CLARITY EDITION · OLD TESTAMENT
Daniel 2
Chapter 2 of 12
Chapter Overview
What happens in Daniel 2
King Nebuchadnezzar has a troubling dream and demands that his wise men tell him both the dream and its meaning. When no one can, God reveals the answer to Daniel. The dream is about a great statue that represents future kingdoms, ending with God's eternal kingdom.
Scripture
Daniel 2
The King's Impossible Demand
Study note
Nebuchadnezzar tested his wise men by demanding they tell him the dream itself, not just the meaning. This was impossible for humans, but the king suspected they would make up an answer if he told them the dream first. When they failed, the king ordered all the wise men killed, including Daniel and his friends.
1 During his second year as king, Nebuchadnezzar began having dreams. They worried him so much he could not fall asleep. And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled, and his sleep brake from him.
2 He called for all his magicians, astrologers, sorcerers, and wise men to come explain his dreams. They arrived and stood in front of him. Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to shew the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king.
3 "I had a dream that truly bothers me," the king told them, "and I need to know what it means." And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream.
4 The wise men replied in the Aramaic language, "Long live the king! Describe the dream to us, and we will tell you what it means." Then spake the Chaldeans to the king in Syriack, O king, live for ever: tell thy servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation.
5 But the king answered, "I have made up my mind. If you cannot tell me both the dream itself and what it means, I will have you chopped to pieces and your houses torn apart." The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from me: if ye will not make known unto me the dream, with the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill.
6 "On the other hand, if you tell me the dream and explain it, I will load you down with gifts, rewards, and great honors. So go ahead — tell me the dream and its meaning." But if ye shew the dream, and the interpretation thereof, ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honour: therefore shew me the dream, and the interpretation thereof.
7 They tried again: "Please, tell us what the dream was, your majesty, and we will explain it." They answered again and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation of it.
8 The king shot back, "I can see what you are doing. You are wasting time because you know my decision is final." The king answered and said, I know of certainty that ye would gain the time, because ye see the thing is gone from me.
9 "If you cannot tell me the dream, then I know you are planning to give me a made-up answer and hope things change. Tell me the dream first, and then I will know you can explain it." But if ye will not make known unto me the dream, there is but one decree for you: for ye have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me, till the time be changed: therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that ye can shew me the interpretation thereof.
10 The wise men spoke up, "No one on earth can do what the king is asking! No ruler, no matter how powerful, has ever asked something like this from any magician or wise man." The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is not a man upon the earth that can shew the king's matter: therefore there is no king, lord, nor ruler, that asked such things at any magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean.
11 "What you are asking is impossible. Only the gods could reveal something like this, and they do not live here among people." And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is none other that can shew it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.
12 That answer made the king furious. He gave the order to execute every wise man in all of Babylon. For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.
13 Soldiers went out to carry out the death sentence, and they came looking for Daniel and his friends to kill them too. And the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they sought Daniel and his fellows to be slain.
Daniel Asks God for the Answer
Study note
Daniel responded with calm wisdom instead of panic. He and his three friends prayed together, asking God to reveal the mystery. When God answered their prayer through a night vision, Daniel praised God before going to the king. Daniel's prayer in verses 20-23 is a beautiful hymn about God's power over all kingdoms.
14 When Arioch, the leader of the king's guard, came to carry out the order, Daniel spoke to him in a calm and wise way. Then Daniel answered with counsel and wisdom to Arioch the captain of the king's guard, which was gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon:
15 "Why did the king give such a terrible order?" Daniel asked. Arioch explained the whole situation. He answered and said to Arioch the king's captain, Why is the decree so hasty from the king? Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel.
16 Daniel went straight to the king and asked for some extra time so he could figure out the dream's meaning. Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would give him time, and that he would shew the king the interpretation.
17 Then Daniel hurried home. He told his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah everything that was going on. Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions:
18 He begged them to pray to the God of heaven for help with this mystery. That way they would not be killed along with all the other wise men of Babylon. That they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
19 That night, God showed Daniel the mystery in a vision. Daniel immediately began praising the God of heaven. Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.
20 He prayed, "May God's name be praised forever and ever! He alone possesses all wisdom and all power. Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his:
21 He controls the changing of seasons and the rising and falling of rulers. He gives wisdom to those who seek it and understanding to those who want to learn. And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding:
22 He uncovers things hidden in the deepest darkness. He sees what no one else can see, because he himself is surrounded by light. He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.
23 I thank you and praise you, God of my ancestors. You gave me wisdom and strength. You answered our prayers and showed us the king's dream." I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast made known unto me now what we desired of thee: for thou hast now made known unto us the king's matter.
Daniel Describes the Dream
Study note
Daniel made clear that no human could do what the king asked. Only the God of heaven reveals secrets. The great statue had a head of gold, chest of silver, belly of bronze, legs of iron, and feet of mixed iron and clay. A stone cut without human hands destroyed the entire statue.
24 Daniel rushed to Arioch and said, "Do not kill the wise men of Babylon! Bring me to the king, and I will explain his dream." Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had ordained to destroy the wise men of Babylon: he went and said thus unto him; Destroy not the wise men of Babylon: bring me in before the king, and I will shew unto the king the interpretation.
