for Daniel and his friends to put them to death.

¹⁴Then Daniel gave an answer with wisdom and good sense to Arioch, the captain of the king's armed men, who had gone out to put to death the wise men of Babylon;

¹⁵He made answer and said to Arioch, O captain of the king, why is the king's order so cruel? Then Arioch gave Daniel an account of the business.

¹⁶And Daniel went in and made a request to the king to give him time and he would make clear the sense of his dream to the king.

¹⁷And Daniel went to his house and gave his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah the news:

¹⁸So that they might make a request for the mercy of the God of heaven in the question of this secret; so that Daniel and his friends might not come to destruction with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

¹⁹Then the secret was made clear to Daniel in a vision of the night. And Daniel gave blessing to the God of heaven.

²⁰And Daniel said in answer, May the name of God be praised for ever and ever: for wisdom and strength are his:

²¹By him times and years are changed: by him kings are taken away and kings are lifted up: he gives wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to those whose minds are awake:

²²He is the unveiler of deep and secret things: he has knowledge of what is in the dark, and the light has its living-place with him.

²³I give you praise and worship, O God of my fathers, who have given me wisdom and strength, and have now made clear to me what we were requesting from you: for you have given us knowledge of the king's business.

²⁴For this reason Daniel went to Arioch, to whom the king had given orders for the destruction of the wise men of Babylon, and said to him, Do not put to death the wise men of Babylon: take me in before the king and I will make clear to him the sense of the dream.

²⁵Then Arioch quickly took Daniel in before the king, and said to him, Here is a man from among the prisoners of Judah, who will make clear to the king the sense of the dream.

²⁶The king made answer and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Are you able to make clear to me the dream which I saw and its sense?

²⁷Then Daniel said in answer to the king, No wise men, or users of secret arts, or wonder-workers, or readers of signs, are able to make clear to the king the secret he is searching for;

²⁸But there is a God in heaven, the unveiler of secrets, and he has given to King Nebuchadnezzar knowledge of what will take place in the last days. Your dreams and the visions of your head on your bed are these:

²⁹As for you, O King, the thoughts which came to you on your bed were of what will come about after this: and the unveiler of secrets has made clear to you what is to come.

³⁰As for me, this secret is not made clear to me because of any wisdom which I have more than any living man, but in order that the sense of the dream may be made clear to the king, and that you may have knowledge of the thoughts of your heart.

³¹You, O King, were looking, and a great image was there. This image, which was very great, and whose glory was very bright, was placed before you: its form sent fear into the heart.

³²As for this image, its head was made of the best gold, its breast and its arms were of silver, its middle and its sides were of brass,

³³Its legs of iron, its feet were in part of iron and in part of potter's earth.

³⁴While you were looking at it, a stone was cut out, but not by hands, and it gave the image a blow on its feet, which were of iron and earth, and they were broken in bits.

³⁵Then the iron and the earth, the brass and the silver and the gold, were smashed together, and became like the dust on the floors where grain is crushed in summer; and the wind took them away so that no sign of them was to be seen: and the stone which gave the image a blow became a great mountain, covering all the earth.

³⁶This is the dream; and we will make clear to the king the sense of it.

³⁷You, O King, king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the strength, and the glory,

³⁸Wherever the children of men are living; into whose hands he has given the beasts of the field and the birds of heaven, and has made you ruler over them all, you are the head of gold.

³⁹And after you another kingdom, lower than you, will come to power; and a third kingdom, of brass, ruling over all the earth.

⁴⁰And the fourth kingdom will be strong as iron: because, as all things are broken and overcome by iron, so it will have the power of crushing and smashing down all the earth.

⁴¹And as you saw the feet and toes, part of potter's work and part of iron, there will be a division in the kingdom; but there will be some of the strength of iron in it, because you saw the iron mixed with the potter's earth.

⁴²And as the toes of the feet were in part of iron and in part of earth, so part of the kingdom will be strong and part of it will readily be broken.

⁴³And as you saw the iron mixed with earth, they will give their daughters to one another as wives: but they will not be united one with another, even as iron is not mixed with earth.

⁴⁴And in the days of those kings, the God of heaven will put up a kingdom which will never come to destruction, and its power will never be given into the hands of another people, and all these kingdoms will be broken and overcome by it, but it will keep its place for ever.

⁴⁵Because you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that by it the iron and the brass and the earth and the silver and the gold were broken to bits, a great God has given the king knowledge of what is to take place in the future: the dream is fixed, and its sense is certain.

