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Selected Verse: Daniel 2:1 - Strong Concordance

Verse	Translation	Text
Da 2:1	Strong Concordance	And in the second [08147] year [08141] of the reign [04438] of Nebuchadnezzar [05019] Nebuchadnezzar [05019] dreamed [02492] dreams [02472], wherewith his spirit [07307] was troubled [06470], and his sleep [08142] brake [01961] from him.
	King James	And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled, and his sleep brake from him.

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A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]
NEBUCHADNEZZAR'S DREAM: DANIEL'S INTERPRETATION OF IT, AND ADVANCEMENT. (Dan. 2:1-49) second year of . . . Nebuchadnezzar-- Dan 1:5 shows that "three years" had elapsed since Nebuchadnezzar had taken Jerusalem. The solution of this difficulty is: Nebuchadnezzar first ruled as subordinate to his father Nabopolassar, to which time the first chapter refers (Dan 1:1); whereas "the second year" in the second chapter is dated from his sole sovereignty. The very difficulty is a proof of genuineness; all was clear to the writer and the original readers from their knowledge of the circumstances, and so he adds no explanation. A forger would not introduce difficulties; the author did not then see any difficulty in the case. Nebuchadnezzar is called "king" (Dan 1:1), by anticipation. Before he left Judea, he became actual king by the death of his father, and the Jews always called him "king," as commander of the invading army. dreams--It is significant that not to Daniel, but to the then world ruler, Nebuchadnezzar, the dream is vouchsafed. It was from the first of its representatives who had conquered the theocracy, that the world power was to learn its doom, as about to be in its turn subdued, and for ever by the kingdom of God. As this vision opens, so that in the seventh chapter developing the same truth more fully, closes the first part. Nebuchadnezzar, as vicegerent of God (Dan 2:37; compare Jer 25:9; Eze 28:12-15; Isa 44:28; Isa 45:1; Rom 13:1), is honored with the revelation in the form of a dream, the appropriate form to one outside the kingdom of God. So in the cases of Abimelech, Pharaoh, &c. (Gen 20:3; Gen 41:1-7), especially as the heathen attached such importance to dreams. Still it is not he, but an Israelite, who interprets it. Heathendom is passive, Israel active, in divine things, so that the glory redounds to "the God of heaven."

A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882]

NEBUCHADNEZZAR'S DREAM: DANIEL'S INTERPRETATION OF IT, AND ADVANCEMENT. (Dan. 2:1-49)

second year of . . . Nebuchadnezzar-- Dan 1:5 shows that "three years" had elapsed since Nebuchadnezzar had taken Jerusalem. The solution of this difficulty is: Nebuchadnezzar first ruled as subordinate to his father Nabopolassar, to which time the first chapter refers (Dan 1:1); whereas "the second year" in the second chapter is dated from his sole sovereignty. The very difficulty is a proof of genuineness; all was clear to the writer and the original readers from their knowledge of the circumstances, and so he adds no explanation. A forger would not introduce difficulties; the author did not then see any difficulty in the case. Nebuchadnezzar is called "king" (Dan 1:1), by anticipation. Before he left Judea, he became actual king by the death of his father, and the Jews always called him "king," as commander of the invading army.

dreams--It is significant that not to Daniel, but to the then world ruler, Nebuchadnezzar, the dream is vouchsafed. It was from the first of its representatives who had conquered the theocracy, that the world power was to learn its doom, as about to be in its turn subdued, and for ever by the kingdom of God. As this vision opens, so that in the seventh chapter developing the same truth more fully, closes the first part. Nebuchadnezzar, as vicegerent of God (Dan 2:37; compare Jer 25:9; Eze 28:12-15; Isa 44:28; Isa 45:1; Rom 13:1), is honored with the revelation in the form of a dream, the appropriate form to one outside the kingdom of God. So in the cases of Abimelech, Pharaoh, &c. (Gen 20:3; Gen 41:1-7), especially as the heathen attached such importance to dreams. Still it is not he, but an Israelite, who interprets it. Heathendom is passive, Israel active, in divine things, so that the glory redounds to "the God of heaven."

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]
And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar - There is an apparent chronological difficulty in this statement which has given some perplexity to expositors. It arises mainly from two sources. (1) That in Jer 25:1, it is said that the first year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar corresponded with the fourth year of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and as the captivity was in the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim Dan 1:1, the time here would be the "fourth" year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, instead of the second. (2) That we learn from Dan 1:5, Dan 1:18, that Daniel and his three friends had been in Babylon already three years, under a process of training preparatory to their being presented at court, and as the whole narrative leads us to suppose that it was "after" this that Daniel was regarded as enrolled among the wise men (compare Dan 2:13-14), on the supposition that the captivity occurred in the first year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, this would bring the time of the dream into the fourth year of his reign. This difficulty is somewhat increased from the fact that when Nebuchadnezzar went up to besiege Jerusalem he is called "king," and it is evident that he did not go as a lieutenant of the reigning monarch; or as a general of the Chaldean forces under the direction of another. See Kg2 24:1, Kg2 24:11. Various solutions of this difficulty have been proposed, but the true one probably is, that Nebuchadnezzar reigned some time conjointly with his father, Nabopolassar, and, though the title "king" was given to him, yet the reckoning here is dated from the time when he began to reign alone, and that this was the year of his sole occupancy of the throne. Berosus states that his father, Nabopolassar, was aged and infirm, and that he gave up a part of his army to his son Nebuchadnezzar, who defeated the Egyptian host at Carchemish (Circesium) on the Euphrates, and drove Necho out of Asia. The victorious prince then marched directly to Jerusalem, and Jehoiakim surrendered to him; and this was the beginning of the seventy years, captivity. See "Jahn's History of the Hebrew Commonwealth," p. 134. Nabopolassar probably died about two years after that, and Nebuchadnezzar succeeded to the throne. The period of their reigning together was two years, and of course the second year of his single reign would be the fourth of his entire reign; and a reckoning from either would be proper, and would not be misunderstood. Other modes of solution have been adopted, but as this meets the whole difficulty, and is founded on truth, it is unnecessary to refer to them. Compare Prof. Stuart, on Daniel, Excursus I. and Excursus II. (See Barnes' Appendix I and Appendix II to Daniel) Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams - The plural is here used, though there is but one dream mentioned, and probably but one is referred to, for Nebuchadnezzar, when speaking of it himself Dan 2:3, says, "I have dreamed a dream." In the Latin Vulgate, and in the Greek, it is also in the singular. It is probable that this is a popular use of words, as if one should say, "I had strange dreams last night," though perhaps but a single dream was intended. - Prof. Bush. Among the methods by which God made known future events in ancient times, that by "dreams" was one of the most common. See the notes at Dan 1:17; Introduction to Isaiah, Section 7. (2); compare Gen 20:3, Gen 20:6; Gen 31:11; Gen 37:5-6; Gen 40:5; Gen 41:7, Gen 41:25; Kg1 3:5; Num 12:6; Joe 2:28; Job 33:14-16. The belief that the will of heaven was communicated to men by means of dreams, was prevalent throughout the world in ancient times. Hence, the striking expression in Homer, Iliad i. 63 - καὶ γάρ τ ̓ ὄναρ ἐκ Διός ἐστιν kai gar t' onar ek Dios estin, "the dream is of Jove." So in the commencement of his second Iliad, he represents the will of Jupiter as conveyed to Agamemnon by Ὄνείρος Oneiros, or "the dream." So Diogenes Laertius makes mention of a dream of Socrates, by which he foretold his death as to happen in three days. This method of communicating the Divine will was adopted, not only in reference to the prophets, but also to those who were strangers to religion, and even to wicked men, as in the case of Pharaoh, Abimelech, Nebuchadnezzar, the butler and baker in Egypt, etc. In every such instance, however, it was necessary, as in the case before us, to call in the aid of a true prophet to interpret the dream; and it was only when thus interpreted that it took its place among the certain predictions of the future. One "object" of communicating the Divine will in this manner, seems to have been to fix the attention of the person who had the dream on the subject, and to prepare him to receive the communication which God had chosen to make to him. Thus it cannot be doubted that by the belief in dreams entertained by Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar, as disclosing future events, and by the anxiety of mind which they experienced m regard to the dreams, they were better prepared to receive the communications of Joseph and Daniel in reference to the future than they could have been by any other method of making known the Divine will. They had no doubt that some important communication had been made to them respecting the future, and they were anxious to know what it was. They were prepared, therefore, to welcome any explanation which commended itself to them as true, and in this way the servants of the true God had a means of access to their hearts which they could have found in no other way. By what laws it was so regulated that a dream should be "known" to be a preintimation of coming events, we have now no means of ascertaining. That it is "possible" for God to have access to the mind in sleep, and to communicate his will in this manner, no one can doubt. That it was, so far as employed for that purpose, a safe and certain way, is demonstrated by the results of the predictions thus made in the case of Abimelech, Gen 20:3, Gen 20:6; of Joseph and his brethren, Gen 37:5-6; of Pharaoh, Gen 41:7, Gen 41:25; and of the butler and baker, Gen 40:5. It is not, however, to be inferred that the same reliance, or that any reliance, is now to be placed on dreams, for were there no other consideration against such reliance, it would be sufficient that there is no authorized interpreter of the wanderings of the mind in sleep. God now communicates his truth to the souls of men in other ways. Wherewith his spirit was troubled - Alike by the unusual nature of the dream, and by the impression which he undoubtedly had that it referred to some important truths pertaining to his kingdom and to future times. See Dan 2:31-36 The Hebrew word here rendered "troubled" (פעם pâ‛am) means, properly, to "strike, to beat, to pound;" then, in Niph., to be moved, or agitated; and also in Hithpa., to be agitated, or troubled. The proper signification of the word is that of striking as on an anvil, and then it refers to any severe stroke, or anything which produces agitation. The "verb" occurs only in the following places: Jdg 13:25, where it is rendered "move;" and Psa 67:4, (5); Gen 41:8; Dan 2:1, Dan 2:3, where it is rendered "troubled." The "noun" is of frequent occurrence. "And his sleep brake from him." Hebrew עליו נהיתה שׁנתו shenâthô nı̂heyethâh ‛ālâyv. Literally, "His sleep was upon him." The Greek is, "his sleep was from him;" i. e., left him. The Vulgate, "his sleep fled (fugit) from him." But it may be doubted whether the Hebrew will bear this construction. Probably the literal construction is the true one, by which the sense of the Hebrew - על ‛al "upon" - will be retained. The meaning then would be, that this remarkable representation occurred when he was "in" a profound sleep. It was a "dream," and not "an open vision." It was such a representation as passes before the mind when the senses are locked in repose, and not such as was made to pass before the minds of the prophets when they were permitted to see visions of the future, though awake. Compare Num 24:4, Num 24:16. There is nothing in the words which conveys the idea that there was anything preternatural in the sleep that had come upon Nebuchadnezzar, but the thought is, that all this occurred when he "was" sound asleep. Prof. Stuart, however, renders this, "his sleep failed him," and so does also Gesenius. Winer renders it, "his sleep went away from him." But it seems to me that the more natural idea is what occurs in the literal translation of the words, that this occurred as a dream, in a state of profound repose.

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]

And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar - There is an apparent chronological difficulty in this statement which has given some perplexity to expositors. It arises mainly from two sources.

(1) That in Jer 25:1, it is said that the first year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar corresponded with the fourth year of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and as the captivity was in the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim Dan 1:1, the time here would be the "fourth" year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, instead of the second.

(2) That we learn from Dan 1:5, Dan 1:18, that Daniel and his three friends had been in Babylon already three years, under a process of training preparatory to their being presented at court, and as the whole narrative leads us to suppose that it was "after" this that Daniel was regarded as enrolled among the wise men (compare Dan 2:13-14), on the supposition that the captivity occurred in the first year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, this would bring the time of the dream into the fourth year of his reign. This difficulty is somewhat increased from the fact that when Nebuchadnezzar went up to besiege Jerusalem he is called "king," and it is evident that he did not go as a lieutenant of the reigning monarch; or as a general of the Chaldean forces under the direction of another. See Kg2 24:1, Kg2 24:11. Various solutions of this difficulty have been proposed, but the true one probably is, that Nebuchadnezzar reigned some time conjointly with his father, Nabopolassar, and, though the title "king" was given to him, yet the reckoning here is dated from the time when he began to reign alone, and that this was the year of his sole occupancy of the throne.

