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Nebuchadnezzar's Dream:
A Great Man Image.
Daniel's revealing and interpreting the dream!
Daniel 2:1-49 GNB ...In the second year that Nebuchadnezzar was king, he had a dream. It worried him so much that he couldn't sleep, (2) so he sent for his fortunetellers, magicians, sorcerers, and wizards to come and explain the dream to him. When they came and stood before the king, (3) he said to them, "I'm worried about a dream I've had. I want to know what it means." (4) They answered the king in Aramaic, "May Your Majesty live forever! Tell us your dream, and we will explain it to you." (5) The king said to them, "I have made up my mind that you must tell me the dream and then tell me what it means. If you can't, I'll have you torn limb from limb and make your houses a pile of ruins. (6) But if you can tell me both the dream and its meaning, I will reward you with gifts and great honor. Now then, tell me what the dream was and what it means." (7) They answered the king again, "If Your Majesty will only tell us what the dream was, we will explain it." (8) At that, the king exclaimed, "Just as I thought! You are trying to gain time, because you see that I have made up my mind (9) to give all of you the same punishment if you don't tell me the dream. You have agreed among yourselves to go on telling me lies because you hope that in time things will change. Tell me what the dream was, and then I will know that you can also tell me what it means." (10) The advisers replied, "There is no one on the face of the earth who can tell Your Majesty what you want to know. No king, not even the greatest and most powerful, has ever made such a demand of his fortunetellers, magicians, and wizards. (11) What Your Majesty is asking for is so difficult that no one can do it for you except the gods, and they do not live among human beings." (12) At that, the king flew into a rage and ordered the execution of all the royal advisers in Babylon. (13) So the order was issued for all of them to be killed, including Daniel and his friends. (14) Then Daniel went to Arioch, commander of the king's bodyguard, who had been ordered to carry out the execution. Choosing his words carefully, (15) he asked Arioch why the king had issued such a harsh order. So Arioch told Daniel what had happened. (16) Daniel went at once and obtained royal permission for more time, so that he could tell the king what the dream meant. (17) Then Daniel went home and told his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah what had happened. (18) He told them to pray to the God of heaven for mercy and to ask him to explain the mystery to them so that they would not be killed along with the other advisers in Babylon. (19) Then that same night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision, and he praised the God of heaven: (20) "God is wise and powerful! Praise him forever and ever. (21) He controls the times and the seasons; he makes and unmakes kings; it is he who gives wisdom and understanding. (22) He reveals things that are deep and secret; he knows what is hidden in darkness, and he himself is surrounded by light. (23) I praise you and honor you, God of my ancestors. You have given me wisdom and strength; you have answered my prayer and shown us what to tell the king." (24) So Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had commanded to execute the royal advisers. He said to him, "Don't put them to death. Take me to the king, and I will tell him what his dream means." (25) At once Arioch took Daniel into King Nebuchadnezzar's presence and told the king, "I have found one of the Jewish exiles who can tell Your Majesty the meaning of your dream." (26) The king said to Daniel (who was also called Belteshazzar), "Can you tell me what I dreamed and what it means?" (27) Daniel replied, "Your Majesty, there is no wizard, magician, fortuneteller, or astrologer who can tell you that. (28) But there is a God in heaven, who reveals mysteries. He has informed Your Majesty what will happen in the future. Now I will tell you the dream, the vision you had while you were asleep. (29) "While Your Majesty was sleeping, you dreamed about the future; and God, who reveals mysteries, showed you what is going to happen. (30) Now, this mystery was revealed to me, not because I am wiser than anyone else, but so that Your Majesty may learn the meaning of your dream and understand the thoughts that have come to you. (31) "Your Majesty, in your vision you saw standing before you a giant statue, bright and shining, and terrifying to look at. (32) Its head was made of the finest gold; its chest and arms were made of silver; its waist and hips of bronze, (33) its legs of iron, and its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. (34) While you were looking at it, a great stone broke loose from a cliff without anyone touching it, struck the iron and clay feet of the statue, and shattered them. (35) At once the iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold crumbled and became like the dust on a threshing place in summer. The wind carried it all away, leaving not a trace. But the stone grew to be a mountain that covered the whole earth. (36) "This was the dream. Now I will tell Your Majesty what it means. (37) Your Majesty, you are the greatest of all kings. The God of heaven has made you emperor and given you power, might, and honor. (38) He has made you ruler of all the inhabited earth and ruler over all the animals and birds. You are the head of gold. (39) After you there will be another empire, not as great as yours, and after that a third, an empire of bronze, which will rule the whole earth. (40) And then there will be a fourth empire, as