Dan 2
1
In the second year of his reign Nabuchodonosor dreamed a dream, and his spirit was
amazed, and his sleep departed from him.
2
And the king gave orders to call the enchanters, and the magicians, and the sorcerers,
and the Chaldeans, to declare to the king his dreams. And they came and stood before
the king.
3
And the king said to them, I have dreamed, and my spirit was Gr. amazed troubled to know the dream.
4
And the Chaldeans spoke to the king in the Syrian language, saying, O king, live for
ever: do you tell the dream to your servants, and we will declare the interpretation.
5
The king answered the Chaldeans, The thing has departed from me: if you do not make
known to me the dream and the interpretation, you shall be destroyed, and your houses
shall be spoiled.
6
But if you make known to me the dream, and the interpretation thereof, you shall receive
of me gifts and presents and much honour: only tell me the dream, and the interpretation
thereof.
7
They answered the second time, and said, Let the king tell the dream to his servants,
and we will declare the interpretation.
8
And the king answered and said, I truly know that you are Gr. redeeming time; or, watching to buy it; See Eph 5:16 trying
to gain time, because you see that the thing has gone from me.
9
If then you do not tell me the dream, I know that you have concerted to utter before
me a false and corrupt tale, until the time shall have past: tell me my dream, and
I shall know that you will also declare to me the interpretation thereof.
10
The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is no man upon the earth,
who shall be able to make known the king’s matter: seeing that as no great king or
ruler asks such a question of an enchanter, magician, or Chaldean.
11
For the question which the king asks is difficult, and there is no one else who shall
answer it before the king, but the gods, whose dwelling is not with any flesh.
12
Then the king in rage and anger commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.
13
So the decree went forth, and they began to slay the wise men; and they sought Daniel
and his fellows to slay them.
14
Then Daniel answered with counsel and prudence to Arioch the See note on Ge 39:1 captain of the royal guard, who was gone
forth to kill the wise men of Babylon; saying,
15
Chief magistrate of the king, wherefore has the preemptory command proceeded from
the king? So Arioch made known the matter to Daniel.
16
And Daniel intreated the king to give him time, and that he might thus declare to
the king the interpretation of it.
17
So Daniel went into his house, and made known the matter to Ananias, and Misael, and
Azarias, his friends.
18
And they sought mercies from the God of heaven concerning this mystery; that Daniel
and his friends might not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
19
Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night; and Daniel blessed
the God of heaven, and said,
20
May the name of God be blessed from everlasting and to everlasting: for wisdom and
understanding are his.
21
And he changes times and seasons: he appoints kings, and removes them, giving wisdom
to the wise, and prudence to them that have understanding:
22
he reveals deep and secret matters; knowing what is in darkness, and the light is
with him.
23
I give thanks to you, and praise you, O God of my fathers, for you has given me wisdom
and power, and has made known to me the things which we asked of you; and you has
made known to me the king’s vision.
24
And Daniel came to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of
Babylon, and said to him; Destroy not the wise men of Babylon, but bring me in before
the king, and I will declare the interpretation to the king.
25
Then Arioch in haste brought in Daniel before the king, and said to him, I have found
a man of the children of the captivity of Judea, who will declare the interpretation
to the king.
26
And the king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Baltasar, Can you declare
to me the dream which I saw, and the interpretation thereof?
27
And Daniel answered before the king, and said, The mystery which the king asks the
explanation of is not in the power of the wise men, magicians, enchanters, or soothsayers
to declare to the king.
28
But there is a God in heaven revealing mysteries, and he has made known to king Nabuchodonosor
what things must come to pass in the last days. Your dream, and the visions of your
head upon your bed, are as follows,
29
O king: your thoughts upon your bed arose as to what must come to pass hereafter:
and he who reveals mysteries has made known to you what must come to pass.
30
Moreover, this mystery has not been revealed to me by reason of wisdom which is in
me beyond all others living, but for the sake of making known the interpretation to
the king, that you might know the thoughts of your heart.
31
You, O king, saw, and behold Lit. one image an image: that image was great, and the appearance of it excellent, standing before
your face; and the form of it was terrible.
32
It was an image, the head of which was of fine gold, its hands and breast and arms
of silver, its belly and thighs of brass,
33
its legs of iron, its feet, part of iron and part of earthenware.
34
You saw until a stone was cut out of a mountain without hands, and it smote the image
upon its feet of iron and earthenware, and utterly reduced them to powder.
35
Then once for all the earthenware, the iron, the brass, the silver, the gold, were
ground to powder, and became as Or, dust, or, cloud of dust chaff from the summer threshingfloor; and the violence of the
wind carried them away,
and no place was found for them: and the stone which had smitten the image became
a great mountain, and filled all the earth.
36
This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king.
37
You, O king, art a king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given a powerful and
strong and honourable kingdom,
38
in every place where the children of men dwell: and he has given into your hand the
wild beasts of the field, and the birds of the sky and the fish of the sea, and he
has made you lord of all.
39
You are the head of gold. And after you shall arise another kingdom inferior to you,
and a third kingdom which is the brass, which shall have dominion over all the earth;
40
and a fourth kingdom, which shall be strong as iron: as iron beats to powder and subdues
all things, so shall it beat to powder and subdue.
41
And whereas you saw the feet and the toes, part of earthenware and part of iron, the
kingdom shall be divided; yet there shall be in Gr. of the iron root it of the strength of iron, as you saw the iron mixed
with earthenware.
42
And whereas the toes of the feet were part of iron and part of earthenware, part of
the kingdom shall be strong, and part of it shall be broken.
43
Whereas you saw the iron mixed with earthenware, they shall be mingled with the seed
of men: but they shall not cleave together, as the iron does not mix itself with earthenware.
44
And in the days of those kings the God of heaven shall set up a kingdom which shall
never be destroyed: and his kingdom shall not be left to another people, but it shall
beat to pieces and grind to powder all other kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.
45
Whereas you saw that a stone was cut out of a mountain without hands, and it beat
to pieces the earthenware, the iron, the brass, the silver, the gold; the great God
has made known to the king what must happen hereafter: and the dream is true, and
the interpretation thereof sure.
46
Then king Nabuchodonosor fell upon his face, and worshiped Daniel, and gave orders
to offer to him gifts and incense.
47
And the king answered and said to Daniel, Of a truth your God is a God of gods, and
Lord of kings, who reveals mysteries; for you has been able to reveal this mystery.
48
And the king promoted Daniel, and gave him great and abundant gifts, and set him over
the whole province of Babylon, and made him chief satrap over all the wise men of
Babylon.
49
And Daniel asked of the king, and he appointed Sedrach, Misach, and Abdenago, over
the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel was in the king’s palace.