Book 2
Concerning the image which king Nebuchadnezzar set up
Nebuchadnezzar’s forgotten dream
Chapter 1
1. “In the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed a dream and his spirit was amazed, and his sleep departed1 from him. And the king said to call the enchanters and the magicians2 and the sorcerers and the Chaldeans to proclaim to the king his dream. And they came and stood before the king. And the king said to them, ‘I dreamed and my spirit was amazed to know the dream.’ And the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Syriac, ‘O king, live forever! Tell the dream to all your servants, and we will proclaim the interpretation.’ But the king answered the Chaldeans, ‘The memory3
has departed from me. And so, if you do not make known the dream to me and its interpretation you shall be destroyed4 and your houses shall be plundered. But if you do make known the dream and its
interpretation to me, you will receive gifts and presents and much honor from me, only proclaim to me the dream and its interpretation.’”5
1 Lit: was
2 Or: magi
3 Lit: word
4 Lit: be unto destruction
5 Daniel 2:1-6
Chapter 2
1. And so, the dream which was seen by the king was not earthly, that it might be interpreted by the wise men of the world, but it was heavenly, according to the plan and foreknowledge of God, which is fulfilled in their own times.
2. And on account of this it was concealed from men who comprehend1 earthly things, so that to those who seek heavenly things, the heavenly mysteries may be revealed.
3. For also in Egypt it happened similarly to Pharaoh.
4. For he, seeing dreams, related them to all the interpreters of Egypt, and there was no one who declared them to Pharaoh. But when the blessed Joseph was present, the dreams, which were not apprehended by others, were in good time, unveiled. And on account of this the king2, having been astonished, answered all his slaves, saying, “Have we ever found such a man, in whom is the Spirit of God?”3 Therefore, Scripture is indicating that no one will be able to describe the heavenly mysteries, unless he should interpret4 them as a partner5 of the Holy Spirit.
5. Therefore, in this way the vision was concealed from the king in Babylon, so that he who was chosen by God, was shown as being Daniel the prophet. For whenever6 a vision is hidden from others, yet is unveiled by another, this inevitably7 displays the one speaking as a prophet.
1 Or: who are minded towards 2 Or: Pharaoh 3 Genesis 41:38 4 Lit: be an interpreter 5 Or: partaker 6 Lit: as far as 7 Lit: out of necessity
Chapter 3
1. Therefore, so that the Chaldeans, who had plotted in some way, would not deceive king with words of deceit, Nebuchadnezzar, who was sorely pricked, said to them, “‘I myself know, in truth, that you are buying time, because you see that the matter has departed from me. And so if you do not report to me the dream, I know that you have contrived to say a false and twisted word before me until the matter is
forgotten8.’ The Chaldeans answered the king saying, ‘There is not a man on earth who is able to make known the king’s concern1, because every great king and ruler does not ask such a matter of an enchanter, magician, sorcerer, or Chaldean, because the word which the king asks is difficult2, and there is not another being who is able to proclaim it before the king, except the gods whose dwelling is not with flesh3.’”4
2. After these things were said, the king, having become angered, “ordered that all the wise men of Babylon be killed. And the edict went out that the wise men be killed.”5
8 Lit: until the time has past
1 Lit: matter
2 Lit: deep
3 Lit: all flesh
4 Daniel 2:8-11
5 Daniel 2:12-13
Chapter 4
1. And so since they said that what the king sought was impossible to be recounted by a man, God showed them that the things which are impossible with men, are possible with God.
2. For Arioch the Chief-Butcher6 was about to kill both Daniel and his three friends, for he went out to kill the wise men of Babylon. For Scripture said that the Chief-Butcher7 himself began to take the sword. For even as a butcher kills all creatures and butchers them, in the same way also the rulers of this world kill men, butchering them as unreasoning animals, but Daniel went forth and said, “‘For what reason has this reckless proposition come out from the face of the king?’ For he sought to learn from him for what reason the Babylonians were slaughtered8.”9
3. And “Arioch made known the matter to Daniel.”10 Daniel1, having heard this, asked him a request, in order that he might give time to him so that2 he might make known the interpretation to the king.3
6 Lit: Chief-Chef. To a Greek speaker this foreign word sounded like a
person who was in charge of cooking, but in actuality it refers to a chief
of soldiers or guards.