Berosus states that his father, Nabopolassar, was aged and infirm, and that he gave up a part of his army to his son Nebuchadnezzar, who defeated the Egyptian host at Carchemish (Circesium) on the Euphrates, and drove Necho out of Asia. The victorious prince then marched directly to Jerusalem, and Jehoiakim surrendered to him; and this was the beginning of the seventy years, captivity. See "Jahn's History of the Hebrew Commonwealth," p. 134. Nabopolassar probably died about two years after that, and Nebuchadnezzar succeeded to the throne. The period of their reigning together was two years, and of course the second year of his single reign would be the fourth of his entire reign; and a reckoning from either would be proper, and would not be misunderstood. Other modes of solution have been adopted, but as this meets the whole difficulty, and is founded on truth, it is unnecessary to refer to them. Compare Prof. Stuart, on Daniel, Excursus I. and Excursus II. (See Barnes' Appendix I and Appendix II to Daniel)

Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams - The plural is here used, though there is but one dream mentioned, and probably but one is referred to, for Nebuchadnezzar, when speaking of it himself Dan 2:3, says, "I have dreamed a dream." In the Latin Vulgate, and in the Greek, it is also in the singular. It is probable that this is a popular use of words, as if one should say, "I had strange dreams last night," though perhaps but a single dream was intended. - Prof. Bush. Among the methods by which God made known future events in ancient times, that by "dreams" was one of the most common. See the notes at Dan 1:17; Introduction to Isaiah, Section 7. (2); compare Gen 20:3, Gen 20:6; Gen 31:11; Gen 37:5-6; Gen 40:5; Gen 41:7, Gen 41:25; Kg1 3:5; Num 12:6; Joe 2:28; Job 33:14-16. The belief that the will of heaven was communicated to men by means of dreams, was prevalent throughout the world in ancient times. Hence, the striking expression in Homer, Iliad i. 63 - καὶ γάρ τ ̓ ὄναρ ἐκ Διός ἐστιν kai gar t' onar ek Dios estin, "the dream is of Jove." So in the commencement of his second Iliad, he represents the will of Jupiter as conveyed to Agamemnon by Ὄνείρος Oneiros, or "the dream."

So Diogenes Laertius makes mention of a dream of Socrates, by which he foretold his death as to happen in three days. This method of communicating the Divine will was adopted, not only in reference to the prophets, but also to those who were strangers to religion, and even to wicked men, as in the case of Pharaoh, Abimelech, Nebuchadnezzar, the butler and baker in Egypt, etc. In every such instance, however, it was necessary, as in the case before us, to call in the aid of a true prophet to interpret the dream; and it was only when thus interpreted that it took its place among the certain predictions of the future. One "object" of communicating the Divine will in this manner, seems to have been to fix the attention of the person who had the dream on the subject, and to prepare him to receive the communication which God had chosen to make to him. Thus it cannot be doubted that by the belief in dreams entertained by Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar, as disclosing future events, and by the anxiety of mind which they experienced m regard to the dreams, they were better prepared to receive the communications of Joseph and Daniel in reference to the future than they could have been by any other method of making known the Divine will.

They had no doubt that some important communication had been made to them respecting the future, and they were anxious to know what it was. They were prepared, therefore, to welcome any explanation which commended itself to them as true, and in this way the servants of the true God had a means of access to their hearts which they could have found in no other way. By what laws it was so regulated that a dream should be "known" to be a preintimation of coming events, we have now no means of ascertaining. That it is "possible" for God to have access to the mind in sleep, and to communicate his will in this manner, no one can doubt. That it was, so far as employed for that purpose, a safe and certain way, is demonstrated by the results of the predictions thus made in the case of Abimelech, Gen 20:3, Gen 20:6; of Joseph and his brethren, Gen 37:5-6; of Pharaoh, Gen 41:7, Gen 41:25; and of the butler and baker, Gen 40:5. It is not, however, to be inferred that the same reliance, or that any reliance, is now to be placed on dreams, for were there no other consideration against such reliance, it would be sufficient that there is no authorized interpreter of the wanderings of the mind in sleep. God now communicates his truth to the souls of men in other ways.

Wherewith his spirit was troubled - Alike by the unusual nature of the dream, and by the impression which he undoubtedly had that it referred to some important truths pertaining to his kingdom and to future times. See Dan 2:31-36 The Hebrew word here rendered "troubled" (פעם pâ‛am) means, properly, to "strike, to beat, to pound;" then, in Niph., to be moved, or agitated; and also in Hithpa., to be agitated, or troubled. The proper signification of the word is that of striking as on an anvil, and then it refers to any severe stroke, or anything which produces agitation. The "verb" occurs only in the following places: Jdg 13:25, where it is rendered "move;" and Psa 67:4, (5); Gen 41:8; Dan 2:1, Dan 2:3, where it is rendered "troubled." The "noun" is of frequent occurrence. "And his sleep brake from him." Hebrew עליו נהיתה שׁנתו shenâthô nı̂heyethâh ‛ālâyv.

Literally, "His sleep was upon him." The Greek is, "his sleep was from him;" i. e., left him. The Vulgate, "his sleep fled (fugit) from him." But it may be doubted whether the Hebrew will bear this construction. Probably the literal construction is the true one, by which the sense of the Hebrew - על ‛al "upon" - will be retained. The meaning then would be, that this remarkable representation occurred when he was "in" a profound sleep. It was a "dream," and not "an open vision." It was such a representation as passes before the mind when the senses are locked in repose, and not such as was made to pass before the minds of the prophets when they were permitted to see visions of the future, though awake. Compare Num 24:4, Num 24:16. There is nothing in the words which conveys the idea that there was anything preternatural in the sleep that had come upon Nebuchadnezzar, but the thought is, that all this occurred when he "was" sound asleep. Prof. Stuart, however, renders this, "his sleep failed him," and so does also Gesenius. Winer renders it, "his sleep went away from him." But it seems to me that the more natural idea is what occurs in the literal translation of the words, that this occurred as a dream, in a state of profound repose.

