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The Dream of Nebuchadnezzar
v. 1. And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, when he had advanced from the position of coregent to that of sole regent of the Babylonian Empire, which must have been shortly after he had examined the Jewish youths brought before him, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, he was, by the interposition of God, vouchsafed a vision of the future in the form of symbols, wherewith his spirit was troubled, very strongly agitated, and his sleep brake from him, so that he was unable to regain the tranquility of mind necessary for quiet sleep.
v. 2. Then the king commanded to call the magicians, the men who were learned in the Chaldean language and literature, and the astrologers, those who were masters of incantation, and the sorcerers, the men who employed witchcraft, and the Chaldeans, the noblest and most exalted among the highest class of influential men in the kingdom, for to show the king his dreams, to tell him the contents of his dream which he could not remember. So they came, in obedience to his summons, and stood before the king.
v. 3. And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream, for he had only a vague impression of the importance of his dream, whence he was all the more anxious to have it presented to him in all its details, together with its explanation.
v. 4. Then spake the Chaldeans, as the foremost representatives of the wise men of the realm, to the king in Syriac, in the East Aramaic dialect in which this section of the book is also written, O king, live forever! This was the usual form of salutation at the courts of the Chaldean and the Persian monarchs. Tell thy servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation. It was necessary for them to know the contents of the dream before they would even venture an interpretation.
v. 5. The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from me, that is, the statement of what he required from them had gone forth from him, he had stated his purpose of having called them; if ye will not make known unto me the dream, giving its contents, with the interpretation thereof, both of which he now clearly demanded, ye shall be cut in pieces, such hewing to pieces being a punishment in vogue among the Chaldeans, and your houses shall be made a dunghill, that is, razed to the ground and covered with refuse and dung.
v. 6. But if ye show the dream and the interpretation thereof, what it consisted in and what it meant, ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honor, both in money and in advancement. Therefore show me the dream and the interpretation thereof. The insistence of the king was that of a true Oriental despot, who demanded without a reason, simply because it suited his fancy.
v. 7. They answered again and said, in an effort to bring home to the king the unreasonableness of his request, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation of it.
v. 8. The king answered and said, I know of certainty, most assuredly, that ye would gain the time, because ye see that the thing is gone from me, because he insisted upon a speedy answer to his demand. He declared that they were merely trying to put off the matter, to postpone it indefinitely, in the hope that he would sufficiently relent to tell them the contents of his dream.
v. 9. But if ye will not make known unto me the dream, there is but one decree for you, one and the same sentence of condemnation would strike them all: for ye have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me, base misrepresentations, by which they kept him for a fool, till the time be changed, until by some lucky chance they might get into possession of the secret, or until the king would withdraw his demand. Therefore tell me the dream, which he would immediately recognize, and I shall know that ye can show me the interpretation thereof. It was clear to Nebuchadnezzar that the wise men were unable to reveal hidden things, and therefore he concluded that the interpretation which they would offer in case they would find out the contents of the dream would, at best, be mere guesswork.
v. 10. The Chaldeans answered before the king, in an attempt to establish the impossibility for mere human beings to satisfy the king's demand, and said, There is not a man upon the earth that can show the king's matter, revealing this secret thing; therefore there is no king, lord, nor ruler that asked such things at any magician or astrologer or Chaldean. The fact that no ruler on earth, no matter how great and mighty he was, had ever made such a demand, was to them a proof that the fulfillment of his command transcended the highest human wisdom.
v. 11. And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, most singular and unusual, the like of which was not known in history, and there is none other that can show it before the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh. "God makes the heathen, out of their own mouth, condemn their impotent pretensions to supernatural knowledge in order to bring out in brighter contrast His power to reveal secrets to His servants. "
v. 12. For this cause the king was angry and very furious and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon, either of this city or of the province.
v. 13. And the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain, the slaughter being apparently begun; and they sought Daniel and his fellows, who had not been summoned with the older members of the. Chaldeans, but belonged to their class, to be slain. The enemies of the believers often seem to be on the verge of triumphing over them and of taking their life, but God holds His sheltering hand over His children so that without His consent no harm may come near them.