|
|
 |
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
The
King's Forgotten Dream |
|
|
 |
|
Daniel 2:1
|
|
Now in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar,
Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; and his spirit was troubled and his sleep left him.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Daniel 2:2
|
|
Then the king gave orders to call in the magicians,
the conjurers, the sorcerers and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So
they came in and stood before the king. |
| |
|
|
|
Daniel 2:3
|
|
The king said to them, "I had a dream and my
spirit is anxious to understand the dream." |
| |
|
|
|
Daniel 2:4
|
|
Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic:
"O king, live forever! Tell the dream to your servants, and we will declare the
interpretation." |
| |
|
|
|
Daniel 2:5
|
|
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 torn limb from limb and your houses will be made a rubbish heap. |
| |
|
|
|
Daniel 2:6
|
|
"But if you declare the dream and its interpretation,
you will receive from me gifts and a reward and great honor; therefore declare
to me the dream and its interpretation." |
| |
|
|
|
Daniel 2:7
|
|
They answered a second time and said, "Let the
king tell the dream to his servants, and we will declare the interpretation."
|
|
|
|
|
Daniel 2:8
|
|
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, |
|
|
|
|
Daniel 2:9
|
|
that if you do not make the dream known to me,
there is only one 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 know that you can declare to me its interpretation." |
|
|
|
|
Daniel 2:10
|
|
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 magician, conjurer
or Chaldean. |
|
|
|
|
Daniel 2:11
|
|
"Moreover, the thing which the king demands
is difficult, and there is no one else who could declare it to the king except
gods, whose dwelling place is not with mortal flesh." |
|
|
|
|
Daniel 2:12
|
|
Because of this the king became indignant and
very furious and gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. |
|
|
|
|
Daniel 2:13
|
|
So the decree went forth that the wise men should
be slain; and they looked for Daniel and his friends to kill them. |
|
|
|
|
Daniel 2:14
|
|
Then Daniel replied with discretion and discernment
to Arioch, the captain of the king's bodyguard, who had gone forth to slay the
wise men of Babylon; |
|
|
|
|
Daniel 2:15
|
|
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. |
|
|
|
|
Daniel 2:16
|
|
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. |
|
|
|
|
Daniel 2:17
|
|
Then Daniel went to his house and informed his
friends, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, about the matter, |
|
|
|
|
Daniel 2:18
|
|
so that they might request compassion from the
God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his friends would not
be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. |
| |
|
|
| |
|
The Secret Is Revealed to Daniel |
|
|
|
|
Daniel 2:19
|
|
Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a
night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven; |
| |
|
|
|
Daniel 2:20
|
|
Daniel said, "Let the name of God be blessed
forever and ever, For wisdom and power belong to Him. |
| |
|
|
|
Daniel 2:21
|
|
"It is He who changes the times and the epochs;
He removes kings and establishes kings; He gives wisdom to wise men And knowledge
to men of understanding. |
|
|
|
|
|
Daniel 2:22
|
|
"It is He who reveals the profound and hidden
things; He knows what is in the darkness, And the light dwells with Him. |
|
|
|
|
|
Daniel 2:23
|
|
"To You, O God of my fathers, I give thanks
and praise, For You have given me wisdom and power; Even now You have made known
to me what we requested of You, For You have made known to us the king's matter." |
|
|
|
|
|
Daniel 2:24
|
|
Therefore, Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the
king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon; he went and spoke to him
as follows: "Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon! Take me into the king's presence,
and I will declare the interpretation to the king." |
|
|
|
|
|
Daniel 2:25
|
|
Then Arioch hurriedly brought Daniel into the
king's presence and spoke to him as follows: "I have found a man among the exiles
from Judah who can make the interpretation known to the king!" |
|
|
|
|
|
Daniel 2:26
|
|
The king said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar,
"Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen and its interpretation?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
Daniel 2:27
|
|
Daniel answered before the king and said, "As
for the mystery about which the king has inquired, neither wise men, conjurers,
magicians nor diviners are able to declare it to the king. |
|
|
|
|
|
Daniel 2:28
|
|
"However, there is a God in heaven who reveals
mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will take place in
the latter days. This was your dream and the visions in your mind while on your
bed. |
|
|
|
|
|
Daniel 2:29
|
|
"As for you, O king, while on your bed your
thoughts turned to what would take place in the future; and He who reveals mysteries
has made known to you what will take place. |
|
|
|
|
|
Daniel 2:30
|
|
"But as for me, this mystery has not been revealed
to me for any wisdom residing in me more than in any other living man, but for
the purpose of making the interpretation known to the king, and that you may understand
the thoughts of your mind. |
| |
|
|
| |
|
The King's Dream |
|
|
|
|
|
Daniel 2:31
|
|
"You, O king, were looking and behold, there
was a single great statue; that statue, which was large and of extraordinary splendor,
was standing in front of you, and its appearance was awesome. |
|
|
|
|
|
Daniel 2:32
|
|
"The head of that statue was made of fine gold,
its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze, |
|
|
|
|
|
Daniel 2:33
|
|
its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and
partly of clay. |
|
|
|
|
|
Daniel 2:34
|
|
"You continued looking until a stone was cut
out without hands, and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and crushed
them. |
|
|
|
|
|
Daniel 2:35
|
|
"Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver
and the gold were crushed all at the same time and became like chaff from the
summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away so that not a trace of
them was found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and
filled the whole earth. |
| |
|
|
| |
|
The Interpretation--Babylon the First
Kingdom |
|
|
|
|
|
Daniel 2:36
|
|
"This was the dream; now we will tell its interpretation
before the king. |
|
|
|
|
|
Daniel 2:37
|
|
"You, O king, are the king of kings, to whom
the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the strength and the glory;
|
|
|
|
|
|
Daniel 2:38
|
|
and wherever the sons of men dwell, or the beasts
of the field, or the birds of the sky, He has given them into your hand and has
caused you to rule over them all. You are the head of gold. |
| |
|
|
| |
|
Medo-Persia and Greece |
|
|
|
|
|
Daniel 2:39
|
|
"After you there will arise another kingdom
inferior to you, then another third kingdom of bronze, which will rule over all
the earth. |
| |
|
|
| |
|
Rome |
|
|
|
|
|
Daniel 2:40
|
|
"Then there will be a fourth kingdom as strong
as iron; inasmuch as iron crushes and shatters all things, so, like iron that
breaks in pieces, it will crush and break all these in pieces. |
|
|
|
|
|
Daniel 2:41
|
|
"In that you saw the feet and toes, partly of
potter's clay and partly of iron, it will be a divided kingdom; but it will have
in it the toughness of iron, inasmuch as you saw the iron mixed with common clay.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Daniel 2:42
|
|
"As the toes of the feet were partly of iron
and partly of pottery, so some of the kingdom will be strong and part of it will
be brittle. |
|
|
|
|
|
Daniel 2:43
|
|
"And in that you saw the iron mixed with common
clay, they will combine with one another in the seed of men; but they will not
adhere to one another, even as iron does not combine with pottery. |
| |
|
|
| |
|
The Divine Kingdom |
|
|
|
|
|
Daniel 2:44
|
|
"In the days of those kings the God of heaven
will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, and that kingdom will not
be left for another people; it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms,
but it will itself endure forever. |
|
|
|
|
|
Daniel 2:45
|
|
"Inasmuch as you saw that a stone was cut out
of the mountain without hands and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay,
the silver and the gold, the great God has made known to the king what will take
place in the future; so the dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy." |
| |
|
|
| |
|
Daniel Promoted |
|
|
|
|
|
Daniel 2:46
|
|
Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face and
did homage to Daniel, and gave orders to present to him an offering and fragrant
incense. |
|
|
|
|
|
Daniel 2:47
|
|
The king answered Daniel and said, "Surely your
God is a God of gods and a Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, since you
have been able to reveal this mystery." |
|
|
|
|
|
Daniel 2:48
|
|
Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many
great gifts, and he made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief
prefect over all the wise men of Babylon. |
|
|
|
|
|
Daniel 2:49
|
|
And Daniel made request of the king, and he
appointed Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego over the administration of the province
of Babylon, while Daniel was at the king's court. |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
| |
|
|