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]
The dream of Nebuchadnezzar and the inability of the Chaldean wise men to interpret it. - By the ו copulative standing at the commencement of this chapter the following narrative is connected with c. Dan 1:21. "We shall now discover what the youthful Daniel became, and what he continued to be to the end of the exile" (Klief.). The plur. חלמות (dreams, Dan 2:1 and Dan 2:2), the singular of which occurs in Dan 2:3, is not the plur. of definite universality (Hv., Maur., Klief.), but of intensive fulness, implying that the dream in its parts contained a plurality of subjects. M('p@ft;hi (from פּעם, to thrust, to stroke, as פּעם, an anvil, teaches, to be tossed hither and thither) marks great internal disquietude. In Dan 2:3 and in Gen 41:8, as in Psa 77:5, it is in the Niphal form, but in Dan 2:1 it is in Hithp., on which Kran. finely remarks: "The Hithpael heightens the conception of internal unquiet lying in the Niphal to the idea that it makes itself outwardly manifest." His sleep was gone. This is evidenced without doubt by the last clause of Dan 2:1, עליו נהיתה. These interpretations are altogether wrong: - "His sleep came upon him, i.e., he began again to sleep" (Calvin); or "his sleep was against him," i.e., was an aversion to him, was troublesome (L. de Dieu); or, as Hv. also interprets it, "his sleep offended him, or was like a burden heavy upon him;" for נהיה does not mean to fall, and thus does not agree with the thought expressed. The Niph. נהיה means to have become, been, happened. The meaning has already been rightly expressed by Theodoret in the words ἐγένετο ἀπ ̓αὐτου, and in the Vulgate by the words "fugit ab illo;" and Berth., Ges., and others have with equal propriety remarked, that נהיתה שׁנתו corresponds in meaning with נדּת שׁנתּהּ, Dan 6:19 (18), and שׁנת נדדה, Est 6:1. This sense, to have been, however, does not conduct to the meaning given by Klief.: his sleep had been upon him; it was therefore no more, it had gone; for "to have been" is not "to be no more," but "to be finished," past, gone. This meaning is confirmed by נהייתי, Dan 8:27 : it was done with me, I was gone. The עליו stands not for the dative, but retains the meaning, over, upon, expressing the influence on the mind, as e.g., Jer 8:18, Hos 11:8, Psa 42:6-7, 12; Psa 43:5, etc., which in German we express by the word bei or fr. The reason of so great disquietude we may not seek in the circumstance that on awaking he could not remember the dream. This follows neither from Dan 2:3, nor is it psychologically probable that so impressive a dream, which on awaking he had forgotten, should have yet sorely disquieted his spirit during his waking hours. "The disquiet was created in him, as in Pharaoh (Gen 41), by the specially striking incidents of the dream, and the fearful, alarming apprehensions with reference to his future fate connected therewith" (Kran.). Dan 2:2 In the disquietude of his spirit the king commanded all his astrologers and wise men to come to him, four classes of whom are mentioned in this verse. 1. The חרטמּים, who were found also in Egypt (Gen 41:24). They are so named from חרט, a "stylus" - those who went about with the stylus, the priestly class of the ἱερογραμματεῖς, those learned in the sacred writings and in literature. 2. The אשּׁפים, conjurers, from שׁאף or נשׁף, to breathe, to blow, to whisper; for they practised their incantations by movements of the breath, as is shown by the Arabic nft, flavit ut praestigiator in nexos a se nodos, incantavit, with which it is compared by Hitz. and Kran. 3. The מכשּׁפים, magicians, found also in Egypt (Exo 7:11), and, according to Isa 47:9, Isa 47:12, a powerful body in Babylon. 4. The כּשׂדּים, the priest caste of the Chaldeans, who are named, Dan 2:4, Dan 2:10, and Dan 1:4, instar omnium as the most distinguished class among the Babylonian wise men. According to Herod. i. 171, and Diod. Sic. ii. 24, the Chaldeans appear to have formed the priesthood in a special sense, or to have attended to the duties specially devolving on the priests. This circumstance, that amongst an Aramaic people the priests in a stricter sense were called Chaldeans, is explained, as at p. 78, from the fact of the ancient supremacy of the Chaldean people in Babylonia. Besides these four classes there is also a fifth, Dan 2:27; Daniel 4:4 (Dan 4:7), Dan 5:7, Dan 5:11, called the גּזרין, the astrologers, not haruspices, from גּזר, "to cut flesh to pieces," but the determiners of the גּזרה, the fatum or the fata, who announced events by the appearances of the heavens (cf. Isa 47:13), the forecasters of nativities, horoscopes, who determined the fate of men from the position and the movement of the stars at the time of their birth. These different classes of the priests and the learned are comprehended, Dan 2:12., under the general designation of חכּימין (cf. also Isa 44:25; Jer 50:35), and they formed a σύστημα, i.e., collegium (Diod. Sic. ii. 31), under a president (סגנין רב, Dan 2:48), who occupied a high place in the state; see at Dan 2:48. These separate classes busied themselves, without doubt, with distinct branches of the Babylonian wisdom. While each class cultivated a separate department, yet it was not exclusively, but in such a manner that the activities of the several classes intermingled in many ways. This is clearly seen from what is said of Daniel and his companions, that they were trained in all the wisdom of the Chaldeans (Dan 1:17), and is confirmed by the testimony of Diod. Sic. (ii. 29), that the Chaldeans, who held almost the same place in the state that the priests in Egypt did, while applying themselves to the service of the gods, sought their greatest glory in the study of astrology, and also devoted themselves much to prophecy, foretelling future things, and by means of lustrations, sacrifices, and incantations seeking to turn away evil and to secure that which was good. They possessed the knowledge of divination from omens, of expounding of dreams and prodigies, and of skilfully casting horoscopes. That he might receive an explanation of his dream, Nebuchadnezzar commanded all the classes of the priests and men skilled in wisdom to be brought before him, because in an event which was to him so weighty he must not only ascertain the facts of the case, but should the dream announce some misfortune, he must also adopt the means for averting it. In order that the correctness of the explanation of the dream might be ascertained, the stars must be examined, and perhaps other means of divination must be resorted to. The proper priests could by means of sacrifices make the gods favourable, and the conjurers and magicians by their arts endeavour to avert the threatened misfortune. Dan 2:3 As to the king's demand, it is uncertain whether he wished to know the dream itself or its import. The wise men (Dan 2:4) understood his words as if he desired only to know the meaning of it; but the king replied (Dan 2:5.) that they must tell him both the dream and its interpretation. But this request on the part of the king does not quite prove that he had forgotten the dream, as Bleek, v. Leng., and others maintain, founding thereon the objection against the historical veracity of the narrative, that Nebuchadnezzar's demand that the dream should be told to him was madness, and that there was no sufficient reason for his rage (Dan 2:12). On the contrary, that the king had not forgotten his dream, and that there remained only some oppressive recollection that he had dreamed, is made clear from Dan 2:9, where the king says to the Chaldeans, "If ye cannot declare to me the dream, ye have taken in hand to utter deceitful words before me; therefore tell me the dream, that I may know that ye will give to me also the interpretation." According to this, Nebuchadnezzar wished to hear the dream from the wise men that he might thus have a guarantee for the correctness of the interpretation which they might give. He could not thus have spoken to them if he had wholly forgotten the dream, and had only a dark apprehension remaining in his mind that he had dreamed. In this case he would neither have offered a great reward for the announcement of the dream, nor have threatened severe punishment, or even death, for failure in announcing it. For then he would only have given the Chaldeans the opportunity, at the cost of truth, of declaring any dream with an interpretation. But as threatening and promise on the part of the king in that case would have been unwise, so also on the side of the wise men their helplessness in complying with the demand of the king would have been incomprehensible. If the king had truly forgotten the dream, they had no reason to be afraid of their lives if they had given some self-conceived dream with an interpretation of it; for in that case he could not have accused them of falsehood and deceit, and punished them on that account. If, on the contrary, he still knew the dream which so troubled him, and the contents of which he desired to hear from the Chaldeans, so that he might put them to the proof whether he might trust in their interpretation, then neither his demand nor the severity of his proceeding was irrational. "The magi boasted that by the help of the gods they could reveal deep and hidden things. If this pretence is well founded - so concluded Nebuchadnezzar - then it must be as easy for them to make known to me my dream as its interpretation; and since they could not do the former, he as rightly held them to be deceivers, as the people did the priests of Baal (1 Kings 18) because their gods answered not by fire." Hengst. Dan 2:4 The Chaldeans, as speaking for the whole company, understand the word of the king in the sense most favourable for themselves, and they ask the king to tell them the dream. וידבּרוּ for ויּאמרוּ, which as a rule stands before a quotation, is occasioned by the addition of ארמית, and the words which follow are zeugmatically joined to it. Aramaic, i.e., in the native language of Babylonia, where, according to Xenoph. (Cyrop. vii. 5), the Syriac, i.e., the Eastern Aramaic dialect, was spoken. From the statement here, that the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic, one must not certainly conclude that Nebuchadnezzar spoke the Aryan-Chaldaic language of his race. The remark refers to the circumstance that the following words are recorded in the Aramaic, as Ezr 4:7. Daniel wrote this and the following chapters in Aramaic, that he might give the prophecy regarding the world-power in the language of the world-power, which under the Chaldean dynasty was native in Babylon, the Eastern Aramaic. The formula, "O king, live for ever," was the usual salutation when the king was addressed, both at the Chaldean and the Persian court (cf. Dan 3:9; Dan 5:10; Dan 6:7, Dan 6:22 [6, 21]; Neh 2:3). In regard to the Persian court, see Aelian, var. hist. i. 32. With the kings of Israel this form of salutation was but rarely used: Sa1 10:24; Kg1 1:31. The Kethiv (text) לעבדיך, with Jod before the suffix, supposes an original form לעבדיך here, as at Dan 2:26; Dan 4:16, Dan 4:22, but it is perhaps only the etymological mode of writing for the form with ā long, analogous to the Hebr. suffix form עיו for עו, since the Jod is often wanting; cf. Dan 4:24; Dan 5:10, etc. A form ־איא lies at the foundation of the form כשׂדּיא; the Keri (margin) substitutes the usual Chaldee form כשׂדּאי from כּשׂדּאא, with the insertion of the litera quiescib. י, homog. to the quies. ē, while in the Kethiv the original Jod of the sing. כּשׂדּי is retained instead of the substituted ,א thus כשׂדּיא. This reading is perfectly warranted (cf. Dan 3:2, Dan 3:8,Dan 3:24; Ezr 4:12-13) by the analogous method of formation of the stat. emphat. plur. in existing nouns in ־י in biblical Chaldee. Dan 2:5 The meaning of the king's answer shapes itself differently according to the different explanations given of the words אזדּא מנּי מלּתה. The word אזדּא drow eh, which occurs only again in the same phrase in Dan 2:8, is regarded, in accordance with the translations of Theodot., ὁ λόγος ἀπ ̓ἐμοῦ ἀπέστη, and of the Vulg., "sermo recessit a me," as a verb, and as of like meaning with עזל, "to go away or depart," and is therefore rendered by M. Geier, Berth., and others in the sense, "the dream has escaped from me;" but Ges. Hv., and many older interpreters translate it, on the contrary, "the command is gone out from me." But without taking into account that the punctuation of the word אזדּא is not at all that of a verb, for this form can neither be a particip. nor the 3rd pers. pret. fem., no acknowledgment of the dream's having escaped from him is made; for such a statement would contradict what was said at Dan 2:3, and would not altogether agree with the statement of Dan 2:8. מלּתה is not the dream. Besides, the supposition that אזד is equivalent to אזל, to go away, depart, is not tenable. The change of the לinto דis extremely rare in the Semitic, and is not to be assumed in the word אזל, since Daniel himself uses אזל אזל, Dan 2:17, Dan 2:24; Dan 6:19-20, and also Ezra; Ezr 4:23; Ezr 5:8, Ezr 5:15. Moreover אזל has not the meaning of יצא, to go out, to take one's departure, but corresponds with the Hebr. הלך .rbe, to go. Therefore Winer, Hengst., Ibn Esr. Aben Ezra, Saad., and other rabbis interpret the word as meaning firmus: "the word stands firm;" cf. Dan 6:13 (12), מלּתא יצּיבה ("the thing is true"). This interpretation is justified by the actual import of the words, as it also agrees with Dan 2:8; but it does not accord with Dan 2:5. Here (in Dan 2:5) the declaration of the certainty of the king's word was superfluous, because all the royal commands were unchangeable. For this reason also the meaning σπουδαιῶς, studiously, earnestly, as Hitz., by a fanciful reference to the Persian, whence he has derived it, has explained it, is to be rejected. Much more satisfactory is the derivation from the Old Persian word found on inscriptions, âzanda, "science," "that which is known," given by Delitzsch (Herz.'s Realenc. iii. p. 274), and adopted by Kran. and Klief. (Note: In regard to the explanation of the word אזדּא as given above, it is, however, to be remarked that it is not confirmed, and Delitzsch has for the present given it up, because-as he has informed me-the word azdâ, which appears once in the large inscription of Behistan (Bisutun) and twice in the inscription of Nakhschi-Rustam, is of uncertain reading and meaning. Spiegel explains it "unknown," from zan, to know, and a privativum.) Accordingly Klief. thus interprets the phrase: "let the word from me be known," "be it known to you;" which is more suitable obviously than that of Kran.: "the command is, so far as regards me, made public." For the king now for the first time distinctly and definitely says that he wishes not only to hear from the wise men the interpretation, but also the dream itself, and declares the punishment that shall visit them in the event of their not being able to comply. הדּמין עבד, μέλη ποιεῖν, 2 Macc. 1:16, lxx in Daniel 3:39, διαμελίζεσθαι, to cut in pieces, a punishment that was common among the Babylonians (Daniel 3:39, cf. Eze 16:40), and also among the Israelites in the case of prisoners of war (cf. Sa1 15:33). It is not, however, to be confounded with the barbarous custom which was common among the Persians, of mangling particular limbs. נולי, in Ezr 6:11 נולוּ, dunghill, sink. The changing of their houses into dunghills is not to be regarded as meaning that the house built of clay would be torn down, and then dissolved by the rain and storm into a heap of mud, but is to be interpreted according to Kg2 10:27, where the temple of Baal is spoken of as having been broken down and converted into private closets; cf. Hv. in loco. The Keri תּתעבּדוּן without the Dagesh in בmight stand as the Kethiv for Ithpaal, but is apparently the Ithpeal, as at Dan 3:29; Ezr 6:11. As to בּתּיכון, it is to be remarked that Daniel uses only the suffix forms כון and הון, while with Ezra כם and כן are interchanged (see above, p. 515), which are found in the language of the Targums and might be regarded as Hebraisms, while the forms כון and הון are peculiar to the Syriac and the Samaritan dialects. This distinction does not prove that the Aramaic of Daniel belongs to a period later than that of Ezra (Hitz., v. Leng.), but only that Daniel preserves more faithfully the familiar Babylonian form of the Aramaic than does the Jewish scribe Ezra. Dan 2:6 The rigorous severity of this edict accords with the character of Oriental despots and of Nebuchadnezzar, particularly in his dealings with the Jews (Kg2 25:7, Kg2 25:18.; Jer 39:6., Jer 52:10., 24-27). In the promise of rewards the explanation of נבזבּה (in the plural נבזבּין, Dan 5:17) is disputed; its rendering by "money," "gold" (by Eichh. and Berth.), has been long ago abandoned as incorrect. The meaning gift, present, is agreeable to the context and to the ancient versions; but its derivation formed from the Chald. בזבז, Pealp. of בּזז, erogavit, expendit, by the substitution of נfor מand the excision of the second זfrom מבזבּזה, in the meaning largitio amplior, the Jod in the plural form being explained from the affinity of verbs ע'ע and ל'ה (Ges. Thes. p. 842, and Kran.), is highly improbable. The derivation from the Persian nuvâzan, nuvâzisch, to caress, to flatter, then to make a present to (P. v. Bohlen), or from the Sanscr. namas, present, gift (Hitz.), or from the Vedish bag̀, to give, to distribute, and the related New Persian bâj (bash), a present (Haug), are also very questionable. להן, on that account, therefore (cf. Dan 2:9 and Dan 4:24), formed from the prepos. ל and the demonstrative adverb הן, has in negative sentences (as the Hebr. כּי and להן) the meaning but, rather (Dan 2:30), and in a pregnant sense, only (Dan 2:11; Dan 3:28; Dan 6:8), without להן being derived in such instances from לא and הן = לא אם. Dan 2:7 The wise men repeat their request, but the king persists that they only justify his suspicion of them by pressing such a demand, and that he saw that they wished to deceive him with a self-conceived interpretation of the dream. וּפשׁרה is not, as Hitz. proposes, to be changed into וּפשׁרה. The form is a Hebr. stat. emphat. for וּפשׁרא, as e.g., מלּתה, Dan 2:5, is changed into מלּתא in Dan 2:8 and Dan 2:11, and in biblical Chaldee, in final syllables הis often found instead of .א fo Dan 2:8 יצּיב מן, an adverbial expression, to be sure, certainly, as קשׁט מן, truly, Dan 2:47, and other adverbial forms. The words זבנין אנתּוּן עדּנא דּי do not mean either "that ye wish to use or seize the favourable time" (Hv., Kran.), or "that ye wish to buy up the present perilous moment," i.e., bring it within your power, become masters of the time (Hitz.), but simply, that ye buy, that is wish to gain time (Ges., Maur., etc.). עדּן זבן = tempus emere in Cicero. Nothing can be here said of a favourable moment, for there was not such a time for the wise men, either in the fact that Nebuchadnezzar had forgotten his dream (Hv.), or in the curiosity of the king with reference to the interpretation of the dream, on which they could speculate, expecting that the king might be induced thereby to give a full communication of the dream (Kran.). But for the wise men, in consequence of the threatening of the king, the crisis was indeed fully of danger; but it is not to be overlooked that they appeared to think that they could control the crisis, bringing it under their own power, by their willingness to interpret the dream if it were reported to them. Their repeated request that the dream should be told to them shows only their purpose to gain time and have their lives, if they now truly believed either that the king could not now distinctly remember his dream, or that by not repeating it he wished to put them to the test. Thus the king says to them: I see from your hesitation that ye are not sure of your case; and since ye at the same time think that I have forgotten the dream, therefore ye wish me, by your repeated requests to relate the dream, only to gain time, to extend the case, because ye fear the threatened punishment (Klief.). דּי כּל־קבל, wholly because; not, withstanding that (Hitz.). As to the last words of Dan 2:8, see under Dan 2:5. Dan 2:9 הן דּי is equivalent to אם אשׁר, quodsi. "The דּי supposes the fact of the foregoing passage, and brings it into express relation to the conditional clause" (Kran.). דּתכון does not mean, your design or opinion, or your lot (Mich., Hitz., Maur.), but dat is law, decree, sentence; דּתכון, the sentence that is going forth or has gone forth against you, i.e., according to Dan 2:5, the sentence of death. חדה, one, or the one and no other. This judgment is founded on the following passage, in which the cop. וis to be explained as equivalent to namely. וּשׁחיתה כּדבה, lies and pernicious words, are united together for the purpose of strengthening the idea, in the sense of wicked lies (Hitz.). הזמנתון is not to be read, as Hv., v. Leng., Maur., and Kran. do, as the Aphel הזמנתּוּן: ye have prepared or resolved to say; for in the Aphel this word (זמן) means to appoint or summon a person, but not to prepare or appoint a thing (see Buxt. Lex. Tal. s. v.). And the supposition that the king addressed the Chaldeans as the speakers appointed by the whole company of the wise men (Kran.) has no place in the text. The Kethiv הזּמּנתּוּן is to be read as Ithpa. for הזדּמּנתּוּן according to the Keri (cf. hizakuw הזּכּוּ for הזדּכּוּ, Isa 1:16), meaning inter se convenire, as the old interpreters rendered it. "Till the time be changed," i.e., till the king either drop the matter, or till they learn something more particular about the dream through some circumstances that may arise. The lies which Nebuchadnezzar charged the wise men with, consisted in the explanation which they promised if he would tell them the dream, while their desire to hear the dream contained a proof that they had not the faculty of revealing secrets. The words of the king clearly show that he knew the dream, for otherwise he would not have been able to know whether the wise men spoke the truth in telling him the dream (Klief.). Dan 2:10 Since the king persisted in his demand, the Chaldeans were compelled to confess that they could not tell the dream. This confession, however, they seek to conceal under the explanation that compliance with the king's request was beyond human power, - a request which no great or mighty king had ever before made of any magician or astrologer, and which was possible only with the gods, who however do not dwell among mortals. דּי כּל־קבל does not mean quam ob rem, wherefore, as a particle expressive of a consequence (Ges.), but is here used in the sense of because, assigning a reason. The thought expressed is not: because the matter is impossible for men, therefore no king has ever asked any such thing; but it is this: because it has come into the mind of no great and mighty king to demand any such thing, therefore it is impossible for men to comply with it. They presented before the king the fact that no king had ever made such a request as a proof that the fulfilling of it was beyond human ability. The epithets great and mighty are here not mere titles of the Oriental kings (Hv.), but are chosen as significant. The mightier the king, so much the greater the demand, he believed, he might easily make upon a subject. Dan 2:11-12 להן, but only, see under Dan 2:6. In the words, whose dwelling is not with flesh, there lies neither the idea of higher and of inferior gods, nor the thought that the gods only act among men in certain events (Hv.), but only the simple thought of the essential distinction between gods and men, so that one may not demand anything from weak mortals which could be granted only by the gods as celestial beings. בּשׂרא, flesh, in opposition to רוּח, marks the human nature according to its weakness and infirmity; cf. Isa 31:3; Psa 56:5. The king, however, does not admit this excuse, but falls into a violent passion, and gives a formal command that the wise men, in whom he sees deceivers abandoned by the gods, should be put to death. This was a dreadful command; but there are illustrations of even greater cruelty perpetrated by Oriental despots benore him as well as after him. The edict (דּתא) is carried out, but not fully. Not "all the wise men," according to the terms of the decree, were put to death, but מתקטּלין חכּימיּא, i.e., The wise men were put to death. Dan 2:13 While it is manifest that the decree was not carried fully out, it is yet clearer from what follows that the participle מתקטּלין does not stand for the preterite, but has the meaning: the work of putting to death was begun. The participle also does not stand as the gerund: they were to be put to death, i.e., were condemned (Kran.), for the use of the passive participle as the gerund is not made good by a reference to מהימן, Dan 2:45, and דחיל, Dan 2:31. Even the command to kill all the wise men of Babylon is scarcely to be understood of all the wise men of the whole kingdom. The word Babylon may represent the Babylonian empire, or the province of Babylonia, or the city of Babylon only. In the city of Babylon a college of the Babylonian wise men or Chaldeans was established, who, according to Strabo (xv. 1. 6), occupied a particular quarter of the city as their own; but besides this, there were also colleges in the province of Babylon at Hipparenum, Orchae, which Plin. hist. nat. vi. 26 (30) designates as tertia Chaldaeorum doctrina, at Borsippa, and other places. The wise men who were called (Dan 2:2) into the presence of the king, were naturally those who resided in the city of Babylon, for Nebuchadnezzar was at that time in his palace. Yet of those who had their residence there, Daniel and his companions were not summoned, because they had just ended their noviciate, and because, obviously, only the presidents or the older members of the several classes were sent for. But since Daniel and his companions belonged to the whole body of the wise men, they also were sought out that they might be put to death.

