Go deeper without the clutter. Bible Gateway Plus keeps your study focused—Scripture first, with trusted resources close at hand.
Log In/Sign Up

#
Daniel 2
New International Version

### Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

2 In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams;(A) his mind was troubled(B) and he could not sleep.(C) 2 So the king summoned the magicians,(D) enchanters, sorcerers(E) and astrologers[a](F) to tell him what he had dreamed.(G) When they came in and stood before the king, 3 he said to them, “I have had a dream that troubles(H) me and I want to know what it means.[b]”

4 Then the astrologers answered the king,[c](I) “May the king live forever!(J) Tell your servants the dream, and we will interpret it.”

5 The king replied to the astrologers, “This is what I have firmly decided:(K) If you do not tell me what my dream was and interpret it, I will have you cut into pieces(L) and your houses turned into piles of rubble.(M) 6 But if you tell me the dream and explain it, you will receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor.(N) So tell me the dream and interpret it for me.”

7 Once more they replied, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will interpret it.”

8 Then the king answered, “I am certain that you are trying to gain time, because you realize that this is what I have firmly decided: 9 If you do not tell me the dream, there is only one penalty(O) for you. You have conspired to tell me misleading and wicked things, hoping the situation will change. So then, tell me the dream, and I will know that you can interpret it for me.”(P)

10 The astrologers(Q) answered the king, “There is no one on earth who can do what the king asks! No king, however great and mighty, has ever asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or astrologer.(R) 11 What the king asks is too difficult. No one can reveal it to the king except the gods,(S) and they do not live among humans.”

12 This made the king so angry and furious(T) that he ordered the execution(U) of all the wise men of Babylon. 13 So the decree was issued to put the wise men to death, and men were sent to look for Daniel and his friends to put them to death.(V)

14 When Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard, had gone out to put to death the wise men of Babylon, Daniel spoke to him with wisdom and tact. 15 He asked the king’s officer, “Why did the king issue such a harsh decree?” Arioch then explained the matter to Daniel. 16 At this, Daniel went in to the king and asked for time, so that he might interpret the dream for him.

17 Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah.(W) 18 He urged them to plead for mercy(X) from the God of heaven(Y) concerning this mystery,(Z) so that he and his friends might not be executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. 19 During the night the mystery(AA) was revealed to Daniel in a vision.(AB) Then Daniel praised the God of heaven(AC) 20 and said:

“Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever;(AD)
wisdom and power(AE) are his.
21 He changes times and seasons;(AF)
he deposes(AG) kings and raises up others.(AH)
He gives wisdom(AI) to the wise
and knowledge to the discerning.(AJ)
22 He reveals deep and hidden things;(AK)
he knows what lies in darkness,(AL)
and light(AM) dwells with him.
23 I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors:(AN)
You have given me wisdom(AO) and power,
you have made known to me what we asked of you,
you have made known to us the dream of the king.(AP)”

### Daniel Interprets the Dream

24 Then Daniel went to Arioch,(AQ) whom the king had appointed to execute the wise men of Babylon, and said to him, “Do not execute the wise men of Babylon. Take me to the king, and I will interpret his dream for him.”

25 Arioch took Daniel to the king at once and said, “I have found a man among the exiles(AR) from Judah(AS) who can tell the king what his dream means.”

26 The king asked Daniel (also called Belteshazzar),(AT) “Are you able to tell me what I saw in my dream and interpret it?”

27 Daniel replied, “No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about,(AU) 28 but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries.(AV) He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come.(AW) Your dream and the visions that passed through your mind(AX) as you were lying in bed(AY) are these:(AZ)

29 “As Your Majesty was lying there, your mind turned to things to come, and the revealer of mysteries showed you what is going to happen.(BA) 30 As for me, this mystery has been revealed(BB) to me, not because I have greater wisdom than anyone else alive, but so that Your Majesty may know the interpretation and that you may understand what went through your mind.

31 “Your Majesty looked, and there before you stood a large statue—an enormous, dazzling statue,(BC) awesome(BD) in appearance. 32 The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay. 34 While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands.(BE) It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed(BF) them.(BG) 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were all broken to pieces and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away(BH) without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain(BI) and filled the whole earth.(BJ)

36 “This was the dream, and now we will interpret it to the king.(BK) 37 Your Majesty, you are the king of kings.(BL) The God of heaven has given you dominion(BM) and power and might and glory; 38 in your hands he has placed all mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds in the sky. Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all.(BN) You are that head of gold.