25 Arioch brought Daniel before the king right away. He said, "I found one of the captives from Judah who can tell you what your dream means!" Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said thus unto him, I have found a man of the captives of Judah, that will make known unto the king the interpretation.
26 The king looked at Daniel (also known as Belteshazzar) and asked, "Can you truly tell me what I dreamed and what it means?" The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Art thou able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof?
27 Daniel answered, "No wise man, star reader, magician, or fortune-teller on earth could solve this mystery for you." Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the king;
28 "But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets. He has shown you, King Nebuchadnezzar, what will happen in the days ahead. Here is what you dreamed while you were lying in bed." But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these;
29 "As you lay there, your mind wandered to the future. The God who reveals hidden things showed you what is going to take place." As for thee, O king, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter: and he that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee what shall come to pass.
30 "This secret was not given to me because I am smarter than everyone else. It was given so you could understand the meaning, and so you would know what was going through your mind." But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but for their sakes that shall make known the interpretation to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart.
31 "In your dream, you saw an enormous statue standing before you. It was dazzling bright and terrifying to look at." Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible.
32 "The statue's head was made of solid gold. Its chest and arms were silver. Its stomach and hips were bronze." This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass,
33 "Its legs were iron, and its feet were a mixture of iron and clay." His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.
34 "As you watched, a rock was cut loose — but no human hand cut it. It slammed into the statue's feet of iron and clay and shattered them completely." Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.
35 "Then the whole thing — iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold — all crumbled at once. It turned to dust, like chaff blowing off a threshing floor in the summer breeze. The wind carried every bit of it away without a trace. But the rock that smashed the statue grew into a giant mountain that covered the whole earth." Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.
The Meaning of the Dream
Study note
The statue's metals represent a series of world empires. The gold head is Babylon, followed by Medo-Persia (silver), Greece (bronze), and Rome (iron). The stone that destroys them all represents God's eternal kingdom, which will never be defeated. This is one of the most important prophecies in the Old Testament.
36 "That was your dream. Now here is what it means." This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king.
37 "You, your majesty, are the greatest king alive. The God of heaven has handed you a kingdom filled with power, strength, and splendor." Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.
38 "He has put people everywhere — along with wild animals and birds — under your authority. You rule over all of them. You are the head made of gold." And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold.
39 "After your kingdom ends, a lesser kingdom will take its place. Then a third kingdom, represented by the bronze, will rule across the earth." And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.
40 "A fourth kingdom will follow, and it will be tough as iron. Iron smashes and crushes everything, and that is exactly what this kingdom will do to all the others." And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.
41 "The feet and toes you saw — part clay, part iron — mean that this kingdom will be split apart. It will still have some iron-like strength in it, since you saw iron mixed into the clay." And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay.
42 "Because the toes were part iron and part clay, this kingdom will be partly powerful and partly fragile." And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.
43 "The iron mixed with clay means this. Those people will try to hold together through marriage. But they will not stick. Iron and clay never truly bond." And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.
44 "During the time of those kings, the God of heaven will build a kingdom that will never end and never be conquered. It will shatter all the other kingdoms and wipe them out, but it will stand forever." And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.
45 "That is what the rock means — the one cut from a mountain without any human hand. It crushed the iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold. The great God has shown you what lies ahead. This dream is trustworthy, and its meaning is sure." Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.
The King Honors Daniel
Study note
Nebuchadnezzar acknowledged that Daniel's God is the God of gods. Daniel was promoted to ruler over the province of Babylon. He also asked the king to give his three friends positions of authority.
46 King Nebuchadnezzar dropped to the ground, face down, before Daniel. He commanded that offerings and incense be presented in Daniel's honor. Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odours unto him.
47 "Without a doubt," the king told Daniel, "your God is the greatest of all gods and the ruler above all kings. He truly does reveal mysteries, since you were able to uncover this one." The king answered unto 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, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret.
48 The king promoted Daniel to a very high position and showered him with expensive gifts. He put Daniel in charge of the entire province of Babylon and made him the head of all the wise men. Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon.
49 Daniel also asked the king to appoint Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego to help govern the province of Babylon. Meanwhile, Daniel himself stayed close to the king at the royal court. Then Daniel requested of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel sat in the gate of the king.
Key Themes
Themes in Daniel 2
God reveals mysteriesThe rise and fall of empiresThe kingdom of GodGod's sovereignty over historyPrayer and dependence on God
Prophetic Connections
How this chapter points to Christ
Daniel 34-35 Luke 20:17-18
Jesus referred to himself as the stone that crushes, echoing Daniel's vision of the stone cut without human hands that destroys the statue and becomes a great mountain filling the earth.
Daniel 44 Mark 1:15
Jesus' announcement that 'the kingdom of God is at hand' is the fulfillment of Daniel's prophecy that God would set up a kingdom that would never be destroyed.
Apply This Today
Living Daniel 2
When the king demanded the impossible, Daniel did not panic — he prayed. God revealed what no human wisdom could discover. This chapter reminds us that when we face situations beyond our ability, turning to God in prayer is not a last resort but the best first step. It also assures us that human kingdoms rise and fall, but God's kingdom will stand forever.
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