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Daniel 2

Daniel

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New American Standard Bible 2020

Daniel 2

The King’s Dream

1Now in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar 12had dreams; and his spirit was troubled and his 3sleep 4left him. 2Then the king 5gave orders to call in the 6soothsayer priests, the conjurers, the sorcerers, and the 7Chaldeans, to 8tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king. 3The king said to them, “I 910had a dream, and my spirit 11is anxious to 12understand the dream.”

4Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in 1314Aramaic: “15O king, live forever! 16Tell the dream to your servants, and we will declare the interpretation.” 5The king replied to the Chaldeans, “The command 17from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you will be 1819torn limb from limb and your houses will be turned into a rubbish heap. 6But if you declare the dream and its interpretation, you will receive from me 20gifts 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 21tell the dream to his servants, and we will declare the interpretation.” 8The king replied, “I know for certain that you are trying to buy time, because you have perceived that the command 22from me is firm, 9that if you do not make the dream known to me, there is only 23one 24decree for you. For you have agreed together to speak lying and corrupt 25words before me until the 26situation is changed; therefore tell me the dream, so that I may 27know that you can declare to me its interpretation.” 10The Chaldeans answered 28the king and said, “There is no person on earth who could declare the matter 29to the king, because no great king or ruler has ever asked anything like this of any 30soothsayer priest, sorcerer, or Chaldean. 11Moreover, the thing which the king demands is difficult, and there is no one else who could declare it 31to the king except 32gods, whose 33dwelling place is not with mortal flesh.”

12Because of this, the king became 34angry and extremely furious, and he gave orders to kill all the wise men of Babylon. 13So the 35decree was issued that the wise men be killed; and they looked for 36Daniel and his friends, to 37kill them.

14Then Daniel replied with discretion and discernment to 38Arioch, the captain of the king’s 39bodyguard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon; 15he said to Arioch, the king’s officer, “For what reason is the decree from the king so harsh?” Then Arioch informed Daniel of the matter. 16So Daniel went in and requested of the king that he would give him a grace period, so that he might declare the interpretation to the king.

17Then Daniel went to his house and informed his friends, 40Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, about the matter, 18so that they might 41request compassion from the God of heaven concerning this secret, so that Daniel and his friends would not be 42killed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

The Secret Is Revealed to Daniel

19Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night 43vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven; 20Daniel said, “May the name of God be 44blessed forever and ever, For 45wisdom and power belong to Him.21It is He who 46changes the times and the periods; He 47removes kings and appoints kings; He gives 48wisdom to wise men, And knowledge to 49people of understanding.22It is He who 50reveals the profound and hidden things; 51He knows what is in the darkness, And the 52light dwells with Him.23To You, 53God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, For You have given me 54wisdom and power; Even now You have made known to me what we 55requested of You, For You have made known to us the king’s matter.”

24Thereupon, Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to kill the wise men of Babylon; he went and said this to him: “56Do not kill the wise men of Babylon! Take me 57into the king’s presence, and I will declare the interpretation to the king.”

25Then Arioch hurriedly 58brought Daniel 59into the king’s presence and spoke to him as follows: “I have found a man among the 6061exiles from Judah who can make the interpretation known to the king!” 26The king said to Daniel, whose name was 62Belteshazzar, “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 secret about which the king has inquired, neither 63wise men, sorcerers, soothsayer priests, nor diviners are able to declare it to the king. 28However, there is a 64God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will take place in the 6566latter days. This was your dream and the 67visions 68in your mind while on your bed. 29As for you, O king, while on your bed your thoughts 69turned to what would take place 70in the future; and 71He who reveals secrets has made known to you what will take place. 30But as for me, this secret has not been revealed to me 72for any 73wisdom 74residing in me more than in any other living person, but for the purpose of making the interpretation known to the king, and that you may understand the 75thoughts of your 76mind.

The King’s Dream

31“You, O king, were watching and behold, there was a single great statue; that statue, which was large and 77of extraordinary radiance, was standing in front of you, and its appearance was 7879awesome. 32The 80head of that statue was made of fine gold, its chest and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze, 33its legs of iron, and its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. 34You 81continued watching until a 82stone was broken off 83without hands, and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay, and 84crushed them. 35Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed to pieces 85all at the same time, and they were 86like chaff from the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away so that 87not a trace of them was found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great 88mountain and filled the entire earth.

