Parallel Bible results for "daniel 2"

Daniel 2

Lexham English Bible LEB

1 Now in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams; and his spirit was troubled and his sleep left him.

2 So the king said to call the magicians and the conjurers and the sorcerers and the {astrologers} to tell to the king his dreams. And they came in and they stood {before} the king.

3 And the king said to them, "{I have had a dream} and my spirit is anxious to know the dream."

4 And the {astrologers} said to the king [in] Aramaic, "O king, live forever! Tell the dream to your servants and we will reveal the explanation."

5 The king answered and said to the {astrologers}, "The command from me is firm: if you [do] not make known to me the dream and its explanation, [then] you will be broken into pieces and your houses will be laid in ruins.

6 But if you tell me the dream and its explanation, you will receive gifts and rewards and great honor from me. Therefore, tell me the dream and its explanation."

7 They answered once more and said, "Let the king tell the dream to his servants and we will make the explanation known."

8 The king answered and said, "{Certainly} I know that {you are trying to gain time} {because} you have seen {that this matter is firmly decreed by me},

9 for if you [do] not make the dream known to me, {your verdict is fixed}, and you have conspired to say [a] lying and deceitful word to me until the {circumstances} will change. Therefore, tell me the dream, and I will know that you can tell me its explanation."

10 The {astrologers} answered the king and said, "There is not a man on earth that is able to reveal the word of the king; {in fact}, no great and powerful king has [ever] asked a thing like this of any magician or conjurer or {astrologer}.

11 And the thing that the king is asking [is too] difficult and {there is no one who} can reveal it to the king except [the] gods {whose dwelling is not with mortals}."

12 Because of this the king became angry, and he became very much enraged, and he said [that] all the wise men of Babylon [are] to be destroyed.

13 And the decree was issued, and the wise men {were on the verge of being executed}, and they searched for Daniel and his companions to be executed.

14 Then Daniel responded prudently and discretely to Arioch, the commander of the imperial guard of the king, who had gone out to execute the wise men of Babylon.

15 {He asked} and said to Arioch, the royal official of the king, "{Why} is the decree from the king [so] severe?" Then Arioch explained the matter to Daniel.

16 And Daniel went in and requested from the king that he would give him time, and {he would tell the king} the explanation.

17 Then Daniel went to his home, and he made the matter known to Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, his companions,

18 and [told them] to seek mercy {from the God of heaven} concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions, along with the remainder of the wise men of Babylon, would not be killed.

19 Then in a vision of the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel; then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.

20 Daniel {said}: "Let his name, [the name] of God,<note: Aramaic "the God"> be blessed {throughout the ages},<note: Literally "from the age unto the age"> for the wisdom and the power {are his}.<note: Literally "of to him it [is]">

21 And he changes the times and the seasons, and he deposes kings and he sets up kings; he gives wisdom to wise men and knowledge to [men who] know understanding.

22 He reveals the deep and the hidden things; he knows what [is] in the darkness, and the light dwells with him.

23 To you, O God of my ancestors, I give thanks and I give praises, for the wisdom and the power you gave to me, and now you have made known to me what we have asked from you, for you have made known to us the matter of the king."

24 {Therefore} Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon; he went and thus he said to him: "You must not destroy the wise men of Babylon; take me in before the king and I will give the explanation to the king."

25 Then Arioch {quickly} brought Daniel in before the king and thus he said to him: "I have found a man among {the exiles} of Judah who {can relate} the explanation to the king.

26 {The king then asked} and said to Daniel, whose name [was] Belteshazzar, "Are you able to make known to me the dream that I have seen and its explanation?"

27 Daniel answered the king and said, "The mystery that the king asks, no wise men, conjurers, magicians, [or] diviners are able to make known to the king.

28 But there is a God in heaven [who] reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what [it is] that will be at the end of days. This [is] your dream and the visions of your head on your bed.

29 "[As for you], king, your thoughts on your bed {turned to} what [it was] that would be {in the future}, and the revealer of mysteries has made known to you what that would be.

30 And as for me, [it is] not because of wisdom that is in me more than {any other living person} [that] this mystery is revealed to me, but {in order that} the explanation may be made known to the king and you will {understand} the thoughts of your {mind}.

31 "You, O king, were looking and, look, there was one great statue. This statue [was] huge and its brilliance extraordinary, standing [there] before you, and its appearance [was] frightening.

32 The head of this statue [was] of fine gold, its chest and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze,

33 its legs of iron, its feet, part of them of iron and part of them of clay.

34 You were looking on {until} a stone was chiseled out--that not by hands--and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay, and it broke them in pieces.

35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold {all at once} broke into pieces and they became like chaff from the summer threshing floor, and the wind carried them away and any trace of them could not be found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and it filled the whole earth.

36 "This [was] the dream, and [now] we will tell its interpretation to the king.

37 You, O king, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power and the might and the glory,

38 and [also] {human beings wherever they dwell}, the animals of the field and the birds of heaven--he has given into your hand and made you ruler over all of them--you are the head of gold.

39 And after you another kingdom inferior to yours will arise, and another third [kingdom] of bronze that will rule over the whole earth.

