Daniel 2:22

THE MESSAGE

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
He reveals the deep and hidden things;he knows what is in the darkness,and light dwells with him.

Hebrew Names Version
he reveals the deep and secret things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him.

King James Version
He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.

English Standard Version
he reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him.

New American Standard Bible
"It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness, And the light dwells with Him.

New Century Version
He makes known secrets that are deep and hidden; he knows what is hidden in darkness, and light is all around him.

Amplified Bible
"It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness, And the light dwells with Him.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Hee discouereth the deepe and secrete things: he knoweth what is in darkenes, and the light dwelleth with him.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness, And the light dwells with Him.

Berean Standard Bible
He reveals the deep and hidden things; He knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with Him.

Contemporary English Version
"You explain deep mysteries, because even the dark is light to you.

Complete Jewish Bible
He reveals deep and secret things; he knows what lies in the darkness; and light dwells with him.

Darby Translation
It is he that revealeth the deep and secret things; He knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.

Easy-to-Read Version
He knows hidden secrets that are hard to understand. Light lives with him, so he knows what is in the dark and secret places.

George Lamsa Translation
He reveals the deep and secret things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light is with him.

Good News Translation
He reveals things that are deep and secret; he knows what is hidden in darkness, and he himself is surrounded by light.

Lexham English Bible
He reveals the deep and the hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him.

Literal Translation
He reveals the deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells in Him.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
he openeth the depe secretes: he knoweth ye the thynge that lyeth in darknesse, for the light dwelleth with him.

American Standard Version
he revealeth the deep and secret things; he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.

Bible in Basic English
He is the unveiler of deep and secret things: he has knowledge of what is in the dark, and the light has its living-place with him.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
He revealeth the deep and secret things; He knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with Him.

King James Version (1611)
He reuealeth the deepe and secret things: hee knoweth what is in the darknes, & the light dwelleth with him.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
He reuealeth the deepe & secrete thinges, he knoweth the thing that lieth in darknesse, for the light dwelleth with him.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
he reveals deep and secret matters; knowing what is in darkness, and the light is with him.

English Revised Version
he revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.

World English Bible
he reveals the deep and secret things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
he schewith deepe thingis and hid, and he knowith thingis set in derknessis, and liyt is with hym.

Update Bible Version
he reveals the deep and secret things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him.

Webster's Bible Translation
He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what [is] in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.

New English Translation
he reveals deep and hidden things. He knows what is in the darkness, and light resides with him.

New King James Version
He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, And light dwells with Him.

New Living Translation
He reveals deep and mysterious things and knows what lies hidden in darkness, though he is surrounded by light.

New Life Bible
He makes known secret and hidden things. He knows what is in the darkness. Light is with Him.

New Revised Standard
He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what is in the darkness, and light dwells with him.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
He, revealeth the deep things, and the hidden, - knoweth what is in the darkness, and, light, with him, doth dwell.

Douay-Rheims Bible
He revealeth deep and hidden things, and knoweth what is in darkness: and light is with him.

Revised Standard Version
he reveals deep and mysterious things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him.

Young's Literal Translation
He is revealing deep and hidden things; He hath known what [is] in darkness, and light with Him hath dwelt.

