Daniel 2 Literal Standard Version

21 And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar has dreamed dreams, and his spirit moves itself, and his sleep has been against him; 2 and the king says to call for enchanters, and for conjurers, and for sorcerers, and for Chaldeans, to declare to the king his dreams. And they come in and stand before the king; 3 and the king says to them, “I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit is moved to know the dream.” 4 And the Chaldeans speak to the king [in] Aramaic, “O king, live for all ages, tell the dream to your servants, and we show the interpretation.” 5 The king has answered and said to the Chaldeans, “The thing is gone from me; if you do not cause me to know the dream and its interpretation, you are made pieces, and your houses are made dunghills; 6 and if the dream and its interpretation you show, gifts, and fee, and great glory you receive from before me, therefore the dream and its interpretation you show me.” 7 They have answered a second time, and are saying, “Let the king tell the dream to his servants, and we show the interpretation.” 8 The king has answered and said, “Of a truth I know that you are gaining time, because that you have seen that the thing is gone from me, 9 [so] that, if you do not cause me to know the dream—one is your sentence, seeing a lying and corrupt word you have prepared to speak before me, until the time is changed, therefore tell the dream to me, then I know that you show me its interpretation.” 10 The Chaldeans have answered before the king, and are saying, “There is not a man on the earth who is able to show the king’s matter; therefore, no king, chief, and ruler, has asked such a thing as this of any scribe, and enchanter, and Chaldean; 11 and the thing that the king is asking [is] precious, and there are no others that show it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.” 12 Therefore the king has been furious and very angry, and has said to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. 13 And the sentence has gone forth, and the wise men are being slain, and they have sought Daniel and his companions to be slain. 14 Then Daniel has replied [with] counsel and discretion to Arioch chief of the executioners of the king, who has gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon. 15 He has answered and said to Arioch the king’s captain, “Why [is] the sentence so urgent from before the king?” Then Arioch has made the thing known to Daniel, 16 and Daniel has gone up, and sought of the king that he would give him time to show the interpretation to the king. 17 Then Daniel has gone to his house, and to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, he has made the thing known, 18 and to seek mercies from before the God of the heavens concerning this secret, that they do not destroy Daniel and his companions with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. 19 Then to Daniel, in a vision of the night, the secret has been revealed. Then Daniel has blessed the God of the heavens. 20 Daniel has answered and said, “Let the Name of God be blessed from age even to age, for wisdom and might—for they are His. 21 And He is changing times and seasons, He is causing kings to pass away, and He is raising up kings; He is giving wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to those possessing understanding. 22 He is revealing deep and hidden things; He has known what [is] in darkness, and light has dwelt with Him. 23 You, O God of my fathers, I am thanking and praising, for wisdom and might You have given to me; and now, You have caused me to know that which we have sought from You, for the king’s matter You have caused us to know.” 24 Therefore Daniel has gone up to Arioch, whom the king has appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon; he has gone, and thus has said to him, “You do not destroy the wise men of Babylon, bring me up before the king, and I show the interpretation to the king.” 25 Then Arioch in haste has brought up Daniel before the king, and thus has said to him, “I have found a man of the sons of the expulsion of Judah, who makes known the interpretation to the king.” 26 The king has answered and said to Daniel, whose name [is] Belteshazzar, “Are you able to cause me to know the dream that I have seen, and its interpretation?” 27 Daniel has answered before the king and said, “The secret that the king is asking, the wise men, the enchanters, the scribes, the soothsayers, are not able to show to the king; 28 but there is a God in the heavens, a revealer of secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar that which [is] to be in the latter end of the days. Your dream and the visions of your head on your bed are these: 29 You, O king, your thoughts on your bed have come up [concerning] that which [is] to be after this, and the Revealer of secrets has caused you to know that which [is] to be. 30 As for me—not for [any] wisdom that is in me above any living has this secret been revealed to me; but for the intent that the interpretation to the king they make known, and the thoughts of your heart you know. 31 You, O king, were looking, and behold, a certain great image. This image [is] mighty, and its brightness excellent; it is standing before you, and its appearance [is] terrible. 32 This image! Its head [is] of fine gold, its breasts and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze; 33 its legs of iron, its feet, part of them of iron, and part of them of clay. 34 You were looking until a stone has been cut out without hands, and it has struck the image on its feet, that [are] of iron and of clay, and it has broken them small; 35 then broken small together have been the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, and they have been as chaff from the summer threshing-floor, and the wind has carried them away, and no place has been found for them: and the stone that struck the image has become a great mountain, and has filled all the land. 36 This [is] the dream, and its interpretation we tell before the king. 37 You, O king, are a king of kings, for the God of the heavens a kingdom, strength, and might, and glory, has given to you; 38 and wherever sons of men are dwelling, the beast of the field, and the bird of the heavens, He has given into your hand, and has caused you to rule over them all; you [are] this head of gold. 39 And after you another kingdom arises lower than those, and another third kingdom of bronze, that rules over all the earth. 40 And the fourth kingdom is strong as iron, because that iron is breaking small, and making feeble, all [things], even as iron that is breaking all these, it beats small and breaks. 41 As for that which you have seen: the feet and toes, part of them potter’s clay, and part of them iron, the kingdom is divided: and some of the standing of the iron [is] to be in it, because that you have seen the iron mixed with miry clay. 42 As for the toes of the feet, part of them iron, and part of them clay: some part of the kingdom is strong, and some part of it is brittle. 43 Because you have seen iron mixed with miry clay, they are mixing themselves with the seed of men: and they are not adhering with one another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. 44 And in the days of these kings the God of the heavens raises up a kingdom that is not destroyed for all time, and its kingdom is not left to another people: it beats small and ends all these kingdoms, and it stands for all time. 45 Because that you have seen that out of the mountain a stone has been cut without hands, and it has beaten the iron small, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God has made known to the king that which [is] to be after this; and the dream [is] true, and its interpretation steadfast.” 46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar has fallen on his face, and to Daniel he has done homage, and present, and sweet things, he has said to pour out to him. 47 The king has answered 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, since you have been able to reveal this secret.” 48 Then the king has made Daniel great, and many great gifts he has given to him, and has caused him to rule over all the province of Babylon, and chief of the prefects over all the wise men of Babylon. 49 And Daniel has sought from the king, and he has appointed over the work of the province of Babylon, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, and Daniel [is] in the gate of the king.