Daniel 2:27-37

27 And Daniel answered before the king, and said, The private which the king asketh, [the] wise men, and astronomers, and (false) diviners, and lookers of altars, may not show to the king. (And Daniel answered the king, and said, The mystery, or the secret, which the king asketh about, the wise men, and the astrologers, and the fortunetellers, and the lookers on altars, cannot tell the king.)
28 But God is in heaven that showeth privates, which hath showed to thee, thou king Nebuchadnezzar, what things shall come in the last times. Thy dream and visions of thine head, in thy bed, be such. (But there is God in heaven who revealeth mysteries, or secrets, and he hath shown thee, O King Nebuchadnezzar, what things shall come in the last times, or at the end of the age. Thy dream and the visions in thy head, on thy bed, be such.)
29 Thou, king, begannest to think in thy bed, what was to coming after these things; and he that showeth privates (and he who revealeth mysteries, or secrets), showed to thee what things shall come.
30 And this sacrament, [or hid truth], is showed to me not by wisdom which is in me more than in all living men, but that the interpreting should be made open to the king, and thou shouldest know the thoughts of thy soul. (And this secret, or this hidden truth, is shown to me not by any wisdom which is in me more than in anyone else alive, but so that the interpretation can be made open to the king, and so that thou wouldest know the thoughts in thy mind.)
31 Thou, king, sawest, and lo! as one great image (Thou, king, sawest, lo! one great image, or one large figure); that image was great, and high in stature, and stood before thee, and the looking thereof was fearedful.
32 The head of this image was of best gold, but the breast and arms were of silver; certainly the womb and thighs were of brass, (The head of this figure was made of the best gold, and the chest and the arms were made of silver; the belly and the thighs were made of bronze,)
33 but the legs were of iron; forsooth some part of the feet was of iron, some was of earth. (and the legs were made of iron; and a part of the feet was made of iron, and a part was made of clay.)
34 Thou sawest thus, till a stone was cut down (out) of the hill, without hands, and smote the image in the iron feet thereof and earthen, and all-brake those. (Thou sawest it so, until a stone was cut down from the hill, without the use of any hands, and it struck the figure on its iron and clay feet, and broke them all in pieces.)
35 Then the iron, tilestone, either earthen vessel, brass, silver, and gold, were all-broken (al)together, and driven as into a dead spark of a large summer hall, that be ravished of wind, and no place is found to those; forsooth the stone, that smote the image, was made a great hill, and filled all earth. (Then the iron, the tilestone, or the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, were all broken in pieces, and driven like dead sparks on a threshing floor in the summer, that be carried away by the wind, and there is no place where they can be found; and then the stone, that struck the figure, was made into a great mountain, and it filled all the earth.)
36 This is the dream. Also, thou king, we shall say before thee the interpreting thereof. (That is the dream. And, O king, now we shall tell thee its interpretation.)
37 Thou art king of kings, and God of heaven gave to thee realm, strength, and empire, and glory; (Thou art king of kings, and the God of heaven gave thee a kingdom, and power, and empire, and glory;)

Daniel 2:27-37 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.

Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.