39 “After you, another kingdom will arise, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth.(BO) 40 Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron—for iron breaks and smashes everything—and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others.(BP) 41 Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom; yet it will have some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed with clay. 42 As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle. 43 And just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay.

44 “In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush(BQ) all those kingdoms(BR) and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever.(BS) 45 This is the meaning of the vision of the rock(BT) cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands(BU)—a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces.

“The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future.(BV) The dream is true(BW) and its interpretation is trustworthy.”

46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell prostrate(BX) before Daniel and paid him honor and ordered that an offering(BY) and incense be presented to him. 47 The king said to Daniel, “Surely your God is the God of gods(BZ) and the Lord of kings(CA) and a revealer of mysteries,(CB) for you were able to reveal this mystery.(CC)”

48 Then the king placed Daniel in a high(CD) position and lavished many gifts on him. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and placed him in charge of all its wise men.(CE) 49 Moreover, at Daniel’s request the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego administrators over the province of Babylon,(CF) while Daniel himself remained at the royal court.(CG)

#### Footnotes

1. Daniel 2:2 Or Chaldeans; also in verses 4, 5 and 10
2. Daniel 2:3 Or was
3. Daniel 2:4 At this point the Hebrew text has in Aramaic, indicating that the text from here through the end of chapter 7 is in Aramaic.