The Interpretation--Babylon the First Kingdom

36“This was the dream; and now we will tell 89its interpretation before the king. 37You, O king, are the 90king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the 91kingdom, the 92power, the strength, and the honor; 38and wherever the sons of mankind live, or the 93animals of the field, or the birds of the sky, He has handed them over to you and has made you ruler over them all. You are the head of gold.

Medo-Persia and Greece

39And after you another kingdom will arise inferior to you, then another third kingdom of bronze, which will rule over all the earth.

Rome

40Then there will be a 94fourth kingdom as strong as iron; just as iron smashes and crushes everything, so, like iron that crushes, it will smash and crush all these things. 41And in 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 within it some of the toughness of iron, since you saw the iron mixed with 95common clay. 42And just as 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 fragile. 43In that you saw the iron mixed with 96common clay, they will combine with one another 97in 98their descendants; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not combine with pottery.

The Divine Kingdom

44And in the days of those kings the 99God of heaven will 100set up a 101kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be 102left for another people; it will 103crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever. 45Just as you saw that a 104stone was broken off from the mountain without hands, and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold, the 105great God has made known to the king what 106will take place 107in the future; so the dream is certain and its interpretation is trustworthy.”

Daniel Promoted

46Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face and paid 108humble respect to Daniel, and gave orders to present to him an offering and 109incense. 47The king responded to Daniel and said, “110Your God truly is a 111God of gods and a Lord of kings and a 112revealer of secrets, since you have been able to reveal this secret.” 48Then the king 113114promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts, and he made him ruler over the entire 115province of Babylon, and chief 116prefect over all the wise men of Babylon. 49And Daniel made a request of the king, and he 117appointed 118Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego over the administration of the province of Babylon, while Daniel was at the king’s 119120court.