7 Lit: Chief-Chef
8 Or: reason did the Babylonians slaughter
9 Daniel 2:15
10 Daniel 2:15
1 Lit: He
2 Lit: and
3 Daniel 2:14-16
Chapter 5
1. “Then Daniel went into his house and made known the matter to Ananiah and Mishael and Azariah. And they sought mercies from the God of the heaven so that they would not also be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a dream at night and Daniel blessed the God of heaven saying, ‘May the name of the Lord be blessed forever and ever4, because wisdom and understanding and strength are his. And he himself changes seasons and times, and he appoints kings and removes them, who gives wisdom to the wise and insight5 to those who see with understanding. He himself reveals deep and hidden6 things, knowing the things in darkness, and light is with him. To you, God of my fathers, I give thanks and I praise you, because you have given to me wisdom and power and you have made known to me what we asked of you and you have made known to me the matter of the king.”7
2. And so it is necessary for us to know the kind-heartedness of God, how to the worthy and to those who fear him, he swiftly reveals and unveils, fulfilling their petitions and requests, as the prophet says, “What wise man understands these things? Does even a man of understanding also know these things.”8
4 Lit: from the age even until the age
5 Or: prudence
6 Or: secret
7 Daniel 2:17-23
8 Hosea 14:9
Chapter 6
1. After this happened, Daniel rose and went to Arioch and said to him, “Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon, but bring me before the king and I will proclaim to the king the dream and its interpretation.”1
2. He, after hearing these things “brought in Daniel with haste and said. ‘I found a man from the sons of the captivity of Judah, who will proclaim the interpretation to the king.’”2
3. He was astounded3 and said to Daniel, “‘Are you able to proclaim the dream which I saw and its interpretation?’ And Daniel said ‘The mystery which the king asks about is not for4 magicians, enchanters, or soothsayers to proclaim to the king, but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and makes known to king Nebuchadnezzar what must be5 in the last days.’”6
4. See how through these words he saves7 the Chaldeans from the danger which was to kill them and he teaches the king not to seek heavenly mysteries from earthly men, mysteries which are about to be fulfilled by God in his own times.
5. And on account of this he, sending the mind of the king up to God, said, “There is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries,”8 who receives9 the man who requests mercies and petitions.
6. Just as he himself also, being lowly and humbling himself, and not boasting, though he was found wiser than all of the Babylonians, said, “Moreover this mystery was not revealed to me because the wisdom in me is greater than all those who dwell upon the earth, rather it was revealed to me for the sake of making known the interpretation to the king, so that you may know the considerations of your heart.”1
7. For after the king had taken Egypt and after taking over the Jewish land and deporting the people, he considered upon his bed what was there to do after these things.
8. But he who knows the secrets of all and searches the considerations of the hearts, revealed to the king2 what will be be through the image, but God3 hid the vision from him, so that the plans of God would be able to be explained not by the wise men of the Babylon, but by the blessed Daniel, in as much as the things which were hidden from all, were revealed by the prophet of God.
