Daniel 2:2-49 Parallel Bible Translations

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	BLB Berean Literal Bible	ESV English Standard Version	NIV New International Version
2	And the king commanded to call the magicians, and the enchanters, and the sorcerers, and the astrologers, to tell to the king his dreams. And they came and stood before the king.	Then the king commanded that the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans be summoned to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king.	So the king summoned the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers and astrologers to tell him what he had dreamed. When they came in and stood before the king,
3	And the king said to them: “I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit is anxious to know the dream.”	And the king said to them, “I had a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.”	he said to them, “I have had a dream that troubles me and I want to know what it means.”
4	And the astrologers spoke to the king in Aramaic, “O king, may you live forever! Tell the dream to your servants, and we will show the interpretation.”	Then the Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic, “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.”	Then the astrologers answered the king, “May the king live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will interpret it.”
5	The king answered and said to the astrologers, “The word from me is firm: If you⁺ do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you⁺ shall be cut into limbs, and your houses shall be made a dunghill!	The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, “The word from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be torn limb from limb, and your houses shall be laid in ruins.	The king replied to the astrologers, “This is what I have firmly decided: If you do not tell me what my dream was and interpret it, I will have you cut into pieces and your houses turned into piles of rubble.
6	And if you⁺ show the dream and its interpretation, you⁺ will receive gifts and rewards and great honor from me. Therefore show me the dream and its interpretation.”	But if you show the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. Therefore show me the dream and its interpretation.”	But if you tell me the dream and explain it, you will receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. So tell me the dream and interpret it for me.”
7	They answered again and said, “May the king tell the dream to his servants, and we will show its interpretation.”	They answered a second time and said, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show its interpretation.”	Once more they replied, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will interpret it.”
8	The king answered and said, “For sure I know that you⁺ are buying time, all because you⁺ see that the word is gone from me,	The king answered and said, “I know with certainty that you are trying to gain time, because you see that the word from me is firm—	Then the king answered, “I am certain that you are trying to gain time, because you realize that this is what I have firmly decided:
9	that if you⁺ do not make known to me the dream, it is one decree for you⁺. And you⁺ have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me until the times should change. Therefore you must tell the dream to me, and I will know that you⁺ can show me its interpretation.”	if you do not make the dream known to me, there is but one sentence for you. You have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till the times change. Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can show me its interpretation.”	If you do not tell me the dream, there is only one penalty for you. You have conspired to tell me misleading and wicked things, hoping the situation will change. So then, tell me the dream, and I will know that you can interpret it for me.”
10	The astrologers answered before the king and said, “There is not a man on earth who is able to show the word of the king, because that not any king, lord, or ruler has asked a thing like this from any magician, or enchanter, or astrologer.	The Chaldeans answered the king and said, “There is not a man on earth who can meet the king’s demand, for no great and powerful king has asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or Chaldean.	The astrologers answered the king, “There is no one on earth who can do what the king asks! No king, however great and mighty, has ever asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or astrologer.
11	And the thing that the king is asking is difficult, and there is not another who can show it to the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.”	The thing that the king asks is difficult, and no one can show it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.”	What the king asks is too difficult. No one can reveal it to the king except the gods, and they do not live among humans.”
12	All because of this, the king was very angry and he became furious, and he gave a command to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.	Because of this the king was angry and very furious, and commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be destroyed.	This made the king so angry and furious that he ordered the execution of all the wise men of Babylon.
13	And the decree went out, and they began killing the wise men, and they sought Daniel and his companions to kill them.	So the decree went out, and the wise men were about to be killed; and they sought Daniel and his companions, to kill them.	So the decree was issued to put the wise men to death, and men were sent to look for Daniel and his friends to put them to death.
14	Then Daniel responded with counsel and discretion to Arioch the captain of the guard of the king, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon.	Then Daniel replied with prudence and discretion to Arioch, the captain of the king’s guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon.	When Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard, had gone out to put to death the wise men of Babylon, Daniel spoke to him with wisdom and tact.
15	He answered and said to Arioch, captain of the king: “For what is this urgent decree from the king?” Then Arioch made known the matter to Daniel.	He declared to Arioch, the king’s captain, “Why is the decree of the king so urgent?” Then Arioch made the matter known to Daniel.	He asked the king’s officer, “Why did the king issue such a harsh decree?” Arioch then explained the matter to Daniel.
