Daniel 2 - New International Version (NIV)

Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

2 In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams;^(A) his mind was troubled^(B) and he could not sleep.^{(C) 2} So the king summoned the magicians,^(D) enchanters, sorcerers^(E) and astrologers^[a](F) to tell him what he had dreamed.^(G) When they came in and stood before the king, ³ he said to them, “I have had a dream that troubles^(H) me and I want to know what it means.^[b]”

⁴ Then the astrologers answered the king,^[c](I) “May the king live forever!^(J) Tell your servants the dream, and we will interpret it.”

⁵ The king replied to the astrologers, “This is what I have firmly decided:^(K) If you do not tell me what my dream was and interpret it, I will have you cut into pieces^(L) and your houses turned into piles of rubble.^{(M) 6} But if you tell me the dream and explain it, you will receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor.^(N) So tell me the dream and interpret it for me.”

⁷ Once more they replied, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will interpret it.”

⁸ Then the king answered, “I am certain that you are trying to gain time, because you realize that this is what I have firmly decided: ⁹ If you do not tell me the dream, there is only one penalty^(O) for you. You have conspired to tell me misleading and wicked things, hoping the situation will change. So then, tell me the dream, and I will know that you can interpret it for me.”^(P)

¹⁰ The astrologers^(Q) answered the king, “There is no one on earth who can do what the king asks! No king, however great and mighty, has ever asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or astrologer.^{(R) 11} What the king asks is too difficult. No one can reveal it to the king except the gods,^(S) and they do not live among humans.”

¹² This made the king so angry and furious^(T) that he ordered the execution^(U) of all the wise men of Babylon. ¹³ So the decree was issued to put the wise men to death, and men were sent to look for Daniel and his friends to put them to death.^(V)

¹⁴ When Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard, had gone out to put to death the wise men of Babylon, Daniel spoke to him with wisdom and tact. ¹⁵ He asked the king’s officer, “Why did the king issue such a harsh decree?” Arioch then explained the matter to Daniel. ¹⁶ At this, Daniel went in to the king and asked for time, so that he might interpret the dream for him.

¹⁷ Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah.^{(W) 18} He urged them to plead for mercy^(X) from the God of heaven^(Y) concerning this mystery,^(Z) so that he and his friends might not be executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. ¹⁹ During the night the mystery^(AA) was revealed to Daniel in a vision.^(AB) Then Daniel praised the God of heaven^{(AC) 20} and said:

“Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever;^(AD)
wisdom and power^(AE) are his.
²¹ He changes times and seasons;^(AF)
he deposes^(AG) kings and raises up others.^(AH)
He gives wisdom^(AI) to the wise
and knowledge to the discerning.^(AJ)
22 He reveals deep and hidden things;^(AK)
he knows what lies in darkness,^(AL)
and light^(AM) dwells with him.
²³ I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors:^(AN)
You have given me wisdom^(AO) and power,
you have made known to me what we asked of you,
you have made known to us the dream of the king.^(AP)”

Daniel Interprets the Dream

²⁴ Then Daniel went to Arioch,^(AQ) whom the king had appointed to execute the wise men of Babylon, and said to him, “Do not execute the wise men of Babylon. Take me to the king, and I will interpret his dream for him.”

²⁵ Arioch took Daniel to the king at once and said, “I have found a man among the exiles^(AR) from Judah^(AS) who can tell the king what his dream means.”

²⁶ The king asked Daniel (also called Belteshazzar),^(AT) “Are you able to tell me what I saw in my dream and interpret it?”

²⁷ Daniel replied, “No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about,^{(AU) 28} but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries.^(AV) He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come.^(AW) Your dream and the visions that passed through your mind^(AX) as you were lying in bed^(AY) are these:^(AZ)

²⁹ “As Your Majesty was lying there, your mind turned to things to come, and the revealer of mysteries showed you what is going to happen.^{(BA) 30} As for me, this mystery has been revealed^(BB) to me, not because I have greater wisdom than anyone else alive, but so that Your Majesty may know the interpretation and that you may understand what went through your mind.