strong as iron, which shatters and breaks everything. And just as iron shatters everything, it will shatter and crush all the earlier empires. (41) You also saw that the feet and the toes were partly clay and partly iron. This means that it will be a divided empire. It will have something of the strength of iron, because there was iron mixed with the clay. (42) The toes---partly iron and partly clay---mean that part of the empire will be strong and part of it weak. (43) You also saw that the iron was mixed with the clay. This means that the rulers of that empire will try to unite their families by intermarriage, but they will not be able to, any more than iron can mix with clay. (44) At the time of those rulers the God of heaven will establish a kingdom that will never end. It will never be conquered, but will completely destroy all those empires and then last forever. (45) You saw how a stone broke loose from a cliff without anyone touching it and how it struck the statue made of iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold. The great God is telling Your Majesty what will happen in the future. I have told you exactly what you dreamed, and have given you its true meaning." (46) Then King Nebuchadnezzar bowed to the ground and gave orders for sacrifices and offerings to be made to Daniel. (47) The king said, "Your God is the greatest of all gods, the Lord over kings, and the one who reveals mysteries. I know this because you have been able to explain this mystery." (48) Then he gave Daniel a high position, presented him with many splendid gifts, put him in charge of the province of Babylon, and made him the head of all the royal advisers. (49) At Daniel's request the king put Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in charge of the affairs of the province of Babylon; Daniel, however, remained at the royal court.
Daniel 2:1-49 ESV ...In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; his spirit was troubled, and his sleep left him. (2) Then the king commanded that the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans be summoned to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king. (3) And the king said to them, "I had a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream." (4) Then the Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic, "O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation." (5) The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, "The word from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be torn limb from limb, and your houses shall be laid in ruins. (6) But if you show the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. Therefore show me the dream and its interpretation." (7) They answered a second time and said, "Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show its interpretation." (8) The king answered and said, "I know with certainty that you are trying to gain time, because you see that the word from me is firm-- (9) if you do not make the dream known to me, there is but one sentence for you. You have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till the times change. Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can show me its interpretation." (10) The Chaldeans answered the king and said, "There is not a man on earth who can meet the king's demand, for no great and powerful king has asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or Chaldean. (11) The thing that the king asks is difficult, and no one can show it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh." (12) Because of this the king was angry and very furious, and commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be destroyed. (13) So the decree went out, and the wise men were about to be killed; and they sought Daniel and his companions, to kill them. (14) Then Daniel replied with prudence and discretion to Arioch, the captain of the king's guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon. (15) He declared to Arioch, the king's captain, "Why is the decree of the king so urgent?" Then Arioch made the matter known to Daniel. (16) And Daniel went in and requested the king to appoint him a time, that he might show the interpretation to the king. (17) Then Daniel went to his house and 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 might not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. (19) Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven. (20) Daniel answered and said: "Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. (21) He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding; (22) he reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him. (23) To you, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we asked of you, for you have made known to us the king's matter." (24) Therefore Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said thus to him: "Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will show the king the interpretation." (25) Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste and said thus to him: "I have found among the exiles from Judah a man who will make known to the king the interpretation." (26) The king declared to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, "Are you able to make known to me the dream that I have seen and its interpretation?" (27) Daniel answered the king and said, "No wise men, enchanters, magicians, or astrologers can show to the king the mystery that the king has asked, (28) but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream and the visions of your head as you lay in bed are these: (29) To you, O king, as you lay in bed came thoughts of what would be after this, and he who reveals mysteries made known to you what is to