Daniel 2:1-18

The King's Forgotten Dream

1 Now in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar ^[a]1had dreams; and his spirit was troubled and his ²sleep ^[b]left him.

2 Then the king ^[c]gave orders to call in the ³magicians, the conjurers, the sorcerers and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king.

3 The king said to them, "I ⁴had a dream and my spirit is anxious to understand the dream."

4 Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in ⁵Aramaic: "⁶O king, live forever! ⁷Tell the dream to your servants, and we will declare the interpretation."

5 The king replied to the Chaldeans, "The command from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you will be ⁸torn limb from limb and your houses will be made a rubbish heap.

6 "But if you declare the dream and its interpretation, you will receive from me ⁹gifts and a reward and great honor; therefore declare to me the dream and its interpretation."

7 They answered a second time and said, "Let the king ¹⁰tell the dream to his servants, and we will declare the interpretation."

8 The king replied, "I know for certain that you are bargaining for time, inasmuch * * as you have seen that the command from me is firm,

9 that if you do not make the dream known to me, there is only ¹¹one decree for you. For you have agreed together to speak lying and corrupt words before me until * the situation is changed; therefore tell me the dream, that I may ¹²know that you can declare to me its interpretation."

10 The Chaldeans answered the king and said, "There is not a man on earth who could declare the matter for the king, inasmuch * * as no * great king or ruler has ever asked anything like this of any ¹³magician, conjurer or Chaldean.

11 "Moreover, the thing which the king demands is difficult, and there is no one else who could declare it to the king except ¹⁴gods, whose ¹⁵dwelling place is not with mortal flesh."

12 Because * of this the king became ¹⁶indignant and very furious and gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.

13 So the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they looked for ¹⁷Daniel and his friends to kill them.

14 Then Daniel replied with discretion and discernment to ¹⁸Arioch, the captain of the king's bodyguard, who had gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon;

15 he said to Arioch, the king's commander, "For what reason * is the decree from the king so urgent?" Then Arioch informed Daniel about the matter.

16 So Daniel went in and requested of the king that he would give him time, in order that he might declare the interpretation to the king.

17 Then Daniel went to his house and informed his friends, ¹⁹Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, about the matter,

18 so that they might ²⁰request compassion from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his friends would not be ²¹destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

Daniel 2:1-18 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. Genesis 40:5-8; Genesis 41:1, 8; Job 33:15-17; Daniel 2:3; Daniel 4:5
• 2. Esther 6:1; Daniel 6:18
• 3. Genesis 41:8; Exodus 7:11; Isaiah 47:12, 13; Daniel 1:20; Daniel 2:10, 27; Daniel 4:6; Daniel 5:7
• 4. Genesis 40:8; Genesis 41:15; Daniel 4:5
• 5. Ezra 4:7; Isaiah 36:11
• 6. Daniel 3:9; Daniel 5:10
• 7. Daniel 2:7
• 8. Ezra 6:11; Daniel 2:12; Daniel 3:29
• 9. Daniel 2:48; Daniel 5:7, 16, 29
• 10. Daniel 2:4
• 11. Esther 4:11; Daniel 3:15
• 12. Isaiah 41:23
• 13. Daniel 2:2, 27
• 14. Genesis 41:39; Daniel 5:11
• 15. Exodus 29:45; Isaiah 57:15
• 16. Psalms 76:10; Daniel 2:5; Daniel 3:13, 19
• 17. Daniel 1:19, 20
• 18. Daniel 2:24
• 19. Daniel 1:6
• 20. Esther 4:15, 16; Isaiah 37:4; Jeremiah 33:3; Ezekiel 36:37; Daniel 2:23
• 21. Genesis 18:28; Malachi 3:18

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit "dreamed dreams"
• [b]. Lit "was gone upon him"
• [c]. Lit "said to call"
• [d]. Or "soothsayer priests"
• [e]. Or "master astrologers," and so throughout the ch
• [f]. Lit "dreamed"
• [g]. Lit "was troubled"
• [h]. Lit "know"
• [i]. The text is in Aramaic from here through 7:28
• [j]. Another reading is "The word has gone from me"
• [k]. Lit "made into limbs"
• [l]. Lit "buying"
• [m]. V 5, note 1
• [n]. Or "law"
• [o]. Lit "word"
• [p]. Lit "time"
• [q]. Lit "before the"
• [r]. Lit "of"
• [s]. Or "soothsayer priest"
• [t]. Or "rare"
• [u]. Lit "before"
• [v]. Or "law"
• [w]. Lit "be killed"
• [x]. Or "executioners"
• [y]. Or "law"
• [z]. Or "harsh"
• [aa]. Or "appoint a time for him"