Now in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign It is impossible to say this, except that [it happened] in the second year after the destruction of the Temple. So it is taught in Seder Olam (ch. 28), and Scripture called it “of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign,” because he demonstrated his insolence by entering the Inner Sanctum of the Sovereign of the Universe.

and his spirit was troubled Heb. וַתִּתְפָּעֶם רוּחוֹ. Concerning Pharaoh it says (Gen. 41:8): וַתִּפָּעֶם רוּחוֹ, for only the interpretation of the dream was hidden from him, but here, since the dream too was hidden from him, the expression is doubled: וַתִּתְפָּעֶם, an expression of pulsating and beating.

was interrupted Heb. נִהְיְתָה, an expression of breaking like (Ezek. 7:25): “Breach upon breach (הוָה עַל הוָה).”

May the king live forever Aram. מַלְכָּא לְעָלְמִין חֱיִי.

Tell your servants the dream [as translated,] Tell your servants the dream.

The matter has escaped me The thing has left me.

If you do not let me know the dream and its meaning [as translated,] if you do not let me know the dream and its meaning.

you shall be torn limb from limb Aram. הַדָמִין תִּתְעַבְּדוּן. You shall be cut to pieces, and there are many such in the Gemara (Gittin 67b): “Arrange the cuts” (הַדוּמֵי הַדְמּוּהָ).

a dungheap Aram. נְוָלִי, a dungheap.

shall be made Aram. יִתְּשָּׂמוּן an expression of וְיָשֵּׂם, and he will make. They shall be made into dungheaps.

But if [as translated,] But if.

and lavish presents [as translated,] presents.

but [as translated,] but.

tell me [as translated,] tell me.

a second time [as translated,] a second time.

we shall tell [as translated,] we shall tell.

in truth, I know [as translated,] in truth, I know.

truth Aram. יַצִיב, a true and permanent thing.

that this time you are doomed Aram. דִּי עִדָּנָא אַנְתוּן זַבְנִין, that this time you are delivered to death.

because you see because you see that the matter escaped me, but you repeatedly ask me to tell you.

or if you have prepared yourselves...a false and corrupt word Or if you have prepared yourselves to say before me a false and corrupt word.

until the time changes until the time changes, i.e., before the shadows of evening slant, when the time of morning changes.

“Until the time changes” is an expression of rebuke and an exaggeration: so will he be punished, and the punishment was already delineated above. A similar instance is (Gen. 4:15): “Therefore, whoever kills Cain.”

but the dream; tell me what I dreamed, and I shall know that you will surely tell me the interpretation.

who...the king’s word who will be able to tell the king’s word.

because Aram. כָּל קַבֵל, lit. all opposite; i.e., our reply is true, in view of the fact that there was never a king who asked anything like this.

such a thing Aram. מִלָה כִדְּנָה, a thing like this.

astrologer who presses the constellation.

difficult Aram. יַקִירָה, heavy, and its burden is heavy.

and there is no other who can tell it and there is no other who will tell it.

but the angels but the angels whose dwelling is not with flesh and blood.

whose dwelling Aram. מְדָרְהוֹן, their dwelling. The Midrash of Rabbi Tanhuma (ad loc.) [says]: וְאַחֲרָן לָא אִיתַי, and Aaron is not here. A priest who wears the Urim and Tummim is not here to tell you. He said to them, “That Temple was so powerful, and you advised me to destroy it?” Immediately, he became angry and commanded to slay them.

In view of this in view of this reply.

in great wrath and anger Aram. מַלְכָּא בְּנַס וּקְצַף שַּׂגִיא. The king was in great wrath and anger.

