Now in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; and his spirit was troubled and his sleep left him.
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.
- KJV And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled, and his sleep brake 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.
- 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 on my bed and the visions of my head troubled me.
- Esth 6:1On that night, the king couldn’t sleep. He commanded the book of records of the chronicles to be brought, and they were read to the king.
- Job 33:15–17In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on men, in slumbering on the bed;
- Dan 2:3The king said to them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream.
- Gen 40:5–8They both dreamed a dream, each man his dream, in one night, each man according to the interpretation of his dream, the cup bearer and the baker of the king of Egypt, who were bound in the prison.
- Gen 41:1–36At the end of two full years, 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 to 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 (the same was the first year of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon),
- 2 Chr 36:5–7Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. He did that which was evil in Yahweh his God’s sight.
- Dan 6:18Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting; neither were instruments of music brought before him: and his sleep fled from him.
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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.