World English Bible · Babylon and the exile
Daniel 2
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In the second year of the reign of , dreamed ; and his was troubled, and his sleep went from him. Then the king commanded that the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the be called to tell the king his . So they came in and stood before the king. The king said to them, "I have dreamed a , and is troubled to know the ." Then the spoke to the king in the language, "O king, live ! Tell your servants the , and we will show the ." The king answered the , "The thing has gone from me. If you don't make known to me the and its , you will be cut in pieces, and your houses will be made a dunghill. But if you show the and its , you will receive from me gifts, rewards, and great . Therefore show me the and its ." They answered the second time and said, "Let the king tell his servants the , and we will show the ." The king answered, "I know of a certainty that you are trying to gain time, because you see the thing has gone from me. But if you don't make known to me the , there is but one law for you; for you have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me, until the situation changes. Therefore tell me the , and I will know that you can show me its ." The answered the king and said, "There is not a man on the earth who can show the king's matter, because no king, , or ruler has asked such a thing of any magician, enchanter, or . It is a rare thing that the king requires, and there is no other who can show it before the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with ." Because of this, the king was angry and very furious, and commanded that all men of be destroyed. So the went out, and men were to be slain. They sought and his companions to be slain. Then returned answer with and prudence to the captain of the king's guard, who had gone out to kill men of . 15He answered the king's captain, "Why is the so urgent from the king?" Then made the thing known to . went in, and of the king that he would appoint him a time, and he would show the king the . Then went to his house and made the thing known to , , and , his companions: that they would of the of concerning this secret, that and his companions would not with the rest of men of . Then the secret was to in a of the night. Then the of . answered, " be the name of and ever; for and might are his. He changes the times and the seasons. He removes kings and sets up kings. He gives to , and knowledge to those who have understanding. He reveals the deep and . He knows what is in , and dwells with him. I thank you and you, O of my fathers, who have given me and might, and have now to me what we of you; for you have to us the king's matter." Therefore went in to , whom the king had appointed to destroy men of . He went and said this to him: "Don't destroy men of . Bring me in before the king, and I will show to the king the ." Then brought in before the king in haste, and said this to him: "I have found a man of the children of of Judah who will make known to the king the ." The king answered , whose name was Belteshazzar, "Are you able to make known to me the which I have seen, and its ?" answered before the king, and said, "The secret which the king has demanded can't be shown to the king by men, enchanters, magicians, or soothsayers; but there is a in who reveals secrets, and he has to King what will be in the . Your and the of your head on your bed are these: "As for you, O king, your came on your bed, what should happen hereafter; and he who reveals secrets has to you what will happen. But as for me, this secret is not to me for any that I have more than any living, but to the intent that the may be to the king, and that you may know the of . "You, O king, saw, and behold, a great . This , which was mighty, and whose brightness was excellent, stood before you; and its appearance was terrifying. As for this , its head was of fine gold, its chest and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze, its legs of iron, its feet part of iron and part of . You saw until a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the on its feet that were of iron and , and broke them in pieces. Then the iron, the , the bronze, the silver, and the gold were broken in pieces together, and became like the of the summer . The wind carried them away, so that no place was found for them. The stone that struck the became a great mountain and filled the whole earth. "This is the ; and we will tell its before the king. You, O king, are king of kings, to whom the of has given , the , the strength, and the . Wherever the children of men , he has given the animals of the field and the birds of into your hand, and has made you them all. You are the head of gold. "After you, another kingdom will arise that is inferior to you; and another third kingdom of bronze, which will all the earth. The fourth kingdom will be strong as iron, because iron breaks in pieces and subdues all things; and as iron that crushes all these, it will break in pieces and crush. Whereas you saw the feet and toes, part of potters' and part of iron, it will be a divided kingdom; but there will be in it of the strength of the iron, because you saw the iron mixed with miry . As the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of , so will be partly strong and partly brittle. 43Whereas you saw the iron mixed with miry , they will mingle themselves with the of men; but they won't cling to one another, even as iron does not mix with . "In the days of those kings the of will set up a kingdom which will never be destroyed, nor will its sovereignty be left to another people; but it will break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it will stand . Because you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the , the silver, and the gold, the great has to the king what will happen hereafter. The is certain, and its sure." Then King fell on , , and commanded that they should offer an and sweet odors to him. The king answered to , and said, "Of a truth your is the of gods, and of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since you have been able to this secret." Then the king made great and gave him many great gifts, and made him the whole province of and to be chief governor over all men of . requested of the king, and he appointed over the affairs of the province of , but was in the king's .
A public domain modern English translation, free to read and share. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · Babylon and the exile, 612 BC to 539 BC ›
Babylon replaces Assyria, Jerusalem and its temple are destroyed in 586 BC, and the leadership of Judah lives in Mesopotamia without a king, a temple, or a country.
- Babylon
- Nebuchadnezzar II rebuilds the city on a scale meant to be seen from a distance: the Ishtar Gate in glazed blue brick, the processional way, the ziggurat, and gardens later counted among the wonders of the world. Babylonian tablets record rations issued to the captive king Jehoiachin of Judah by name, which is one of the tidier points of contact between the Bible and the archives.
- Egypt
- Briefly resurgent. Pharaoh Neco marches north, kills King Josiah at Megiddo, and installs and deposes kings in Jerusalem, until Babylon beats him decisively at Carchemish in 605 BC. Jeremiah spends his career saying that betting on Egypt is suicide, and is proved right.
- Judah
- Deported in stages, then destroyed. The temple is burned, the walls broken, and the leadership marched to Mesopotamia. What happens next is one of the strangest survivals in history: a people keeps its identity without land, king, or sanctuary, and comes out of it with its scriptures more central than before.
- Further afield
- An extraordinary century for ideas everywhere at once. Thales and the first Greek philosophers, Solon's reforms at Athens, the Buddha in India, Confucius and Lao Tzu in China, and Zoroaster in Persia all fall within a few generations of the exile.