(בְּנַס) means in wrath. (Gen. 40:6): “And behold they were angry (זעַפִים), and Onkelos renders: נסִיסִין.

and ordered to destroy Aram. וַאֲמַר לְהוֹבָדָה. About this “vav” of וַאֲמַר, Menahem and Dunash disputed. Menahem (p. 46) forced himself to make the “beth” of בְּנַס, a radical and did not interpret בְּנַס וּקְצַף as nouns, but as an expression of a verb: was greatly wroth and angry and ordered to destroy. The “vav” in וַאֲמַר forced him to interpret it this way. Dunash (p. 9) says that it is impossible for the “beth” to be a radical, but it is a noun, and he interpreted it in this manner: with great wrath and anger he ordered to destroy, and the “vav” there is superfluous, like the “vav” of (Ps. 76:7): “chariot (וְרֶכֶב) and horse.” But I say that the “vav” is not forced to be superfluous, but so is its interpretation: מַלְכָּא בְּנַס וּקְצַף שַּׂגִּיא, the king was in great wrath and anger, and he ordered in his wrath to destroy them. Accordingly, this is an elliptical verse.

And a decree was issued The law of the king and his decree were issued in the province.

and Daniel and his colleagues were sought to be slain [as translated,] and Daniel and his colleagues were sought to be slain.

Then Aram. בֵּאדַיִן, the Targum for אָז.

answered with counsel and good sense He answered [with] counsel and good sense to Arioch, the name of the man.

the...chief executioner the officer over those who executed the ones condemned to death.

Why was the decree issued so hastily Why is the decree of the king [issued] in such a haste to kill?

Then Arioch made the matter known to Daniel that the king was angry because no one told him his dream.

entered and requested [as translated,] entered and requested.

be given him [as translated,] be given him.

the secret was revealed [as translated,] the secret was revealed.

changes [as translated,] changes.

removes He removes kings, for he understood from the dream that Nebuchadnezzar’s kingdom would terminate, and another kingdom would rise.

He reveals the profound [as translated,] He reveals the profound.

and secret things for He revealed this profound thing to me.

You have let me know [as translated,] You have let me know.

In view of this in view of this, that the secret was revealed to him.

Daniel came in to Arioch He entered Arioch’s premises.

had appointed [as translated,] had appointed.

Do not destroy [as translated,] Do not destroy.

bring me in [as translated,] bring me in.

Then Aram. אֶדַיִן, [the equivalent of] אָז.

in haste Aram. בְּהִתְבְּהָלָה, in haste, i.e., quickly.

brought... in brought Daniel in.

that “I have found a man [as translated,] that “I have found a man.

the exiles of Judea [as translated,] the exiles of Judea.

Do you have the ability Are you able?

that I have seen [as translated,] that I have seen.

demonologists Aram. גָזְרִין, the name of a type of ruler over demons.

But there is...and He lets Nebuchadnezzar know He revealed this secret to me, and through me let the king know that his dream refers to future events.

your dream and the visions of your head on your bed which are on your bed.

your thoughts Aram. רַעְיוֹנָיךְ.

came while on your bed What you were thinking of during the day, what would be after you, came [to you] on your bed.

and the Revealer of secrets and the Holy One, blessed be He, Who reveals secrets, let you know what will come about.

And I, not with wisdom And I, not with superior wisdom that I have, more than other creatures, was this secret revealed to me.

but in order that they should let the king know the interpretation They should let you know from heaven.

and you should know the thoughts of your heart and the thoughts of your heart about which you are constantly thinking, [which are] to know who will rise after you.

you should know [as translated,] you should know.

you were watching [as translated,] you were watching.

and behold Aram. וַאֲלוּ, an expression of “behold.”

an image which had a large base [as translated,] an image which had a large base.

with unusual splendor, was standing opposite you [as translated,] standing opposite you.

and its form was frightening [as translated,] and its form was frightening.

of fine gold [as translated,] of fine gold.

its breast [as translated,] its breast.

and its arms [as translated,] and its arms.

its belly and thighs [as translated,] its belly and thighs.

Its legs were of iron [as translated,] Its legs were of iron.

were partly of iron and partly of clay [as translated,] were partly of iron and partly of clay [i.e., part of each foot was of iron and part of clay].

until one stone was hewn that one stone was cut and separated.

without hands not with hands, but by itself.

and it struck the image [as translated,] and it struck the image.

and crumbled them [as translated,] and crumbled them.

