Daniel 2

NEW JERUSALEM	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had a series of dreams; he was perturbed by this andsleep deserted him.	1 In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar saw a dream, and his spirit was terrified, and his dream fled from him.
2 The king then had magicians and soothsayers, sorcerers and Chaldaeans summoned to tel him whathis dreams meant. They arrived and stood in the king's presence.	2 Yet the king commanded that the seers, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans be gathered together to reveal to the king his dreams. When they arrived, they stood in front of the king.
3 The king said to them, 'I have had a dream, and my mind is troubled by a wish to understand it.'	3 And the king said to them, “I saw a dream, and, being confused in mind, I do not know what I saw.”
4 The Chaldaeans answered the king: 'May your majesty live for ever! Tel your servants the dream, andwe shal reveal its meaning for you.'	4 And the Chaldeans answered the king in Syriac, “O king, live forever. Tell the dream to your servants, and we will reveal its interpretation.”
5 The king answered the Chaldaeans, 'This is my firm resolve: if you cannot tel me what I dreamt andwhat it means, I shal have you torn limb from limb and your houses turned into dunghil s.	5 And in answer, the king said to the Chaldeans, “The memory of it has slipped away from me. Unless you reveal the dream to me, and its meaning, you will be put to death, and your houses will be confiscated.
6 If, on the other hand, you can tel me what I dreamt and what it means, I shal give you presents,rewards and high honour. So tel me what I dreamt and what it means.'	6 But if you explain the dream and its meaning, you will receive from me rewards, and gifts, and great honor. Therefore, reveal to me the dream and its interpretation.”
7 A second time they said, 'Let the king tel his dream to his servants, and we shal reveal its meaning.'	7 They answered again and said, “Let the king tell the dream to his servants, and we will reveal its interpretation.”
8 But the king retorted, 'It is plain to me that you are trying to gain time, knowing my proclaimed resolve.	8 The king answered and said, “I am certain that you are stalling for time because you know that the memory of it has slipped away from me.
9 If you do not interpret my dream for me, there will be but one sentence passed on you al ; you haveagreed among yourselves to make me misleading and tortuous speeches while the time goes by. So tel mewhat my dream was, and then I shal know whether you can interpret it.'	9 Therefore, if you do not reveal to me the dream, there is only one conclusion to be reached about you, that the interpretation is likewise false, and packed full of deception, so as to speak before me until the time passes away. And so, tell me the dream, so that I will also know that the interpretation that you tell me is likewise true.”
10 The Chaldaeans answered the king, 'Nobody in the world could explain the king's problem; what ismore, no other king, governor or chief would think of putting such a question to any magician, soothsayer orChaldaean.	10 Then the Chaldeans answered before the king, and they said, “There is no man on earth who can accomplish your word, O king. For neither has any king, however great and mighty, asked for an answer of this kind from every seer, and astrologer, and Chaldean.
11 The question the king asks is difficult, and no one can find the king an answer to it, except the gods,whose dwelling is not with mortals.'	11 For the answer that you seek, O king, is very difficult. Neither can anyone be found who can reveal it in the sight of the king, except the gods, whose conversation is not with men.”
12 At this the king flew into a rage and ordered al the Babylonian sages to be put to death.	12 When he heard this, the king commanded, in fury and in great wrath, that all the wise men of Babylon should be destroyed.
13 On publication of the decree to have the sages killed, search was made for Daniel and hiscompanions to have them put to death.	13 And when the decree had gone forth, the wise men were put to death; and Daniel and his companions were sought, to be destroyed.
14 Then, with shrewd and cautious words, Daniel approached Arioch, the king's chief executioner, whenhe was on his way to kil the Babylonian sages.	14 Then Daniel inquired, about the law and the sentence, of Arioch, the general of the king’s army, who had gone forth to execute the wise men of Babylon.
15 To this royal official Arioch he said, 'Why has the king issued such a harsh decree?' Arioch explainedmatters to Daniel,	15 And he asked him, who had received the orders of the king, for what reason such a cruel sentence had gone forth from the face of the king. And so, when Arioch had revealed the matter to Daniel,
16 and Daniel went off to ask the king for a stay of execution to give him the opportunity of revealing his interpretation to the king.	16 Daniel went in and asked of the king that he would grant him time to reveal the solution to the king.