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]

The dream of Nebuchadnezzar and the inability of the Chaldean wise men to interpret it. - By the ו copulative standing at the commencement of this chapter the following narrative is connected with c. Dan 1:21. "We shall now discover what the youthful Daniel became, and what he continued to be to the end of the exile" (Klief.). The plur. חלמות (dreams, Dan 2:1 and Dan 2:2), the singular of which occurs in Dan 2:3, is not the plur. of definite universality (Hv., Maur., Klief.), but of intensive fulness, implying that the dream in its parts contained a plurality of subjects. M('p@ft;hi (from פּעם, to thrust, to stroke, as פּעם, an anvil, teaches, to be tossed hither and thither) marks great internal disquietude. In Dan 2:3 and in Gen 41:8, as in Psa 77:5, it is in the Niphal form, but in Dan 2:1 it is in Hithp., on which Kran. finely remarks: "The Hithpael heightens the conception of internal unquiet lying in the Niphal to the idea that it makes itself outwardly manifest." His sleep was gone. This is evidenced without doubt by the last clause of Dan 2:1, עליו נהיתה. These interpretations are altogether wrong: - "His sleep came upon him, i.e., he began again to sleep" (Calvin); or "his sleep was against him," i.e., was an aversion to him, was troublesome (L. de Dieu); or, as Hv. also interprets it, "his sleep offended him, or was like a burden heavy upon him;" for נהיה does not mean to fall, and thus does not agree with the thought expressed. The Niph. נהיה means to have become, been, happened. The meaning has already been rightly expressed by Theodoret in the words ἐγένετο ἀπ ̓αὐτου, and in the Vulgate by the words "fugit ab illo;" and Berth., Ges., and others have with equal propriety remarked, that נהיתה שׁנתו corresponds in meaning with נדּת שׁנתּהּ, Dan 6:19 (18), and שׁנת נדדה, Est 6:1. This sense, to have been, however, does not conduct to the meaning given by Klief.: his sleep had been upon him; it was therefore no more, it had gone; for "to have been" is not "to be no more," but "to be finished," past, gone. This meaning is confirmed by נהייתי, Dan 8:27 : it was done with me, I was gone. The עליו stands not for the dative, but retains the meaning, over, upon, expressing the influence on the mind, as e.g., Jer 8:18, Hos 11:8, Psa 42:6-7, 12; Psa 43:5, etc., which in German we express by the word bei or fr.

The reason of so great disquietude we may not seek in the circumstance that on awaking he could not remember the dream. This follows neither from Dan 2:3, nor is it psychologically probable that so impressive a dream, which on awaking he had forgotten, should have yet sorely disquieted his spirit during his waking hours. "The disquiet was created in him, as in Pharaoh (Gen 41), by the specially striking incidents of the dream, and the fearful, alarming apprehensions with reference to his future fate connected therewith" (Kran.).

Dan 2:2

In the disquietude of his spirit the king commanded all his astrologers and wise men to come to him, four classes of whom are mentioned in this verse. 1. The חרטמּים, who were found also in Egypt (Gen 41:24). They are so named from חרט, a "stylus" - those who went about with the stylus, the priestly class of the ἱερογραμματεῖς, those learned in the sacred writings and in literature. 2. The אשּׁפים, conjurers, from שׁאף or נשׁף, to breathe, to blow, to whisper; for they practised their incantations by movements of the breath, as is shown by the Arabic nft, flavit ut praestigiator in nexos a se nodos, incantavit, with which it is compared by Hitz. and Kran. 3. The מכשּׁפים, magicians, found also in Egypt (Exo 7:11), and, according to Isa 47:9, Isa 47:12, a powerful body in Babylon. 4. The כּשׂדּים, the priest caste of the Chaldeans, who are named, Dan 2:4, Dan 2:10, and Dan 1:4, instar omnium as the most distinguished class among the Babylonian wise men. According to Herod. i. 171, and Diod. Sic. ii. 24, the Chaldeans appear to have formed the priesthood in a special sense, or to have attended to the duties specially devolving on the priests. This circumstance, that amongst an Aramaic people the priests in a stricter sense were called Chaldeans, is explained, as at p. 78, from the fact of the ancient supremacy of the Chaldean people in Babylonia.

Besides these four classes there is also a fifth, Dan 2:27; Daniel 4:4 (Dan 4:7), Dan 5:7, Dan 5:11, called the גּזרין, the astrologers, not haruspices, from גּזר, "to cut flesh to pieces," but the determiners of the גּזרה, the fatum or the fata, who announced events by the appearances of the heavens (cf. Isa 47:13), the forecasters of nativities, horoscopes, who determined the fate of men from the position and the movement of the stars at the time of their birth. These different classes of the priests and the learned are comprehended, Dan 2:12., under the general designation of חכּימין (cf. also Isa 44:25; Jer 50:35), and they formed a σύστημα, i.e., collegium (Diod. Sic. ii. 31), under a president (סגנין רב, Dan 2:48), who occupied a high place in the state; see at Dan 2:48. These separate classes busied themselves, without doubt, with distinct branches of the Babylonian wisdom. While each class cultivated a separate department, yet it was not exclusively, but in such a manner that the activities of the several classes intermingled in many ways. This is clearly seen from what is said of Daniel and his companions, that they were trained in all the wisdom of the Chaldeans (Dan 1:17), and is confirmed by the testimony of Diod. Sic. (ii. 29), that the Chaldeans, who held almost the same place in the state that the priests in Egypt did, while applying themselves to the service of the gods, sought their greatest glory in the study of astrology, and also devoted themselves much to prophecy, foretelling future things, and by means of lustrations, sacrifices, and incantations seeking to turn away evil and to secure that which was good. They possessed the knowledge of divination from omens, of expounding of dreams and prodigies, and of skilfully casting horoscopes.

That he might receive an explanation of his dream, Nebuchadnezzar commanded all the classes of the priests and men skilled in wisdom to be brought before him, because in an event which was to him so weighty he must not only ascertain the facts of the case, but should the dream announce some misfortune, he must also adopt the means for averting it. In order that the correctness of the explanation of the dream might be ascertained, the stars must be examined, and perhaps other means of divination must be resorted to. The proper priests could by means of sacrifices make the gods favourable, and the conjurers and magicians by their arts endeavour to avert the threatened misfortune.

Dan 2:3

As to the king's demand, it is uncertain whether he wished to know the dream itself or its import. The wise men (Dan 2:4) understood his words as if he desired only to know the meaning of it; but the king replied (Dan 2:5.) that they must tell him both the dream and its interpretation. But this request on the part of the king does not quite prove that he had forgotten the dream, as Bleek, v. Leng., and others maintain, founding thereon the objection against the historical veracity of the narrative, that Nebuchadnezzar's demand that the dream should be told to him was madness, and that there was no sufficient reason for his rage (Dan 2:12). On the contrary, that the king had not forgotten his dream, and that there remained only some oppressive recollection that he had dreamed, is made clear from Dan 2:9, where the king says to the Chaldeans, "If ye cannot declare to me the dream, ye have taken in hand to utter deceitful words before me; therefore tell me the dream, that I may know that ye will give to me also the interpretation." According to this, Nebuchadnezzar wished to hear the dream from the wise men that he might thus have a guarantee for the correctness of the interpretation which they might give. He could not thus have spoken to them if he had wholly forgotten the dream, and had only a dark apprehension remaining in his mind that he had dreamed. In this case he would neither have offered a great reward for the announcement of the dream, nor have threatened severe punishment, or even death, for failure in announcing it. For then he would only have given the Chaldeans the opportunity, at the cost of truth, of declaring any dream with an interpretation. But as threatening and promise on the part of the king in that case would have been unwise, so also on the side of the wise men their helplessness in complying with the demand of the king would have been incomprehensible. If the king had truly forgotten the dream, they had no reason to be afraid of their lives if they had given some self-conceived dream with an interpretation of it; for in that case he could not have accused them of falsehood and deceit, and punished them on that account. If, on the contrary, he still knew the dream which so troubled him, and the contents of which he desired to hear from the Chaldeans, so that he might put them to the proof whether he might trust in their interpretation, then neither his demand nor the severity of his proceeding was irrational. "The magi boasted that by the help of the gods they could reveal deep and hidden things. If this pretence is well founded - so concluded Nebuchadnezzar - then it must be as easy for them to make known to me my dream as its interpretation; and since they could not do the former, he as rightly held them to be deceivers, as the people did the priests of Baal (1 Kings 18) because their gods answered not by fire." Hengst.