³¹ “Your Majesty looked, and there before you stood a large statue—an enormous, dazzling statue,^(BC) awesome^(BD) in appearance. ³² The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, ³³ its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay. ³⁴ While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands.^(BE) It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed^(BF) them.^{(BG) 35} Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were all broken to pieces and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away^(BH) without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain^(BI) and filled the whole earth.^(BJ)

³⁶ “This was the dream, and now we will interpret it to the king.^{(BK) 37} Your Majesty, you are the king of kings.^(BL) The God of heaven has given you dominion^(BM) and power and might and glory; ³⁸ in your hands he has placed all mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds in the sky. Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all.^(BN) You are that head of gold.

³⁹ “After you, another kingdom will arise, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth.^{(BO) 40} Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron—for iron breaks and smashes everything—and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others.^{(BP) 41} Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom; yet it will have some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed with clay. ⁴² As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. ⁴³ And just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay.

⁴⁴ “In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush^(BQ) all those kingdoms^(BR) and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever.^{(BS) 45} This is the meaning of the vision of the rock^(BT) cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands^(BU)—a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces.

“The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future.^(BV) The dream is true^(BW) and its interpretation is trustworthy.”

⁴⁶ Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell prostrate^(BX) before Daniel and paid him honor and ordered that an offering^(BY) and incense be presented to him. ⁴⁷ The king said to Daniel, “Surely your God is the God of gods^(BZ) and the Lord of kings^(CA) and a revealer of mysteries,^(CB) for you were able to reveal this mystery.^(CC)”

⁴⁸ Then the king placed Daniel in a high^(CD) position and lavished many gifts on him. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and placed him in charge of all its wise men.^{(CE) 49} Moreover, at Daniel’s request the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego administrators over the province of Babylon,^(CF) while Daniel himself remained at the royal court.^(CG)

Footnotes

1. Daniel 2:2 Or Chaldeans; also in verses 4, 5 and 10
2. Daniel 2:3 Or was
3. Daniel 2:4 At this point the Hebrew text has in Aramaic, indicating that the text from here through the end of chapter 7 is in Aramaic.