1 Daniel 2:24
2 Daniel 2:25
3 Or: terrified
4 Lit: of
5 Lit: it is necessary to happen
6 Daniel 2:26-28
7 ὑπεξαιρεῖται
8 Daniel 2:28
9 Lit: from which he is necessary to receive1 Daniel 2:30
1 Daniel 2:30
2 Lit: him
3 Lit: he
IChapter 7
1. In all events Scripture says, “You, O king, were looking, and behold, one image: Great was that image and its appearance was fearful. The head of the image4 was of pure gold, its hands and chest and its arms were silver, the stomach and thighs were bronze, its legs were iron, the feet were part iron, part clay. You were looking until you saw a stone, which was cut without hands and it struck the image at the iron and clay feet and crushed it completely5. Then once for all, the clay, iron, bronze, silver and gold were ground and they became like chaff from the summer threshing floor. And the greatness of the wind carried them away and no place was found for them. And the stone which struck the image
became a great mountain and it filled all the earth. This is the dream and we will tell its interpretation before the king. You, O king, are the king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given a strong, mighty, and honorable kingdom in every place where the sons of men dwell, and he has given into your
hand beasts of the field and birds of heaven and he has ordained you Lord of all. You are the head of gold. And after you another kingdom shall arise, which is lesser than you. And a third kingdom shall arise which is bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. And a fourth kingdom will be strong as iron. In the way which iron grinds and subdues all, in this way it will grind and subdue all. And because you saw the feet and the toes, part of which were iron, part of which were clay, the kingdom shall be divided, and in it there shall be from the nature1 of iron, in which manner, you saw iron mixed with clay. And the toes of the feet, part of which were iron, part of which were clay: part of the kingdom will be strong, but it shall be broken2 because you saw iron mixed with clay, they shall be mingled in the seed of men and one shall not cleave with the other, just as iron does not mix with clay. In the days of those kings, the God of heaven shall set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed3, and the kingdom shall not be left for another people. It shall grind and crush all the kingdoms and it shall be set up forever4, inwhich manner you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain without hands and ground the clay, iron, bronze, silver, and gold. The great God has made known to the king what is necessary to happen after these things. And the dream is true and its interpretation is faithful.”5
4 Lit: The image, of which its head
5 Lit: to the end
1 Lit: root
2 Or: afflicted
3 Lit: not for ages be destroyed
4 Lit: unto the ages
5 Daniel 2:31-45
Chapter 8
1. Nebuchadnezzar, after hearing these things, and after remembering the dream, recognized that what was spoken by Daniel was true, and, “he fell on his face and he worshipped Daniel and commanded slaves to offer gifts and perfumes to him.”6
2. How strong is the grace of God, beloved, so that shortly before1 he was about to be killed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon, the king fell on his face and no longer worshipped this man as a man but as God and commanded slaves to offer gifts and perfumes to him.
3. For also long ago the Lord announced the same thing to Moses saying, “Behold, I have given you as God2 to Pharaoh,”3 so that through the signs which happened under him in Egypt, Moses no longer was acknowledged as a man, but as God4 worshipped by the Egyptians.
6 Daniel 2:46
1 Lit: before a little
2 Or: a god
3 Exodus 7:1
4 Or: a god
Chapter 9
1. And so Nebuchadnezzar, having been astounded at what was spoken by Daniel, said, “In truth your God, he himself is God of gods and Lord of those who rule, who also reveals mysteries, because he was able to reveal this mystery!’ And the king promoted5 Daniel and gave him many great6 gifts and appointed him over all the lands of Babylonians and appointed him as chief of the satraps over all the wise men of Babylon.”7
2. For since he himself humbled himself and declared himself to be the least of all men, the king extolled him and appointed him ruler of all the lands of Babylon.
3. In which manner Pharaoh also did to Joseph, having then appointed him ruler of all the land of Egypt. 4. For none of the men in all Egypt was found who was able to proclaim visions to Pharaoh, except Joseph alone, and none of the wise men in Babylon was able to declare the visions to the king, except Daniel alone.
5. For God leads forth holy men to himself from generation to generation, who is obligated1 to be glorified in all the world.
5 Lit: magnified
6 Lit: many and great
7 Daniel 2:47-48
1 Or: bound, necessitated
Chapter 10
1. “And Daniel asked a favor from the king and he appointed Shadrach, Mishach, and Abednego over the affairs of the country of Babylon.”2
2. And this which happened under Daniel is worthy of faith and approval3. For since they themselves joined4 with Daniel in prayer to God, so that the vision might be revealed to him, and because of this Daniel himself received worth and honor from the king, Daniel remembered them and entrusted them with the work which happened under them on behalf of the king, so that they themselves also were esteemed with some honor as fellow-initiates and God-fearing men.
3. For after requesting the heavenly things from the Lord, they were also engaged with the earthy things beside the king.
2 Daniel 2:49
3 Or: praise
4 Lit agreed
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