Daniel 2

Nebuchadnezzar's Dream and the Threat to the Wise Men

¹In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams; and his spirit was troubled, and his sleep went from him.

²Then the king commanded that the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans be called to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king.

³The king said to them, “I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.”

⁴Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in the Syrian language, “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.”

⁵The king answered the Chaldeans, “The thing has gone from me. If you don’t make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you will be cut in pieces, and your houses will be made a dunghill.

⁶But if you show the dream and its interpretation, you will receive from me gifts, rewards, and great honor. Therefore show me the dream and its interpretation.”

⁷They answered the second time and said, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.”

⁸The king answered, “I know of a certainty that you are trying to gain time, because you see the thing has gone from me.

⁹But if you don’t make known to me the dream, there is but one law for you; for you have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me, until the situation changes. Therefore tell me the dream, and I will know that you can show me its interpretation.”

¹⁰The Chaldeans answered the king and said, “There is not a man on the earth who can show the king’s matter, because no king, lord, or ruler has asked such a thing of any magician, enchanter, or Chaldean.

¹¹It is a rare thing that the king requires, and there is no other who can show it before the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.”

¹²Because of this, the king was angry and very furious, and commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be destroyed.

¹³So the decree went out, and the wise men were to be slain. They sought Daniel and his companions to be slain.

Daniel's Prayer and God's Revelation

¹⁴Then Daniel returned answer with counsel and prudence to Arioch the captain of the king’s guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon.

¹⁵He answered Arioch the king’s captain, “Why is the decree so urgent from the king?” Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel.

¹⁶Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would appoint him a time, and he would show the king the interpretation.

¹⁷Then Daniel went to his house and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions:

¹⁸that they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret, that Daniel and his companions would not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

¹⁹Then the secret was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.

²⁰Daniel answered, “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever; for wisdom and might are his.

²¹He changes the times and the seasons. He removes kings and sets up kings. He gives wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to those who have understanding.

²²He reveals the deep and secret things. He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him.

²³I thank you and praise you, O God of my fathers, who have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we desired of you; for you have made known to us the king’s matter.”

Daniel Interprets the Dream of the Great Statue

²⁴Therefore Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said this to him: “Don’t destroy the wise men of Babylon. Bring me in before the king, and I will show to the king the interpretation.”

²⁵Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said this to him: “I have found a man of the children of the captivity of Judah who will make known to the king the interpretation.”

²⁶The king answered Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen, and its interpretation?”

²⁷Daniel answered before the king, and said, “The secret which the king has demanded can’t be shown to the king by wise men, enchanters, magicians, or soothsayers;

²⁸but there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will 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 hereafter; and he who reveals secrets has made known to you what will happen.

³⁰But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but to the intent that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your heart.

³¹“You, O king, saw, and behold, a great image. This image, which was mighty, and whose brightness was excellent, stood before you; and its appearance was terrifying.

³²As for this image, its head was of fine gold, its chest and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze,

³³its legs of iron, its feet part of iron and part of clay.

³⁴You saw until a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet that were of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces.

³⁵Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were broken in pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors. The wind carried them away, so that no place was found for them. The stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.

The Interpretation of the Four Kingdoms

³⁶“This is the dream; and we will tell its interpretation before the king.

³⁷You, O king, are king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the strength, and the glory.

³⁸Wherever the children of men dwell, he has given the animals of the field and the birds of the sky into your hand, and has made you rule over them all. You are the head of gold.

³⁹“After you, another kingdom will arise that is inferior to you; and another third kingdom of bronze, which will rule over all the earth.

⁴⁰The fourth kingdom will be strong as iron, because iron breaks in pieces and subdues all things; and as iron that crushes all these, it will break in pieces and crush.

⁴¹Whereas you saw the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay and part of iron, it will be a divided kingdom; but there will be in it of the strength of the iron, because you saw the iron mixed with miry clay.

⁴²As the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle.

⁴³Whereas you saw the iron mixed with miry clay, they will mingle themselves with the seed of men; but they won’t cling to one another, even as iron does not mix with clay.

⁴⁴“In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, nor will its sovereignty be left to another people; but it will break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it will stand forever.

⁴⁵Because you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold, the great God has made known to the king what will happen hereafter. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.”

Nebuchadnezzar's Response and Daniel's Promotion

⁴⁶Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, worshiped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an offering and sweet odors to him.

⁴⁷The king answered to Daniel, and said, “Of a truth your God is the God of gods, and the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since you have been able to reveal this secret.”

