And in the (a) second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar dreamed (b) dreams, wherewith his spirit was (c) troubled, and (d) his sleep brake from him. (a) The father and the son were both called by this name, so that this is meant of the son, when he reigned alone: for he also reigne... [ Continue Reading ]
Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the (e) Chaldeans, for to shew the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king. (e) For all these astrologers and sorcerers called themselves by this name of honour, as though all the wisdom and k... [ Continue Reading ]
Then spake the Chaldeans to the king in (f) Syriack, O king, live for ever: tell thy servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation. (f) That is, in the Syrian language, which differed not much from the Chaldeans, except it seemed to be more eloquent, and therefore the learned used to spea... [ Continue Reading ]
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 (g) shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill. (g) This is a just reward of their arrogance (who boasted of themselves that... [ Continue Reading ]
They answered again and said, Let the king tell (h) his servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation of it. (h) In this appears their ignorance, that despite their braggings, yet they were not able to tell the dream, unless he told them of it. And if he did tell them, they would pretend... [ Continue Reading ]
And the decree went forth that the wise [men] should be slain; and they (i) sought Daniel and his fellows to be slain. (i) Which declares that God would not have his servant united in the company of these sorcerers and astrologers, whose arts were wicked, and therefore justly ought to die, even tho... [ Continue Reading ]
He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what [is] in the darkness, and the (k) light dwelleth with him. (k) He shows that man has neither wisdom nor knowledge, but very dark blindness and ignorance of himself: for it comes only from God that man understands anything.... [ Continue Reading ]
I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my (l) fathers, who hast given me wisdom and (m) 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. (l) To whom you made your promise, and who lived in fear of you: by which he exclud... [ Continue Reading ]
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 (n) the wise [men] of Babylon: bring me in before the king, and I will shew unto the king the interpretation. (n) By which appears that many were slain,... [ Continue Reading ]
But there is a God in (o) 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; (o) He affirms that man by reason and craft is not able to attain to the cause of God's secrets, but... [ Continue Reading ]
But as (p) 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. (p) Because he had said that God alone must reveal the significa... [ Continue Reading ]
This image's head [was] of fine (q) gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, (q) By gold, silver, brass, and iron are meant the Chaldean, Persian, Macedonian, and Roman kingdoms, which would successively rule all the world until Christ (who is here called the ston... [ Continue Reading ]
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] (r) this head of gold. (r) Daniel leaves out the kingdom of the Assyrians, which was before the Babylonian, both because i... [ Continue Reading ]
And after thee shall arise another kingdom (s) inferior to thee, and another (t) third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth. (s) Meaning, the Persians who were not inferior in dignity, power, or riches, but were worse with regard to ambition, cruelty, and every type of vice, s... [ Continue Reading ]
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 (u) pieces and bruise. (u) That is, the Roman empire will subdue all these others, which after Alexander were divided into the Maced... [ Continue Reading ]
And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be (x) divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay. (x) They will have civil wars, and continual discords among themselves.... [ Continue Reading ]
And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with (y) the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay. (y) They will be marriages and affinities think to make themselves strong: yet they will never by united in heart.... [ Continue Reading ]
And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which (z) 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. (z) His purpose is to show that all the kingdom... [ Continue Reading ]
Forasmuch as thou sawest that the (a) 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... [ Continue Reading ]
Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and (b) worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odours unto him. (b) Though this humbling of the king seemed to deserve commendation, yet because he united God's honour with the Prophets, it is to be reproved, an... [ Continue Reading ]
The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth [it is], that your (c) God [is] a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret. (c) This confession was but a sudden motion, as it was also in Pharaoh, (Exodus 9:28), but his heart was not to... [ Continue Reading ]
Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great (d) gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise [men] of Babylon. (d) Not that the Prophet was desirous of gifts or honour, but because by this means he might relieve his po... [ Continue Reading ]
Then Daniel (e) requested of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel [sat] in the (f) gate of the king. (e) He did not do this for their personal profit, but that the whole Church, which was then there in affliction, might have s... [ Continue Reading ]