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Daniel 2

Daniel

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New American Standard Bible 2020

Daniel 2:4-49

4Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in 12Aramaic: “3O king, live forever! 4Tell the dream to your servants, and we will declare the interpretation.” 5The king replied to the Chaldeans, “The command 5from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you will be 67torn 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 8gifts 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 9tell 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 10from me is firm, 9that if you do not make the dream known to me, there is only 11one 12decree for you. For you have agreed together to speak lying and corrupt 13words before me until the 14situation is changed; therefore tell me the dream, so that I may 15know that you can declare to me its interpretation.” 10The Chaldeans answered 16the king and said, “There is no person on earth who could declare the matter 17to the king, because no great king or ruler has ever asked anything like this of any 18soothsayer priest, sorcerer, or Chaldean. 11Moreover, the thing which the king demands is difficult, and there is no one else who could declare it 19to the king except 20gods, whose 21dwelling place is not with mortal flesh.”

12Because of this, the king became 22angry and extremely furious, and he gave orders to kill all the wise men of Babylon. 13So the 23decree was issued that the wise men be killed; and they looked for 24Daniel and his friends, to 25kill them.

14Then Daniel replied with discretion and discernment to 26Arioch, the captain of the king’s 27bodyguard, 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, 28Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, about the matter, 18so that they might 29request compassion from the God of heaven concerning this secret, so that Daniel and his friends would not be 30killed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. 19Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night 31vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven; 20Daniel said, “May the name of God be 32blessed forever and ever, For 33wisdom and power belong to Him.21It is He who 34changes the times and the periods; He 35removes kings and appoints kings; He gives 36wisdom to wise men, And knowledge to 37people of understanding.22It is He who 38reveals the profound and hidden things; 39He knows what is in the darkness, And the 40light dwells with Him.23To You, 41God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, For You have given me 42wisdom and power; Even now You have made known to me what we 43requested 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: “44Do not kill the wise men of Babylon! Take me 45into the king’s presence, and I will declare the interpretation to the king.”

25Then Arioch hurriedly 46brought Daniel 47into the king’s presence and spoke to him as follows: “I have found a man among the 4849exiles from Judah who can make the interpretation known to the king!” 26The king said to Daniel, whose name was 50Belteshazzar, “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 51wise men, sorcerers, soothsayer priests, nor diviners are able to declare it to the king. 28However, there is a 52God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will take place in the 5354latter days. This was your dream and the 55visions 56in your mind while on your bed. 29As for you, O king, while on your bed your thoughts 57turned to what would take place 58in the future; and 59He who reveals secrets has made known to you what will take place. 30But as for me, this secret has not been revealed to me 60for any 61wisdom 62residing 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 63thoughts of your 64mind.

31“You, O king, were watching and behold, there was a single great statue; that statue, which was large and 65of extraordinary radiance, was standing in front of you, and its appearance was 6667awesome. 32The 68head 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 69continued watching until a 70stone was broken off 71without hands, and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay, and 72crushed them. 35Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed to pieces 73all at the same time, and they were 74like chaff from the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away so that 75not a trace of them was found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great 76mountain and filled the entire earth.

36“This was the dream; and now we will tell 77its interpretation before the king. 37You, O king, are the 78king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the 79kingdom, the 80power, the strength, and the honor; 38and wherever the sons of mankind live, or the 81animals 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. 39And after you another kingdom will arise inferior to you, then another third kingdom of bronze, which will rule over all the earth. 40Then there will be a 82fourth 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 83common 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 84common clay, they will combine with one another 85in 86their descendants; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not combine with pottery. 44And in the days of those kings the 87God of heaven will 88set up a 89kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not be 90left for another people; it will 91crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, but it will itself endure forever. 45Just as you saw that a 92stone was broken off from the mountain without hands, and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold, the 93great God has made known to the king what 94will take place 95in the future; so the dream is certain and its interpretation is trustworthy.”

46Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face and paid 96humble respect to Daniel, and gave orders to present to him an offering and 97incense. 47The king responded to Daniel and said, “98Your God truly is a 99God of gods and a Lord of kings and a 100revealer of secrets, since you have been able to reveal this secret.” 48Then the king 101102promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts, and he made him ruler over the entire 103province of Babylon, and chief 104prefect over all the wise men of Babylon. 49And Daniel made a request of the king, and he 105appointed 106Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego over the administration of the province of Babylon, while Daniel was at the king’s 107108court.

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Notes

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