Daniel2
American Standard Version · Public Domain
1And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams; and his spirit was troubled, and his sleep went from him.
2Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the enchanters, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king.
3And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.
4Then spake the Chaldeans to the king in the Syrian language, O king, live for ever: tell thy servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.
5The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from me: if ye make not known unto me the dream and the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill.
6But if ye show the dream and the interpretation thereof, ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honor: therefore show me the dream and the interpretation thereof.
7They answered the second time and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.
8The king answered and said, I know of a certainty that ye would gain time, because ye see the thing is gone from me.
9But if ye make not known unto me the dream, there is but one law 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 show me the interpretation thereof.
10The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is not a man upon the earth that can show the king’s matter, forasmuch as no king, lord, or ruler, hath asked such a thing of any magician, or enchanter, or Chaldean.
11And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is no other that can show it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.
12For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.
13So the decree went forth, and the wise men were to be slain; and they sought Daniel and his companions to be slain.
14Then Daniel returned answer with counsel and prudence to Arioch the captain of the king’s guard, who was gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon;
15he answered and said to Arioch the king’s captain, Wherefore is the decree so urgent from the king? Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel.
16And Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would appoint him a time, and he would show the king the interpretation.
17Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions:
18that they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his companions should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
19Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.
20Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever; for wisdom and might are his.
21And 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 have understanding;
22he revealeth the deep and secret things; he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.
23I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast now made known unto me what we desired of thee; for thou hast made known unto us the king’s matter.
24Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had appointed 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 show unto the king the interpretation.
25Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said thus unto him, I have found a man of the children of the captivity of Judah, that will make known unto the king the interpretation.
26The 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?
27Daniel answered before the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded can neither wise men, enchanters, magicians, nor soothsayers, show unto the king;
28but there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and he hath made 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:
29as for thee, O king, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter; and he that revealeth secrets hath made known to thee what shall come to pass.
30But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but to the intent that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that thou mayest know the thoughts of thy heart.
31Thou, O king, sawest, and, behold, a great image. This image, which was mighty, and whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the aspect thereof was terrible.
32As for this image, its head was of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of brass,
33its legs of iron, its feet part of iron, and part of clay.
34Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon its feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them in pieces.
35Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken in pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors; and the wind carried them away, so that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.
36This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king.
37Thou, O king, art king of kings, unto whom the God of heaven hath given the kingdom, the power, and the strength, and the glory;
38and wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the birds of the heavens hath he given into thy hand, and hath made thee to rule over them all: thou art the head of gold.
39And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee; and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.
40And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron, forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things; and as iron that crusheth all these, shall it break in pieces and crush.
41And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay.
42And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.
43And whereas thou sawest the 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 doth not mingle with clay.
44And in the days of those kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall the sovereignty thereof be left to another people; but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.
45Forasmuch as thou sawest that a 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 God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.
46Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odors unto him.
47The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth your God is the God of gods, and the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou hast been able to reveal this secret.
48Then the king made Daniel great, and gave him many great gifts, and made him to rule over the whole province of Babylon, and to be chief governor over all the wise men of Babylon.
49And Daniel requested of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel was in the gate of the king.
Study Guide
Public-domain commentary and original-language notes for Daniel 2.
Chapter Summary
In this chapter: Nebuchadnezzar's dream. (1-13). It is revealed to Daniel. (14-23). He obtains admission to the king. (24-30). The dream and the interpretation. (31-45). Honours to Daniel and his friends. (46-49).
vv1-13
The greatest men are most open to cares and troubles of mind, which disturb their repose in the night, while the sleep of the labouring man is sweet and sound. We know not the uneasiness of many who live in great pomp, and, as others vainly think, in pleasure also. The king said that his learned men must tell him the dream itself, or they should all be put to death as deceivers. Men are more eager to ask as to future events, than to learn the way of salvation or the path of duty; yet foreknowledge of future events increases anxiety and trouble. Those who deceived, by pretending to do what they could not do, were sentenced to death, for not being able to do what they did not pretend to.