⁴⁸Then the king made Daniel great and gave him many great gifts, and made him rule over the whole province of Babylon and to be chief governor over all the wise men of Babylon.

⁴⁹Daniel requested of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the affairs of the province of Babylon, but Daniel was in the king’s gate.

Previous Daniel 1

Next Daniel 3

King Nebuchadnezzar demands that his wise men not only interpret his troubling dream but also reveal its contents, threatening death when they cannot. Daniel and his friends pray for divine revelation, and God reveals both the dream and its meaning to Daniel. The dream depicts a great statue representing four successive kingdoms, ultimately destroyed by a stone representing God's eternal kingdom, leading to Daniel's promotion and the king's acknowledgment of God's supremacy.

Context

This chapter follows Daniel's initial rise in Babylon and establishes the prophetic framework for understanding world empires that will dominate the book's later visions.

Key Themes

Outline

1-13
Nebuchadnezzar's Impossible Demand The king threatens all wise men with death when they cannot reveal and interpret his forgotten dream.
14-23
Daniel's Prayer for Revelation Daniel requests time and prays with his friends, receiving the dream's contents and meaning in a night vision.
24-35
Daniel Reveals the Dream Daniel describes the king's dream of a great statue made of different materials, destroyed by a stone.
36-45
Interpretation of Four Kingdoms Daniel explains that the statue represents four successive earthly kingdoms, culminating in God's eternal kingdom.
46-49
Royal Recognition and Reward Nebuchadnezzar worships God and promotes Daniel and his friends to high positions in Babylon.

Nebuchadnezzar's Dream and the Threat to the Wise Men

2:1–2:13

narrative narration urgent

Nebuchadnezzar has troubling dreams and demands that his wise men not only interpret but also reveal the dream itself, threatening death when they claim this is impossible, setting up Daniel's opportunity to demonstrate God's superior wisdom.

person_contrast

Nebuchadnezzar's unprecedented demand that wise men reveal his dream before interpreting it creates an impossible test that only divine revelation can satisfy, exposing human wisdom's limitations.

Daniel's Prayer and God's Revelation

2:14–2:23

narrative prayer hopeful

Daniel requests time from the king to interpret his dream, then prays with his companions for God's mercy. God reveals the secret to Daniel in a vision, prompting Daniel to praise God's wisdom and sovereignty.

person_contrast

Daniel's immediate response to divine revelation shifts from requesting mercy (v. 18) to praising God's sovereignty (v. 20-23), demonstrating how revelation transforms supplication into worship.

Daniel Interprets the Dream of the Great Statue

2:24–2:35

narrative speech solemn

Daniel is brought before King Nebuchadnezzar and humbly explains that only God can reveal secrets. He describes the king's dream of a great statue made of different metals that is destroyed by a stone.

person_contrast

Daniel's threefold disclaimer that "no wise men, enchanters, magicians or diviners" can reveal mysteries (v.27) creates the strongest contrast in scripture between human inadequacy and divine revelation.

The Interpretation of the Four Kingdoms

2:36–2:45

prophecy instruction solemn

Daniel interprets the statue as representing four successive kingdoms, with Nebuchadnezzar as the head of gold. God will establish an eternal kingdom that will destroy all earthly kingdoms and stand forever.

person_contrast

Daniel's interpretation uniquely presents God's eternal kingdom as both destroyer and creator, using the rare Hebrew word "di-shatters" (דקק) found only here and in Isaiah's messianic prophecies.

Nebuchadnezzar's Response and Daniel's Promotion

2:46–2:49

narrative narration triumphant

King Nebuchadnezzar worships Daniel and acknowledges God as the revealer of secrets. He promotes Daniel to rule over Babylon and appoints his companions to administrative positions.

person_contrast

Nebuchadnezzar's prostration before Daniel reverses the typical power dynamic, making this the only passage where Babylon's king worships rather than demands worship.

Insight Character Study

Nebuchadnezzar's unprecedented demand that wise men reveal his dream before interpreting it creates an impossible test that only divine revelation can satisfy, exposing human wisdom's limitations.

Insight Character Study

Daniel's immediate response to divine revelation shifts from requesting mercy (v. 18) to praising God's sovereignty (v. 20-23), demonstrating how revelation transforms supplication into worship.

Insight Character Study

Daniel's interpretation uniquely presents God's eternal kingdom as both destroyer and creator, using the rare Hebrew word "di-shatters" (דקק) found only here and in Isaiah's messianic prophecies.

Insight Character Study

Nebuchadnezzar's prostration before Daniel reverses the typical power dynamic, making this the only passage where Babylon's king worships rather than demands worship.