Dan 2:4

The Chaldeans, as speaking for the whole company, understand the word of the king in the sense most favourable for themselves, and they ask the king to tell them the dream. וידבּרוּ for ויּאמרוּ, which as a rule stands before a quotation, is occasioned by the addition of ארמית, and the words which follow are zeugmatically joined to it. Aramaic, i.e., in the native language of Babylonia, where, according to Xenoph. (Cyrop. vii. 5), the Syriac, i.e., the Eastern Aramaic dialect, was spoken. From the statement here, that the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic, one must not certainly conclude that Nebuchadnezzar spoke the Aryan-Chaldaic language of his race. The remark refers to the circumstance that the following words are recorded in the Aramaic, as Ezr 4:7. Daniel wrote this and the following chapters in Aramaic, that he might give the prophecy regarding the world-power in the language of the world-power, which under the Chaldean dynasty was native in Babylon, the Eastern Aramaic. The formula, "O king, live for ever," was the usual salutation when the king was addressed, both at the Chaldean and the Persian court (cf. Dan 3:9; Dan 5:10; Dan 6:7, Dan 6:22 [6, 21]; Neh 2:3). In regard to the Persian court, see Aelian, var. hist. i. 32. With the kings of Israel this form of salutation was but rarely used: Sa1 10:24; Kg1 1:31. The Kethiv (text) לעבדיך, with Jod before the suffix, supposes an original form לעבדיך here, as at Dan 2:26; Dan 4:16, Dan 4:22, but it is perhaps only the etymological mode of writing for the form with ā long, analogous to the Hebr. suffix form עיו for עו, since the Jod is often wanting; cf. Dan 4:24; Dan 5:10, etc. A form ־איא lies at the foundation of the form כשׂדּיא; the Keri (margin) substitutes the usual Chaldee form כשׂדּאי from כּשׂדּאא, with the insertion of the litera quiescib. י, homog. to the quies. ē, while in the Kethiv the original Jod of the sing. כּשׂדּי is retained instead of the substituted ,א thus כשׂדּיא. This reading is perfectly warranted (cf. Dan 3:2, Dan 3:8,Dan 3:24; Ezr 4:12-13) by the analogous method of formation of the stat. emphat. plur. in existing nouns in ־י in biblical Chaldee.

Dan 2:5

The meaning of the king's answer shapes itself differently according to the different explanations given of the words אזדּא מנּי מלּתה. The word אזדּא drow eh, which occurs only again in the same phrase in Dan 2:8, is regarded, in accordance with the translations of Theodot., ὁ λόγος ἀπ ̓ἐμοῦ ἀπέστη, and of the Vulg., "sermo recessit a me," as a verb, and as of like meaning with עזל, "to go away or depart," and is therefore rendered by M. Geier, Berth., and others in the sense, "the dream has escaped from me;" but Ges. Hv., and many older interpreters translate it, on the contrary, "the command is gone out from me." But without taking into account that the punctuation of the word אזדּא is not at all that of a verb, for this form can neither be a particip. nor the 3rd pers. pret. fem., no acknowledgment of the dream's having escaped from him is made; for such a statement would contradict what was said at Dan 2:3, and would not altogether agree with the statement of Dan 2:8. מלּתה is not the dream. Besides, the supposition that אזד is equivalent to אזל, to go away, depart, is not tenable. The change of the לinto דis extremely rare in the Semitic, and is not to be assumed in the word אזל, since Daniel himself uses אזל אזל, Dan 2:17, Dan 2:24; Dan 6:19-20, and also Ezra; Ezr 4:23; Ezr 5:8, Ezr 5:15. Moreover אזל has not the meaning of יצא, to go out, to take one's departure, but corresponds with the Hebr. הלך .rbe, to go. Therefore Winer, Hengst., Ibn Esr. Aben Ezra, Saad., and other rabbis interpret the word as meaning firmus: "the word stands firm;" cf. Dan 6:13 (12), מלּתא יצּיבה ("the thing is true"). This interpretation is justified by the actual import of the words, as it also agrees with Dan 2:8; but it does not accord with Dan 2:5. Here (in Dan 2:5) the declaration of the certainty of the king's word was superfluous, because all the royal commands were unchangeable. For this reason also the meaning σπουδαιῶς, studiously, earnestly, as Hitz., by a fanciful reference to the Persian, whence he has derived it, has explained it, is to be rejected. Much more satisfactory is the derivation from the Old Persian word found on inscriptions, âzanda, "science," "that which is known," given by Delitzsch (Herz.'s Realenc. iii. p. 274), and adopted by Kran. and Klief.

(Note: In regard to the explanation of the word אזדּא as given above, it is, however, to be remarked that it is not confirmed, and Delitzsch has for the present given it up, because-as he has informed me-the word azdâ, which appears once in the large inscription of Behistan (Bisutun) and twice in the inscription of Nakhschi-Rustam, is of uncertain reading and meaning. Spiegel explains it "unknown," from zan, to know, and a privativum.)

Accordingly Klief. thus interprets the phrase: "let the word from me be known," "be it known to you;" which is more suitable obviously than that of Kran.: "the command is, so far as regards me, made public." For the king now for the first time distinctly and definitely says that he wishes not only to hear from the wise men the interpretation, but also the dream itself, and declares the punishment that shall visit them in the event of their not being able to comply. הדּמין עבד, μέλη ποιεῖν, 2 Macc. 1:16, lxx in Daniel 3:39, διαμελίζεσθαι, to cut in pieces, a punishment that was common among the Babylonians (Daniel 3:39, cf. Eze 16:40), and also among the Israelites in the case of prisoners of war (cf. Sa1 15:33). It is not, however, to be confounded with the barbarous custom which was common among the Persians, of mangling particular limbs. נולי, in Ezr 6:11 נולוּ, dunghill, sink. The changing of their houses into dunghills is not to be regarded as meaning that the house built of clay would be torn down, and then dissolved by the rain and storm into a heap of mud, but is to be interpreted according to Kg2 10:27, where the temple of Baal is spoken of as having been broken down and converted into private closets; cf. Hv. in loco. The Keri תּתעבּדוּן without the Dagesh in בmight stand as the Kethiv for Ithpaal, but is apparently the Ithpeal, as at Dan 3:29; Ezr 6:11. As to בּתּיכון, it is to be remarked that Daniel uses only the suffix forms כון and הון, while with Ezra כם and כן are interchanged (see above, p. 515), which are found in the language of the Targums and might be regarded as Hebraisms, while the forms כון and הון are peculiar to the Syriac and the Samaritan dialects. This distinction does not prove that the Aramaic of Daniel belongs to a period later than that of Ezra (Hitz., v. Leng.), but only that Daniel preserves more faithfully the familiar Babylonian form of the Aramaic than does the Jewish scribe Ezra.

Dan 2:6

The rigorous severity of this edict accords with the character of Oriental despots and of Nebuchadnezzar, particularly in his dealings with the Jews (Kg2 25:7, Kg2 25:18.; Jer 39:6., Jer 52:10., 24-27). In the promise of rewards the explanation of נבזבּה (in the plural נבזבּין, Dan 5:17) is disputed; its rendering by "money," "gold" (by Eichh. and Berth.), has been long ago abandoned as incorrect. The meaning gift, present, is agreeable to the context and to the ancient versions; but its derivation formed from the Chald. בזבז, Pealp. of בּזז, erogavit, expendit, by the substitution of נfor מand the excision of the second זfrom מבזבּזה, in the meaning largitio amplior, the Jod in the plural form being explained from the affinity of verbs ע'ע and ל'ה (Ges. Thes. p. 842, and Kran.), is highly improbable. The derivation from the Persian nuvâzan, nuvâzisch, to caress, to flatter, then to make a present to (P. v. Bohlen), or from the Sanscr. namas, present, gift (Hitz.), or from the Vedish bag̀, to give, to distribute, and the related New Persian bâj (bash), a present (Haug), are also very questionable. להן, on that account, therefore (cf. Dan 2:9 and Dan 4:24), formed from the prepos. ל and the demonstrative adverb הן, has in negative sentences (as the Hebr. כּי and להן) the meaning but, rather (Dan 2:30), and in a pregnant sense, only (Dan 2:11; Dan 3:28; Dan 6:8), without להן being derived in such instances from לא and הן = לא אם.

Dan 2:7

The wise men repeat their request, but the king persists that they only justify his suspicion of them by pressing such a demand, and that he saw that they wished to deceive him with a self-conceived interpretation of the dream. וּפשׁרה is not, as Hitz. proposes, to be changed into וּפשׁרה. The form is a Hebr. stat. emphat. for וּפשׁרא, as e.g., מלּתה, Dan 2:5, is changed into מלּתא in Dan 2:8 and Dan 2:11, and in biblical Chaldee, in final syllables הis often found instead of .א fo

Dan 2:8

יצּיב מן, an adverbial expression, to be sure, certainly, as קשׁט מן, truly, Dan 2:47, and other adverbial forms. The words זבנין אנתּוּן עדּנא דּי do not mean either "that ye wish to use or seize the favourable time" (Hv., Kran.), or "that ye wish to buy up the present perilous moment," i.e., bring it within your power, become masters of the time (Hitz.), but simply, that ye buy, that is wish to gain time (Ges., Maur., etc.). עדּן זבן = tempus emere in Cicero. Nothing can be here said of a favourable moment, for there was not such a time for the wise men, either in the fact that Nebuchadnezzar had forgotten his dream (Hv.), or in the curiosity of the king with reference to the interpretation of the dream, on which they could speculate, expecting that the king might be induced thereby to give a full communication of the dream (Kran.). But for the wise men, in consequence of the threatening of the king, the crisis was indeed fully of danger; but it is not to be overlooked that they appeared to think that they could control the crisis, bringing it under their own power, by their willingness to interpret the dream if it were reported to them. Their repeated request that the dream should be told to them shows only their purpose to gain time and have their lives, if they now truly believed either that the king could not now distinctly remember his dream, or that by not repeating it he wished to put them to the test. Thus the king says to them: I see from your hesitation that ye are not sure of your case; and since ye at the same time think that I have forgotten the dream, therefore ye wish me, by your repeated requests to relate the dream, only to gain time, to extend the case, because ye fear the threatened punishment (Klief.). דּי כּל־קבל, wholly because; not, withstanding that (Hitz.). As to the last words of Dan 2:8, see under Dan 2:5.

Dan 2:9

הן דּי is equivalent to אם אשׁר, quodsi. "The דּי supposes the fact of the foregoing passage, and brings it into express relation to the conditional clause" (Kran.). דּתכון does not mean, your design or opinion, or your lot (Mich., Hitz., Maur.), but dat is law, decree, sentence; דּתכון, the sentence that is going forth or has gone forth against you, i.e., according to Dan 2:5, the sentence of death. חדה, one, or the one and no other. This judgment is founded on the following passage, in which the cop. וis to be explained as equivalent to namely. וּשׁחיתה כּדבה, lies and pernicious words, are united together for the purpose of strengthening the idea, in the sense of wicked lies (Hitz.). הזמנתון is not to be read, as Hv., v. Leng., Maur., and Kran. do, as the Aphel הזמנתּוּן: ye have prepared or resolved to say; for in the Aphel this word (זמן) means to appoint or summon a person, but not to prepare or appoint a thing (see Buxt. Lex. Tal. s. v.). And the supposition that the king addressed the Chaldeans as the speakers appointed by the whole company of the wise men (Kran.) has no place in the text. The Kethiv הזּמּנתּוּן is to be read as Ithpa. for הזדּמּנתּוּן according to the Keri (cf. hizakuw הזּכּוּ for הזדּכּוּ, Isa 1:16), meaning inter se convenire, as the old interpreters rendered it. "Till the time be changed," i.e., till the king either drop the matter, or till they learn something more particular about the dream through some circumstances that may arise. The lies which Nebuchadnezzar charged the wise men with, consisted in the explanation which they promised if he would tell them the dream, while their desire to hear the dream contained a proof that they had not the faculty of revealing secrets. The words of the king clearly show that he knew the dream, for otherwise he would not have been able to know whether the wise men spoke the truth in telling him the dream (Klief.).

Dan 2:10

Since the king persisted in his demand, the Chaldeans were compelled to confess that they could not tell the dream. This confession, however, they seek to conceal under the explanation that compliance with the king's request was beyond human power, - a request which no great or mighty king had ever before made of any magician or astrologer, and which was possible only with the gods, who however do not dwell among mortals. דּי כּל־קבל does not mean quam ob rem, wherefore, as a particle expressive of a consequence (Ges.), but is here used in the sense of because, assigning a reason. The thought expressed is not: because the matter is impossible for men, therefore no king has ever asked any such thing; but it is this: because it has come into the mind of no great and mighty king to demand any such thing, therefore it is impossible for men to comply with it. They presented before the king the fact that no king had ever made such a request as a proof that the fulfilling of it was beyond human ability. The epithets great and mighty are here not mere titles of the Oriental kings (Hv.), but are chosen as significant. The mightier the king, so much the greater the demand, he believed, he might easily make upon a subject.

Dan 2:11-12

להן, but only, see under Dan 2:6. In the words, whose dwelling is not with flesh, there lies neither the idea of higher and of inferior gods, nor the thought that the gods only act among men in certain events (Hv.), but only the simple thought of the essential distinction between gods and men, so that one may not demand anything from weak mortals which could be granted only by the gods as celestial beings. בּשׂרא, flesh, in opposition to רוּח, marks the human nature according to its weakness and infirmity; cf. Isa 31:3; Psa 56:5. The king, however, does not admit this excuse, but falls into a violent passion, and gives a formal command that the wise men, in whom he sees deceivers abandoned by the gods, should be put to death. This was a dreadful command; but there are illustrations of even greater cruelty perpetrated by Oriental despots benore him as well as after him. The edict (דּתא) is carried out, but not fully. Not "all the wise men," according to the terms of the decree, were put to death, but מתקטּלין חכּימיּא, i.e., The wise men were put to death.