Then...crumbled together Then all the types of metals and the clay that were in it crumbled together.

and they were like chaff from the threshing floors of the summer [as translated,] and they were like chaff from the threshing floors of the summer.

and the wind carried them off [as translated,] and the wind carried them off.

and no place was found for them i.e., their original place was unknown, and it was unrecognizable that they were ever there.

became a huge mountain [as translated,] became a huge mountain.

This is the dream Behold this is the dream that you dreamed.

and its interpretation we shall recite, etc. and its interpretation we shall tell you.

The King of kings Our Sages, of blessed memory, explained (Shev. 35b): Every mention of “king” in Daniel refers to an earthly king, except this one, which he said in reference to the Holy One, blessed be He, and this is what it means: The King of kings, Who is the God of heaven.

a strong... kingdom gave you a strong and prominent kingdom.

and has given you dominion over them all And He gave you dominion over them all, so that even if you decree upon a horse, it will not whinny, or upon a bird, it will not fly, as it is said (Jer. 27: 6): “and even the beasts of the field I have given to him to serve him.”

You are the head of gold You are the golden head of the image that you saw, for your kingdom is strong, and now it is in existence and is very prominent.

And after you will arise another kingdom lower than you And after you, after the reign of your son, Belshazzar, will arise a kingdom that will take the ruling power from your seed, lower and humbler than your kingdom.

lower Aram. אֶרַע, lower, as silver is lower and humbler than gold, and you saw that the breast, which is after the head, was of silver; so will the kingdom of Media and Persia, which will follow the kingdom of Babylon, be humbler than the kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar.

and another, a third kingdom [as translated,] another.

of copper as strong as copper, and that is the kingdom of Alexander of Macedon.

And a fourth kingdom will be as hard as iron, as you saw the thighs, which are the fourth from the head, the breast, and the belly, and they are of iron.

crumbles and flattens everything flattens and crumbles all kinds of metal, which are flattened with a hammer.

and flattens Aram. וְחָשֵּׁל, and flattens. There are many such [words] in the Talmud. Keth. 77a, “who thins copper for kettles (חַשְּׁלָא דוּדֵי)”; Hul. 93a: “crushed testicles (בֵּיעֵי חֳשִּׁלָתָא).”

all these all these kinds of metals that you saw in the image.

it will crumble and shatter It will crumble and shatter all the nations.

potter’s clay Aram. חֲסַף דִּי פֶחָר, a potter’s clay, and there are many instances of this in the Talmud (Taanith 7a): “vessels of a potter (מָאנֵי דְפַחְרָא).”

it will be a divided kingdom It will be a divided kingdom; two kings will rise from it at once, strong and weak, as explained below (verse 42): “part of the kingdom will be strong.”

and in it will be some of the strength of iron Even the weak one will be stronger than the other nations through the strength of his fellow, for they will fear him. And this is the meaning of וּמִן נִצְבְּתָא דִּי פַרְזְלָא לֶהֶוֵא בָהּ ; some of the strength of the stability of iron will be in the weak king.

in view of what you saw in view of what you saw—iron mixed with clay.

that they will mingle with the seed of men They will intermarry with the other nations but they will not be at peace and truly cleave to them wholeheartedly, and their laws will differ from the laws of the other nations.

as iron does not mix with clay Is it not just as iron does not stick well to clay?

And in the days of these kings in the days of these kings, when the kingdom of Rome is still in existence.

the God Of heaven will set up a kingdom The kingdom of the Holy One, blessed be He, which will never be destroyed, is the kingdom of the Messiah.

it will crumble and destroy It will crumble and destroy all these kingdoms.

Just as you saw just as you saw that a stone was broken off the mountain, which crumbled the entire image. This is the interpretation that the fifth kingdom will destroy and shatter them all.

what will be after this what will be after this, after this kingdom of yours.

and its interpretation is reliable for the Eternal of Israel neither lies nor repents.

ordered to offer up... libations He wished to deify him.

truly [as translated,] in truth.

and the Master of the kings The Lord of lords.

this secret [as translated,] this secret.

elevated Daniel He elevated Daniel over all the princes.

and he appointed, over the affairs of the capital cities of Babylon He appointed, over all the necessities of the kingdom, Hananiah Mishael, and Azariah.