2:1 In the second year of [his] reign
Nabuchodonosor dreamed a dream, and his spirit was amazed, and his sleep
departed from him.
2:2 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.
2:3 And the king said to them, I have dreamed, and my spirit was troubled to
know the dream.
2:4 And the Chaldeans spoke to the king in the Syrian language, [saying], O
king, live for ever: do thou tell the dream to thy servants, and we will
declare the interpretation.
2:5 The king answered the Chaldeans, The thing has departed from me: if ye
do not make known to me the dream and the interpretation, ye shall be
destroyed, and your houses shall be spoiled.
2:6 But if ye make known to me the dream, and the interpretation thereof, ye
shall receive of me gifts and presents and much honour: only tell me the
dream, and the interpretation thereof.
2:7 They answered the second time, and said, Let the king tell the dream to
his servants, and we will declare the interpretation.
2:8 And the king answered and said, I verily know that ye are trying to gain
time, because ye see that the thing has gone from me.
2:9 If then ye do not tell me the dream, I know that ye 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 ye will also declare to me the
interpretation thereof.
2:10 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: forasmuch as
no great king or ruler asks such a question of an enchanter, magician, or
Chaldean.
2:11 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.
2:12 Then the king in rage and anger commanded to destroy all the wise men
of Babylon.
2:13 So the decree went forth, and they began to slay the wise men; and they
sought Daniel and his fellows to slay [them].
2:14 Then Daniel answered [with] counsel and prudence to Arioch the captain
of the royal guard, who was gone forth to kill the wise men of Babylon;
[saying],
2:15 Chief magistrate of the king, wherefore has the peremptory command
proceeded from the king? So Arioch made known the matter to Daniel.
2:16 And Daniel intreated the king to give him time, and that he might
[thus] declare to the king the interpretation of it.2:17 So Daniel went into
his house, and made known the matter to Ananias, and Misael, and Azarias,
his friends.
2:18 And they sought mercies from the Elohim of heaven concerning this mystery;
that Daniel and his friends might not perish with the rest of the wise men
of Babylon.
2:19 Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night; and
Daniel blessed the Elohim of heaven, and said,
2:20 May the name of Elohim be blessed from everlasting and to everlasting: for
wisdom and understanding are his.
2:21 And he changes times and seasons: he appoints kings, and removes
[them], giving wisdom to the wise, and prudence to them that have
understanding:
2:22 he reveals deep and secret [matters]; knowing what is in darkness, and
the light is with him.
2:23 I give thanks to thee, and praise [thee], O Elohim of my fathers, for thou
has given me wisdom and power, and has made known to me the things which we
asked of thee; and thou has made known to me the king's vision.
2:24 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.
2:25 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.
2:26 And the king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Baltasar,
Canst thou declare to me the dream which I saw, and the interpretation
thereof?
2:27 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.
2:28 But there is a Elohim in heaven revealing mysteries, and he has made known
to king Nabuchodonosor what things must come to pass in the last days. Thy
dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are as follows,
2:29 O king: thy thoughts upon thy bed arose [as to] what must come to pas
hereafter: and he that reveals mysteries has made known to thee what must
come to pass.
2:30 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 thou mightest know the thoughts of
thine heart.
2:31 Thou, O king, sawest, and behold an image: that image was great, and
the appearance of it excellent, standing before thy face; and the form of it
was terrible.
2:32 [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,
2:33 its legs of iron, its feet, part of iron and part of earthenware.
2:34 Thou sawest 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.
2:35 Then once for all the earthenware, the iron, the brass, the silver, the
gold, were ground to powder, and became as 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.
2:36 This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before
the king.
2:37 Thou, O king, art a king of kings, to whom the Elohim of heaven has given
a powerful and strong and honourable kingdom,
2:38 in every place where the children of men dwell: and he has given into
thine hand the wild beasts of the field, and the birds of the sky and the
fish of the sea, and he has made thee lord of all.
2:39 Thou art the head of gold. And after thee shall arise another kingdom
inferior to thee, an a third kingdom which is the brass, which shall have
dominion over all the earth;
2:40 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.
2:41 And whereas thou sawest the feet and the toes, part of earthenware and
part of iron, the kingdom shall be divide; yet there shall be in it of the
strength of iron, as thou sawest the iron mixed with earthenware.
2:42 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.
2:43 Whereas thou sawest 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.
2:44 And in the days of those kings the Elohim 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.