Dan 2:13

While it is manifest that the decree was not carried fully out, it is yet clearer from what follows that the participle מתקטּלין does not stand for the preterite, but has the meaning: the work of putting to death was begun. The participle also does not stand as the gerund: they were to be put to death, i.e., were condemned (Kran.), for the use of the passive participle as the gerund is not made good by a reference to מהימן, Dan 2:45, and דחיל, Dan 2:31. Even the command to kill all the wise men of Babylon is scarcely to be understood of all the wise men of the whole kingdom. The word Babylon may represent the Babylonian empire, or the province of Babylonia, or the city of Babylon only. In the city of Babylon a college of the Babylonian wise men or Chaldeans was established, who, according to Strabo (xv. 1. 6), occupied a particular quarter of the city as their own; but besides this, there were also colleges in the province of Babylon at Hipparenum, Orchae, which Plin. hist. nat. vi. 26 (30) designates as tertia Chaldaeorum doctrina, at Borsippa, and other places. The wise men who were called (Dan 2:2) into the presence of the king, were naturally those who resided in the city of Babylon, for Nebuchadnezzar was at that time in his palace. Yet of those who had their residence there, Daniel and his companions were not summoned, because they had just ended their noviciate, and because, obviously, only the presidents or the older members of the several classes were sent for. But since Daniel and his companions belonged to the whole body of the wise men, they also were sought out that they might be put to death.

Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65]
In the second year - This was properly in the fifth year of that king's reign, but in the second year after Daniel had been brought before the king. Dreams - It was one dream, but of many parts.

Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826
The second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar - That is, the second year of his reigning alone, for he was king two years before his father's death. See the notes on Dan 1:1 (note). This was therefore the fifth year of his reign, and the fourth of the captivity of Daniel. Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams wherewith his spirit was troubled - The dream had made a deep and solemn impression upon his mind; and, having forgotten all but general circumstances, his mind was distressed.

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¹ And it came to pass at the end [07093] of two full [03117] years [08141], that Pharaoh [06547] dreamed [02492]: and, behold, he stood [05975] by the river [02975].
² And, behold, there came up [05927] out of the river [02975] seven [07651] well [03303] favoured [04758] kine [06510] and fatfleshed [01277] [01320]; and they fed [07462] in a meadow [0260].
³ And, behold, seven [07651] other [0312] kine [06510] came up [05927] after them [0310] out of the river [02975], ill [07451] favoured [04758] and leanfleshed [01851] [01320]; and stood [05975] by [0681] the other kine [06510] upon the brink [08193] of the river [02975].
⁴ And the ill [07451] favoured [04758] and leanfleshed [01851] [01320] kine [06510] did eat up [0398] the seven [07651] well [03303] favoured [04758] and fat [01277] kine [06510]. So Pharaoh [06547] awoke [03364].
⁵ And he slept [03462] and dreamed [02492] the second time [08145]: and, behold, seven [07651] ears of corn [07641] came up [05927] upon one [0259] stalk [07070], rank [01277] and good [02896].
⁶ And, behold, seven [07651] thin [01851] ears [07641] and blasted [07710] with the east wind [06921] sprung up [06779] after them [0310].
⁷ And the seven thin [01851] ears [07641] devoured [01104] the seven [07651] rank [01277] and full [04392] ears [07641]. And Pharaoh [06547] awoke [03364], and, behold, it was a dream [02472].

³ But God [0430] came [0935] to Abimelech [040] in a dream [02472] by night [03915], and said [0559] to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man [04191], for the woman [0802] which thou hast taken [03947]; for she is a man's [01167] wife [01166].

¹ Let every [3956] soul [5590] be subject [5293] unto the higher [5242] powers [1849]. For [1063] there is [2076] no [3756] power [1849] but [1508] of [575] God [2316]: [1161] the powers [1849] that be [5607] are [1526] ordained [5021] of [5259] God [2316].

¹ Thus saith [0559] the LORD [03068] to his anointed [04899], to Cyrus [03566], whose right hand [03225] I have holden [02388], to subdue [07286] nations [01471] before [06440] him; and I will loose [06605] the loins [04975] of kings [04428], to open [06605] before [06440] him the two leaved gates [01817]; and the gates [08179] shall not be shut [05462];

²⁸ That saith [0559] of Cyrus [03566], He is my shepherd [07462], and shall perform [07999] all my pleasure [02656]: even saying [0559] to Jerusalem [03389], Thou shalt be built [01129]; and to the temple [01964], Thy foundation shall be laid [03245].

¹² Son [01121] of man [0120], take up [05375] a lamentation [07015] upon the king [04428] of Tyrus [06865], and say [0559] unto him, Thus saith [0559] the Lord [0136] GOD [03069]; Thou sealest up [02856] the sum [08508], full [04392] of wisdom [02451], and perfect [03632] in beauty [03308].
¹³ Thou hast been in Eden [05731] the garden [01588] of God [0430]; every precious [03368] stone [068] was thy covering [04540], the sardius [0124], topaz [06357], and the diamond [03095], the beryl [08658], the onyx [07718], and the jasper [03471], the sapphire [05601], the emerald [05306], and the carbuncle [01304], and gold [02091]: the workmanship [04399] of thy tabrets [08596] and of thy pipes [05345] was prepared [03559] in thee in the day [03117] that thou wast created [01254].
¹⁴ Thou art the anointed [04473] cherub [03742] that covereth [05526]; and I have set [05414] thee so: thou wast upon the holy [06944] mountain [02022] of God [0430]; thou hast walked up and down [01980] in the midst [08432] of the stones [068] of fire [0784].
¹⁵ Thou wast perfect [08549] in thy ways [01870] from the day [03117] that thou wast created [01254], till iniquity [05766] was found [04672] in thee.

⁹ Behold, I will send [07971] and take [03947] all the families [04940] of the north [06828], saith [05002] the LORD [03068], and Nebuchadrezzar [05019] the king [04428] of Babylon [0894], my servant [05650], and will bring [0935] them against this land [0776], and against the inhabitants [03427] thereof, and against all these nations [01471] round about [05439], and will utterly destroy [02763] them, and make [07760] them an astonishment [08047], and an hissing [08322], and perpetual [05769] desolations [02723].

³⁷ Thou [0607], O king [04430], art a king [04430] of kings [04430]: for the God [0426] of heaven [08065] hath given [03052] thee a kingdom [04437], power [02632], and strength [08632], and glory [03367].

¹ In the third [07969] year [08141] of the reign [04438] of Jehoiakim [03079] king [04428] of Judah [03063] came [0935] Nebuchadnezzar [05019] king [04428] of Babylon [0894] unto Jerusalem [03389], and besieged [06696] it.

⁵ And the king [04428] appointed [04487] them a daily [03117] [03117] provision [01697] of the king's [04428] meat [06598], and of the wine [03196] which he drank [04960]: so nourishing [01431] them three [07969] years [08141], that at the end [07117] thereof they might stand [05975] before [06440] the king [04428].

¹⁶ He hath said [05002], which heard [08085] the words [0561] of God [0410], and knew [03045] the knowledge [01847] of the most High [05945], which saw [02372] the vision [04236] of the Almighty [07706], falling [05307] into a trance, but having his eyes [05869] open [01540]:

⁴ He hath said [05002], which heard [08085] the words [0561] of God [0410], which saw [02372] the vision [04236] of the Almighty [07706], falling [05307] into a trance, but having his eyes [05869] open [01540]:

³ And the king [04428] said [0559] unto them, I have dreamed [02492] a dream [02472], and my spirit [07307] was troubled [06470] to know [03045] the dream [02472].

¹ And in the second [08147] year [08141] of the reign [04438] of Nebuchadnezzar [05019] Nebuchadnezzar [05019] dreamed [02492] dreams [02472], wherewith his spirit [07307] was troubled [06470], and his sleep [08142] brake [01961] from him.

⁸ And it came to pass in the morning [01242] that his spirit [07307] was troubled [06470]; and he sent [07971] and called [07121] for all the magicians [02748] of Egypt [04714], and all the wise men [02450] thereof: and Pharaoh [06547] told [05608] them his dream [02472]; but there was none that could interpret [06622] them unto Pharaoh [06547].

⁴ O let the nations [03816] be glad [08055] and sing for joy [07442]: for thou shalt judge [08199] the people [05971] righteously [04334], and govern [05148] the nations [03816] upon earth [0776]. Selah [05542].

²⁵ And the Spirit [07307] of the LORD [03068] began [02490] to move him at times [06470] in the camp [04264] of Dan [01835] between Zorah [06881] and Eshtaol [0847].

³¹ Thou [0607], O king [04430], sawest [01934] [02370], and behold [0431] a great [02298] [07690] image [06755]. This [01797] great [07229] image [06755], whose brightness [02122] was excellent [03493], stood [06966] before [06903] thee; and the form [07299] thereof was terrible [01763].
³² This image's [06755] head [07217] was of fine [02869] gold [01722], his breast [02306] and his arms [01872] of silver [03702], his belly [04577] and his thighs [03410] of brass [05174],
³³ His legs [08243] of iron [06523], his feet [07271] part [04481] of iron [06523] and part [04481] of clay [02635].
³⁴ Thou sawest [02370] [01934] till [05705] that a stone [069] was cut out [01505] without [03809] hands [03028], which smote [04223] the image [06755] upon [05922] his feet [07271] that were of iron [06523] and clay [02635], and brake [01855] them [01994] to pieces [01855].
³⁵ Then [0116] was the iron [06523], the clay [02635], the brass [05174], the silver [03702], and the gold [01722], broken to pieces [01855] [01751] together [02298], and became [01934] like the chaff [05784] of [04481] the summer [07007] threshingfloors [0147]; and the wind [07308] carried [05376] them [01994] away [05376], that [03606] no [03809] place [0870] was found [07912] for them: and the stone [069] that smote [04223] the image [06755] became [01934] a great [07229] mountain [02906], and filled [04391] the whole [03606] earth [0772].
³⁶ This [01836] is the dream [02493]; and we will tell [0560] the interpretation [06591] thereof before [06925] the king [04430].

⁵ And they dreamed [02492] a dream [02472] both of them [08147], each man [0376] his dream [02472] in one [0259] night [03915], each man [0376] according to the interpretation [06623] of his dream [02472], the butler [08248] and the baker [0644] of the king [04428] of Egypt [04714], which were bound [0631] in the prison [01004] [05470].

²⁵ And Joseph [03130] said [0559] unto Pharaoh [06547], The dream [02472] of Pharaoh [06547] is one [0259]: God [0430] hath shewed [05046] Pharaoh [06547] what he is about to do [06213].

⁷ And the seven thin [01851] ears [07641] devoured [01104] the seven [07651] rank [01277] and full [04392] ears [07641]. And Pharaoh [06547] awoke [03364], and, behold, it was a dream [02472].

⁵ And Joseph [03130] dreamed [02492] a dream [02472], and he told [05046] it his brethren [0251]: and they hated [08130] him yet the more [03254].
⁶ And he said [0559] unto them, Hear [08085], I pray you, this dream [02472] which I have dreamed [02492]:

⁶ And God [0430] said [0559] unto him in a dream [02472], Yea [01571], I know [03045] that thou didst [06213] this in the integrity [08537] of thy heart [03824]; for I also withheld [02820] thee from sinning [02398] against me: therefore suffered [05414] I thee not to touch [05060] her.

¹⁴ For God [0410] speaketh [01696] once [0259], yea twice [08147], yet man perceiveth [07789] it not.
¹⁵ In a dream [02472], in a vision [02384] of the night [03915], when deep [08639] sleep falleth [05307] upon men [0582], in slumberings [08572] upon the bed [04904];
¹⁶ Then he openeth [01540] the ears [0241] of men [0582], and sealeth [02856] their instruction [04561],

²⁸ And it shall come to pass afterward [0310], that I will pour out [08210] my spirit [07307] upon all flesh [01320]; and your sons [01121] and your daughters [01323] shall prophesy [05012], your old men [02205] shall dream [02492] dreams [02472], your young men [0970] shall see [07200] visions [02384]:

⁶ And he said [0559], Hear [08085] now my words [01697]: If there be a prophet [05030] among you, I the LORD [03068] will make myself known [03045] unto him in a vision [04759], and will speak [01696] unto him in a dream [02472].

⁵ In Gibeon [01391] the LORD [03068] appeared [07200] to Solomon [08010] in a dream [02472] by night [03915]: and God [0430] said [0559], Ask [07592] what I shall give [05414] thee.

