2:1 And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar,
Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, with which his spirit was
troubled, and his sleep broke from him.
2:2 Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the
astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, to show the
king his dream. So they came and stood before the king.
2:3 And the king said to them, I have dreamed a dream, and my
spirit was troubled to know the dream.
2:4 Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Syriac, O king, live
for ever: tell thy servants the dream, and we will show the
interpretation.
2:5 The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is
gone from me: if ye will not make known to me the dream, with
the interpretation of it, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your
houses shall be made a dunghill.
2:6 But if ye shall show the dream, and the interpretation of
it, ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honor:
therefore show me the dream, and the interpretation of it.
2:7 They answered again and said, Let the king tell his servants
the dream, and we will show 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 to 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 show me the
interpretation of it.
2:10 The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is
not a man upon the earth that can show the king's matter:
therefore [there is] no king, lord, nor ruler, [that] hath
asked such things of any magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean.
2:11 And [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.
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, who had 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 show 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 God of heaven
concerning this secret; that Daniel and his companions should
not perish with the rest of the wise [men] of Babylon.
2:19 Then was the secret revealed to Daniel in a night vision.
Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.
2:20 Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God 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 to 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 God of my fathers,
who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast made known to me
now what we desired of thee: for thou hast [now] made known to
us the king's matter.
2:24 Therefore Daniel went into Arioch, whom the king had
ordained to destroy the wise [men] of Babylon: he went and said
thus to him; Destroy not the wise [men] of Babylon: bring me in
before the king, and I will show to the king the
interpretation.
2:25 Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and
said thus to him, I have found a man of the captives of Judah,
that will make known to the king the interpretation.
2:26 The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name [was]
Belteshazzar, Art thou able to make known to me the dream which
I have seen, and the interpretation of it?
2:27 Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The
secret which the king hath demanded, the wise [men], the
astrologers, the magicians, the sooth-sayers, cannot show to
the king;
2:28 But there is a God 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 mayest 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
its form [was] terrible.
2:32 The head of this image [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 a stone was cut out without hands, which
smote the image upon his feet [that were] of iron and clay, and
broke 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 threshing-floors; 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 of
it before the king.
2:37 Thou, O king, [art] a king of kings: for the God of heaven
hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.
2:38 And wherever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the
field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thy 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 potter's
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 the 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 God 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 broke 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 of it sure.
2:46 Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and
worshiped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an
oblation and sweet odors to him.
2:47 The king answered to Daniel, and said, Of a truth [it is],
that your God [is] a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a
revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldst 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 Abed-nego, over the affairs of the province of
Babylon: but Daniel [sat] in the gate of the king.
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