⁴⁶Then King Nebuchadnezzar, falling down on his face, gave worship to Daniel, and gave orders for an offering and spices to be given to him;

⁴⁷And the king made answer to Daniel and said, Truly, your God is a God of gods and a Lord of kings, and an unveiler of secrets, for you have been able to make this secret clear.

⁴⁸Then the king made Daniel great, and gave him offerings in great number, and made him ruler over all the land of Babylon, and chief over all the wise men of Babylon.

⁴⁹And at Daniel's request, the king gave Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego authority over the business of the land of Babylon: but Daniel was kept near the king's person.

Daniel 2

¹In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; and his spirit was troubled, and his sleep went from him.

²Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the enchanters, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king.

³The king said to them, "I have had a dream, and my spirit is anxious to understand the dream."

⁴Then spoke the Chaldeans to the king in the Syrian language, "O king, live forever: tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation."

⁵The king answered the Chaldeans, "The thing is gone from me: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a rubbish heap.

⁶But if you show the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor: therefore show me the dream and its interpretation."

⁷They answered the second time and said, "Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation."

⁸The king answered, "I know of a certainty that you would gain time, because you see the thing is gone from me.

⁹But if you do not make known to me the dream, there is but one law for you; for you have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me, until such time that things might change. Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can show me its interpretation."

¹⁰The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, "There is not a man on the earth who can show the king's matter, because no king, lord, or ruler, has asked such a thing of any magician, or enchanter, or Chaldean.

¹¹It is a rare thing that the king requires, and there is no other who can show it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh."

¹²For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.

¹³So the decree went forth, and the wise men were to be killed; and they sought Daniel and his companions to be killed.

¹⁴Then Daniel returned an answer with counsel and prudence to Arioch the captain of the king's guard, who was gone forth to kill the wise men of Babylon;

¹⁵he answered Arioch the king's captain, "Why is the decree so urgent from the king?" Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel.

¹⁶Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would appoint him a time, and he would show the king the interpretation.

¹⁷Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions:

¹⁸that they would seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his companions should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

¹⁹Then was the secret revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.

²⁰Daniel answered, "Blessed be the name of God forever and ever; for wisdom and might are his.

²¹He changes the times and the seasons; he removes kings, and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to those who have understanding;

²²he reveals the deep and secret things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him.

²³I thank you, and praise you, God of my fathers, who has given me wisdom and might, and has now made known to me what we desired 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 said this to him: "Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will show to the king the interpretation."

²⁵Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said this to him, "I have found a man of the children of the captivity of Judah, who will make known to the king the interpretation."

²⁶The king answered 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, "The secret which the king has demanded is such that no wise men, enchanters, magicians, nor soothsayers, can show to the king;

²⁸but there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and he has made known to king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your head on your bed, are these:

²⁹as for you, O king, your thoughts came into your mind on your bed, what should happen hereafter; and he who reveals secrets has made known to you what shall happen.

³⁰But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for 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 you may know the thoughts of your heart.

³¹You, O king, saw, and behold, a great image. This image, which was mighty, and whose brightness was extraordinary, stood before you; and its appearance was awesome.

³²As for this image, its head was of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of brass,

³³its legs of iron, its feet part of iron, and part of clay.

³⁴You saw until a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet that were of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces.

³⁵Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken in pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that no place was found for them: and the stone that struck the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.

³⁶This is the dream; and we will tell its interpretation before the king.

³⁷You, O king, are king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the strength, and the glory;

³⁸and wherever the children of men dwell, the animals of the field and the birds of the sky has he given into your hand, and has made you to rule over them all: you are the head of gold.

³⁹After you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours; and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.

⁴⁰The fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron, because iron breaks in pieces and subdues all things; and as iron that crushes all these, shall it break in pieces and crush.

⁴¹Whereas you saw the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, because you saw the iron mixed with miry clay.

⁴²As the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.

⁴³Whereas you saw the iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mix with one another but they shall not hold together, even as iron does not mix with clay.

⁴⁴In the days of those kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall its sovereignty be left to another people; but it shall break in pieces and consume all those kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.

⁴⁵Because you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God has made known to the king what shall happen hereafter: and the dream is certain, and its interpretation sure."

⁴⁶Then king Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, and worshiped Daniel, and commanded that they should present an offering and incense to him.

⁴⁷The king answered to Daniel, and said, "Surely your God is the God of gods, and the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing you have been able to reveal this secret."

⁴⁸Then the king made Daniel great, and gave him many great gifts, and made him to rule over the whole province of Babylon, and to be chief governor over all the wise men of Babylon.

⁴⁹Daniel requested of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel was in the gate of the king.