| New American Standard Bible 1995 | Holman Christian Standard Bible |
| 1Now in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; and his spirit was troubled and his sleep left him. | 1In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams that troubled him, and sleep deserted him. |
| 2Then 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. | 2So the king gave orders to summon the diviner-priests, mediums, sorcerers, and Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. When they came and stood before the king, |
| 3The king said to them, "I had a dream and my spirit is anxious to understand the dream." | 3he said to them, "I have had a dream and am anxious to understand it." |
| 4Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic: "O king, live forever! Tell the dream to your servants, and we will declare the interpretation." | 4The Chaldeans spoke to the king (Aramaic begins here): "May the king live forever. Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation." |
| 5The 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. | 5The king replied to the Chaldeans, "My word is final: If you don't tell me the dream and its interpretation, you will be torn limb from limb, and your houses will be made a garbage dump. |
| 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." | 6But if you make the dream and its interpretation known to me, you'll receive gifts, a reward, and great honor from me. So make the dream and its interpretation known to me." |
| 7They answered a second time and said, "Let the king tell the dream to his servants, and we will declare the interpretation." | 7They answered a second time, "May the king tell the dream to his servants, and we will give the interpretation." |
| 8The king replied, "I know for certain that you are bargaining for time, inasmuch as you have seen that the command from me is firm, | 8The king replied, "I know for certain you are trying to gain some time, because you see that my word is final. |
| 9that 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." | 9If you don't tell me the dream, there is one decree for you. You have conspired to tell me something false or fraudulent until the situation changes. So tell me the dream and I will know you can give me its interpretation." |
| 10The 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. | 10The Chaldeans answered the king, "No one on earth can make known what the king requests. Consequently, no king, however great and powerful, has ever asked anything like this of any diviner-priest, medium, or Chaldean. |
| 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." | 11What the king is asking is so difficult that no one can make it known to him except the gods, whose dwelling is not with mortals." |
| 12Because of this the king became indignant and very furious and gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. | 12Because of this, the king became violently angry and gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. |
| 13So the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they looked for Daniel and his friends to kill them. | 13The decree was issued that the wise men were to be executed, and they searched for Daniel and his friends, to execute them. |
| 14Then 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; | 14Then Daniel responded with tact and discretion to Arioch, the commander of the king's guard, who had gone out to execute the wise men of Babylon. |
| 15he 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. | 15He asked Arioch, the king's officer, "Why is the decree from the king so harsh?" Then Arioch explained the situation to Daniel. |
| 16So 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. | 16So Daniel went and asked the king to give him some time, so that he could give the king the interpretation. |
| 17Then Daniel went to his house and informed his friends, Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, about the matter, | 17Then Daniel went to his house and told his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah about the matter, |
| 18so 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. | 18urging them to ask the God of heaven for mercy concerning this mystery, so Daniel and his friends would not be killed with the rest of Babylon's wise men. |
| 19Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven; | 19The mystery was then revealed to Daniel in a vision at night, and Daniel praised the God of heaven |
| 20Daniel said, "Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever, For wisdom and power belong to Him. | 20and declared: May the name of God be praised forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to Him. |
| 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. | 21He changes the times and seasons; He removes kings and establishes kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. |
| 22"It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness, And the light dwells with Him. | 22He reveals the deep and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness, and light dwells with Him. |
| 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." | 23I offer thanks and praise to You, God of my fathers, because You have given me wisdom and power. And now You have let me know what we asked of You, for You have let us know the king's mystery. |
| 24Therefore, 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." | 24Therefore Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had assigned to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He came and said to him, "Don't kill the wise men of Babylon! Bring me before the king, and I will give him the interpretation." |
| 25Then 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!" | 25Then Arioch quickly brought Daniel before the king and said to him, "I have found a man among the Judean exiles who can let the king know the interpretation." |
| 26The 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?" | 26The king said in reply to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, "Are you able to tell me the dream I had and its interpretation?" |
| 27Daniel 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. | 27Daniel answered the king: "No wise man, medium, diviner-priest, or astrologer is able to make known to the king the mystery he asked about. |
| 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. | 28But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has let King Nebuchadnezzar know what will happen in the last days. Your dream and the visions that came into your mind as you lay in bed were these: |
| 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. | 29Your Majesty, while you were in your bed, thoughts came to your mind about what will happen in the future. The revealer of mysteries has let you know what will happen. |
| 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. | 30As for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because I have more wisdom than anyone living, but in order that the interpretation might be made known to the king, and that you may understand the thoughts of your mind." |
| 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. | 31My king, as you were watching, a colossal statue appeared. That statue, tall and dazzling, was standing in front of you, and its appearance was terrifying. |
| 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, | 32The head of the statue was pure gold, its chest and arms were silver, its stomach and thighs were bronze, |
| 33its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. | 33its legs were iron, and its feet were partly iron and partly fired clay. |
| 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. | 34As you were watching, a stone broke off without a hand touching it, struck the statue on its feet of iron and fired clay, and crushed them. |
| 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. | 35Then the iron, the fired clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were shattered and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors. The wind carried them away, and not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth." |
| 36"This was the dream; now we will tell its interpretation before the king. | 36This was the dream; now we will tell the king its interpretation. |
| 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; | 37Your Majesty, you are king of kings. The God of heaven has given you sovereignty, power, strength, and glory. |
| 38and 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. | 38Wherever people live--or wild animals, or birds of the air--He has handed them over to you and made you ruler over them all. You are the head of gold." |
| 39"After you there will arise another kingdom inferior to you, then another third kingdom of bronze, which will rule over all the earth. | 39After you, there will arise another kingdom, inferior to yours, and then another, a third kingdom, of bronze, which will rule the whole earth. |
| 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. | 40A fourth kingdom will be as strong as iron; for iron crushes and shatters everything, and like iron that smashes, it will crush and smash all the others. |
| 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. | 41You saw the feet and toes, partly of a potter's fired clay and partly of iron--it will be a divided kingdom, though some of the strength of iron will be in it. You saw the iron mixed with clay, |
| 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. | 42and that the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly fired clay--part of the kingdom will be strong, and part will be brittle. |
| 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. | 43You saw the iron mixed with clay--the peoples will mix with one another but will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with fired clay." |
| 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. | 44In the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, and this kingdom will not be left to another people. It will crush all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, but will itself endure forever. |
| 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." | 45You saw a stone break off from the mountain without a hand touching it, and it crushed the iron, bronze, fired clay, silver, and gold. The great God has told the king what will happen in the future. The dream is true, and its interpretation certain." |
| 46Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face and did homage to Daniel, and gave orders to present to him an offering and fragrant incense. | 46Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell down, paid homage to Daniel, and gave orders to present an offering and incense to him. |
| 47The 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." | 47The king said to Daniel, "Your God is indeed God of gods, Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries, since you were able to reveal this mystery." |
| 48Then 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. | 48Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many generous gifts. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and chief governor over all the wise men of Babylon. |
| 49And 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. | 49At Daniel's request, the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to manage the province of Babylon. But Daniel remained at the king's court. |
| New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit //www.lockman.org | Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. |
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