Daniel 2 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.
In the second year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, had that left him so disturbed he couldn't sleep.
So the king summoned his and to tell him what he had dreamed. They came in and stood before the king.
The king said to them, "I've had a dream that's really bothering me, and I need to understand what it means."
The astrologers answered the king in "Long live the king! Tell your servants the dream, and we'll explain what it means."
The king replied to the astrologers, "My decision is final: if you don't tell me both the dream and what it means, you'll be torn limb from limb and your houses turned into rubble."
"But if you do tell me the dream and explain it, you'll receive gifts, rewards, and great honor from me. So tell me the dream and what it means."
They answered a second time, "Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will explain what it means."
The king responded, "I'm absolutely certain you're just stalling for time, because you can see my decision is final."
"If you can't tell me the dream, there's only one verdict for you. You've conspired to feed me lies and nonsense, hoping things will change. So tell me the dream, and then I'll know you can actually explain what it means."
The astrologers answered the king, "There's not a person on earth who could do what the king is asking! No king, no matter how great and powerful, has ever asked something like this of any magician, enchanter, or astrologer."
"What the king is asking is impossible. No one can reveal this to the king except the — and they don't live among us mortals."
This made the king so furious that he ordered the execution of every in Babylon.
So the decree went out that the wise men were to be killed, and they sent men to find and his friends to execute them too.
Daniel responded with wisdom and tact to the captain of the king's guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon.
He asked Arioch, the king's officer, "Why is the king's decree so extreme?" So Arioch explained the whole situation to Daniel.
Daniel went directly to the king and asked for time so he could explain the dream's meaning.
Then Daniel went home and told his friends and what was happening,
urging them to ask the of for mercy regarding this so that Daniel and his friends wouldn't be killed along with the rest of Babylon's wise men.
That night, the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a Daniel praised the God of heaven,
saying: "Praise the of God forever and ever — wisdom and power belong to him."
He changes the and the He removes kings and sets up kings. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those with understanding.
He reveals things that are and He knows what's in the darkness, and with
I thank you and praise you, of my because you've given me wisdom and strength. You've now shown me what we asked of you — you've revealed the king's matter to us.
So Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to execute the wise men of Babylon, and said to him, "Don't execute the wise men of Babylon. Bring me before the king, and I'll explain the dream's meaning to him."
Arioch quickly brought Daniel before the king and said, "I've found a man among the who can explain the dream's meaning to the king."
The king asked Daniel (also known as "Are you actually able to tell me the dream I had and what it means?"
Daniel answered the king, "No wise man, enchanter, magician, or astrologer can explain to the king the mystery he's asking about."
"But there is a in who reveals mysteries, and he has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the Here is your dream — the visions that went through your mind as you lay in bed:"
"Your Majesty, as you were lying in bed, your thoughts turned to what would happen in the future, and the one who reveals mysteries showed you what's going to happen."
"As for me, this mystery wasn't revealed to me because I'm smarter than anyone else, but so that the meaning could be made known to the king and so you could understand what's been going through your mind."
"Your Majesty, in your vision you saw a massive standing in front of you — enormous and dazzling, terrifying to look at."
"The head of the statue was made of pure its chest and arms were silver, its belly and thighs were bronze,"
"its legs were iron, and its feet were partly iron and partly
"As you watched, a was out — but not by — and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them."
"Then the iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold were all shattered together and became like on a in summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the stone that struck the statue became a huge that filled the whole earth."
"That was the dream. Now we'll explain to the king what it means."
"Your Majesty, you are the of The God of heaven has given you power, strength, and glory."
"He has placed in your hands all of humanity, the wild animals, and the birds of the sky — wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all. You are that head of gold."
"After you, another kingdom will rise, inferior to yours, and then a third kingdom, one of bronze, that will rule over the whole earth."
"And there will be a strong as iron — for iron shatters and crushes everything. Just as iron breaks things to pieces, this will crush and shatter all the others."
"Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly fired clay and partly iron, it will be a It will have some of the strength of iron in it, just as you saw iron mixed with clay."
"As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle."
"And just as you saw the iron mixed with clay, they will try to strengthen themselves through but they won't hold together — just as iron doesn't bond with clay."
"In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a that will be It won't be handed over to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself last forever."
"That's the meaning of the stone cut from a mountain — but not by human hands — the stone that shattered the iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold. The has shown the king what will happen in the future. The dream is certain, and its meaning is trustworthy."
Then King Nebuchadnezzar down on the ground and paid honor to Daniel. He ordered that and be presented to him.
The king said to Daniel, "Your is truly the of and of and a revealer of mysteries, since you were able to reveal this mystery."
Then the king promoted Daniel to a high position and lavished many generous gifts on him. He made him ruler over the entire of and over all of Babylon's wise men.
Daniel also requested that the king appoint and to manage the affairs of the province of Babylon, while Daniel himself remained at the