Daniel:2:24-49
geneva@Daniel:2:24 @ Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had ordained to destroy the wise [men] of Babylon: he went and said thus unto him; Destroy not (note:)By which appears that many were slain, as in verse thirteen, and the rest at Daniel's offer were preserved on condition. Not that Daniel favoured their wicked profession, but that he had respect to fairness, because the King proceeded according to his wicked affection, and not considering if their profession was morally correct or not.(:note) the wise [men] of Babylon: bring me in before the king, and I will shew unto the king the interpretation.
geneva@Daniel:2:25 @ Then Arioch brought Daniel before the King in all haste, and sayd thus vnto him, I haue found a man of the children of Iudah that were brought captiues, that will declare vnto the King the interpretation.
geneva@Daniel:2:26 @ Then answered the King, and sayde vnto Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Art thou able to shew me the dreame, which I haue seene, and the interpretation thereof?
geneva@Daniel:2:27 @ Daniel answered in the presence of the King, and sayd, The secret which the King hath demanded, can neither the wise, the astrologians, the inchanters, nor the southsayers declare vnto the King.
geneva@Daniel:2:28 @ But there is a God in (note:)He affirms that man by reason and craft is not able to attain to the cause of God's secrets, but the understanding only of them must come from God: by which he smites the king with a certain fear and reverence of God, that he might be the more able to receive the high mysteries that would be revealed.(:note) heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these;
geneva@Daniel:2:29 @ O King, when thou wast in thy bedde, thoughts came into thy mind, what should come to passe hereafter, and he that reueyleth secretes, telleth thee, what shall come.
geneva@Daniel:2:30 @ But as (note:)Because he had said that God alone must reveal the signification of this dream, the King might have asked why Daniel undertook to interpret it: and therefore he shows that he was but God's minister, and had no gifts but those which God had given him to set forth his glory.(:note) for me, this secret is not revealed to me for [any] wisdom that I have more than any living, but for [their] sakes that shall make known the interpretation to the king, and that thou mightest know the thoughts of thy heart.
geneva@Daniel:2:31 @ O King, thou sawest, and beholde, there was a great image: this great image whose glory was so excellent, stood before thee, & the forme thereof was terrible.
geneva@Daniel:2:32 @ This image's head [was] of fine (note:)By gold, silver, brass, and iron are meant the Chaldean, Persian, Macedonian, and Roman kingdoms, which would successively rule all the world until Christ (who is here called the stone) himself comes, and destroys the last. And this was to assure the Jews that their affliction would not end with the empire of the Chaldeans, but that they should patiently await the coming of the Messiah, who would be at the end of this fourth monarchy.(:note) gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass,
geneva@Daniel:2:33 @ His legges of yron, and his feete were part of yron, and part of clay.
geneva@Daniel:2:34 @ Thou beheldest it til a stone was cut without hands, which smote the image vpon his feete, that were of yron and clay, and brake them to pieces.
geneva@Daniel:2:35 @ Then was the yron, the clay, the brasse, the siluer and the golde broken all together, and became like the chaffe of the sommer floures, and the winde caryed them away, that no place was founde for them: and the stone that smote the image, became a great mountaine, and filled the whole earth.
geneva@Daniel:2:36 @ This is the dreame, and we will declare before the King the interpretation thereof.
geneva@Daniel:2:37 @ O King, thou art a king of Kings: for the God of heauen hath giuen thee a kingdome, power, and strength, and glorie.
geneva@Daniel:2:38 @ And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou [art] (note:)Daniel leaves out the kingdom of the Assyrians, which was before the Babylonian, both because it was not a monarchy and general empire, and also because he would declare the things that were to come, until the coming of Christ, for the comfort of the elect among these wonderful alterations. And he calls the Babylonian kingdom the golden head, because in respect of the other three, it was the best, and yet it was of itself wicked and cruel.(:note) this head of gold.
geneva@Daniel:2:39 @ And after thee shall arise another kingdom (note:)Meaning, the Persians who were not inferior in dignity, power, or riches, but were worse with regard to ambition, cruelty, and every type of vice, showing that the world would grow worse and worse, until it was restored by Christ.(:note) inferior to thee, and another That is, those of the Macedonians will be of brass, not alluding to the hardness of it, but to the vileness with regard to silver. third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.
geneva@Daniel:2:40 @ And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all [things]: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in (note:)That is, the Roman empire will subdue all these others, which after Alexander were divided into the Macedonians, Grecians, Syrians, and Egyptians.(:note) pieces and bruise.
geneva@Daniel:2:41 @ And whereas thou sawest the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, the kingdom shall be (note:)They will have civil wars, and continual discords among themselves.(:note) divided; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron mixed with miry clay.
geneva@Daniel:2:42 @ And as the toes of the feete were parte of yron, and parte of clay, so shall the kingdome be partly strong, and partly broken.
geneva@Daniel:2:43 @ And whereas thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle themselves with (note:)They will be marriages and affinities think to make themselves strong: yet they will never by united in heart.(:note) the seed of men: but they shall not cleave one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay.
geneva@Daniel:2:44 @ And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which (note:)His purpose is to show that all the kingdoms of the world are transitory, and that the kingdom of Christ alone will remain forever.(:note) shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, [but] it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.
geneva@Daniel:2:45 @ Forasmuch as thou sawest that the (note:)Meaning Christ, who was sent by God, and not set up by man, whose kingdom at the beginning would be small and without beauty to man's judgment, but would at length grow and fill the whole earth, which he calls a great mountain, as in (Dan_2:35). And this kingdom, which is not only referred to the person of Christ, but also to the whole body of his Church, and to every member of it, will be eternal: for the Spirit that is in them is eternal life; (Rom_8:10).(:note) stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream [is] certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.
geneva@Daniel:2:46 @ Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and (note:)Though this humbling of the king seemed to deserve commendation, yet because he united God's honour with the Prophets, it is to be reproved, and Daniel would have erred, if he allowed it: but it is to his credit that Daniel admonished him of his fault, and did not allow it.(:note) worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odours unto him.
geneva@Daniel:2:47 @ The king answered unto Daniel, and said, Of a truth [it is], that your (note:)This confession was but a sudden motion, as it was also in Pharaoh, (Exo_9:28), but his heart was not touched, as appeared soon afterwards.(:note) God [is] a God of gods, and a Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing thou couldest reveal this secret.
geneva@Daniel:2:48 @ Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great (note:)Not that the Prophet was desirous of gifts or honour, but because by this means he might relieve his poor brethren, who were grievously oppressed in this their captivity, and he also received them, lest he should offend this cruel king, who willingly gave them.(:note) gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise [men] of Babylon.
geneva@Daniel:2:49 @ Then Daniel (note:)He did not do this for their personal profit, but that the whole Church, which was then there in affliction, might have some release and ease by this benefit.(:note) requested of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel [sat] in the Meaning that either he was a judge, or that he had the whole authority, so than no one could be admitted to the king's presence but by him. gate of the king.
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