16	And Daniel went in and sought from the king that he should give to him time to show the interpretation to the king.	And Daniel went in and requested the king to appoint him a time, that he might show the interpretation to the king.	At this, Daniel went in to the king and asked for time, so that he might interpret the dream for him.
17	Then Daniel went to his house, and to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah his companions, he made known the matter,	Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions,	Then Daniel returned to his house and explained the matter to his friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah.
18	and he sought mercies from before the God of heaven concerning this secret, so that Daniel and his companions should perish not with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.	and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions might not be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.	He urged them to plead for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that he and his friends might not be executed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.
19	Then to Daniel, in a vision which was of the night, the secret was revealed. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven,	Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.	During the night the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision. Then Daniel praised the God of heaven
20	and Daniel answered, saying, “Let the name of God be blessed from age even to age, for the wisdom and might that are unto Him.	Daniel answered and said: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might.	and said: “Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his.
21	And He is the One changing the times and the seasons, removing kings and setting up kings, giving wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those knowing with understanding.	He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding;	He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.
22	He is the One revealing deep and secret things, knowing what is in the darkness, for the light dwells with Him.	he reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him.	He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him.
23	To You, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and I praise You, for You have given wisdom and might. To me and now You have made known to me what we asked of You, for the matter of the king You have made known to us.”	To you, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we asked of you, for you have made known to us the king’s matter.”	I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors: You have given me wisdom and power, you have made known to me what we asked of you, you have made known to us the dream of the king.”
24	Therefore according to this, Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon; he went and thus said to him: “You should not destroy the wise men of Babylon. Take me before the king, and I will show the interpretation to the king.”	Therefore Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said thus to him: “Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will show the king the interpretation.”	Then Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to execute the wise men of Babylon, and said to him, “Do not execute the wise men of Babylon. Take me to the king, and I will interpret his dream for him.”
25	Then Arioch, going with haste, brought Daniel before the king, and thus said to him: “I have found a man from the sons of the captivity of Judah who will show the interpretation to the king.”	Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste and said thus to him: “I have found among the exiles from Judah a man who will make known to the king the interpretation.”	Arioch took Daniel to the king at once and said, “I have found a man among the exiles from Judah who can tell the king what his dream means.”
26	The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to make known to me the dream that I have seen, and its interpretation?”	The king declared to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to make known to me the dream that I have seen and its interpretation?”	The king asked Daniel (also called Belteshazzar), “Are you able to tell me what I saw in my dream and interpret it?”
27	Daniel answered before the king and said: “The secret that the king has been asking, the wise men, the enchanters, the magicians, and the diviners are not able to show to the king;	Daniel answered the king and said, “No wise men, enchanters, magicians, or astrologers can show to the king the mystery that the king has asked,	Daniel replied, “No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about,
28	but there is a God in heaven revealing secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will come to pass in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your head upon your bed, this it is:	but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days. Your dream and the visions of your head as you lay in bed are these:	but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries. He has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in days to come. Your dream and the visions that passed through your mind as you were lying in bed are these:
29	To you, O king, your thought on your bed came up what would come to be after this; and the One revealing secrets has made known to you what will come to pass.	To you, O king, as you lay in bed came thoughts of what would be after this, and he who reveals mysteries made known to you what is to be.	“As Your Majesty was lying there, your mind turned to things to come, and the revealer of mysteries showed you what is going to happen.
30	And to me—not with wisdom that is in me more than all the living—this secret has been revealed to me, but in order that the interpretation should be made known to the king and that you may know the thoughts of your heart.	But as for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because of any wisdom that I have more than all the living, but in order that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that you may know the thoughts of your mind.	As for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because I have greater wisdom than anyone else alive, but so that Your Majesty may know the interpretation and that you may understand what went through your mind.
31	You, O king, were watching, and behold, a great image. This great image, whose splendor was excellent, was standing before you, and its appearance was frightening.	“You saw, O king, and behold, a great image. This image, mighty and of exceeding brightness, stood before you, and its appearance was frightening.	“Your Majesty looked, and there before you stood a large statue—an enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance.
32	This image, its head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze,	The head of this image was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its middle and thighs of bronze,	The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze,
33	its legs of iron, its feet, part of them of iron and part of them of clay.	its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of clay.	its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay.
34	You were looking, until that a stone was cut out, but not with hands, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and it shattered them.	As you looked, a stone was cut out by no human hand, and it struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces.	While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them.