Notes

  1. 1. Daniel 2:1 Lit dreamed dreams ↩
  2. 2. Daniel 2:1 Gen 40:5-8; 41:1, 8; Job 33:15-17; Dan 2:3; 4:5 ↩
  3. 3. Daniel 2:1 Esth 6:1; Dan 6:18 ↩
  4. 4. Daniel 2:1 Lit was gone upon him ↩
  5. 5. Daniel 2:2 Lit said to call ↩
  6. 6. Daniel 2:2 Gen 41:8; Ex 7:11; Is 47:12, 13; Dan 1:20; 2:10, 27; 4:6; 5:7 ↩
  7. 7. Daniel 2:2 Probably master astrologers, diviners, etc., and so throughout the ch ↩
  8. 8. Daniel 2:2 Lit explain to ↩
  9. 9. Daniel 2:3 Lit dreamed ↩
  10. 10. Daniel 2:3 Gen 40:8; 41:15; Dan 4:5 ↩
  11. 11. Daniel 2:3 Lit was troubled ↩
  12. 12. Daniel 2:3 Lit know ↩
  13. 13. Daniel 2:4 The text is in Aramaic from here through 7:28 ↩
  14. 14. Daniel 2:4 Ezra 4:7; Is 36:11 ↩
  15. 15. Daniel 2:4 Dan 3:9; 5:10 ↩
  16. 16. Daniel 2:4 Dan 2:7 ↩
  17. 17. Daniel 2:5 Another reading is is issued by me ↩
  18. 18. Daniel 2:5 Lit turned into limbs ↩
  19. 19. Daniel 2:5 Ezra 6:11; Dan 2:12; 3:29 ↩
  20. 20. Daniel 2:6 Dan 2:48; 5:7, 16, 29 ↩
  21. 21. Daniel 2:7 Dan 2:4 ↩
  22. 22. Daniel 2:8 See note 1 v 5 ↩
  23. 23. Daniel 2:9 Esth 4:11; Dan 3:15 ↩
  24. 24. Daniel 2:9 Or verdict ↩
  25. 25. Daniel 2:9 Lit word ↩
  26. 26. Daniel 2:9 Lit time ↩
  27. 27. Daniel 2:9 Is 41:23 ↩
  28. 28. Daniel 2:10 Lit before the ↩
  29. 29. Daniel 2:10 Lit of ↩
  30. 30. Daniel 2:10 Dan 2:2, 27 ↩
  31. 31. Daniel 2:11 Lit before ↩
  32. 32. Daniel 2:11 Gen 41:39; Dan 5:11 ↩
  33. 33. Daniel 2:11 Ex 29:45; Is 57:15 ↩
  34. 34. Daniel 2:12 Ps 76:10; Dan 2:5; 3:13, 19 ↩
  35. 35. Daniel 2:13 Or law ↩
  36. 36. Daniel 2:13 Dan 1:19, 20 ↩
  37. 37. Daniel 2:13 Lit be killed ↩
  38. 38. Daniel 2:14 Dan 2:24 ↩
  39. 39. Daniel 2:14 Or executioners ↩
  40. 40. Daniel 2:17 Dan 1:6 ↩
  41. 41. Daniel 2:18 Esth 4:15, 16; Is 37:4; Jer 33:3; Ezek 36:37; Dan 2:23 ↩
  42. 42. Daniel 2:18 Gen 18:28; Mal 3:18 ↩
  43. 43. Daniel 2:19 Num 12:6; Job 33:15, 16; Dan 1:17; 7:2, 7, 13 ↩
  44. 44. Daniel 2:20 Ps 103:1, 2; 113:1, 2; 115:18; 145:1, 2, 21 ↩
  45. 45. Daniel 2:20 1 Chr 29:11, 12; Job 12:13, 16-22; Dan 2:21-23 ↩
  46. 46. Daniel 2:21 Ps 31:15; Dan 2:9; 7:25 ↩
  47. 47. Daniel 2:21 Job 12:18; Ps 75:6, 7; Dan 4:17, 32 ↩
  48. 48. Daniel 2:21 1 Kin 3:9, 10; 4:29; James 1:5 ↩
  49. 49. Daniel 2:21 Lit knowers of ↩
  50. 50. Daniel 2:22 Job 12:22; Ps 25:14; Dan 2:19, 28 ↩
  51. 51. Daniel 2:22 Job 26:6; Ps 139:12; Is 45:7; Jer 23:24; Heb 4:13 ↩
  52. 52. Daniel 2:22 Ps 36:9; Dan 5:11, 14; James 1:17; 1 John 1:5 ↩
  53. 53. Daniel 2:23 Gen 31:42; Ex 3:15 ↩
  54. 54. Daniel 2:23 Dan 1:17; 2:21 ↩
  55. 55. Daniel 2:23 Ps 21:2, 4; Dan 2:18, 29, 30 ↩
  56. 56. Daniel 2:24 Dan 2:12, 13; Acts 27:24 ↩
  57. 57. Daniel 2:24 Lit in before the king ↩
  58. 58. Daniel 2:25 Gen 41:14 ↩
  59. 59. Daniel 2:25 Lit in before the king ↩
  60. 60. Daniel 2:25 Lit sons of the exile of ↩