40 And [a] fourth kingdom will be strong as iron, [and] {just as} iron crushes and smashes {everything}, and as iron shatters all of these [other metals], [so] it will crush and it will shatter [these nations].

41 {And just as} you saw the feet and the toes, {partly potter's clay} and {partly iron}, it will be a divided kingdom; and {some hardness} of the iron will be [in it], {just as} you have seen the iron mixed with the wet clay.

42 And [as] the toes of the feet [were] partly iron and partly clay, [so] part of the kingdom will be strong {and partly brittle}.

43 And [in] that you saw the iron was mixed with wet clay, [so] {they will mix in marriage} and they will not cling {to one another}, just as iron [does] not mix with clay.

44 And {in the day of those kings}, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will {never} be destroyed, and the kingdom will not be left for another nation, and it will bring an end to all these kingdoms, but it will stand {forever}.

45 {Inasmuch as} you saw that a stone from the mountain was chiseled out [but] not by hands, and [that] it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold, [thereby] the great God made known to the king what will be {in the future}, and the dream is certain and its explanation trustworthy."

46 Then the king, Nebuchadnezzar, fell on his face and he paid homage to Daniel; and he commanded [them] to offer [a] grain offering and incense offering to him.

47 The king answered Daniel and said, "{Truly} your God [is] the God of gods and the Lord of kings, and he reveals mysteries, for you are able to reveal this mystery."

48 Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and the chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon.

49 And Daniel made a request from the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego over the affairs of the province of Babylon, while Daniel [remained] in the court of the king.

New International Version NIV

1 In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his mind was troubled and he could not sleep.

2 So the king summoned the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers to tell him what he had dreamed. When they came in and stood before the king,

3 he said to them, “I have had a dream that troubles me and I want to know what it means. ”

4 Then the astrologers answered the king, “May the king live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will interpret it.”

5 The king replied to the astrologers, “This is what I have firmly decided: If you do not tell me what my dream was and interpret it, I will have you cut into pieces and your houses turned into piles of rubble.

6 But if you tell me the dream and explain it, you will receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. So tell me the dream and interpret it for me.”

7 Once more they replied, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will interpret it.”

8 Then the king answered, “I am certain that you are trying to gain time, because you realize that this is what I have firmly decided:

9 If you do not tell me the dream, there is only one penalty for you. You have conspired to tell me misleading and wicked things, hoping the situation will change. So then, tell me the dream, and I will know that you can interpret it for me.”

10 The astrologers answered the king, “There is no one on earth who can do what the king asks! No king, however great and mighty, has ever asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or astrologer.

11 What the king asks is too difficult. No one can reveal it to the king except the gods, and they do not live among humans.”

12 This made the king so angry and furious that he ordered the execution of all the wise men of Babylon.

13 So the decree was issued to put the wise men to death, and men were sent to look for Daniel and his friends to put them to death.

14 When Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard, had gone out to put to death the wise men of Babylon, Daniel spoke to him with wisdom and tact.

15 He asked the king’s officer, “Why did the king issue such a harsh decree?” Arioch then explained the matter to Daniel.

16 At this, Daniel went in to the king and asked for time, so that he might interpret the dream for him.

17 Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah.

18 He urged them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that he and his friends might not be executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

19 During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven

20 and said: “Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his.

21 He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.

22 He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him.

23 I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors: You have given me wisdom and power, you have made known to me what we asked of you, you have made known to us the dream of the king.”

24 Then Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to execute the wise men of Babylon, and said to him, “Do not execute the wise men of Babylon. Take me to the king, and I will interpret his dream for him.”

25 Arioch took Daniel to the king at once and said, “I have found a man among the exiles from Judah who can tell the king what his dream means.”

26 The king asked Daniel (also called Belteshazzar), “Are you able to tell me what I saw in my dream and interpret it?”

27 Daniel replied, “No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about,

28 but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come. Your dream and the visions that passed through your mind as you were lying in bed are these:

29 “As Your Majesty was lying there, your mind turned to things to come, and the revealer of mysteries showed you what is going to happen.

30 As for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because I have greater wisdom than anyone else alive, but so that Your Majesty may know the interpretation and that you may understand what went through your mind.

31 “Your Majesty looked, and there before you stood a large statue—an enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance.

32 The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze,

33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay.

34 While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them.

35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were all broken to pieces and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth.

36 “This was the dream, and now we will interpret it to the king.

37 Your Majesty, you are the king of kings. The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory;

38 in your hands he has placed all mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds in the sky. Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all. You are that head of gold.

39 “After you, another kingdom will arise, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth.

40 Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron—for iron breaks and smashes everything—and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others.

41 Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom; yet it will have some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed with clay.

42 As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle.

43 And just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay.

44 “In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever.

45 This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands—a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces. “The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future. The dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy.”

46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell prostrate before Daniel and paid him honor and ordered that an offering and incense be presented to him.

47 The king said to Daniel, “Surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you were able to reveal this mystery.”

48 Then the king placed Daniel in a high position and lavished many gifts on him. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and placed him in charge of all its wise men.

49 Moreover, at Daniel’s request the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego administrators over the province of Babylon, while Daniel himself remained at the royal court.