vv14-23
Daniel humbly prayed that God would discover to him the king's dream, and the meaning of it. Praying friends are valuable friends; and it well becomes the greatest and best men to desire the prayers of others. Let us show that we value our friends, and their prayers. They were particular in prayer. And whatever we pray for, we can expect nothing but as the gift of God's mercies. God gives us leave in prayer to tell our wants and burdens. Their plea with God was, the peril they were in. The mercy Daniel and his fellows prayed for, was bestowed. The fervent prayers of righteous men avail much. Daniel was thankful to God for making known that to him, which saved the lives of himself and his fellows. How much more should we be thankful to God, for making known the great salvation of the soul to those who are not among the worldly wise and prudent!
vv24-30
Daniel takes away the king's opinion of his magicians and soothsayers. The insufficiency of creatures should drive us to the all-sufficiency of the Creator. There is One who can do that for us, and make known that to us, which none on earth can, particularly the work of redemption, and the secret designs of God's love to us therein. Daniel confirmed the king in his opinion, that the dream was of great consequence, relating to the affairs and changes of this lower world. Let those whom God has highly favoured and honoured, lay aside all opinion of their own wisdom and worthiness, that the Lord alone may be praised for the good they have and do.
Key Words
שְׁנַיִם: two; also (as ordinal) twofold
שָׁנֶה: a year (as a revolution of time)
מַלְכוּת: a rule; concretely, a dominion
נְבוּכַדְנֶאצַּר: Nebukadnetstsar (or -retstsar, or -retstsor), king of Babylon
חָלַם: properly, to bind firmly, i.e. (by implication) to be (causatively to make) plump; also (through the figurative sense of dumbness) to dream
חֲלוֹם: a dream
רוּחַ: wind; by resemblance breath, i.e. a sensible (or even violent) exhalation; figuratively, life, anger, unsubstantiality; by extension, a region of the sky; by resemblance spirit, but only of a rational being (including its expression and functions)
פָּעַם: to tap, i.e. beat regularly; hence (generally) to impel or agitate
שֵׁנָה: sleep
הָיָה: to exist, i.e. be or become, come to pass (always emphatic, and not a mere copula or auxiliary)
Cross References
Daniel 2The stone cut without hands typifies the Son of man receiving His everlasting kingdom.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Nebuchadnezzar's extreme threat of turning houses into dunghills/rubble heaps is repeated here.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Like Joseph before Pharaoh, Daniel disclaims personal wisdom, attributing all revelation to God alone.
Supported by Matthew Poole, John Calvin, JFB
Violent dismemberment ('cut in pieces') as a historical form of severe judgment and execution.
Supported by Matthew Poole, JFB
Contrasts the magicians' claim that gods don't dwell with flesh with God revealing secrets.
Supported by JFB
God gives universal dominion, including beasts of the field, to Nebuchadnezzar.
Supported by JFB
Explicitly connects the 'latter days' with the ultimate setting up of God's eternal kingdom.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Expands on the fourth, iron kingdom and its ten toes/horns.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Verbal parallel to 'gaining/redeeming the time' in difficult or evil days.
Supported by JFB
The queen mother recalls Daniel's unique divine illumination, noting the 'spirit of the holy gods'.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Identifies Daniel's companions by their Hebrew names rather than their Babylonian names.
Supported by Matthew Poole
The four beasts in Daniel's vision correspond to the four metals of Nebuchadnezzar's image.
Supported by Matthew Henry, JFB
Daniel explicitly reminds Nebuchadnezzar of his role as the head of gold.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Contrasts Daniel's superior divine wisdom with the helpless Babylonian magicians.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Establishes the foundational principle that interpretations of troubling dreams belong to God alone.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Illustrates the unalterable nature of royal decrees ('one decree') in Persian and Babylonian law.
Supported by JFB
The certain interpretation of the stone breaking the gold, silver, brass, iron, and clay.
Supported by Matthew Henry
Pharaoh's spirit was troubled by dreams, prompting him to call helpless magicians.
Supported by Matthew Poole, John Calvin
Magicians admitting human limitation, pointing to the 'finger of God' or divine agency.
Supported by Matthew Poole
Daniel intervenes to stop Arioch from executing the wise men of Babylon.
Supported by Matthew Poole