  61. 61. Daniel 2:25 Dan 1:6; 5:13; 6:13 ↩
  62. 62. Daniel 2:26 Dan 1:7; 4:8; 5:12 ↩
  63. 63. Daniel 2:27 Dan 2:2, 10, 11; 5:7, 8 ↩
  64. 64. Daniel 2:28 Gen 40:8; 41:16; Dan 2:22, 45 ↩
  65. 65. Daniel 2:28 Lit end of the days ↩
  66. 66. Daniel 2:28 Gen 49:1; Is 2:2; Dan 10:14; Mic 4:1 ↩
  67. 67. Daniel 2:28 Dan 4:5 ↩
  68. 68. Daniel 2:28 Lit of your head ↩
  69. 69. Daniel 2:29 Lit came up ↩
  70. 70. Daniel 2:29 Lit after this ↩
  71. 71. Daniel 2:29 Dan 2:23, 47 ↩
  72. 72. Daniel 2:30 Or through ↩
  73. 73. Daniel 2:30 Gen 41:16; Dan 1:17 ↩
  74. 74. Daniel 2:30 Lit which is ↩
  75. 75. Daniel 2:30 Ps 139:2; Amos 4:13 ↩
  76. 76. Daniel 2:30 Lit heart ↩
  77. 77. Daniel 2:31 Lit its radiance was extraordinary ↩
  78. 78. Daniel 2:31 Or dreadful ↩
  79. 79. Daniel 2:31 Hab 1:7 ↩
  80. 80. Daniel 2:32 Dan 2:38 ↩
  81. 81. Daniel 2:34 Lit were ↩
  82. 82. Daniel 2:34 Dan 2:45 ↩
  83. 83. Daniel 2:34 Dan 8:25; Zech 4:6 ↩
  84. 84. Daniel 2:34 Ps 2:9; Is 60:12 ↩
  85. 85. Daniel 2:35 Lit as one ↩
  86. 86. Daniel 2:35 Ps 1:4; Is 17:13; 41:15, 16; Hos 13:3 ↩
  87. 87. Daniel 2:35 Ps 37:10, 36 ↩
  88. 88. Daniel 2:35 Is 2:2; Mic 4:1 ↩
  89. 89. Daniel 2:36 Dan 2:24 ↩
  90. 90. Daniel 2:37 Is 47:5; Jer 27:6, 7; Ezek 26:7 ↩
  91. 91. Daniel 2:37 Or sovereignty ↩
  92. 92. Daniel 2:37 Ps 62:11 ↩
  93. 93. Daniel 2:38 Ps 50:10, 11; Dan 4:21, 22 ↩
  94. 94. Daniel 2:40 Dan 7:23 ↩
  95. 95. Daniel 2:41 Lit wet clay ↩
  96. 96. Daniel 2:43 Lit wet clay ↩
  97. 97. Daniel 2:43 Or with ↩
  98. 98. Daniel 2:43 Lit the seed of men ↩
  99. 99. Daniel 2:44 Dan 2:28, 37 ↩
  100. 100. Daniel 2:44 Is 9:6, 7 ↩
  101. 101. Daniel 2:44 Ps 145:13; Ezek 37:25; Dan 4:3, 34; 6:26; 7:14, 27; Mic 4:7; Luke 1:32, 33 ↩
  102. 102. Daniel 2:44 Or passed on to ↩
  103. 103. Daniel 2:44 Ps 2:9; Is 60:12; Dan 2:34, 35 ↩
  104. 104. Daniel 2:45 Dan 2:34 ↩
  105. 105. Daniel 2:45 Deut 10:17; 2 Sam 7:22; Ps 48:1; Jer 32:18, 19; Dan 2:29; Mal 1:11 ↩
  106. 106. Daniel 2:45 Gen 41:28, 32 ↩
  107. 107. Daniel 2:45 Lit after this ↩
  108. 108. Daniel 2:46 Dan 3:5, 7; Acts 10:25; 14:13; Rev 19:10; 22:8 ↩
  109. 109. Daniel 2:46 Lev 26:31; Ezra 6:10 ↩
  110. 110. Daniel 2:47 Dan 3:15; 4:25 ↩
  111. 111. Daniel 2:47 Deut 10:17; Ps 136:2, 3; Dan 11:36 ↩
  112. 112. Daniel 2:47 Dan 2:22, 30; Amos 3:7 ↩
  113. 113. Daniel 2:48 Lit made Daniel great ↩
  114. 114. Daniel 2:48 Gen 41:39-43; Dan 2:6; 5:16, 29 ↩
  115. 115. Daniel 2:48 Dan 3:1, 12, 30 ↩
  116. 116. Daniel 2:48 Lit of the prefects ↩
  117. 117. Daniel 2:49 Dan 3:12 ↩
  118. 118. Daniel 2:49 Dan 1:7 ↩
  119. 119. Daniel 2:49 Lit gate ↩
  120. 120. Daniel 2:49 Esth 2:19, 21; Amos 5:15 ↩

Commentaries on Daniel 2

New American Standard Bible 2020 — © 1960–2020 The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.