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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width; initial-scale=1.0; maximum-scale=1.0; user-scalable=0;"/><title>Daniel 2 New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/daniel/2.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="/bmcc/daniel/2-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="http://biblehub.com/catholic">Bible</a> > <a href="../">NRSVCE</a> > Daniel 2</div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../daniel/1.htm" title="Daniel 1">◄</a> Daniel 2 <a href="../daniel/3.htm" title="Daniel 3">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top">New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition</td><td width="1%" valign="top"></td></tr></table></div><div class="chap"><div class="text-html"> <h3><span id="en" class="text">Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream</span></h3><p class="chapter-1"><span class="text"><span class="versenum">1</span>In the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed such dreams that his spirit was troubled and his sleep left him. </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">2</span>So the king commanded that the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans be summoned to tell the king his dreams. When they came in and stood before the king, </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">3</span>he said to them, “I have had such a dream that my spirit is troubled by the desire to understand it.” </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">4</span>The Chaldeans said to the king (in Aramaic),<span data-fn='#fen' class='footnote' data-link='[<a href="#fen-NRSVCE-25862a" title="See footnote a">a</a>]'>[<a href="#fen" xtitle="See footnote a">a</a>]</span> “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will reveal the interpretation.” </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">5</span>The king answered the Chaldeans, “This is a public decree: if you do not tell me both the dream and its interpretation, you shall be torn limb from limb, and your houses shall be laid in ruins. </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">6</span>But if you do tell me the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. Therefore tell me the dream and its interpretation.” </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">7</span>They answered a second time, “Let the king first tell his servants the dream, then we can give its interpretation.” </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">8</span>The king answered, “I know with certainty that you are trying to gain time, because you see I have firmly decreed: </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">9</span>if you do not tell me the dream, there is but one verdict for you. You have agreed to speak lying and misleading words to me until things take a turn. Therefore, tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can give me its interpretation.” </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">10</span>The Chaldeans answered the king, “There is no one on earth who can reveal what the king demands! In fact no king, however great and powerful, has ever asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or Chaldean. </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">11</span>The thing that the king is asking is too difficult, and no one can reveal it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with mortals.”</span></p> <p><span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">12</span>Because of this the king flew into a violent rage and commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be destroyed. </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">13</span>The decree was issued, and the wise men were about to be executed; and they looked for Daniel and his companions, to execute them. </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">14</span>Then Daniel responded with prudence and discretion to Arioch, the king’s chief executioner, who had gone out to execute the wise men of Babylon; </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">15</span>he asked Arioch, the royal official, “Why is the decree of the king so urgent?” Arioch then explained the matter to Daniel. </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">16</span>So Daniel went in and requested that the king give him time and he would tell the king the interpretation.</span></p> <h3><span id="en" class="text">God Reveals Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream</span></h3><p><span class="text"><span class="versenum">17</span>Then Daniel went to his home and informed his companions, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">18</span>and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions with the rest of the wise men of Babylon might not perish. </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">19</span>Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night, and Daniel blessed the God of heaven.</span></p> <div class="poetry"><p class="line"><span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">20</span>Daniel said:</span><br /><span class="text">“Blessed be the name of God from age to age,</span><br /><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks">    </span><span class="text">for wisdom and power are his.</span></span><br /><span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">21</span>He changes times and seasons,</span><br /><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks">    </span><span class="text">deposes kings and sets up kings;</span></span><br /><span class="text">he gives wisdom to the wise</span><br /><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks">    </span><span class="text">and knowledge to those who have understanding.</span></span><br /><span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">22</span>He reveals deep and hidden things;</span><br /><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks">    </span><span class="text">he knows what is in the darkness,</span></span><br /><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks">    </span><span class="text">and light dwells with him.</span></span><br /><span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">23</span>To you, O God of my ancestors,</span><br /><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks">    </span><span class="text">I give thanks and praise,</span></span><br /><span class="text">for you have given me wisdom and power,</span><br /><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks">    </span><span class="text">and have now revealed to me what we asked of you,</span></span><br /><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks">    </span><span class="text">for you have revealed to us what the king ordered.”