be. (30) But as for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because of any wisdom that I have more than all the living, but in order that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your mind. (31) "You saw, O king, and behold, a great image. This image, mighty and of exceeding brightness, stood before you, and its appearance was frightening. (32) The head of this image was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its middle and thighs of bronze, (33) its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. (34) As you looked, a stone was cut out by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. (35) Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. (36) "This was the dream. Now we will tell the king its interpretation. (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 into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them all--you are the head of gold. (39) Another kingdom inferior to you shall arise after you, and yet a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. (40) And there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, because iron breaks to pieces and shatters all things. And like iron that crushes, it shall break and crush all these. (41) And as you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter's clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom, but some of the firmness of iron shall be in it, just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay. (42) And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. (43) As you saw the iron mixed with soft clay, so they will mix with one another in marriage, but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay. (44) And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever, (45) just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure." (46) Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face and paid homage to Daniel, and commanded that an offering and incense be offered up to him. (47) The king answered and said to Daniel, "Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery." (48) Then the king gave Daniel high honors and many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon. (49) Daniel made a request of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the affairs of the province of Babylon. But Daniel remained at the king's court.
Daniel 2:1-49 LITV ...And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar was dreaming dreams, and his spirit was troubled, and his sleep was finished on him. (2) And the king said to call to the magicians, and to the conjurers, and to the sorcerers and to the Chaldeans, to declare to the king his dreams. And they came and stood before the king. (3) And the king said to them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream. (4) And the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic: O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will reveal the meaning. (5) The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The word is certainly gone from me. If you will not make known the dream and its meaning to me, you will be made into mere members, and your houses shall be made an outhouse. (6) But if you make known the dream, you shall receive gifts and a present and great honor from before me. Therefore, reveal the dream and its meaning to me. (7) They again replied and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will reveal its meaning. (8) The king answered and said, For I know that you buy time, that on account of all, you see the thing is certainly gone from me. (9) But if you will not make the dream known to me, there is one law for you. For you have agreed upon lying and deceiving words to speak before me until the time has changed. Therefore, tell me the dream, then I shall know that you can reveal the meaning to me. (10) The Chaldeans replied before the king and said, There is not a man on the earth who can reveal the king's matter, because not any king, lord, or ruler has asked such a thing from any magician, or conjurer, or Chaldean. (11) And the thing that the king asks is rare. And there is no other who may reveal it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh. (12) Then the king was enraged and angered. And he commanded all the wise men of Babylon to be destroyed. (13) And the law went out that the wise men should be killed. And they looked for Daniel and his companions, to be killed. (14) Then Daniel answered with counsel and insight to Arioch the chief of the king's bodyguard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon. (15) He answered and said to Arioch, the king's officer, Why is the decree so hasty from before the king? And Arioch made the thing known to Daniel. (16) And Daniel went in and asked of the king that he would give him time, and he would show the king the meaning. (17) Then Daniel went to his house and declared the thing to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, (18) that they might pray for the mercies of God in Heaven about this secret, that Daniel and his companions should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. (19) Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a night vision, and Daniel blessed the God of Heaven. (20) Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and might are His. (21) And He changes the times and the seasons; He causes kings to pass away, and sets up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to those who know understanding. (22) He reveals the deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells in Him. (23) I thank You and praise You, O God of my fathers, who has given me wisdom and might, and has made me know what we ask of You. For You have revealed to us the king's