New American Standard Bible 2020

Daniel 2:21-38

21It is He who 1changes the times and the periods; He 2removes kings and appoints kings; He gives 3wisdom to wise men, And knowledge to 4people of understanding.22It is He who 5reveals the profound and hidden things; 6He knows what is in the darkness, And the 7light dwells with Him.23To You, 8God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, For You have given me 9wisdom and power; Even now You have made known to me what we 10requested 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: “11Do not kill the wise men of Babylon! Take me 12into the king’s presence, and I will declare the interpretation to the king.”

25Then Arioch hurriedly 13brought Daniel 14into the king’s presence and spoke to him as follows: “I have found a man among the 15 16exiles from Judah who can make the interpretation known to the king!” 26The king said to Daniel, whose name was 17Belteshazzar, “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 18wise men, sorcerers, soothsayer priests, nor diviners are able to declare it to the king. 28However, there is a 19God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will take place in the 20 21latter days. This was your dream and the 22visions 23in your mind while on your bed. 29As for you, O king, while on your bed your thoughts 24turned to what would take place 25in the future; and 26He who reveals secrets has made known to you what will take place. 30But as for me, this secret has not been revealed to me 27for any 28wisdom 29residing 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 30thoughts of your 31mind.

31“You, O king, were watching and behold, there was a single great statue; that statue, which was large and 32of extraordinary radiance, was standing in front of you, and its appearance was 33 34awesome. 32The 35head 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 36continued watching until a 37stone was broken off 38without hands, and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay, and 39crushed them. 35Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed to pieces 40all at the same time, and they were 41like chaff from the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away so that 42not a trace of them was found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great 43mountain and filled the entire earth.

36“This was the dream; and now we will tell 44its interpretation before the king. 37You, O king, are the 45king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the 46kingdom, the 47power, the strength, and the honor; 38and wherever the sons of mankind live, or the 48animals 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.

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Notes

1. Daniel 2:21 Ps 31:15; Dan 2:9; 7:25 ↩
2. Daniel 2:21 Job 12:18; Ps 75:6, 7; Dan 4:17, 32 ↩
3. Daniel 2:21 1 Kin 3:9, 10; 4:29; James 1:5 ↩
4. Daniel 2:21 Lit knowers of ↩
5. Daniel 2:22 Job 12:22; Ps 25:14; Dan 2:19, 28 ↩
6. Daniel 2:22 Job 26:6; Ps 139:12; Is 45:7; Jer 23:24; Heb 4:13 ↩
7. Daniel 2:22 Ps 36:9; Dan 5:11, 14; James 1:17; 1 John 1:5 ↩
8. Daniel 2:23 Gen 31:42; Ex 3:15 ↩
9. Daniel 2:23 Dan 1:17; 2:21 ↩
10. Daniel 2:23 Ps 21:2, 4; Dan 2:18, 29, 30 ↩
11. Daniel 2:24 Dan 2:12, 13; Acts 27:24 ↩
12. Daniel 2:24 Lit in before the king ↩
13. Daniel 2:25 Gen 41:14 ↩
14. Daniel 2:25 Lit in before the king ↩
15. Daniel 2:25 Lit sons of the exile of ↩
16. Daniel 2:25 Dan 1:6; 5:13; 6:13 ↩
17. Daniel 2:26 Dan 1:7; 4:8; 5:12 ↩
18. Daniel 2:27 Dan 2:2, 10, 11; 5:7, 8 ↩
19. Daniel 2:28 Gen 40:8; 41:16; Dan 2:22, 45 ↩
20. Daniel 2:28 Lit end of the days ↩
21. Daniel 2:28 Gen 49:1; Is 2:2; Dan 10:14; Mic 4:1 ↩
22. Daniel 2:28 Dan 4:5 ↩
23. Daniel 2:28 Lit of your head ↩
24. Daniel 2:29 Lit came up ↩
25. Daniel 2:29 Lit after this ↩
26. Daniel 2:29 Dan 2:23, 47 ↩
27. Daniel 2:30 Or through ↩
28. Daniel 2:30 Gen 41:16; Dan 1:17 ↩
29. Daniel 2:30 Lit which is ↩
30. Daniel 2:30 Ps 139:2; Amos 4:13 ↩
31. Daniel 2:30 Lit heart ↩
32. Daniel 2:31 Lit its radiance was extraordinary ↩
33. Daniel 2:31 Or dreadful ↩
34. Daniel 2:31 Hab 1:7 ↩
35. Daniel 2:32 Dan 2:38 ↩
36. Daniel 2:34 Lit were ↩
37. Daniel 2:34 Dan 2:45 ↩
38. Daniel 2:34 Dan 8:25; Zech 4:6 ↩
39. Daniel 2:34 Ps 2:9; Is 60:12 ↩
40. Daniel 2:35 Lit as one ↩
41. Daniel 2:35 Ps 1:4; Is 17:13; 41:15, 16; Hos 13:3 ↩
42. Daniel 2:35 Ps 37:10, 36 ↩
43. Daniel 2:35 Is 2:2; Mic 4:1 ↩
44. Daniel 2:36 Dan 2:24 ↩
45. Daniel 2:37 Is 47:5; Jer 27:6, 7; Ezek 26:7 ↩
46. Daniel 2:37 Or sovereignty ↩
47. Daniel 2:37 Ps 62:11 ↩
48. Daniel 2:38 Ps 50:10, 11; Dan 4:21, 22 ↩

Notes

Commentaries on Daniel 2