Daniel 2:1-49
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 cuta 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 rewardsb 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 gainc 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 answeredd 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 Gode 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 camef 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 sakesg that shall make known the interpretation to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart.
31 Thou, O king, sawest,h 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 thighsi 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 withoutj 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.k
43 And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave onel to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.
44 And in the daysm 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 withoutn 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.
The Men who were Loyal to God
Daniel
Robert Bryce
Chapter 2
v1 When Nebuchadnezzar had been king for almost two years, he had dreams. His mind was anxious and he could not sleep.
Verse 1 Nebuchadnezzar was the most powerful man in the world. But he was anxious. One night he went to bed and he started to think about the future. He had a dream that made him anxious. So he could not sleep. He knew that the dream was important. The real God was speaking to him, although he did not know it (Daniel 2:29).
v2 He called for the *magicians, *enchanters, *sorcerers and wise men. He wanted them to tell him what he had dreamed. So they came in and they stood in front of the king. v3 Then the king said to them, ‘I have had a dream that makes me anxious. And so I want to know what it means.’
v4 Then the wise men answered the king in the Aramaic language. ‘We want the king to live for all time’, they said. ‘We are your servants. Tell us the dream. And then we will tell you what it means.’
v5 The king replied to the wise men. ‘I have decided what to do’, he said. ‘You tell me what my dream was. And you must tell me what it means. If not, I will order people to cut you into pieces. They will also make your houses into piles of rubbish. v6 You must tell me the dream and what it means. If you do, I will reward you. I will give you gifts and rewards and great honour. So, tell me my dream. And tell me what it means.’
v7 They answered him again. ‘We are your servants, so please tell us your dream. Then we will tell you what it means.’
v8 And the king answered them. ‘I know for certain that you are trying to gain time. You know what I have decided. v9 If you do not tell me the dream, you will all receive the same punishment. You have agreed to keep on telling me lies and evil things. You hope that I will change my mind. So now, tell me the dream. Then I will know that you can also tell me the meaning.’
v10 The wise men answered the king, ‘There is not a man on earth who can do that! No king has ever asked any *magician, *enchanter or wise man to do anything like this. Even the greatest and most powerful king of all has never asked this. v11 You are asking a very difficult thing. Nobody can do it, except the gods. And they do not live among men.’
v12 This made the king extremely angry. So he ordered his guards to kill all the wise men in Babylon. v13 He issued an order to kill all the wise men. So some men went to look for Daniel and his friends in order to kill them too.
Verses 2-13 The king called for his wise men. He had many different kinds of wise men. Many of them did magic. Their job was to keep the king happy. They told him things that he wanted to hear. Sometimes they told lies to the king in order to please him. The king told the wise men about the dream that made him anxious. He asked them to tell him what it meant. They expected the king to tell them the dream. Then they could make up a story that would make the king happy. But the king wanted them to tell him both the dream and what it meant. The king may have forgotten the dream. But he would remember it if someone told him. Probably he did remember it. But he wanted to be sure that the wise men told him the truth. If someone could tell him the dream, then that person really could tell him the meaning.
The wise men hoped that the king would change his mind. But this was very important to him. So he promised great rewards for anyone who could tell him the dream and its meaning. But he also said something else. He would kill them if they could not do it. And he would destroy their houses.
Of course, the wise men did not know what the king had dreamed. The king was asking them to do something that was impossible. No king had ever asked any wise man to do this. They knew that no man could know another man’s dreams. They said that only the gods could do this. But they could not speak to the gods that they gave honour to.
This made the king very angry. So he issued an order to kill all his wise men, even Daniel and his friends. They did not even know about the king’s dream. They had been loyal to God and he had made them important people in the country. Now Nebuchadnezzar intended to kill them.
v14 Arioch, the captain of the king’s guards, went to kill the wise men in Babylon. But Daniel answered him with intelligence and wisdom. v15 He said to Arioch, the king’s captain, ‘Why is the king’s order so cruel?’ Then Arioch explained the matter to Daniel. v16 So Daniel went to see the king. He asked the king for more time, so that he could tell the king the meaning of the dream.
Verses 14-16 Although Daniel’s life was in danger, he spoke with wisdom. God was helping him to do what was right. The king had accused the other wise men of trying to gain time. But he allowed Daniel time to find out what the dream meant. The wise men did not know how to find out about the dream. Daniel believed that God would help him. So, he promised the king that he would tell him the meaning of the dream.
v17 Then Daniel went home and he explained the matter to his friends, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah. v18 He told them to pray to God in heaven about this mystery. He told them to ask God for protection. Then they would not die with the rest of the wise men in Babylon. v19 During the night Daniel had a dream. God showed him in the dream what the mystery meant. Then Daniel gave honour to the God of heaven. v20 He said,
‘Give honour to the name of God always
because he is wise and great.
v21 He changes times and seasons.