matter. (24) Then Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had chosen to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said this to him, Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon. Bring me in before the king, and I will show the meaning to the king. (25) Then Arioch quickly brought Daniel in before the king and spoke this to him, I have found a man of the captives of Judah who will make the meaning known to the king. (26) The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Are you able to reveal to me the dream which I have seen, and its meaning? (27) Daniel replied before the king and said, The secret which the king has demanded cannot be shown to the king by the wise men, the conjurers, the magicians, or the star-gazing ones. (28) But there is a God in Heaven who reveals secrets, and makes known to King Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your head on your bed, are these: (29) As for you, O king, your thoughts came on your bed, what should happen after this. And He who reveals secrets makes known to you what shall occur. (30) But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living man, but so that the meaning might be made known to the king, and that you might know the thoughts of your heart. (31) You, O king, were seeing. And, behold, a certain great image! That great image stood before you with a brilliant brightness, and its form was dreadful. (32) The head of this image was of fine gold, its breast and its arms were of silver, its belly and its thighs were of bronze, (33) its legs were of iron, its feet were partly of iron and partly of clay. (34) You continued until a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them to pieces. (35) Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were together broken to pieces, and they became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors. And the wind carried them away so that no place was found for them. And the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. (36) This is the dream, and we will tell the meaning of it before the king. (37) You O king are the king of kings. For the God of Heaven has given you the kingdom, the power, and the strength, and the honor. (38) And wherever the sons of men, the animals of the field, and the birds of the sky dwell, He has given them into your hand, and has made you ruler over them all. You are the head of gold. (39) And in your place shall arise another kingdom lower than yours, and another third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule in all the earth. (40) And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron. Inasmuch as iron crushes and smashes all things, and as the iron that shatters all these, it will crush and shatter. (41) And as to that you saw, the feet and the toes were partly of potters' clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided. But there shall be in it the strength of iron, because you saw the iron mixed with clay of the potter. (42) And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly fragile. (43) And as you saw the iron mixed with the clay of the clay, they shall be mixed with the seed of men. But they shall not adhere to one another, even as iron does not mix with clay. (44) And in the days of these kings, the God of Heaven shall set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed. And the kingdom shall not be left to other people. It shall break in pieces and destroy all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. (45) Because you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold in pieces. The great God has made known to the king what shall occur after this. And the dream is certain, and the meaning of it is trustworthy. (46) Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face and did homage to Daniel. And he commanded an offering, even to offer incense to him. (47) The king answered Daniel and said, Your God truly is a God of gods and a Lord of kings, and a Revealer of secrets, since you could reveal this secret. (48) Then the king made Daniel great and gave many great gifts to him. And he made him ruler over all the province of Babylon, and chief of the prefects over all the wise men of Babylon. (49) And Daniel asked 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.
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You will note the reference windows often include more than one translation of the Bible. The reason is to strive to gain the best possible understanding of the original Hebrew and Greek. Since we don't speak those languages, we rely on those who have come before and made the effort to translate those texts into English for us. Considering several translations gives the benefit of the understanding of several translation committees or individuals.
The Translations we quote are:
ALT - Analytical Literal Translation
ASV - American Standard Version (by the American revision committee in 1897).
BBE - 1965 Bible in Basic English
Bishops - 1568 Bishop's Bible
Calvin - 1856 by Calvin Translation Society
CEV - Contemporary English Version
Coverdale - 1535 Miles Coverdale Bible
Darby - 1889 Darby Bible
DRB - 1899 Douay-Rheims Bible
ESV - English Standard Version
GNB - Good News Bible
GW - God's Word Bible
ISV - International Standard Version
KJV - 1769 King James Version
KJV-1611 - Old King James Version from 1611
LitNT - Literal New Testament
LITV - Literal Translation of the Holy Bible
MKJV - 1962 Modern King James Version
Murdock - 1851 James Murdock New Testament
MWT - Modern World Translation
NWT - New World Translation
RV - Revised Version
Webster - 1833 Webster Bible
WTNT - 1525-26 William Tyndale New Testament
Wycliffe - 1394 Wycliffe Bible
YLT - 1862/1898 Young's Literal Translation
