Atlas Biblica

    Daniel · 49 verses

    Daniel 2

    Every verse links to the people and places named in it, and to the passages readers connect it with.

    The chapter

    What happens here

    Atlas's own reading, written from this chapter and nothing else, and published only once a person has approved it. Each scene names the verses it covers; the names inside it link to the people and places they name.

    Nebuchadnezzar wanted the impossible in duplicate: not merely the meaning of his dream, but the dream itself. When the astrologers admitted that no one on earth could provide it, the royal response was to order the destruction of every wise man in Babylon—a remarkably brisk journey from sleeplessness to rubble.

    The dream that became a death sentencevv. 1–18

    Nebuchadnezzar’s troubled sleep summons the court’s experts, who ask for the ordinary courtesy of being told the dream before interpreting it. The king refuses even that small concession, offering gifts for success and household rubble for failure. Their answer—that no human can do this—only makes matters worse. Daniel is caught in the decree along with his friends, but meets Arioch with discretion, asks the king for time, and then takes the mystery home to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, urging them to seek mercy from the God of heaven.

    The mystery is given, then neatly carried upstairsvv. 19–30

    During the night, the mystery is revealed to Daniel in a vision. His first response is praise, with wisdom and power, darkness and light, kings removed and kings established all appearing in the same compact hymn. Then he goes straight to Arioch and stops the executions. Arioch hastily brings him before Nebuchadnezzar and introduces him as a man among the exiles from Judah. Daniel, for his part, declines the credit before the king has had time to assign it: the mystery is revealed so that the king may understand, not because Daniel has more wisdom than anyone alive.

    A statue, a stone, and an unexpectedly generous promotionvv. 31–49

    The dream is a great statue with a metallic descent from gold to silver, bronze, iron, and iron mixed with clay. A stone cut without human hands strikes its feet; the whole impressive arrangement becomes chaff, while the stone becomes a mountain filling the earth. Daniel interprets the metals as kingdoms, with the final divided one brittle despite its iron, and announces a kingdom that will stand forever. Nebuchadnezzar then falls before Daniel, orders an offering and incense for him, praises Daniel’s God, and promotes Daniel over Babylon and its wise men. At Daniel’s request, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah receive administration of the province, while Daniel remains in the king’s court. The statue has barely finished collapsing before the personnel arrangements are complete.

    The text

    Read it

    Berean Standard Bible, public domain. Names the Hebrew and Greek put in the verse link to the person, place or people they name; the address beside each verse is a link to that verse, which is what a reader copies and shares.

    1. Dan 2:1In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams that troubled his spirit, and sleep escaped him.

    2. Dan 2:2So the king gave orders to summon the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and astrologers to explain his dreams. When they came and stood before the king,

    3. Dan 2:3he said to them, “I have had a dream, and my spirit is anxious to understand it.”

    4. Dan 2:4Then the astrologers answered the king in Aramaic, “O king, may you live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation.”

    5. Dan 2:5The king replied to the astrologers, “My word is final: If you do not tell me the dream and its interpretation, you will be cut into pieces and your houses will be reduced to rubble.

    6. Dan 2:6But if you tell me the dream and its interpretation, you will receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. So tell me the dream and its interpretation.”

    7. Dan 2:7They answered a second time, “Let the king tell the dream to his servants, and we will give the interpretation.”

    8. Dan 2:8The king replied, “I know for sure that you are stalling for time because you see that my word is final.

    9. Dan 2:9If you do not tell me the dream, there is only one decree for you. You have conspired to speak before me false and fraudulent words, hoping the situation will change. Therefore tell me the dream, and I will know that you can give me its interpretation.”

    10. Dan 2:10The astrologers answered the king, “No one on earth can do what the king requests! No king, however great and powerful, has ever asked anything like this of any magician, enchanter, or astrologer.

    11. Dan 2:11What the king requests is so difficult that no one can tell it to him except the gods, whose dwelling is not with mortals.”

    12. Dan 2:12This response made the king so angry and furious that he gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.

    13. Dan 2:13So the decree went out that the wise men were to be executed, and men went to look for Daniel and his friends to execute them.

    14. Dan 2:14When Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard, went out to execute the wise men of Babylon, Daniel responded with discretion and tact.

    15. Dan 2:15“Why is the decree from the king so harsh?” he asked. Then Arioch explained the situation to Daniel.

    16. Dan 2:16So Daniel went in and asked the king to give him some time, so that he could give him the interpretation.

    17. Dan 2:17Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,

    18. Dan 2:18urging them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his friends would not be killed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

    19. Dan 2:19During the night, the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision, and he blessed the God of heaven

    20. Dan 2:20and declared: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to Him.

    21. Dan 2:21He changes the times and seasons; He removes kings and establishes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.

    22. Dan 2:22He reveals the deep and hidden things; He knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with Him.

    23. Dan 2:23To You, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, because You have given me wisdom and power. And now You have made known to me what we have requested, for You have made known to us the dream of the king.”

    24. Dan 2:24Therefore Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon, and said to him, “Do not execute the wise men of Babylon! Bring me before the king, and I will give him the interpretation.”

    25. Dan 2:25Arioch hastily brought Daniel before the king and said to him, “I have found a man among the exiles from Judah who will tell the king the interpretation.”

    26. Dan 2:26The king responded to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to tell me what I saw in the dream, as well as its interpretation?”

