Daniel 2:1
King James Version
2 And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar
Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams,
wherewith his spirit was troubled,
and his sleep brake from him.
What happens when a king has a bad dream?
Naturally, he calls upon these people:
Daniel 2:2
King James Version
2 Then the king commanded to call the magicians,
and the astrologers,
and the sorcerers,
and the Chaldeans,
for to shew the king his dreams.
So they came and stood before the king.
And naturally, too, they ask the king to tell them of his dream, that they may interpret properly, given the knowledge they have.
Daniel 2:5
King James Version
5 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 shall be cut in pieces,
and your houses shall be made a dunghill.
Wow, tall order.
To tell the king what he dreamt, and to interpret it.
What caught my attention is this:
Nebuchadnezzar said something very telling --
"The thing is gone from me."
Which he repeats here:
Daniel 2:8
King James Version
8 The king answered and said,
I know of certainty that ye would gain the time,
because ye see the thing is gone from me.
I understood Nebuchadnezzar to mean, he had forgotten the dream.
Thing is, ALL other Bible versions interpret it as an "order" -- a command from the king.
Like, an order has "gone out" from the king.
Was the king testing the interpreters, for their skill?
Or, did he simply forget?
I needed to find out.
I prayed to JESUS to please enlighten me.
I needed to get His WORD right.
True enough, the LORD guides me to a confirming verse:
Daniel 2:3
King James Version
3 And the king said unto them,
I have dreamed a dream,
and my spirit was troubled to know the dream.
Probing further, I check other Bible versions to confirm my suspicion.
(All notes in parenthesis are mine.)
Daniel 2:3
Amplified Bible
3 The king said to them, “I had a dream, and my spirit is troubled and anxious to know the [content and meaning of the] dream.”
(How can he not "know the content", unless he forgot it?)
Daniel 2:3
Amplified Bible, Classic Edition
3 And the king said to them, I had a dream and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.
(The king doesn't "know" his dream? It probably escapes his memory.)
Daniel 2:3
Living Bible
“I’ve had a terrible nightmare,” he said as they stood before him, “and I can’t remember what it was. Tell me, for I fear some tragedy awaits me.”
(There you go, that's more like it. He "can't remember what it was".)
Daniel 2:3
Names of God Bible
3 The king said to them, “I had a dream, and I’m troubled by it. I want to know what the dream was.”
(Now, this is getting stranger by the minute. He dreamt, and doesn't "know" his dream?)
Daniel 2:3
Wycliffe Bible
3 And the king said to them, I saw a dream, and I am shamed in mind, and I know not what I saw. (And the king said to them, I had a dream, and I am confused, and I do not know what I saw/and I do not know what it meant.)
(The king did not "know" what he "saw"? If he forgot the dream, how else can he intepret it? Very troubling, indeed.)
No wonder, the king was deeply troubled.
It's bad enough having a bad dream.
It's worse not remembering the dream.
And yet you feel a certain dread about it.
These translations confirm my thought that the king had forgotten the details of his dream.
He wasn't testing his interpreters.
He just couldn't remember the dream.
That's why he was in a panic.
As everyone was.
They appeal to their king:
Daniel 2:10-11
King James Version
10 The Chaldeans answered before the king,
and said,
There is not a man upon the earth
that can shew the king's matter:
therefore there is no king, lord, nor ruler,
that asked such things at any magician,
or astrologer, or Chaldean.
11 And it is a rare thing that the king requireth,
and there is none other
that can shew it before the king,
except the gods,
whose dwelling is not with flesh.
But the king could not be appeased.
Daniel 2:12
King James Version
12 For this cause the king was angry
and very furious,
and commanded to destroy
all the wise men of Babylon.
That includes Daniel and his group.
Daniel, is not GOD's prophet, for nothing.
Watch what happens in the next post.
Image: Free Bible Images