²⁵ And Joseph [03130] said [0559] unto Pharaoh [06547], The dream [02472] of Pharaoh [06547] is one [0259]: God [0430] hath shewed [05046] Pharaoh [06547] what he is about to do [06213].

⁷ And the seven thin [01851] ears [07641] devoured [01104] the seven [07651] rank [01277] and full [04392] ears [07641]. And Pharaoh [06547] awoke [03364], and, behold, it was a dream [02472].

¹¹ And the angel [04397] of God [0430] spake [0559] unto me in a dream [02472], saying, Jacob [03290]: And I said [0559], Here am I.

¹⁷ As for these four [0702] children [03206], God [0430] gave [05414] them knowledge [04093] and skill [07919] in all learning [05612] and wisdom [02451]: and Daniel [01840] had understanding [0995] in all visions [02377] and dreams [02472].

³ And the king [04428] said [0559] unto them, I have dreamed [02492] a dream [02472], and my spirit [07307] was troubled [06470] to know [03045] the dream [02472].

¹¹ And Nebuchadnezzar [05019] king [04428] of Babylon [0894] came [0935] against the city [05892], and his servants [05650] did besiege [06696] it.

¹ In his days [03117] Nebuchadnezzar [05019] king [04428] of Babylon [0894] came up [05927], and Jehoiakim [03079] became his servant [05650] three [07969] years [08141]: then he turned [07725] and rebelled [04775] against him.

¹³ And the decree [01882] went forth [05312] that the wise [02445] men should be slain [06992]; and they sought [01156] Daniel [01841] and his fellows [02269] to be slain [06992].
¹⁴ Then [0116] Daniel [01841] answered [08421] with counsel [05843] and wisdom [02942] to Arioch [0746] the captain [07229] of [01768] the king's [04430] guard [02877], which was gone forth [05312] to slay [06992] the wise [02445] men of Babylon [0895]:

¹⁸ Now at the end [07117] of the days [03117] that the king [04428] had said [0559] he should bring [0935] them in, then the prince [08269] of the eunuchs [05631] brought [0935] them in before [06440] Nebuchadnezzar [05019].

¹ The word [01697] that came to Jeremiah [03414] concerning all the people [05971] of Judah [03063] in the fourth [07243] year [08141] of Jehoiakim [03079] the son [01121] of Josiah [02977] king [04428] of Judah [03063], that was the first [07224] year [08141] of Nebuchadrezzar [05019] king [04428] of Babylon [0894];

² Then the king [04428] commanded [0559] to call [07121] the magicians [02748], and the astrologers [0825], and the sorcerers [03784], and the Chaldeans [03778], for to shew [05046] the king [04428] his dreams [02472]. So they came [0935] and stood [05975] before [06440] the king [04428].

⁴⁵ Forasmuch as [03606] [06903] thou sawest [02370] that the stone [069] was cut out [01505] of the mountain [02906] without [03809] hands [03028], and that it brake in pieces [01855] the iron [06523], the brass [05174], the clay [02635], the silver [03702], and the gold [01722]; the great [07229] God [0426] hath made known [03046] to the king [04430] what [04101] shall come to pass [01934] hereafter [0311] [01836]: and the dream [02493] is certain [03330], and the interpretation [06591] thereof sure [0540].

¹³ And the decree [01882] went forth [05312] that the wise [02445] men should be slain [06992]; and they sought [01156] Daniel [01841] and his fellows [02269] to be slain [06992].

⁵ Every day [03117] they wrest [06087] my words [01697]: all their thoughts [04284] are against me for evil [07451].

³ Now the Egyptians [04714] are men [0120], and not God [0410]; and their horses [05483] flesh [01320], and not spirit [07307]. When the LORD [03068] shall stretch out [05186] his hand [03027], both he that helpeth [05826] shall fall [03782], and he that is holpen [05826] shall fall down [05307], and they all shall fail [03615] together [03162].

⁶ But if [02006] ye shew [02324] the dream [02493], and the interpretation [06591] thereof, ye shall receive [06902] of [04481] me [06925] gifts [04978] and rewards [05023] and great [07690] honour [03367]: therefore [03861] shew [02324] me the dream [02493], and the interpretation [06591] thereof.

¹¹ And it is a rare [03358] thing [04406] that the king [04430] requireth [07593], and there is [0383] none [03809] other [0321] that can shew [02324] it before [06925] the king [04430], except [03861] the gods [0426], whose dwelling [04070] is [0383] not [03809] with [05974] flesh [01321].
¹² For [06903] this [01836] cause [03606] the king [04430] was angry [01149] and very [07690] furious [07108], and commanded [0560] to destroy [07] all [03606] the wise [02445] men of Babylon [0895].

¹⁰ The Chaldeans [03779] answered [06032] before [06925] the king [04430], and said [0560], There is [0383] not [03809] a man [0606] upon [05922] the earth [03007] that can [03202] shew [02324] the king's [04430] matter [04406]: therefore [06903] [01768] there is no [03809] king [04430], lord [07229], nor ruler [07990], that asked [07593] such [01836] things [04406] at any [03606] magician [02749], or astrologer [0826], or Chaldean [03779].

¹⁶ Wash [07364] you, make you clean [02135]; put away [05493] the evil [07455] of your doings [04611] from before [05048] mine eyes [05869]; cease [02308] to do evil [07489];

⁵ The king [04430] answered [06032] and said [0560] to the Chaldeans [03779], The thing [04406] is gone [0230] from me [04481]: if [02006] ye will not [03809] make known [03046] unto me the dream [02493], with the interpretation [06591] thereof, ye shall be cut [05648] in pieces [01917], and your houses [01005] shall be made [07761] a dunghill [05122].

⁹ But if [02006] ye will not [03809] make known [03046] unto me the dream [02493], there is but one [01932] [02298] decree [01882] for you: for ye have prepared [02164] lying [03538] and corrupt [07844] words [04406] to speak [0560] before [06925] me, till [05705] the time [05732] be changed [08133]: therefore [03861] tell [0560] me the dream [02493], and I shall know [03046] that [01768] ye can shew [02324] me the interpretation [06591] thereof.

⁸ The king [04430] answered [06032] and said [0560], I [0576] know [03046] of [04481] certainty [03330] that ye [0608] would gain [02084] the time [05732], because [06903] [03606] ye see [02370] the thing [04406] is gone [0230] from [04481] me.

⁴⁷ The king [04430] answered [06032] unto Daniel [01841], and said [0560], Of [04481] a truth [07187] it is, that [01768] your God [0426] is a God [0426] of gods [0426], and a Lord [04756] of kings [04430], and a revealer [01541] of secrets [07328], seeing thou couldest [03202] reveal [01541] this [01836] secret [07328].

⁷ They answered [06032] again [08579] and said [0560], Let the king [04430] tell [0560] his servants [05649] the dream [02493], and we will shew [02324] the interpretation [06591] of it.

⁸ Now [03705], O king [04430], establish [06966] the decree [0633], and sign [07560] the writing [03792], that it be not [03809] changed [08133], according to the law [01882] of the Medes [04076] and Persians [06540], which altereth [05709] not [03809].

²⁸ Then Nebuchadnezzar [05020] spake [06032], and said [0560], Blessed [01289] be the God [0426] of Shadrach [07715], Meshach [04336], and Abednego [05665], who hath sent [07972] his angel [04398], and delivered [07804] his servants [05649] that trusted [07365] in him [05922], and have changed [08133] the king's [04430] word [04406], and yielded [03052] their bodies [01655], that they might not [03809] serve [06399] nor [03809] worship [05457] any [03606] god [0426], except [03861] their own God [0426].

³⁰ But as for me [0576], this [01836] secret [07328] is not [03809] revealed [01541] to me for any wisdom [02452] that I have [0383] more than [04481] any [03606] living [02417], but [03861] for their sakes [01701] that [05922] shall make known [03046] the interpretation [06591] to the king [04430], and that thou mightest know [03046] the thoughts [07476] of thy heart [03825].

²⁴ This [01836] is the interpretation [06591], O king [04430], and this [01932] is the decree [01510] of the most High [05943], which is come [04291] upon [05922] my lord [04756] the king [04430]:

¹⁷ Then [0116] Daniel [01841] answered [06032] and said [0560] before [06925] the king [04430], Let thy gifts [04978] be [01934] to thyself, and give [03052] thy rewards [05023] to another [0321]; yet [01297] I will read [07123] the writing [03792] unto the king [04430], and make known [03046] to him the interpretation [06591].

¹⁰ And the king [04428] of Babylon [0894] slew [07819] the sons [01121] of Zedekiah [06667] before his eyes [05869]: he slew [07819] also all the princes [08269] of Judah [03063] in Riblah [07247].

⁶ Then the king [04428] of Babylon [0894] slew [07819] the sons [01121] of Zedekiah [06667] in Riblah [07247] before his eyes [05869]: also the king [04428] of Babylon [0894] slew [07819] all the nobles [02715] of Judah [03063].

¹⁸ And the captain [07227] of the guard [02876] took [03947] Seraiah [08304] the chief [07218] priest [03548], and Zephaniah [06846] the second [04932] priest [03548], and the three [07969] keepers [08104] of the door [05592]:

⁷ And they slew [07819] the sons [01121] of Zedekiah [06667] before his eyes [05869], and put out [05786] the eyes [05869] of Zedekiah [06667], and bound [0631] him with fetters [05178] of brass [05178], and carried [0935] him to Babylon [0894].

¹¹ Also [04481] I have made [07761] a decree [02942], that whosoever [03606] [0606] shall alter [08133] this [01836] word [06600], let timber [0636] be pulled down [05256] from [04481] his house [01005], and being set up [02211], let him be hanged [04223] thereon [05922]; and let his house [01005] be made [05648] a dunghill [05122] for [05922] this [01836].

²⁹ Therefore I [04481] make [07761] a decree [02942], That every [03606] people [05972], nation [0524], and language [03961], which speak [0560] any thing amiss [07960] [07955] against [05922] the God [0426] of Shadrach [07715], Meshach [04336], and Abednego [05665], shall be cut [05648] in pieces [01917], and their houses [01005] shall be made [07739] a dunghill [05122]: because [06903] [03606] there is [0383] no [03809] other [0321] God [0426] that can [03202] deliver [05338] after this [01836] sort.

²⁷ And they brake down [05422] the image [04676] of Baal [01168], and brake down [05422] the house [01004] of Baal [01168], and made [07760] it a draught house [04163] [04280] unto this day [03117].

³³ And Samuel [08050] said [0559], As thy sword [02719] hath made women [0802] childless [07921], so shall thy mother [0517] be childless [07921] among women [0802]. And Samuel [08050] hewed [08158] Agag [090] in pieces [08158] before [06440] the LORD [03068] in Gilgal [01537].

⁴⁰ They shall also bring up [05927] a company [06951] against thee, and they shall stone [07275] thee with stones [068], and thrust thee through [01333] with their swords [02719].

¹³ Then [0116] answered [06032] they and said [0560] before [06925] the king [04430], That Daniel [01841], which is of [04481] the children [01123] of the captivity [01547] of Judah [03061], regardeth [07761] [02942] not [03809] thee [05922], O king [04430], nor the decree [0633] that thou hast signed [07560], but maketh [01156] his petition [01159] three [08532] times [02166] a day [03118].

¹⁵ And said [0560] unto him, Take [05376] these [0412] vessels [03984], go [0236], carry [05182] them [01994] into the temple [01965] that is in Jerusalem [03390], and let the house [01005] of God [0426] be builded [01124] in [05922] his place [0870].

⁸ Be it known [01934] [03046] unto the king [04430], that we went [0236] into the province [04083] of Judea [03061], to the house [01005] of the great [07229] God [0426], which is builded [01124] with great [01560] stones [069], and timber [0636] is laid [07761] in the walls [03797], and this [01791] work [05673] goeth [05648] fast [0629] on, and prospereth [06744] in their hands [03028].

²³ Now [0116] when [04481] [01768] the copy [06573] of king [04430] Artaxerxes [0783]' letter [05407] was read [07123] before [06925] Rehum [07348], and Shimshai [08124] the scribe [05613], and their companions [03675], they went up [0236] in haste [0924] to Jerusalem [03390] unto [05922] the Jews [03062], and made them [01994] to cease [0989] by force [0153] and power [02429].

¹⁹ Then [0116] the king [04430] arose [06966] very early [08238] in the morning [05053], and went [0236] in haste [0927] unto the den [01358] of lions [0744].
²⁰ And when he came [07127] to the den [01358], he cried [02200] with a lamentable [06088] voice [07032] unto Daniel [01841]: and the king [04430] spake [06032] and said [0560] to Daniel [01841], O Daniel [01841], servant [05649] of the living [02417] God [0426], is thy God [0426], whom thou servest [06399] continually [08411], able [03202] to deliver [07804] thee from [04481] the lions [0744]?

