Daniel Chapter 2

At a Glance

  • Daniel Chapter 2 pivots from the intimate, individual ethics of Daniel 1 to a dramatic test of wisdom and revelation in a courtly crisis.
  • Daniel’s report to Nebuchadnezzar is not merely prophecy; it is a theological assertion that Yahweh’s sovereignty supersedes human kingdoms.
  • Historical & Literary Context.
  • Daniel 2 belongs to a segment where the book shifts from personal fidelity (chapter 1) to public revelation (chapter 2).
  • - God’s sovereignty over empires: The statue imagery represents successive kingdoms under divine oversight, culminating in God’s unstoppable, eternal kingdom.

Chapter Overview

Daniel Chapter 2 pivots from the intimate, individual ethics of Daniel 1 to a dramatic test of wisdom and revelation in a courtly crisis. Nebuchadnezzar’s troubling dream terrifies him, and he demands not only an interpretation but the actual dream itself—a demand no wise man can meet. The king’s decree to kill all the wise men of Babylon threatens Daniel and his friends, exposing their precarious position within the empire. When the decree goes out, Daniel seeks mercy from God in prayer, and God grants him revelation of both the dream and its meaning. Daniel recounts the dream to Arioch, who in turn brings him before the king. The vision centers on a statue made of various materials—gold, silver, bronze, iron, and clay—representing successive world empires and the eventual establishment of an eternal kingdom. The dream’s interpretation reveals God’s sovereignty over earthly powers and the ultimate fate of empires, culminating in the rise of the “stone that becomes a rock” that crushes the statue and grows to fill the earth.

Daniel’s report to Nebuchadnezzar is not merely prophecy; it is a theological assertion that Yahweh’s sovereignty supersedes human kingdoms. The chapter ends with Nebuchadnezzar bowing before Daniel, praising the God of Israel, while Daniel’s status in Babylon rises, setting up a future tension between divine revelation and imperial power. The narrative locates wisdom not in Babylonian astrologers but in the God who reveals secrets, reaffirming the book’s core claim: the one true God governs history more reliably than the world’s sages.

Historical & Literary Context

Daniel 2 belongs to a segment where the book shifts from personal fidelity (chapter 1) to public revelation (chapter 2). The chapter’s dream-vision combines royal politics, dream interpretation, and cosmic eschatology—hallmarks of prophetic-apocalyptic literature. The genre uses a sovereign ruler’s anxiety to stage a dramatic contest between human wisdom and divine revelation. The historical setting remains Babylonian, but the literary aim widens: to reassure exilic readers and empower them with the conviction that God can disclose hidden things and direct world events toward his purposes.

This chapter thus functions as a turning point: it elevates Daniel’s role from a faithful youth to a national interpreter of divine will, foreshadowing the more dramatic visions that will come in later chapters. It also introduces the motif that true wisdom belongs to God, not to Babylon’s sages, and that God uses unlikely channels (a captive in a foreign court) to reveal truth to rulers.

Key Themes

- God’s sovereignty over empires: The statue imagery represents successive kingdoms under divine oversight, culminating in God’s unstoppable, eternal kingdom.

- Divine revelation vs. human wisdom: The failure of Babylonian wise men to interpret the dream emphasizes that insight comes from God alone.

- Courage in crisis: Daniel seeks God in prayer when the crisis erupts, modeling faithful dependence.

- Vindication of the faithful remnant: Daniel’s rise to influence in Babylon signals that fidelity to God does not exile one from influence; rather, it opens doors to serve a larger divine purpose.

- Eschatological hope in exile: The dream points to a future kingdom established by God that will outlast earthly powers, offering hope to those living under foreign rule.

Modern Application

- Trust in revelation over human expertise: In a world saturated with experts, this chapter invites humility before God as the source of ultimate wisdom. Prayerful discernment becomes crucial when confronted with complex decisions.

- Courage to face pressure and risk: Daniel’s willingness to stand firm—even under threat of death—offers a model for modern readers facing political or social coercion to conform.

- Interpreting culture through a divine lens: The chapter challenges readers to interpret contemporary empires, technologies, and ideologies in light of God’s sovereign rule and ultimate kingdom.

- Hope amid exile: For communities feeling marginalized, Daniel 2 reinforces that their present struggles fit into a larger, divine drama in which God’s purposes prevail.

Cross-References: Daniel 1; Daniel 3 (Fiery trial as testing of faith); Isaiah 40:21-24 (God’s control of empires); Psalm 2 (God’s anointed king).

Recommended Personas: Daniel; Joseph (gift of interpretation); Moses (leadership under pressure); Jesus (authority over powers and wisdom from God).

Chapter Text

1

And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled, and his sleep brake from him.

2

Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to shew the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king.

3

And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream.

4

Then spake the Chaldeans to the king in Syriack, O king, live for ever: tell thy servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation.

5

The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from me: if ye will not make known unto me the dream, with the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill.

6

But if ye shew the dream, and the interpretation thereof, ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honour: therefore shew me the dream, and the interpretation thereof.

7

They answered again and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation of it.

8

The king answered and said, I know of certainty that ye would gain the time, because ye see the thing is gone from me.

9

But if ye will not make known unto me the dream, there is but one decree for you: for ye have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me, till the time be changed: therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that ye can shew me the interpretation thereof.

10

The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is not a man upon the earth that can shew the king’s matter: therefore there is no king, lord, nor ruler, that asked such things at any magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean.

11

And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is none other that can shew it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.

12

For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.

13

And the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they sought Daniel and his fellows to be slain.

14

Then Daniel answered with counsel and wisdom to Arioch the captain of the king’s guard, which was gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon:

15

He answered and said to Arioch the king’s captain, Why is the decree so hasty from the king? Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel.

16

Then Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would give him time, and that he would shew the king the interpretation.

17

Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions:

18

That they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

19

Then was the secret revealed unto Daniel in a night vision. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.

20

Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his:

21

And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding:

22

He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.

23

I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast made known unto me now what we desired of thee: for thou hast now made known unto us the king’s matter.

24

Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had ordained to destroy the wise men of Babylon: he went and said thus unto him; Destroy not the wise men of Babylon: bring me in before the king, and I will shew unto the king the interpretation.

25

Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said thus unto him, I have found a man of the captives of Judah, that will make known unto the king the interpretation.

26

The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Art thou able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof?

27

Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the king;

28

But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these;

29

As for thee, O king, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter: and he that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee what shall come to pass.

30

But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, but for their sakes that shall make known the interpretation to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart.

31

Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible.

32

This image’s head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass,

33

His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.

34

Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.

35

Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.

36

This is the dream; and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the king.

37

Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, and glory.

38

And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold.

39

And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior to thee, and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.

40

And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise.

41

And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay.

42

And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.

43

And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.

44

And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.

45

Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.

46

Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odours unto him.

47

The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth it is, that your God is a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret.

48

Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon.

49

Then Daniel requested of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel sat in the gate of the king.

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