Daniel 2
2Now in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; and his spirit was troubled and his sleep left him.H8147H8141H4438H5019H5019H2492H2472H7307H6470H8142H19612Then 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.H4428H559H7121H2748H825H3784H3778H5046H4428H2472H935H5975H6440H44283And the king said to them, "I had a dream, and my spirit is anxious to understand the dream."H4428H559H2492H2472H7307H6470H3045H24724Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic: "O king, live forever! Tell the dream to your servants, and we will declare the interpretation."H1696H3778H4428H762H4430H2418H5957H560H5649H2493H2324H65915The king answered and said 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.H4430H6032H560H3779H4406H230H4481H2006H3809H3046H2493H6591H5648H1917H1005H7761H51226"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."H2006H2324H2493H6591H6902H4481H6925H4978H5023H7690H3367H3861H2324H2493H65917They answered a second time and said, "Let the king tell the dream to his servants, and we will declare the interpretation."H6032H8579H560H4430H560H5649H2493H2324H65918The king answered and said, "I know for certain that you are bargaining for time, inasmuch as you have seen that the command from me is firm,H4430H6032H560H576H3046H4481H3330H608H2084H5732H6903H3606H2370H4406H230H44819that 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. "H2006H3809H3046H2493H1932H2298H1882H2164H3538H7844H4406H560H6925H5705H5732H8133H3861H560H2493H3046H1768H2324H659110The 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.H3779H6032H6925H4430H560H383H3809H606H5922H3007H3202H2324H4430H4406H6903H1768H3809H4430H7229H7990H7593H1836H4406H3606H2749H826H377911"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."H3358H4406H4430H7593H383H3809H321H2324H6925H4430H3861H426H4070H383H3809H5974H132112Because of this the king became indignant and very furious, and gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.H6903H1836H3606H4430H1149H7690H7108H560H7H3606H2445H89513So the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they looked for Daniel and his friends to kill [them.]H1882H5312H2445H6992H1156H1841H2269H699214Then 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;H116H1841H8421H5843H2942H746H7229H1768H4430H2877H5312H6992H2445H89515he answered and 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.H6032H560H746H4430H7990H4101H5922H1882H2685H4481H6925H4430H116H746H4406H3046H184116So 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.H1841H5954H1156H4481H4430H5415H2166H2324H4430H659117Then Daniel went to his house and informed his friends, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, about the matter,H116H1841H236H1005H4406H3046H2608H4333H5839H226918in order that they might request compassion from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his friends might not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.H1156H7359H4481H6925H426H8065H5922H1836H7328H1841H2269H3809H7H5974H7606H2445H89519Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven;H116H7328H1541H1841H3916H2376H116H1841H1289H426H806520Daniel answered and said, "Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever, For wisdom and power belong to Him.H1841H6032H560H1289H1934H8036H426H4481H5957H5705H5957H2452H1370H193221"And 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.H8133H5732H2166H5709H4430H6966H4430H3052H2452H2445H4486H3046H99922"It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness, And the light dwells with Him.H1541H5994H5642H3046H4101H2816H5094H8271H597423"To Thee, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, For Thou hast given me wisdom and power; Even now Thou hast made known to me what we requested of Thee, For Thou hast made known to us the king's matter."H576H3029H7624H426H2H3052H2452H1370H3046H3705H1156H4481H3046H4430H440624Therefore, 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."H3606H6903H1836H1841H5954H5922H746H4430H4483H7H2445H895H236H560H3652H7H409H2445H895H5954H6925H4430H2324H4430H659125Then 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!"H116H746H5954H1841H6925H4430H927H560H3652H7912H1400H1123H1547H4481H3061H3046H4430H659126The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, " Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen and its interpretation? "H4430H6032H560H1841H8036H1096H383H3546H3046H2493H2370H659127Daniel 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.H1841H6032H6925H4430H560H7328H4430H7593H3202H3809H2445H826H2749H1505H2324H443028"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.H1297H383H426H8065H1541H7328H3046H4430H5020H4101H1934H320H3118H2493H2376H7217H5922H4903H183629"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.H607H4430H7476H5559H5922H4903H4101H1934H311H1836H1541H7328H3046H4101H193430"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.H576H1836H7328H3809H1541H2452H383H4481H3606H2417H3861H1701H5922H3046H6591H4430H3046H7476H382531"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.H607H4430H1934H2370H431H2298H7690H6755H1797H7229H6755H2122H3493H6966H6903H7299H176332"The head of that statue [was made] of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze,H6755H7217H2869H1722H2306H1872H3702H4577H3410H517433its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay.H8243H6523H7271H4481H6523H4481H263534"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.H2370H1934H5705H69H1505H3809H3028H4223H6755H5922H7271H6523H2635H1855H1994H185535"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.H116H6523H2635H5174H3702H1722H1855H1751H2298H1934H5784H4481H7007H147H7308H5376H1994H5376H3606H3809H870H7912H69H4223H6755H1934H7229H2906H4391H3606H77236"This [was] the dream; now we shall tell its interpretation before the king.H1836H2493H560H6591H6925H443037"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;H607H4430H4430H4430H426H8065H3052H4437H2632H8632H336738and 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.H3606H1123H606H1753H2423H1251H5776H8065H3052H3028H7981H3606H607H7217H172239"And after you there will arise another kingdom inferior to you, then another third kingdom of bronze, which will rule over all the earth.H870H6966H317H4437H772H4481H317H8523H4437H5174H7981H3606H77240"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.H7244H4437H1934H8624H6523H6523H1855H2827H3606H6903H6523H7490H3606H459H1855H749041"And 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.H2370H7271H677H4481H6353H2635H4481H6523H4437H1934H6386H4481H1934H4481H5326H6523H3606H6903H2370H6523H6151H2917H263542"And [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.H677H7271H4481H6523H4481H2635H4437H1934H4481H7118H8624H4481H7118H840643"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.H1768H2370H6523H6151H2917H2635H1934H6151H2234H606H1934H3809H1693H1836H5974H1836H1888H6523H3809H6151H263544"And 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.H3118H581H4430H426H8065H6966H4437H5957H3809H2255H4437H3809H7662H321H5972H1855H5487H3606H459H4437H1932H6966H595745"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."H3606H6903H2370H69H1505H2906H3809H3028H1855H6523H5174H2635H3702H1722H7229H426H3046H4430H4101H1934H311H1836H2493H3330H6591H54046Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face and did homage to Daniel, and gave orders to present to him an offering and fragrant incense.H116H4430H5020H5308H5922H600H5457H1841H560H5260H4504H520847The 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."H4430H6032H1841H560H4481H7187H1768H426H426H426H4756H4430H1541H7328H3202H1541H1836H732848Then 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.H116H4430H7236H1841H7236H3052H7690H7260H4978H7981H5922H3606H4083H895H7229H5460H5922H3606H2445H89549And 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.H1841H1156H4481H4430H4483H7715H4336H5665H5922H5673H4083H895H1841H8651H4430
Columbus, OH