</span></span></p></div> <h3><span id="en" class="text">Daniel Interprets the Dream</span></h3><p><span class="text"><span class="versenum">24</span>Therefore Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon, and said to him, “Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will give the king the interpretation.”</span></p> <p><span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">25</span>Then Arioch quickly brought Daniel before the king and said to him: “I have found among the exiles from Judah a man who can tell the king the interpretation.” </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">26</span>The king said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to tell me the dream that I have seen and its interpretation?” </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">27</span>Daniel answered the king, “No wise men, enchanters, magicians, or diviners can show to the king the mystery that the king is asking, </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">28</span>but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has disclosed to King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen at the end of days. Your dream and the visions of your head as you lay in bed were these: </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">29</span>To you, O king, as you lay in bed, came thoughts of what would be hereafter, and the revealer of mysteries disclosed to you what is to be. </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">30</span>But as for me, this mystery has not been revealed to me because of any wisdom that I have more than any other living being, but in order that the interpretation may be known to the king and that you may understand the thoughts of your mind.</span></p> <p><span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">31</span>“You were looking, O king, and lo! there was a great statue. This statue was huge, its brilliance extraordinary; it was standing before you, and its appearance was frightening. </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">32</span>The head of that statue was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its middle and thighs of bronze, </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">33</span>its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay. </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">34</span>As you looked on, a stone was cut out, not by human hands, and it struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and broke them in pieces. </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">35</span>Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, were all broken in pieces and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.</span></p> <p><span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">36</span>“This was the dream; now we will tell the king its interpretation. </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">37</span>You, O king, the king of kings—to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, the might, and the glory, </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">38</span>into whose hand he has given human beings, wherever they live, the wild animals of the field, and the birds of the air, and whom he has established as ruler over them all—you are the head of gold. </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">39</span>After you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours, and yet a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over the whole earth. </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">40</span>And there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron; just as iron crushes and smashes everything,<span data-fn='#fen' class='footnote' data-link='[<a href="#fen-NRSVCE-25898b" title="See footnote b">b</a>]'>[<a href="#fen" xtitle="See footnote b">b</a>]</span> it shall crush and shatter all these. </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">41</span>As you saw the feet and toes partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom; but some of the strength of iron shall be in it, as you saw the iron mixed with the clay. </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">42</span>As the toes of the feet were part iron and part clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle. </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">43</span>As you saw the iron mixed with clay, so will they mix with one another in marriage,<span data-fn='#fen' class='footnote' data-link='[<a href="#fen-NRSVCE-25901c" title="See footnote c">c</a>]'>[<a href="#fen" xtitle="See footnote c">c</a>]</span> but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay. </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">44</span>And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall this kingdom be left to another people. It shall crush all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever; </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">45</span>just as you saw that a stone was cut from the mountain not by hands, and that it crushed the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. The great God has informed the king what shall be hereafter. The dream is certain, and its interpretation trustworthy.”</span></p> <h3><span id="en" class="text">Daniel and His Friends Promoted</span></h3><p><span class="text"><span class="versenum">46</span>Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, worshiped Daniel, and commanded that a grain offering and incense be offered to him. </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">47</span>The king said to Daniel, “Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery!” </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">48</span>Then the king promoted Daniel, gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon. </span> <span id="en" class="text"><span class="versenum">49</span>Daniel made a request of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the affairs of the province of Babylon. But Daniel remained at the king’s court.</span></p> <A name="fen"></a><div class="footnotes"><h4>Footnotes</h4><ol><li id="fen"><a hlef="#en" xtitle="Go to Daniel 2:4">Daniel 2:4</a> <span class='footnote-text'>The text from this point to the end of chapter 7 is in Aramaic, except for 3.24–91a, the text of which is in Greek</span></li><li id="fen"><a hlef="#en" xtitle="Go to Daniel 2:40">Daniel 2:40</a> <span class='footnote-text'>Gk Theodotion Syr Vg: Aram adds <i>and like iron that crushes</i></span></li><li id="fen"><a hlef="#en" xtitle="Go to Daniel 2:43">Daniel 2:43</a> <span class='footnote-text'>Aram <i>by human seed</i></span></li></ol></div> </div></div></div></div></div> </div> </div><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center">Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. 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