Daniel 2:1-8

1 And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, and his spirit was troubled, and his sleep went from him.
2 And the king commanded to call the scribes, and the magicians, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, to shew the king his dreams; and they came and stood before the king.
3 And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.
4 And the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic, O king, live for ever! tell thy servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation.
5 The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The command is gone forth from me: If ye do not make known unto me the dream, and its interpretation, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill.
6 But if ye shew the dream and its interpretation, ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honour; therefore shew me the dream and its interpretation.
7 They answered the second time and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation.
8 The king answered and said, I know of a certainty that ye would gain time, because ye see the word is gone forth from me;

Daniel 2:1-8 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO DANIAL 2

The subject of this chapter is a dream which Nebuchadnezzar had dreamed, but had forgot; upon which he calls his magicians and astrologers together, to tell him it, and the interpretation of it; threatening them with death if they did not, and promising them great rewards and honour if they did, Da 2:1-6, they urge the unreasonableness of the demand, and the impossibility of the thing; which so highly incensed the king, that he ordered their immediate destruction, Da 2:7-13, Daniel and his companions being in danger, he goes in to the king, and desires time, and he would show him what he had dreamed; which being granted, he spent it in prayer to God, Da 2:14-18, and the thing being revealed to him, he gave thanks to God, Da 2:19-23, and being introduced to the king, he both told him his dream, and the interpretation of it; which concerned the four monarchies of the world, and the everlasting kingdom of the Messiah, Da 2:24-45, upon which he was highly honoured, and greatly promoted by the king, Da 2:46-49.

Footnotes 4

  • [a]. Or 'hieroglyphists,' as Gen. 41.8.
  • [b]. From here to the end of ch.7 the same Aramaic dialect is employed as in Ezra 4.8 to 6.18, and Jer. 10.11.
  • [c]. Or 'word,' as vers. 8,9; 'matter,' ver. 10; 'thing,' ver 11.
  • [d]. Lit. 'redeem.'
The Darby Translation is in the public domain.