35	Then they were crushed as one—the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, and they became like chaff from the threshing floors in summer, and the wind carried them away, and any trace of them could not be found. And the stone that struck the image became as a great mountain, and it filled all the earth.	Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold, all together were broken in pieces, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.	Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were all broken to pieces and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth.
36	This is the dream, and its interpretation we will tell before the king.	“This was the dream. Now we will tell the king its interpretation.	“This was the dream, and now we will interpret it to the king.
37	You, O king, are king of kings—for the God of heaven has given to you the kingdom, the power, and the strength, and the glory.	You, O king, the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the might, and the glory,	Your Majesty, you are the king of kings. The God of heaven has given you dominion and power and might and glory;
38	And in everywhere the sons of man are dwelling, or the beasts of the field, or the birds of the heavens, He has given them into your hand, and He has made you ruler over them all. You are that head of gold!	and into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens, making you rule over them all—you are the head of gold.	in your hands he has placed all mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds in the sky. Wherever they live, he has made you ruler over them all. You are that head of gold.
39	And after you another kingdom will arise, inferior to you, and another third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth.	Another kingdom inferior to you shall arise after you, and yet a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth.	“After you, another kingdom will arise, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth.
40	And there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, because that iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes all these, it will break in pieces and it will crush.	And there shall be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron, because iron breaks to pieces and shatters all things. And like iron that crushes, it shall break and crush all these.	Finally, there will be a fourth kingdom, strong as iron—for iron breaks and smashes everything—and as iron breaks things to pieces, so it will crush and break all the others.
41	And as you saw the feet and the toes, partly of the clay of a potter, and partly of iron, so the kingdom shall be divided; and some of the strength of the iron will be in it, as you saw the iron mixed with common clay.	And as you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom, but some of the firmness of iron shall be in it, just as you saw iron mixed with the soft clay.	Just as you saw that the feet and toes were partly of baked clay and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom; yet it will have some of the strength of iron in it, even as you saw iron mixed with clay.
42	And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, so partly the kingdom will be strong, and part will be brittle.	And as the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly brittle.	As the toes were partly iron and partly clay, so this kingdom will be partly strong and partly brittle.
43	And as you saw the iron mixed with common clay, they will be mixing together with the seed of man; they will not be adhering this to that, as iron does not mix with clay.	As you saw the iron mixed with soft clay, so they will mix with one another in marriage, but they will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with clay.	And just as you saw the iron mixed with baked clay, so the people will be a mixture and will not remain united, any more than iron mixes with clay.
44	And in the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will not be destroyed for the ages, and this other kingdom will not be left to the people; it will break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it will stand to the ages,	And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever,	“In the time 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 crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever.
45	all because that you saw that from the mountain was cut out the stone that was without hands, that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold, the great God has made known to the king what will come to be after this. And the dream is true, and its interpretation trustworthy.”	just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold. A great God has made known to the king what shall be after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation sure.”	This is the meaning of the vision of the rock cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands—a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces. “The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future. The dream is true and its interpretation is trustworthy.”
46	Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, and to Daniel he paid homage, and an offering and he commanded that incense be poured forth to him.	Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face and paid homage to Daniel, and commanded that an offering and incense be offered up to him.	Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell prostrate before Daniel and paid him honor and ordered that an offering and incense be presented to him.
47	The king Answered Daniel and said: “Of a truth it is that your⁺ God, He is God of gods and Lord of kings, and the One revealing secrets, since you were able to reveal this secret.”	The king answered and said to Daniel, “Truly, your God is God of gods and Lord of kings, and a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this mystery.”	The king said to Daniel, “Surely your God is the God of gods and the Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries, for you were able to reveal this mystery.”
48	Then the king gave high honor to Daniel, and he gave many great gifts to him; and he made him ruler over all the province of Babylon and chief of the administrators over all the wise men of Babylon.	Then the king gave Daniel high honors and many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon and chief prefect over all the wise men of Babylon.	Then the king placed Daniel in a high position and lavished many gifts on him. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and placed him in charge of all its wise men.
49	And Daniel requested of the king, and he appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, and Daniel was in the gate of the king.	Daniel made a request of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the affairs of the province of Babylon. But Daniel remained at the king’s court.	Moreover, at Daniel’s request the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego administrators over the province of Babylon, while Daniel himself remained at the royal court.
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