2:45 Whereas thou sawest 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 Elohim has made known to the king what must happen
hereafter: and the dream is true, and the interpretation thereof sure.
2:46 Then king Nabuchodonosor fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and
gave orders to offer to him gifts and incense.
2:47 And the king answered and said to Daniel, Of a truth your Elohim is a Elohim
of gods, and Lord of kings, who reveals mysteries; for thou has been able to
reveal this mystery.
2:48 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.
2:49 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. |
2:1 And in the second year of the reign of
Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit was
troubled, and his sleep brake from him.
2:2 Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and
the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to shew the king his dreams. So they
came and stood before the king.
2:3 And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was
troubled to know the dream.
2:4 Then spake the Chaldeans to the king in Syriack, O king, live for ever:
tell thy servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation.
2:5 The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from me:
if ye will not make known unto me the dream, with the interpretation
thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a
dunghill.
2:6 But if ye shew the dream, and the interpretation thereof, ye shall
receive of me gifts and rewards and great honour: therefore shew me the
dream, and the interpretation thereof.
2:7 They answered again and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream,
and we will shew the interpretation of it.
2:8 The king answered and said, I know of certainty that ye would gain the
time, because ye see the thing is gone from me.
2:9 But if ye will not make known unto me the dream, there is but one decree
for you: for ye have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me,
till the time be changed: therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that
ye can shew me the interpretation thereof.
2:10 The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is not a man
upon the earth that can shew the king's matter: therefore there is no king,
lord, nor ruler, that asked such things at any magician, or astrologer, or
Chaldean.
2:11 And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is none other
that can shew it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not
with flesh.
2:12 For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to
destroy all the wise men of Babylon.
2:13 And the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they
sought Daniel and his fellows to be slain.
2:14 Then Daniel answered with counsel and wisdom to Arioch the captain of
the king's guard, which was gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon:
2:15 He answered and said to Arioch the king's captain, Why is the decree so
hasty from the king? Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel.
2:16 Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would give him
time, and that he would shew the king the interpretation.
2:17 Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah,
Mishael, and Azariah, his companions:
2:18 That they would desire mercies of the Elohim of heaven concerning this
secret; that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the
wise men of Babylon.
2:19 Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel
blessed the Elohim of heaven.
2:20 Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of Elohim for ever and ever:
for wisdom and might are his:
2:21 And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and
setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that
know understanding:
2:22 He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the
darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.
2:23 I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou Elohim of my fathers, who hast given
me wisdom and might, and hast made known unto me now what we desired of
thee: for thou hast now made known unto us the king's matter.
2:24 Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had ordained to
destroy the wise men of Babylon: he went and said thus unto him; Destroy not
the wise men of Babylon: bring me in before the king, and I will shew unto
the king the interpretation.
2:25 Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said thus
unto him, I have found a man of the captives of Judah, that will make known
unto the king the interpretation.
2:26 The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Art
thou able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the
interpretation thereof?
2:27 Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which
the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians,
the soothsayers, shew unto the king;
2:28 But there is a Elohim in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known
to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and
the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these;
2:29 As for thee, O king, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed, what
should come to pass hereafter: and he that revealeth secrets maketh known to
thee what shall come to pass.
2:30 But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I
have more than any living, but for their sakes that shall make known the
interpretation to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy
heart.
2:31 Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose
brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was
terrible.
2:32 This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver,
his belly and his thighs of brass,
2:33 His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.
2:34 Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote
the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to
pieces.
2:35 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold,
broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer
threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for
them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled
the whole earth.
2:36 This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before
the king.
2:37 Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the Elohim of heaven hath given
thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.
2:38 And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and
the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee
ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold.
2:39 And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and
another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.
2:40 And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron
breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all
these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.
2:41 And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and
part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the
strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry
clay.
2:42 And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the
kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.
2:43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle
themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another,
even as iron is not mixed with clay.
2:44 And in the days of these kings shall the Elohim of heaven set up a
kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left
to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these
kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.
2:45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain
without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay,
the silver, and the gold; the great Elohim hath made known to the king what
shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the
interpretation thereof sure.
2:46 Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel,
and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odours unto him.
2:47 The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is, that your
Elohim is a Elohim of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing
thou couldest reveal this secret.
2:48 Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts,
and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the
governors over all the wise men of Babylon.
2:49 Then Daniel requested of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel sat in the
gate of the king. |