| Chapter 2
|
| 1 | And in the
second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams,
wherewith his spirit was troubled, and his sleep brake from him. |
| 2 | Then the king commanded to call the
magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to
shew the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king. |
| 3 | And the king said unto them, I have
dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream. |
| 4 | Then spake the Chaldeans to the king in
Syriack, 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 thing is gone from me: if ye will
not make known unto me the dream, with the interpretation thereof, ye shall be
cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill. |
| 6 | But if ye shew the dream, and the
interpretation thereof, ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great
honour: therefore shew me the dream, and the interpretation thereof. |
| 7 | They answered again and said,
Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation
of it. |
| 8 | The king
answered and said, I know of certainty that ye would gain the time, because ye
see the thing is gone from me. |
| 9
| But if ye will not make known unto me the dream, there is but one
decree for you: for ye have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before
me, till the time be changed: therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know
that ye can shew me the interpretation thereof. |
|
10 | The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said,
There is not a man upon the earth that can shew the king's matter: therefore
there is no king, lord, nor ruler, that asked such things at any magician, or
astrologer, or Chaldean. |
| 11 |
And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is none other
that can shew it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with
flesh. |
| 12 | For this cause
the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise men
of Babylon. |
| 13 | And the
decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they sought Daniel and
his fellows to be slain. |
| 14 |
Then Daniel answered with counsel and wisdom to Arioch the captain of the
king's guard, which was gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon: |
| 15 | He answered and said to Arioch
the king's captain, Why is the decree so hasty from the king? Then Arioch made
the thing known to Daniel. |
| 16
| Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would give him
time, and that he would shew the king the interpretation. |
| 17 | Then Daniel went to his house, and
made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions: |
| 18 | That they would desire
mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his
fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. |
| 19 | Then was the secret revealed
unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. |
| 20 | Daniel answered and said,
Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his: |
| 21 | And he changeth the times
and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto
the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding: |
| 22 | He revealeth the deep and secret
things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with
him. |
| 23 | I thank thee,
and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might,
and hast made known unto me now what we desired of thee: for thou hast now made
known unto us the king's matter. |
|
24 | Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had ordained
to destroy the wise men of Babylon: he went and said thus unto him; Destroy not
the wise men of Babylon: bring me in before the king, and I will shew unto the
king the interpretation. |
| 25 |
Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said thus unto
him, I have found a man of the captives of Judah, that will make known unto the
king the interpretation. |
| 26 |
The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Art thou
able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation
thereof? |
| 27 | Daniel
answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath
demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers,
shew unto the king; |
| 28 |
But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the
king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the
visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these; |
| 29 | As for thee, O king, thy thoughts came into thy mind
upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter: and he that revealeth secrets
maketh known to thee what shall come to pass. |
| 30 | But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for
any wisdom that I have more than any living, but for their sakes that shall
make known the interpretation to the king, and that thou mightest know the
thoughts of thy heart. |
| 31 |
Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose
brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was
terrible. |
| 32 | This
image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and
his thighs of brass, |
| 33 |
His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay. |
| 34 | Thou sawest till that a stone was cut
out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and
clay, and brake them to pieces. |
|
35 | Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the
gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer
threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for
them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled
the whole earth. |
| 36 | This
is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king. |
| 37 | Thou, O king, art a king
of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength,
and glory. |
| 38 | And
wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of
the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them
all. Thou art this head of gold. |
|
39 | And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and
another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. |
| 40 | And the fourth kingdom
shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all
things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and
bruise. |
| 41 | And whereas
thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the
kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron,
forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. |
| 42 | And as the toes of the feet were part
of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly
broken. |
| 43 | And whereas
thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the
seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not
mixed with clay. |
| 44 | And
in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which
shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people,
but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand
for ever. |
| 45 | Forasmuch
as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and
that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the
gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass
hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure. |
| 46 | Then the king
Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that
they should offer an oblation and sweet odours unto him. |
| 47 | The king answered unto Daniel, and
said, Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings,
and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret. |
| 48 | Then the king made Daniel a
great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole
province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of
Babylon. |
| 49 | Then Daniel
requested of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, over the
affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel sat in the gate of the king. |
