Daniel 2:28-49

Orthodox Jewish Bible

²⁸ But there is a G-d in Shomayim that revealeth razim, and maketh known to the king Nevuchadnetzar what shall be in the acharit hayamim. Thy chalom (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 razim (secrets) maketh known to thee what shall come to pass.

³⁰ But as for me, this raz is not revealed to me for any chochmah that I have more than any living, but in order that the pesher (interpretation, explanation) may be known to the king, and that thou mightest understand the thoughts of thy heart.

³¹ Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great tzelem (image, idol, statue). This great tzelem, whose brightness was extraordinary, stood before thee; and the form thereof was awesome.

³² This tzelem’s head was of fine gold, his chest and his arms of silver, his middle and his thighs of bronze,

³³ His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.

³⁴ Thou sawest till that an even (stone [Moshiach; see Tehillim 118:22; Yeshayah 53:3, Tehillim 2:9]) was cut out without hands, which struck the tzelem upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and broke them to pieces.

³⁵ Then was the iron, the clay, the bronze, 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 trace was found of them; and the even (stone) that struck the tzelem became a great mountain, and filled kol ha’aretz.

³⁶ This is the chalom (dream); and we will tell the pesher thereof before the king.

³⁷ Thou, O king, art a king of kings; for the G-d of Shomayim 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 shalit (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 bronze, which shall bear rule over kol ha’aretz.

⁴⁰ And the fourth mamlachah 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 crush.

⁴¹ And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters’ clay and part of iron, the mamlachah shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with baked clay.

⁴² And as the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the mamlachah shall be partly strong, and partly fragile.

⁴³ And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with baked clay, so the zera of the people will be a mixture and will not remain united, even as iron is not mixed with clay.

⁴⁴ And in the days of these melachim shall the G-d of Shomayim 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 mamlechot (kingdoms), and it shall stand for ever [Lk 1:32-33].

⁴⁵ Forasmuch as thou sawest that the even (stone) was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold, the great G-d hath made known to the king what shall come to pass after this; and the chalom (dream) is certain, and the pesher (interpretation, explanation) thereof trustworthy.

⁴⁶ Then the king Nevuchadnetzar fell upon his face, prostrate before Daniel, and paid him honor and ordered that a minchah and incense be presented to him.

⁴⁷ The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a surety it is, that your G-d is G-d of g-ds, and L-rd of melachim, and a revealer of razim (secrets), seeing thou couldest reveal this raz.

⁴⁸ Then the king exalted Daniel to a high position, and gave him many great mattanot (gifts), and made him shalit (ruler) over the whole province of Babylon, and placed him in charge of all the chachamim 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 remained at the royal court.