17 Daniel then went home and told his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah what had happened,	17 And he went into his house and explained the task to Hananiah, and Mishael, and Azariah, his companions,
18 urging them to beg the God of heaven to show his mercy and explain the mysterious secret, so thatDaniel and his friends might be spared the fate of the other Babylonian sages.	18 so that they would seek mercy before the face of the God of heaven, about this mystery, and so that Daniel and his companions might not perish with the other wise men of Babylon.
19 The mystery was then revealed to Daniel in a night-vision, and Daniel blessed the God of heaven.	19 Then the secret was revealed to Daniel by a vision in the night. And Daniel blessed the God of heaven,
20 This is what Daniel said: May the name of God be blessed for ever and ever, since wisdom and powerare his alone.	20 and speaking aloud, he said, “May the name of the Lord be blessed by the present generation and for ever; for wisdom and fortitude are his.
21 It is he who controls the procession of times and seasons, who makes and unmakes kings, whoconfers wisdom on the wise, and knowledge on those with discernment,	21 And he alters the times and the ages. He takes away kingdoms and he establishes them. He gives wisdom to those who are wise and teaching skills to those who understand.
22 who uncovers depths and mysteries, who knows what lies in darkness; and light dwel s with him.	22 He reveals deep and hidden things, and he knows what has been established in darkness. And the light is with him.
23 To you, God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise for having given me wisdom and strength: to meyou have explained what we asked you, to us you have explained the king's problem.	23 To you, God of our fathers, I confess, and you, I praise. For you have given wisdom and fortitude to me, and now you have revealed to me what we asked of you, for you have uncovered for us the king’s thoughts.”
24 So Daniel went to see Arioch, whom the king had made responsible for putting the Babylonian sagesto death. Going in, he said, 'Do not put the Babylonian sages to death. Take me into the king's presence and Iwil reveal the meaning to the king.'	24 After this, Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon, and he spoke to him in this way, “Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon. Bring me in before the king, and I will explain the solution to the king.”
25 Arioch lost no time in bringing Daniel to the king. 'Among the exiles from Judah,' he said, 'I havediscovered a man who can reveal the meaning to the king.'	25 Then Arioch quickly brought Daniel to the king, and he said to him, “I have found a man of the sons of the transmigration of Judah, who would announce the solution to the king.”
26 The king said to Daniel (who had been given the name Belteshazzar), 'Can you tel me what I dreamtand what it means?'	26 The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Do you really think that you can reveal to me the dream that I saw and its interpretation?”
27 Facing the king, Daniel replied, 'None of the sages, soothsayers, magicians or exorcists has beenable to tell the king the truth of the mystery which the king has propounded;	27 And Daniel, facing the king, answered and said, “The secret that the king seeks, the wise men, the seers, and the soothsayers are unable to reveal to the king.
28 but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries and who has shown King Nebuchadnezzar whatis to take place in the final days. These, then, are the dream and the visions that passed through your head asyou lay in bed:	28 But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, who has revealed to you, king Nebuchadnezzar, what will happen in the latter times. Your dream and the visions of your head upon your bed, are such as these.
29 'Your Majesty, on your bed your thoughts turned to what would happen in the future, and the Revealerof Mysteries disclosed to you what is to take place.	29 You, O king, began to think, while in your blanket, about what will be hereafter. And he who reveals secrets showed you what will happen.
30 This mystery has been revealed to me, not that I am wiser than anyone else, but for this sole purpose:that the king should learn what it means, and that you should understand your inmost thoughts.	30 To me, likewise, this mystery is revealed, not according to the wisdom that is in me more than in other living things, but so that the interpretation might be made manifest to the king, and so that you may know the thoughts of your mind.
31 'You have had a vision, Your Majesty; this is what you saw: a statue, a great statue of extremebrightness, stood before you, terrible to see.	31 You, O king, saw, and behold, something like a great statue. This statue, which was great and high, stood exalted above you, and you considered how terrible it was.
32 The head of this statue was of fine gold, its chest and arms were of silver, its belly and thighs ofbronze,	32 The head of this statue was of the finest gold, but the breast and the arms were of silver, and further on, the belly and the thighs were of brass;
33 its legs of iron, its feet part iron, part clay.	33 but the shins were of iron, a certain part of the feet were of iron and another part were of clay.
34 While you were gazing, a stone broke away, untouched by any hand, and struck the statue, struck itsfeet of iron and clay and shattered them.	34 And so you looked until a stone was broken off without hands from a mountain, and it struck the statue on its feet, which were of iron and clay, and it shattered them.