²⁴ Therefore [03606] [06903] [01836] Daniel [01841] went in [05954] unto [05922] Arioch [0746], whom the king [04430] had ordained [04483] to destroy [07] the wise [02445] men of Babylon [0895]: he went [0236] and said [0560] thus [03652] unto him; Destroy [07] not [0409] the wise [02445] men of Babylon [0895]: bring me in [05954] before [06925] the king [04430], and I will shew [02324] unto the king [04430] the interpretation [06591].

¹⁷ Then [0116] Daniel [01841] went [0236] to his house [01005], and made the thing [04406] known [03046] to Hananiah [02608], Mishael [04333], and Azariah [05839], his companions [02269]:

³ And the king [04428] said [0559] unto them, I have dreamed [02492] a dream [02472], and my spirit [07307] was troubled [06470] to know [03045] the dream [02472].

¹² Be it [01934] known [03046] unto the king [04430], that the Jews [03062] which [01768] came up [05559] from [04481] thee [03890] to us [05922] are come [0858] unto Jerusalem [03390], building [01124] the rebellious [04779] and the bad [0873] city [07149], and have set up [03635] [03635] the walls [07792] thereof, and joined [02338] the foundations [0787].
¹³ Be it known [03046] [01934] now [03705] unto the king [04430], that, if [02006] this [01791] city [07149] be builded [01124], and the walls [07792] set up [03635] again, then will they not [03809] pay [05415] toll [04061], tribute [01093], and custom [01983], and so thou shalt endamage [05142] the revenue [0674] of the kings [04430].

²⁴ Then [0116] Nebuchadnezzar [05020] the king [04430] was astonied [08429], and rose up [06966] in haste [0927], and spake [06032], and said [0560] unto his counsellors [01907], Did not [03809] we cast [07412] three [08532] men [01400] bound [03729] into the midst [01459] of the fire [05135]? They answered [06032] and said [0560] unto the king [04430], True [03330], O king [04430].

⁸ Wherefore [06903] [03606] at that [01836] time [02166] certain [01400] Chaldeans [03779] came near [07127], and accused [07170] [0399] the Jews [03062].

² Then Nebuchadnezzar [05020] the king [04430] sent [07972] to gather together [03673] the princes [0324], the governors [05460], and the captains [06347], the judges [0148], the treasurers [01411], the counsellors [01884], the sheriffs [08614], and all [03606] the rulers [07984] of the provinces [04083], to come [0858] to the dedication [02597] of the image [06755] which Nebuchadnezzar [05020] the king [04430] had set up [06966].

¹⁰ Now the queen [04433], by reason [06903] of the words [04406] of the king [04430] and his lords [07261], came [05954] into the banquet [04961] house [01005]: and the queen [04433] spake [06032] and said [0560], O king [04430], live [02418] for ever [05957]: let not [0409] thy thoughts [07476] trouble [0927] thee, nor let thy countenance [02122] be changed [08133]:

²⁴ This [01836] is the interpretation [06591], O king [04430], and this [01932] is the decree [01510] of the most High [05943], which is come [04291] upon [05922] my lord [04756] the king [04430]:

²² It is thou [0607], O king [04430], that art grown [07236] and become strong [08631]: for thy greatness [07238] is grown [07236], and reacheth [04291] unto heaven [08065], and thy dominion [07985] to the end [05491] of the earth [0772].

¹⁶ Let his heart [03825] be changed [08133] from [04481] man's [0606], and let a beast's [02423] heart [03825] be given [03052] unto him; and let seven [07655] times [05732] pass [02499] over [05922] him.

²⁶ The king [04430] answered [06032] and said [0560] to Daniel [01841], whose name [08036] was Belteshazzar [01096], Art [0383] thou able [03546] to make known [03046] unto me the dream [02493] which I have seen [02370], and the interpretation [06591] thereof?

³¹ Then Bathsheba [01339] bowed [06915] with her face [0639] to the earth [0776], and did reverence [07812] to the king [04428], and said [0559], Let my lord [0113] king [04428] David [01732] live [02421] for ever [05769].

²⁴ And Samuel [08050] said [0559] to all the people [05971], See [07200] ye him whom the LORD [03068] hath chosen [0977], that there is none like him among all the people [05971]? And all the people [05971] shouted [07321], and said [0559], God save [02421] the king [04428].

³ And said [0559] unto the king [04428], Let the king [04428] live [02421] for ever [05769]: why should not my countenance [06440] be sad [03415], when the city [05892], the place [01004] of my fathers [01]' sepulchres [06913], lieth waste [02720], and the gates [08179] thereof are consumed [0398] with fire [0784]?

²² My God [0426] hath sent [07972] his angel [04398], and hath shut [05463] the lions [0744]' mouths [06433], that they have not [03809] hurt [02255] me: forasmuch as [03606] [06903] before [06925] him innocency [02136] was found [07912] in me; and also [0638] before [06925] thee, O king [04430], have I done [05648] no [03809] hurt [02248].

⁷ All [03606] the presidents [05632] of the kingdom [04437], the governors [05460], and the princes [0324], the counsellors [01907], and the captains [06347], have consulted together [03272] to establish [06966] a royal [04430] statute [07010], and to make a firm [08631] decree [0633], that whosoever shall ask [01156] a petition [01159] of [04481] any [03606] God [0426] or man [0606] for [05705] thirty [08533] days [03118], save [03861] of thee [04481], O king [04430], he shall be cast [07412] into the den [01358] of lions [0744].

⁹ They spake [06032] and said [0560] to the king [04430] Nebuchadnezzar [05020], O king [04430], live [02418] for ever [05957].

⁷ And in the days [03117] of Artaxerxes [0783] wrote [03789] Bishlam [01312], Mithredath [04990], Tabeel [02870], and the rest [07605] of their companions [03674], unto Artaxerxes [0783] king [04428] of Persia [06539]; and the writing [03791] of the letter [05406] was written [03789] in the Syrian tongue [0762], and interpreted [08638] in the Syrian tongue [0762].

⁴ Then spake [01696] the Chaldeans [03778] to the king [04428] in Syriack [0762], O king [04430], live [02418] for ever [05957]: tell [0560] thy servants [05649] the dream [02493], and we will shew [02324] the interpretation [06591].

¹² For [06903] this [01836] cause [03606] the king [04430] was angry [01149] and very [07690] furious [07108], and commanded [0560] to destroy [07] all [03606] the wise [02445] men of Babylon [0895].

³ And the king [04428] said [0559] unto them, I have dreamed [02492] a dream [02472], and my spirit [07307] was troubled [06470] to know [03045] the dream [02472].

⁴⁸ Then [0116] the king [04430] made [07236] Daniel [01841] a great man [07236], and gave [03052] him many [07690] great [07260] gifts [04978], and made him ruler [07981] over [05922] the whole [03606] province [04083] of Babylon [0895], and chief [07229] of the governors [05460] over [05922] all [03606] the wise [02445] men of Babylon [0895].

³⁵ A sword [02719] is upon the Chaldeans [03778], saith [05002] the LORD [03068], and upon the inhabitants [03427] of Babylon [0894], and upon her princes [08269], and upon her wise [02450] men.

²⁵ That frustrateth [06565] the tokens [0226] of the liars [0907], and maketh diviners [07080] mad [01984]; that turneth [07725] wise [02450] men backward [0268], and maketh their knowledge [01847] foolish [05528];

¹³ Thou art wearied [03811] in the multitude [07230] of thy counsels [06098]. Let now the astrologers [01895] [08064], the stargazers [02374] [03556], the monthly [02320] prognosticators [03045], stand up [05975], and save [03467] thee from these things that shall come [0935] upon thee.

¹¹ There is [0383] a man [01400] in thy kingdom [04437], in whom is the spirit [07308] of the holy [06922] gods [0426]; and in the days [03118] of thy father [02] light [05094] and understanding [07924] and wisdom [02452], like the wisdom [02452] of the gods [0426], was found [07912] in him; whom the king [04430] Nebuchadnezzar [05020] thy father [02], the king [04430], I say, thy father [02], made [06966] master [07229] of the magicians [02749], astrologers [0826], Chaldeans [03779], and soothsayers [01505];

⁷ The king [04430] cried [07123] aloud [02429] to bring [05954] in the astrologers [0826], the Chaldeans [03779], and the soothsayers [01505]. And the king [04430] spake [06032], and said [0560] to the wise [02445] men of Babylon [0895], Whosoever [0606] [03606] shall read [07123] this [01836] writing [03792], and shew [02324] me the interpretation [06591] thereof, shall be clothed [03848] with scarlet [0711], and have a chain [02002] of gold [01722] about [05922] his neck [06676], and shall be the third [08523] ruler [07981] in the kingdom [04437].

⁷ Then [0116] came [05954] in the magicians [02749], the astrologers [0826], the Chaldeans [03779], and the soothsayers [01505]: and I [0576] told [0560] the dream [02493] before [06925] them; but they did not [03809] make known [03046] unto me the interpretation [06591] thereof.

²⁷ Daniel [01841] answered [06032] in the presence [06925] of the king [04430], and said [0560], The secret [07328] which the king [04430] hath demanded [07593] cannot [03202] [03809] the wise [02445] men, the astrologers [0826], the magicians [02749], the soothsayers [01505], shew [02324] unto the king [04430];

⁴ Children [03206] in whom was no blemish [03971] [03971], but well [02896] favoured [04758], and skilful [07919] in all wisdom [02451], and cunning [03045] in knowledge [01847], and understanding [0995] science [04093], and such as had ability [03581] in them to stand [05975] in the king's [04428] palace [01964], and whom they might teach [03925] the learning [05612] and the tongue [03956] of the Chaldeans [03778].

¹² Stand [05975] now with thine enchantments [02267], and with the multitude [07230] of thy sorceries [03785], wherein [0834] thou hast laboured [03021] from thy youth [05271]; if so be thou shalt be able [03201] to profit [03276], if so be thou mayest prevail [06206].

⁹ But these two [08147] things shall come [0935] to thee in a moment [07281] in one [0259] day [03117], the loss of children [07908], and widowhood [0489]: they shall come [0935] upon thee in their perfection [08537] for the multitude [07230] of thy sorceries [03785], and for the great [03966] abundance [06109] of thine enchantments [02267].

¹¹ Then Pharaoh [06547] also called [07121] the wise men [02450] and the sorcerers [03784]: now the magicians [02748] of Egypt [04714], they also did [06213] in like manner [03651] with their enchantments [03858].

²⁴ And the thin [01851] ears [07641] devoured [01104] the seven [07651] good [02896] ears [07641]: and I told [0559] this unto the magicians [02748]; but there was none that could declare [05046] it to me.

³ And the king [04428] said [0559] unto them, I have dreamed [02492] a dream [02472], and my spirit [07307] was troubled [06470] to know [03045] the dream [02472].

⁵ Why art thou cast down [07817], O my soul [05315]? and why art thou disquieted [01993] within me? hope [03176] in God [0430]: for I shall yet praise [03034] him, who is the health [03444] of my countenance [06440], and my God [0430].

⁶ O my God [0430], my soul [05315] is cast down [07817] within me: therefore will I remember [02142] thee from the land [0776] of Jordan [03383], and of the Hermonites [02769], from the hill [02022] Mizar [04706].
⁷ Deep [08415] calleth [07121] unto deep [08415] at the noise [06963] of thy waterspouts [06794]: all thy waves [04867] and thy billows [01530] are gone [05674] over me.

⁸ How shall I give thee up [05414], Ephraim [0669]? how shall I deliver [04042] thee, Israel [03478]? how shall I make [05414] thee as Admah [0126]? how shall I set [07760] thee as Zeboim [06636]? mine heart [03820] is turned [02015] within me, my repentings [05150] are kindled [03648] together [03162].

¹⁸ When I would comfort [04010] myself against sorrow [03015], my heart [03820] is faint [01742] in me.

²⁷ And I Daniel [01840] fainted [01961], and was sick [02470] certain days [03117]; afterward I rose up [06965], and did [06213] the king's [04428] business [04399]; and I was astonished [08074] at the vision [04758], but none understood [0995] it.

¹ On that night [03915] could not [05074] the king [04428] sleep [08142], and he commanded [0559] to bring [0935] the book [05612] of records [02146] of the chronicles [01697] [03117]; and they were read [07121] before [06440] the king [04428].

¹⁹ Then [0116] the king [04430] arose [06966] very early [08238] in the morning [05053], and went [0236] in haste [0927] unto the den [01358] of lions [0744].

⁵ I have considered [02803] the days [03117] of old [06924], the years [08141] of ancient times [05769].

³ And the king [04428] said [0559] unto them, I have dreamed [02492] a dream [02472], and my spirit [07307] was troubled [06470] to know [03045] the dream [02472].

²¹ And Daniel [01840] continued even unto the first [0259] year [08141] of king [04428] Cyrus [03566].