Daniel 2:17-30

God Reveals Nebuchadnezzar's Dream

17 Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to ¹Hananiah, ²Mishael, and ³Azariah, his companions,

18 ⁴and told them to seek mercy from the ⁵God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions might not ⁶be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

19 Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in ⁷a vision of the night. Then Daniel ⁸blessed the ⁹God of heaven.

20 Daniel answered and said: ¹⁰"Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, ¹¹to whom belong wisdom and might.

21 ¹²He changes times and seasons; ¹³he removes kings and sets up kings; ¹⁴he gives wisdom to the wise ¹⁵and knowledge to those who have understanding;

22 ¹⁶he reveals deep and hidden things; ¹⁷he knows what is in the darkness, ¹⁸and the light dwells with him.

23 To you, O ¹⁹God of my fathers, ²⁰I give thanks and praise, for ²¹you have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what ²²we asked of you, for you have made known to us the king's matter."

24 Therefore Daniel went in to ²³Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said thus to him: "Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will show the king the interpretation."

25 Then ²⁴Arioch brought in Daniel before the king ²⁵in haste and said thus to him: "I have found ²⁶among the exiles from Judah a man who will make known to the king the interpretation."

26 The king declared to Daniel, ²⁷whose name was Belteshazzar, ²⁸"Are you able to make known to me the dream that I have seen and its interpretation?"

27 Daniel answered the king and said, "No wise men, ²⁹enchanters, ³⁰magicians, or ³¹astrologers can show to the king the mystery that the king has asked,

28 but ³²there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar ³³what will be in the latter days. Your dream and ³⁴the visions of your head as you lay in bed are these:

29 To you, O king, as you lay in bed came thoughts of what would be after this, ³⁵and he who reveals mysteries made known to you what is to be.

30 But ³⁶as for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because of any wisdom that I have more than all the living, but in order that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that ³⁷you may know the thoughts of your mind.

Daniel 2:17-30 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.

Cross References

• 1. Daniel 1:6
• 2. Daniel 1:6
• 3. Daniel 1:6
• 4. [Matthew 18:19]
• 5. ver. 19, 28, 37, 44; Revelation 11:13
• 6. [ver. 12, 24]
• 7. [Numbers 12:6; Job 33:15, 16]
• 8. See Joshua 22:33
• 9. [See ver. 18 above]
• 10. 1 Chronicles 29:10; Psalms 72:18; Psalms 113:2; Psalms 115:18; Luke 1:68
• 11. [Isaiah 28:29]
• 12. [ver. 9; Daniel 7:25]
• 13. [Daniel 4:17; Daniel 5:20; Job 12:18; Psalms 75:7; Romans 13:1]
• 14. See Daniel 1:17
• 15. See Daniel 1:17
• 16. Job 12:22; [Psalms 25:14; Psalms 139:12; Amos 4:13; Hebrews 4:13]
• 17. Job 12:22; [Psalms 25:14; Psalms 139:12; Amos 4:13; Hebrews 4:13]
• 18. 1 Timothy 6:16; James 1:17; 1 John 1:5; [John 1:4, 5]
• 19. Deuteronomy 26:7; 1 Chronicles 12:17; 1 Chronicles 29:18
• 20. [Daniel 6:10]
• 21. [ver. 20]; See Daniel 1:17
• 22. [ver. 18]
• 23. ver. 14, 15
• 24. [See ver. 24 above]
• 25. Daniel 3:24
• 26. Daniel 5:13; Ezra 4:1; Ezra 6:16, 19, 20; Ezra 10:7, 16
• 27. See Daniel 1:7
• 28. [Daniel 5:16]
• 29. See Daniel 1:20
• 30. See Daniel 1:20
• 31. Daniel 4:7; Daniel 5:7
• 32. See ver. 22
• 33. Daniel 10:14; Hosea 3:5
• 34. Daniel 4:5; Daniel 7:15
• 35. ver. 45
• 36. [Genesis 41:16; Acts 3:12]
• 37. [Ecclesiastes 3:18]