35 Then, iron and clay, bronze, silver and gold, al broke into pieces as fine as chaff on the threshing-floorin summer. The wind blew them away, leaving not a trace behind. And the stone that had struck the statue grewinto a great mountain, fil ing the whole world.	35 Then the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold were crushed together and diminished like the ashes of a summer courtyard, and they were quickly taken away by the wind, and no place was found for them; but the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.
36 This was the dream; we shal now explain to the king what it means.	36 This is the dream; we will also tell its interpretation before you, O king.
37 'You, Your Majesty, king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given sovereignty, power, strengthand honour-	37 You are a king among kings, and the God of heaven has given to you a kingdom, and fortitude, and power, and glory,
38 human beings, wild animals, birds of the air, wherever they live, he has entrusted to your rule, makingyou king of them al -- you are the golden head.	38 and all the places wherein the sons of men and the beasts of the field dwell. He has likewise given the flying creatures of the air into your hand, and he has placed all things under your realm. Therefore, you are the head of gold.
39 And, after you, another kingdom wil rise, not as great as yours, and then a third, of bronze, which wilrule the whole world.	39 And after you, another kingdom will rise up, inferior to you, of silver, and another third kingdom of brass, which will rule over the whole world.
40 There wil be a fourth kingdom, hard as iron, as iron that pulverises and crushes al . Like iron thatbreaks everything to pieces, it wil crush and break all the earlier kingdoms.	40 And the fourth kingdom will be like iron. Just as iron shatters and conquers all things, so will it shatter and crush all these.
41 The feet you saw, part earthenware, part iron, are a kingdom which wil be split in two, but which wilretain something of the strength of iron, just as you saw the iron and the clay of the earthenware mixed together.	41 Furthermore, because you saw the feet and the toes to be part of potter’s clay and part of iron, the kingdom will be divided, but still, from the slip of iron it will take its origin, since you saw the iron mingled with the earthenware from clay.
42 The feet were part iron, part potter's clay: the kingdom wil be partly strong and partly brittle.	42 And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, part the kingdom will be strong and part will be crushed.
43 And just as you saw the iron and the clay of the earthenware mixed together, so the two wil be mixedtogether in human seed; but they wil not hold together any more than iron wil blend with clay.	43 Yet, because you saw the iron mingled with pottery from the earth, they will indeed be combined together with the offspring of man, but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron cannot be mixed with earthenware.
44 In the days of those kings, the God of heaven wil set up a kingdom which wil never be destroyed, andthis kingdom wil not pass into the hands of another race: it will shatter and absorb all the previous kingdoms anditself last for ever-	44 But in the days of those kingdoms, the God of heaven will inspire a kingdom that will never be destroyed, and his kingdom will not be handed over to another people, and it will crush and will consume all these kingdoms, and this kingdom itself will stand in eternity.
45 just as you saw a stone, untouched by hand, break away from the mountain and reduce iron, bronze,earthenware, silver and gold to powder. The Great God has shown the king what is to take place. The dream istrue, the interpretation exact.'	45 In accordance with what you saw, because the stone was torn away from the mountain without hands, and it crushed the earthenware, and the iron, and the brass, and the silver, and the gold, the great God has shown the king what will happen after this. And the dream is true, and its interpretation is faithful.”
46 At this, King Nebuchadnezzar fell prostrate before Daniel; he gave orders for Daniel to be offered an oblation and a fragrant sacrifice.	46 Then king Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face and adored Daniel, and he commanded that they should offer in sacrifice to him victims and incense.
47 The king said to Daniel, 'Your god is indeed the God of gods, the Master of kings, and the Revealer ofMysteries, since you have been able to reveal this mystery.'	47 And so the king spoke with Daniel and said, “Truly, your God is the God of gods, and Lord of kings, and also a revealer of secrets, since you could uncover this mystery.”
48 The king then conferred high rank on Daniel and gave him many handsome presents. He also madehim governor of the whole province of Babylon and head of all the sages of Babylon.	48 Then the king raised Daniel to a high rank and gave him many great gifts, and he appointed him as leader over all the provinces of Babylon and as chief of the magistrates over all the other wise men of Babylon.
49 At Daniel's request, the king entrusted the affairs of the province of Babylon to Shadrach, Meshachand Abed-Nego; Daniel himself remained in attendance on the king.	49 However, Daniel required of the king that he appoint Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the works of the province of Babylon. But Daniel himself was at the king’s door.