Cross references

1. Daniel 2:1 : ver 3; S Ge 20:3; S Job 33:15, 18; Da 4:5
2. Daniel 2:1 : Ge 41:8
3. Daniel 2:1 : S Est 6:1
4. Daniel 2:2 : S Ge 41:8
5. Daniel 2:2 : Ex 7:11; Jer 27:9
6. Daniel 2:2 : S ver 10; S Isa 19:3; S 44:25
7. Daniel 2:2 : Da 4:6
8. Daniel 2:3 : Da 4:5
9. Daniel 2:4 : S Ezr 4:7
10. Daniel 2:4 : S Ne 2:3
11. Daniel 2:5 : Ge 41:32
12. Daniel 2:5 : ver 12
13. Daniel 2:5 : Ezr 6:11; Da 3:29
14. Daniel 2:6 : ver 48; Da 5:7, 16
15. Daniel 2:9 : Est 4:11
16. Daniel 2:9 : Isa 41:22-24
17. Daniel 2:10 : ver 2; Da 3:8; 4:7
18. Daniel 2:10 : ver 27; Da 5:8
19. Daniel 2:11 : S Ge 41:38
20. Daniel 2:12 : Da 3:13, 19
21. Daniel 2:12 : ver 5
22. Daniel 2:13 : S Da 1:20; 5:19
23. Daniel 2:17 : S Da 1:6
24. Daniel 2:18 : S Isa 37:4
25. Daniel 2:18 : Ezr 1:2; Ne 1:4; Jnh 1:9; Rev 11:13
26. Daniel 2:18 : ver 23; Jer 33:3
27. Daniel 2:19 : ver 28
28. Daniel 2:19 : S Job 33:15; S Da 1:17
29. Daniel 2:19 : S Jos 22:33
30. Daniel 2:20 : S Ps 113:2; 145:1-2
31. Daniel 2:20 : S Job 9:4; S Jer 32:19
32. Daniel 2:21 : Da 7:25
33. Daniel 2:21 : S Job 12:19; Ps 75:6-7; Ro 13:1
34. Daniel 2:21 : Da 4:17
35. Daniel 2:21 : S Ps 119:34; Jas 1:5
36. Daniel 2:21 : S 2Sa 14:17
37. Daniel 2:22 : S Ge 40:8; S Job 12:22; Da 5:11; 1Co 2:10
38. Daniel 2:22 : Job 12:22; Ps 139:11-12; Jer 23:24; S Heb 4:13
39. Daniel 2:22 : Isa 45:7; Jas 1:17
40. Daniel 2:23 : S Ge 31:5; S Ex 3:15
41. Daniel 2:23 : S Da 1:17
42. Daniel 2:23 : S Eze 28:3
43. Daniel 2:24 : ver 14
44. Daniel 2:25 : S Dt 21:10
45. Daniel 2:25 : S Da 1:6; 5:13; 6:13
46. Daniel 2:26 : S Da 1:7
47. Daniel 2:27 : S ver 10; S Ge 41:8
48. Daniel 2:28 : S Ge 40:8; Jer 10:7; Am 4:13
49. Daniel 2:28 : S Ge 49:1; Da 10:14; Mt 24:6; Rev 1:1; 22:6
50. Daniel 2:28 : Da 4:5
51. Daniel 2:28 : S Ps 4:4
52. Daniel 2:28 : S Eze 28:3; S Da 1:20
53. Daniel 2:29 : S Ge 41:25
54. Daniel 2:30 : Isa 45:3; S Da 1:17; Am 4:13
55. Daniel 2:31 : Hab 1:7
56. Daniel 2:31 : Isa 25:3-5
57. Daniel 2:34 : S Job 12:19; Zec 4:6
58. Daniel 2:34 : S Job 34:24
59. Daniel 2:34 : ver 44-45; Ps 2:9; S Isa 60:12; Da 8:25
60. Daniel 2:35 : Ps 1:4; 37:10; S Isa 17:13; 41:15-16
61. Daniel 2:35 : Isa 2:3; Mic 4:1
62. Daniel 2:35 : Zec 12:3
63. Daniel 2:36 : S Ge 40:12
64. Daniel 2:37 : S Ezr 7:12
65. Daniel 2:37 : S Jer 27:7; Da 4:26
66. Daniel 2:38 : S Jer 27:6; Da 4:21-22; 5:18
67. Daniel 2:39 : Da 7:5
68. Daniel 2:40 : Da 7:7, 23
69. Daniel 2:44 : S Ge 27:29; Ps 2:9; S 110:5; Mt 21:43-44; 1Co 15:24
70. Daniel 2:44 : S 1Sa 9:20; Hag 2:22
71. Daniel 2:44 : Ps 145:13; S Isa 9:7; Da 4:34; 6:26; 7:14, 27; Ob 1:21; Mic 4:7, 13; S Lk 1:33; Rev 11:15
72. Daniel 2:45 : S Isa 28:16
73. Daniel 2:45 : Da 8:25
74. Daniel 2:45 : S Ge 41:25
75. Daniel 2:45 : Rev 22:6
76. Daniel 2:46 : Da 8:17; Ac 10:25
77. Daniel 2:46 : Ac 14:13
78. Daniel 2:47 : S Dt 10:17; Da 11:36
79. Daniel 2:47 : Da 4:25; 1Ti 6:15
80. Daniel 2:47 : S ver 22, 28
81. Daniel 2:47 : Da 4:9; 1Co 14:25
82. Daniel 2:48 : S 2Ki 25:28
83. Daniel 2:48 : S ver 6; S Est 8:2; S Da 1:20; 4:9; 5:11; 8:27
84. Daniel 2:49 : S Da 1:7; 3:30
85. Daniel 2:49 : Da 6:2