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And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled, and his sleep brake from him.
Daniel 2:1 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams; and his spirit was troubled, and his sleep went from him.
  • BSB In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams that troubled his spirit, and sleep escaped him.
  • NKJV Now in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; and his spirit was so troubled that his sleep left him.
  • NASB Now in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; and his spirit was troubled and his sleep left him.
  • NLT One night during the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had such disturbing dreams that he couldn’t sleep.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

In his second year Nebuchadnezzar has troubling dreams that rob him of sleep. God begins to unsettle the world's mightiest king.

Overview

The dating, harmonized with Daniel's training period by various reasonable explanations, opens a new episode. The king's disturbed spirit shows that earthly power cannot secure peace of mind. God uses a dream to confront the proud ruler with realities beyond his control.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 10

  • Dan 4:5I saw a dream which made me afraid, and the thoughts upon my bed and the visions of my head troubled me.
  • Esth 6:1On that night could not the king sleep, and he commanded to bring the book of records of the chronicles; and they were read before the king.
  • Job 33:15–17In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon men, in slumberings upon the bed;
  • Dan 2:3And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream.
  • Gen 40:5–8And they dreamed a dream both of them, each man his dream in one night, each man according to the interpretation of his dream, the butler and the baker of the king of Egypt, which were bound in the prison.
  • Gen 41:1–36And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that Pharaoh dreamed: and, behold, he stood by the river.
  • Dan 1:1–5In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon unto Jerusalem, and besieged it.
  • Jer 25:1The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, that was the first year of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon;
  • 2 Chr 36:5–7Jehoiakim was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem: and he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD his God.
  • Dan 6:18Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of musick brought before him: and his sleep went from him.

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Daniel videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Daniel 2:1YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on DanielMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Daniel sees the stone cut without hands that shatters the kingdoms, and 'one like a son of man' given everlasting dominion — titles and visions Jesus claims as his own.

How Daniel 2:1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.