Daniel2
New Living Translation
1One night during the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had such disturbing dreams that he couldn’t sleep.
2He called in his magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and astrologers, and he demanded that they tell him what he had dreamed. As they stood before the king,
3he said, “I have had a dream that deeply troubles me, and I must know what it means.”
4Then the astrologers answered the king in Aramaic, “Long live the king! Tell us the dream, and we will tell you what it means.”
5But the king said to the astrologers, “I am serious about this. If you don’t tell me what my dream was and what it means, you will be torn limb from limb, and your houses will be turned into heaps of rubble!
6But if you tell me what I dreamed and what the dream means, I will give you many wonderful gifts and honors. Just tell me the dream and what it means!”
7They said again, “Please, Your Majesty. Tell us the dream, and we will tell you what it means.”
8The king replied, “I know what you are doing! You’re stalling for time because you know I am serious when I say,
9‘If you don’t tell me the dream, you are doomed.’ So you have conspired to tell me lies, hoping I will change my mind. But tell me the dream, and then I’ll know that you can tell me what it means.”
10The astrologers replied to the king, “No one on earth can tell the king his dream! And no king, however great and powerful, has ever asked such a thing of any magician, enchanter, or astrologer!
11The king’s demand is impossible. No one except the gods can tell you your dream, and they do not live here among people.”
12The king was furious when he heard this, and he ordered that all the wise men of Babylon be executed.
13And because of the king’s decree, men were sent to find and kill Daniel and his friends.
14When Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard, came to kill them, Daniel handled the situation with wisdom and discretion.
15He asked Arioch, “Why has the king issued such a harsh decree?” So Arioch told him all that had happened.
16Daniel went at once to see the king and requested more time to tell the king what the dream meant.
17Then Daniel went home and told his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah what had happened.
18He urged them to ask the God of heaven to show them his mercy by telling them the secret, so they would not be executed along with the other wise men of Babylon.
19That night the secret was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven.
20He said, “Praise the name of God forever and ever, for he has all wisdom and power.
21He controls the course of world events; he removes kings and sets up other kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the scholars.
22He reveals deep and mysterious things and knows what lies hidden in darkness, though he is surrounded by light.
23I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors, for you have given me wisdom and strength. You have told me what we asked of you and revealed to us what the king demanded.”
24Then Daniel went in to see Arioch, whom the king had ordered to execute the wise men of Babylon. Daniel said to him, “Don’t kill the wise men. Take me to the king, and I will tell him the meaning of his dream.”
25Arioch quickly took Daniel to the king and said, “I have found one of the captives from Judah who will tell the king the meaning of his dream!”
26The king said to Daniel (also known as Belteshazzar), “Is this true? Can you tell me what my dream was and what it means?”
27Daniel replied, “There are no wise men, enchanters, magicians, or fortune-tellers who can reveal the king’s secret.
28But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and he has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the future. Now I will tell you your dream and the visions you saw as you lay on your bed.
29“While Your Majesty was sleeping, you dreamed about coming events. He who reveals secrets has shown you what is going to happen.
30And it is not because I am wiser than anyone else that I know the secret of your dream, but because God wants you to understand what was in your heart.
31“In your vision, Your Majesty, you saw standing before you a huge, shining statue of a man. It was a frightening sight.
32The head of the statue was made of fine gold. Its chest and arms were silver, its belly and thighs were bronze,
33its legs were iron, and its feet were a combination of iron and baked clay.
34As you watched, a rock was cut from a mountain, but not by human hands. It struck the feet of iron and clay, smashing them to bits.
35The whole statue was crushed into small pieces of iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold. Then the wind blew them away without a trace, like chaff on a threshing floor. But the rock that knocked the statue down became a great mountain that covered the whole earth.
36“That was the dream. Now we will tell the king what it means.
37Your Majesty, you are the greatest of kings. The God of heaven has given you sovereignty, power, strength, and honor.
38He has made you the ruler over all the inhabited world and has put even the wild animals and birds under your control. You are the head of gold.
39“But after your kingdom comes to an end, another kingdom, inferior to yours, will rise to take your place. After that kingdom has fallen, yet a third kingdom, represented by bronze, will rise to rule the world.
40Following that kingdom, there will be a fourth one, as strong as iron. That kingdom will smash and crush all previous empires, just as iron smashes and crushes everything it strikes.
41The feet and toes you saw were a combination of iron and baked clay, showing that this kingdom will be divided. Like iron mixed with clay, it will have some of the strength of iron.
42But while some parts of it will be as strong as iron, other parts will be as weak as clay.
43This mixture of iron and clay also shows that these kingdoms will try to strengthen themselves by forming alliances with each other through intermarriage. But they will not hold together, just as iron and clay do not mix.
44“During the reigns of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed or conquered. It will crush all these kingdoms into nothingness, and it will stand forever.
45That is the meaning of the rock cut from the mountain, though not by human hands, that crushed to pieces the statue of iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold. The great God was showing the king what will happen in the future. The dream is true, and its meaning is certain.”
46Then King Nebuchadnezzar threw himself down before Daniel and worshiped him, and he commanded his people to offer sacrifices and burn sweet incense before him.
47The king said to Daniel, “Truly, your God is the greatest of gods, the Lord over kings, a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this secret.”
48Then the king appointed Daniel to a high position and gave him many valuable gifts. He made Daniel ruler over the whole province of Babylon, as well as chief over all his wise men.
49At Daniel’s request, the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to be in charge of all the affairs of the province of Babylon, while Daniel remained in the king’s court.
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