He appoints kings and he makes their rule end.
He gives wisdom to wise people.
And he gives knowledge to people who understand.
v22 He explains great mysteries and secret things.
He knows about evil things, even when darkness hides them.
But he is light and there is nothing bad in him.
v23 I thank you. And I give you honour, because you were my fathers’ God too.
And you have given me wisdom and strength.
You have shown me what we asked you about.
You have explained the king’s problem to us.’
Verses 17-23 Daniel knew what to do when his life was in danger. He prayed. He asked his three friends to pray for protection. God answered their prayers. Daniel had a dream. In that dream, God showed him what the king’s dream meant. Daniel realised that God had answered their prayers. So he said, ‘thank you’ to God. He gave honour to God. He mentioned some of the things that he knew about God. He knew that God was much greater even than Nebuchadnezzar. In fact, God had appointed Nebuchadnezzar. God appoints all rulers. He gives people wisdom and knowledge. So Daniel’s wisdom came from God. God knows everything. He understands all mysteries. And God told Daniel about the king’s dream and about what it meant.
v24 So Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to kill the wise men in Babylon. Daniel said to Arioch, ‘Do not kill the wise men in Babylon. Take me to the king. Then I will tell the king what his dream means.’
v25 Then Arioch quickly took Daniel to the king. He said, ‘I have found a man. He can tell the king what his dream means. He is one of the people that you brought from Judah.’
v26 The king spoke to Daniel (whose other name was Belteshazzar). He said, ‘Can you tell me my dream and what it means?’
v27 Daniel answered the king. ‘No wise men, *enchanters, *magicians or *diviners can explain this mystery to the king’, he said. v28 ‘But there is a God in heaven who explains mysteries. He is showing King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the future. This is the dream and the thoughts in your head as you lay on your bed.
v29 As you lay on your bed, you dreamed about the future. God showed you what would happen in the future. He explains mysteries. v30 I am no wiser than anyone else is. But God explained the mystery to me. He wants you to know what the dream means. And he wants you to understand the thoughts in your mind.’
Verses 24-30 Daniel asked Arioch, one of the king’s chief officials, to take him to the king. He would tell the king what the dream meant. So Arioch did not need to kill the wise men.
Arioch realised that he had an opportunity to please the king. He did not kill Daniel. Instead, he told the king that he had found Daniel. Daniel could tell the king what the dream meant. Of course, this was not really true. Arioch was looking for Daniel in order to kill him.
The king asked Daniel if this was true. Could he tell the king about the dream and what it meant? Daniel said that no man could do this. This is also what the wise men had said (Daniel 2:11). But Daniel also said that God could explain what the dream meant. The wise men had said that only the gods could do this. But their gods were not real, so they could not do anything. Daniel gave honour to the real God. The real God is real and he can do anything.
v31 ‘You looked, and you saw a large image. This big image was in front of you. It was very bright and it frightened people. v32 The image’s head was pure gold. Its upper body and arms were silver. Its lower body was *bronze. v33 Its legs were iron and its feet were partly iron and partly *clay. v34 As you looked, someone cut out a stone. But no human hand did this. The stone hit the image on its iron and *clay feet and broke them into pieces. v35 Then the iron, *clay, *bronze, silver and gold all fell into pieces. They became like powder. The wind blew them away until nobody could see them. But the stone that hit the image became a large mountain. And it filled the whole earth.
Verses 31-35 With God’s help, Daniel was able to remind the king about the dream. In the dream, the king had seen a large image. It was in four parts. The most precious material, gold, was the head of the image, at the top. Then came silver. Next came *bronze. The least precious was the metal in the feet. As the king watched, a strange thing happened. A small stone appeared. It seemed as if someone had cut it from a rock. But no human hand did it. The stone broke the image into tiny pieces. The pieces became like powder that the wind blew away. Then the stone grew larger. It became a large mountain and it filled the earth.
v36 This was the dream. Now we will tell the king what it means. v37 You are a great king who rules other kings. The God of heaven has made you king and he has given power, strength and honour to you. v38 He has given all the people, the animals on the earth and the birds in the air to you. He has made you king over them all, wherever they live. You are like the head of gold in your dream.’
Verses 36-38 Daniel trusted God. He was confident that he had told the king the right dream. He knew also that God had told him the right meaning of the dream. So he told the king what the dream meant.