    27. Dan 2:27Daniel answered the king, “No wise man, enchanter, medium, or magician can explain to the king the mystery of which he inquires.

    28. Dan 2:28But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the latter days. Your dream and the visions that came into your mind as you lay on your bed were these:

    29. Dan 2:29As you lay on your bed, O king, your thoughts turned to the future, and the Revealer of Mysteries made known to you what will happen.

    30. Dan 2:30And to me this mystery has been revealed, not because I have more wisdom than any man alive, but in order that the interpretation might be made known to the king, and that you may understand the thoughts of your mind.

    31. Dan 2:31As you, O king, were watching, a great statue appeared. A great and dazzling statue stood before you, and its form was awesome.

    32. Dan 2:32The head of the statue was pure gold, its chest and arms were silver, its belly and thighs were bronze,

    33. Dan 2:33its legs were iron, and its feet were part iron and part clay.

    34. Dan 2:34As you watched, a stone was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay, and crushed them.

    35. Dan 2:35Then the iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold were shattered and became like chaff on the threshing floor in summer. The wind carried them away, and not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that had struck the statue became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.

    36. Dan 2:36This was the dream; now we will tell the king its interpretation.

    37. Dan 2:37You, O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given sovereignty, power, strength, and glory.

    38. Dan 2:38Wherever the sons of men or beasts of the field or birds of the air dwell, He has given them into your hand and has made you ruler over them all. You are that head of gold.

    39. Dan 2:39But after you, there will arise another kingdom, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule the whole earth.

    40. Dan 2:40Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom as strong as iron; for iron shatters and crushes all things, and like iron that crushes all things, it will shatter and crush all the others.

    41. Dan 2:41And just as you saw that the feet and toes were made partly of fired clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom, yet some of the strength of iron will be in it—just as you saw the iron mixed with clay.

    42. Dan 2:42And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle.

    43. Dan 2:43As you saw the iron mixed with clay, so the peoples will mix with one another but will not hold together any more than iron mixes with clay.

    44. Dan 2:44In the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will shatter all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, but will itself stand forever.

    45. Dan 2:45And just as you saw a stone being cut out of the mountain without human hands, and it shattered the iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold, so the great God has told the king what will happen in the future. The dream is true, and its interpretation is trustworthy.”

    46. Dan 2:46At this, King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, paid homage to Daniel, and ordered that an offering and incense be presented to him.

    47. Dan 2:47The king said to Daniel, “Your God is truly the God of gods and Lord of kings, the Revealer of Mysteries, since you were able to reveal this mystery.”

    48. Dan 2:48Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many generous gifts. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon.

    49. Dan 2:49And at Daniel’s request, the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to manage the province of Babylon, while Daniel remained in the king’s court.

    01 — Also here

    Who else the chapter reaches

    Names written in the English are linked in the text above. These are the ones that are not: an entity the Hebrew or Greek names under a spelling the translation does not use, or one reached only by an assertion about a verse of this chapter.

    Named in the Hebrew or Greek somewhere in this chapter, under a form the English renders differently — the registry's Ludim against the translation's Ludites — so there is no word in the sentence to hang the link on.

    Reached by an assertion Atlas extracted from a verse of this chapter rather than by a name written in it — a pronoun, a title, or a participant the sentence carries without naming. This layer is model-read and measured at 88.6–90.3% precision, and it is kept separate from the names above for that reason.

    02 — Read alongside

    Where this is echoed

    Readers' own connections, from OpenBible's crowd-voted cross-references — agreement about relevance, and not scholarly confidence. 579 passages were voted onto 47 verses of this chapter; the 16 shown lead on votes, and each is listed at the verse it was voted onto most strongly.

    • 21Psalms 75:5–7Do not lift up your horn against heaven or speak with an outstretched neck.’”
    • 21Psalms 31:14–15But I trust in You, O LORD; I say, “You are my God.”
    • 21Daniel 4:17This decision is the decree of the watchers, the verdict declared by the holy ones, so that the living will know that the Most High rules over the kingdom of mankind and gives it to whom He wishes, setting over it the lowliest of men.’
    • 21Daniel 7:25He will speak out against the Most High and oppress the saints of the Most High, intending to change the appointed times and laws; and the saints will be given into his hand for a time, and times, and half a time.
    • 21James 3:15–17Such wisdom does not come from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.
    • 21Job 34:24–29He shatters the mighty without inquiry and sets up others in their place.
    • 22Job 12:22He reveals the deep things of darkness and brings deep shadows into light.
    • 21Proverbs 8:15–16By me kings reign, and rulers enact just laws;
    • 44Luke 1:32–33He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David,
    • 44Matthew 28:18Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.
    • 21Acts 13:21–22Then the people asked for a king, and God gave them Saul son of Kish, from the tribe of Benjamin, who ruled forty years.
    • 212 Chronicles 1:10–12Now grant me wisdom and knowledge, so that I may lead this people. For who is able to govern this great people of Yours?”
    • 21Luke 1:51–52He has performed mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who are proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
    • 44Psalms 145:13Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and Your dominion endures through all generations. The LORD is faithful in all His words and kind in all His actions.
    • 44Daniel 6:26I hereby decree that in every part of my kingdom, men are to tremble in fear before the God of Daniel: For He is the living God, and He endures forever; His kingdom will never be destroyed, and His dominion will never end.
    • 211 Kings 4:29And God gave Solomon wisdom, exceedingly deep insight, and understanding beyond measure, like the sand on the seashore.

    Onward

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