21 And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, dreamed hath Nebuchadnezzar dreams, and his spirit doth move itself, and his sleep hath been against him; 2 and the king saith to call for scribes, and for enchanters, and for sorcerers, and for Chaldeans, to declare to the king his dreams. And they come in and stand before the king; 3 and the king saith to them, 'A dream I have dreamed, and moved is my spirit to know the dream.' 4 And the Chaldeans speak to the king 'in' Aramaean, 'O king, to the ages live, tell the dream to thy servants, and the interpretation we do shew.' 5 The king hath answered and said to the Chaldeans, 'The thing from me is gone; if ye do not cause me to know the dream and its interpretation, pieces ye are made, and your houses are made dunghills; 6 and if the dream and its interpretation ye do shew, gifts, and fee, and great glory ye receive from before me, therefore the dream and its interpretation shew ye me.' 7 They have answered a second time, and are saying, 'Let the king tell the dream to his servants, and the interpretation we do shew. 8 The king hath answered and said, 'Of a truth I know that time ye are gaining, because that ye have seen that the thing is gone from me, 9 'so' that, if the dream ye do not cause me to know—one is your sentence, seeing a word lying and corrupt ye have prepared to speak before me, till that the time is changed, therefore the dream tell ye to me, then do I know that its interpretation ye do shew me.' 10 The Chaldeans have answered before the king, and are saying, 'There is not a man on the earth who is able to shew the king's matter; therefore, no king, chief, and ruler, hath asked such a thing as this of any scribe, and enchanter, and Chaldean; 11 and the thing that the king is asking 'is' precious, and others are there not that do shew it before the king, save the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.' 12 Therefore the king hath been angry and very wroth, and hath said to destroy all the wise men of Babylon; 13 And the sentence hath gone forth, and the wise men are being slain, and they have sought Daniel and his companions to be slain.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Daniel 2:1-13
Commentary on Daniel 2:1-13
(Read Daniel 2:1-13)
The greatest men are most open to cares and troubles of mind, which disturb their repose in the night, while the sleep of the labouring man is sweet and sound. We know not the uneasiness of many who live in great pomp, and, as others vainly think, in pleasure also. The king said that his learned men must tell him the dream itself, or they should all be put to death as deceivers. Men are more eager to ask as to future events, than to learn the way of salvation or the path of duty; yet foreknowledge of future events increases anxiety and trouble. Those who deceived, by pretending to do what they could not do, were sentenced to death, for not being able to do what they did not pretend to.