The gold head of the image meant King Nebuchadnezzar himself. He was a very powerful king. He ruled over a vast area. Daniel also told the king that God had given him his royal power.
v39 ‘After you, there will be another *kingdom that is not as great as yours. Then a third *kingdom will rule over the whole earth. It will be like *bronze. v40 And there will be a fourth *kingdom that is as strong as iron. Now, iron breaks and destroys everything. So, like iron, it will destroy the other *kingdoms. v41 You saw that the feet and toes were partly *clay and partly iron. This means that it will not be a united *kingdom. But it will have some of the strength of iron, because you saw iron with the *clay. v42 The toes were partly iron and partly *clay. So that *kingdom will be partly strong and partly weak. v43 You saw a mixture of iron and *clay. So, the people will be a mixture and they will not stay together. This is like iron that cannot mix with *clay.’
Verses 39-43 Under the head, there were three more parts of the image. So there would be three more *kingdoms after Nebuchadnezzar. The second one would not be as great as the *Babylonian *kingdom. The third one would not be as great as the second one. Then the fourth *kingdom would come. It would be partly strong but partly weak.
After Nebuchadnezzar had died, the soldiers from countries called Media and Persia defeated the *Babylonians (Daniel 5:30). They were the second *kingdom.
Later, the army of Greece ruled much of the world. They were the third *kingdom. (See Daniel 8:21.) After that the *Romans came. They were the fourth *kingdom. (See Luke 2:1.)
v44 ‘In the days when those kings rule, the God of heaven will set up a *kingdom. And that *kingdom will never end. No other people will have power over it. It will break up all these other *kingdoms and it will destroy them. And it will last for always. v45 You saw the stone that no human hand cut out. The stone broke up the iron, the *bronze, the *clay, the silver and the gold. The great God has shown to the king what will happen in the future. That was the dream. And you can be sure that this is its meaning.’
Verses 44-45 During the time of the *Roman *kingdom, Jesus was born. Not many people knew about his birth. He is the little stone. The *kingdom of Jesus will grow and grow. It will be stronger than all the other *kingdoms. The image frightened people. The other *kingdoms were powerful. They frightened people too. But they will disappear. The *kingdom of Jesus will never disappear.
v46 Then king Nebuchadnezzar kneeled in front of Daniel and he gave Daniel honour. He ordered his servants to give a *sacrifice to Daniel. And he ordered them to pour out things with pleasant smells to him. v47 The king said to Daniel, ‘It is true that your God is greater than all other gods. He rules over kings and he explains mysteries. I know this because you were able to explain this mystery.’
v48 Then the king made Daniel an important man and the king gave him many great gifts. He made Daniel ruler over the whole district of Babylon. He made Daniel the head of all the wise men.
v49 Then Daniel made a request to the king. So the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to look after Babylon’s affairs. But Daniel remained at the king’s palace.
Verses 46-49 The king acted as if Daniel was a god. We know this because of what the king did and what he gave to Daniel. But he was really giving the honour to God. Now he knew that Daniel gave honour to the real God. He realised that the real God rules over all kings. The real God knows everything.
The king made Daniel the ruler over Babylon. But Daniel stayed near the king, in order to advise the king. Daniel’s friends looked after the affairs of Babylon for him.
magicians ~ these people do magic. They seem to do things that are impossible. Such practices were part of many ancient religions. Kings often chose magicians to be their advisers. But the Bible teaches that such magic does not come from God. Any powers that magicians may have, come from evil spirits.enchanter ~ a kind of magician.
magicians ~ these people do magic. They seem to do things that are impossible. Such practices were part of many ancient religions. Kings often chose magicians to be their advisers. But the Bible teaches that such magic does not come from God. Any powers that magicians may have, come from evil spirits.
sorcerer ~ a kind of magician.
magicians ~ these people do magic. They seem to do things that are impossible. Such practices were part of many ancient religions. Kings often chose magicians to be their advisers. But the Bible teaches that such magic does not come from God. Any powers that magicians may have, come from evil spirits.
diviner ~ a diviner tried to find out things by magic (see magician).
magicians ~ these people do magic. They seem to do things that are impossible. Such practices were part of many ancient religions. Kings often chose magicians to be their advisers. But the Bible teaches that such magic does not come from God. Any powers that magicians may have, come from evil spirits.
bronze ~ a bright, hard metal, which is a usually a mixture of yellow metal and tin; it is less precious than gold or silver.
clay ~ a kind of soil, which becomes hard when people bake it. People use it to make pots.
kingdom ~ the place or territory or land where a king rules.
Babylonian ~ someone or something from a place called Babylon.
Roman ~ a person from Rome. Rome was the most famous city in the world by the time of Jesus. Their soldiers fought and defeated many countries. They made the people obey the rules of Rome. They made them pay taxes to Rome. The people could not rule themselves; they had to obey the laws of Rome.
sacrifice ~ a gift, such as food or an animal; people often gave it as part of their worship of God or of a false god; a gift to God to ask him to forgive us; or to thank him for something.
worship ~ to show honour to someone superior; to respect God; to praise and serve God; to tell God that we love him very much; or, to serve and to show honour to a false god.