#### Cross references

1. Daniel 2:1 : ver 3; S Ge 20:3; S Job 33:15, 18; Da 4:5
2. Daniel 2:1 : Ge 41:8
3. Daniel 2:1 : S Est 6:1
4. Daniel 2:2 : S Ge 41:8
5. Daniel 2:2 : Ex 7:11; Jer 27:9
6. Daniel 2:2 : S ver 10; S Isa 19:3; S 44:25
7. Daniel 2:2 : Da 4:6
8. Daniel 2:3 : Da 4:5
9. Daniel 2:4 : S Ezr 4:7
10. Daniel 2:4 : S Ne 2:3
11. Daniel 2:5 : Ge 41:32
12. Daniel 2:5 : ver 12
13. Daniel 2:5 : Ezr 6:11; Da 3:29
14. Daniel 2:6 : ver 48; Da 5:7, 16
15. Daniel 2:9 : Est 4:11
16. Daniel 2:9 : Isa 41:22-24
17. Daniel 2:10 : ver 2; Da 3:8; 4:7
18. Daniel 2:10 : ver 27; Da 5:8
19. Daniel 2:11 : S Ge 41:38
20. Daniel 2:12 : Da 3:13, 19
21. Daniel 2:12 : ver 5
22. Daniel 2:13 : S Da 1:20; 5:19
23. Daniel 2:17 : S Da 1:6
24. Daniel 2:18 : S Isa 37:4
25. Daniel 2:18 : Ezr 1:2; Ne 1:4; Jnh 1:9; Rev 11:13
26. Daniel 2:18 : ver 23; Jer 33:3
27. Daniel 2:19 : ver 28
28. Daniel 2:19 : S Job 33:15; S Da 1:17
29. Daniel 2:19 : S Jos 22:33
30. Daniel 2:20 : S Ps 113:2; 145:1-2
31. Daniel 2:20 : S Job 9:4; S Jer 32:19
32. Daniel 2:21 : Da 7:25
33. Daniel 2:21 : S Job 12:19; Ps 75:6-7; Ro 13:1
34. Daniel 2:21 : Da 4:17
35. Daniel 2:21 : S Ps 119:34; Jas 1:5
36. Daniel 2:21 : S 2Sa 14:17
37. Daniel 2:22 : S Ge 40:8; S Job 12:22; Da 5:11; 1Co 2:10
38. Daniel 2:22 : Job 12:22; Ps 139:11-12; Jer 23:24; S Heb 4:13
39. Daniel 2:22 : Isa 45:7; Jas 1:17
40. Daniel 2:23 : S Ge 31:5; S Ex 3:15
41. Daniel 2:23 : S Da 1:17
42. Daniel 2:23 : S Eze 28:3
43. Daniel 2:24 : ver 14
44. Daniel 2:25 : S Dt 21:10
45. Daniel 2:25 : S Da 1:6; 5:13; 6:13
46. Daniel 2:26 : S Da 1:7
47. Daniel 2:27 : S ver 10; S Ge 41:8
48. Daniel 2:28 : S Ge 40:8; Jer 10:7; Am 4:13
49. Daniel 2:28 : S Ge 49:1; Da 10:14; Mt 24:6; Rev 1:1; 22:6
50. Daniel 2:28 : Da 4:5
51. Daniel 2:28 : S Ps 4:4
52. Daniel 2:28 : S Eze 28:3; S Da 1:20
53. Daniel 2:29 : S Ge 41:25
54. Daniel 2:30 : Isa 45:3; S Da 1:17; Am 4:13
55. Daniel 2:31 : Hab 1:7
56. Daniel 2:31 : Isa 25:3-5
57. Daniel 2:34 : S Job 12:19; Zec 4:6
58. Daniel 2:34 : S Job 34:24
59. Daniel 2:34 : ver 44-45; Ps 2:9; S Isa 60:12; Da 8:25
60. Daniel 2:35 : Ps 1:4; 37:10; S Isa 17:13; 41:15-16
61. Daniel 2:35 : Isa 2:3; Mic 4:1
62. Daniel 2:35 : Zec 12:3
63. Daniel 2:36 : S Ge 40:12
64. Daniel 2:37 : S Ezr 7:12
65. Daniel 2:37 : S Jer 27:7; Da 4:26
66. Daniel 2:38 : S Jer 27:6; Da 4:21-22; 5:18
67. Daniel 2:39 : Da 7:5
68. Daniel 2:40 : Da 7:7, 23
69. Daniel 2:44 : S Ge 27:29; Ps 2:9; S 110:5; Mt 21:43-44; 1Co 15:24
70. Daniel 2:44 : S 1Sa 9:20; Hag 2:22
71. Daniel 2:44 : Ps 145:13; S Isa 9:7; Da 4:34; 6:26; 7:14, 27; Ob 1:21; Mic 4:7, 13; S Lk 1:33; Rev 11:15
72. Daniel 2:45 : S Isa 28:16
73. Daniel 2:45 : Da 8:25
74. Daniel 2:45 : S Ge 41:25
75. Daniel 2:45 : Rev 22:6
76. Daniel 2:46 : Da 8:17; Ac 10:25
77. Daniel 2:46 : Ac 14:13
78. Daniel 2:47 : S Dt 10:17; Da 11:36
79. Daniel 2:47 : Da 4:25; 1Ti 6:15
80. Daniel 2:47 : S ver 22, 28
81. Daniel 2:47 : Da 4:9; 1Co 14:25
82. Daniel 2:48 : S 2Ki 25:28
83. Daniel 2:48 : S ver 6; S Est 8:2; S Da 1:20; 4:9; 5:11; 8:27
84. Daniel 2:49 : S Da 1:7; 3:30
85. Daniel 2:49 : Da 6:2

New International Version (NIV)

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.

### More on the NIV

- Unleash God's Word!

#### Bible Gateway Recommends

NIV, Artisan Collection Bible, Gilded Edges, Red Letter Edition, Comfort Print
Retail: $59.99
Our Price: $41.99
Save: $18.00 (30%)
Buy Now
NIV, Biblical Theology Study Bible, Comfort Print: Follow God’s Redemptive Plan as It Unfolds throughout Scripture
Retail: $59.99
Our Price: $41.99
Save: $18.00 (30%)
Buy Now
NIV, The Story, Hardcover, Comfort Print: The Bible as One Continuing Story of God and His People
Retail: $19.98
Our Price: $7.50
Save: $12.48 (62%)
Buy Now
NIV, Lucado Encouraging Word Bible, Comfort Print: Holy Bible, New International Version
Retail: $59.99
Our Price: $41.99
Save: $18.00 (30%)
Buy Now
NIV, Journal the Word Bible, Red Letter, Comfort Print: Reflect, Take Notes, or Create Art Next to Your Favorite Verses
Retail: $39.99
Our Price: $27.99
Save: $12.00 (30%)
Buy Now
NIV, Radiant Virtues Bible: A Beautiful Word Collection, Red Letter Edition, Comfort Print: Explore the virtues of faith, hope, and love
Retail: $69.98
Our Price: $48.99
Save: $20.99 (30%)
Buy Now
View more titles