Contextual Overview

¹⁴When Arioch, chief of the royal guards, was making arrangements for the execution, Daniel wisely took him aside and quietly asked what was going on: "Why this all of a sudden?" After Arioch filled in the background, Daniel went to the king and asked for a little time so that he could interpret the dream. Daniel then went home and told his companions Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah what was going on. He asked them to pray to the God of heaven for mercy in solving this mystery so that the four of them wouldn't be killed along with the whole company of Babylonian wise men. That night the answer to the mystery was given to Daniel in a vision. Daniel blessed the God of heaven, saying, "Blessed be the name of God, forever and ever. He knows all, does all: He changes the seasons and guides history, He raises up kings and also brings them down, he provides both intelligence and discernment, He opens up the depths, tells secrets, sees in the dark—light spills out of him! God of all my ancestors, all thanks! all praise! You made me wise and strong. And now you've shown us what we asked for. You've solved the king's mystery." So Daniel went back to Arioch, who had been put in charge of the execution. He said, "Call off the execution! Take me to the king and I'll interpret his dream." Arioch didn't lose a minute. He ran to the king, bringing Daniel with him, and said, "I've found a man from the exiles of Judah who can interpret the king's dream!" The king asked Daniel (renamed in Babylonian, Belteshazzar), "Are you sure you can do this—tell me the dream I had and interpret it for me?" Daniel answered the king, "No mere human can solve the king's mystery, I don't care who it is—no wise man, enchanter, magician, diviner. But there is a God in heaven who solves mysteries, and he has solved this one. He is letting King Nebuchadnezzar in on what is going to happen in the days ahead. This is the dream you had when you were lying on your bed, the vision that filled your mind: "While you were stretched out on your bed, O king, thoughts came to you regarding what is coming in the days ahead. The Revealer of Mysteries showed you what will happen. But the interpretation is given through me, not because I'm any smarter than anyone else in the country, but so that you will know what it means, so that you will understand what you dreamed. "What you saw, O king, was a huge statue standing before you, striking in appearance. And terrifying. The head of the statue was pure gold, the chest and arms were silver, the belly and hips were bronze, the legs were iron, and the feet were an iron-ceramic mixture. While you were looking at this statue, a stone cut out of a mountain by an invisible hand hit the statue, smashing its iron-ceramic feet. Then the whole thing fell to pieces—iron, tile, bronze, silver, and gold, smashed to bits. It was like scraps of old newspapers in a vacant lot in a hot dry summer, blown every which way by the wind, scattered to oblivion. But the stone that hit the statue became a huge mountain, dominating the horizon. This was your dream. "And now we'll interpret it for the king. You, O king, are the most powerful king on earth. The God of heaven has given you the works: rule, power, strength, and glory. He has put you in charge of men and women, wild animals and birds, all over the world—you're the head ruler, you are the head of gold. But your rule will be taken over by another kingdom, inferior to yours, and that one by a third, a bronze kingdom, but still ruling the whole land, and after that by a fourth kingdom, ironlike in strength. Just as iron smashes things to bits, breaking and pulverizing, it will bust up the previous kingdoms. "But then the feet and toes that ended up as a mixture of ceramic and iron will deteriorate into a mongrel kingdom with some remains of iron in it. Just as the toes of the feet were part ceramic and part iron, it will end up a mixed bag of the breakable and unbreakable. That kingdom won't bond, won't hold together any more than iron and clay hold together. "But throughout the history of these kingdoms, the God of heaven will be building a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will this kingdom ever fall under the domination of another. In the end it will crush the other kingdoms and finish them off and come through it all standing strong and eternal. It will be like the stone cut from the mountain by the invisible hand that crushed the iron, the bronze, the ceramic, the silver, and the gold. "The great God has let the king know what will happen in the years to come. This is an accurate telling of the dream, and the interpretation is also accurate." When Daniel finished, King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face in awe before Daniel. He ordered the offering of sacrifices and burning of incense in Daniel's honor. He said to Daniel, "Your God is beyond question the God of all gods, the Master of all kings. And he solves all mysteries, I know, because you've solved this mystery." Then the king promoted Daniel to a high position in the kingdom, lavished him with gifts, and made him governor over the entire province of Babylon and the chief in charge of all the Babylonian wise men. At Daniel's request the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to administrative posts throughout Babylon, while Daniel governed from the royal headquarters. ¹⁶King Nebuchadnezzar's Dream In the second year of his reign, King Nebuchadnezzar started having dreams that disturbed him deeply. He couldn't sleep. He called in all the Babylonian magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and fortunetellers to interpret his dreams for him. When they came and lined up before the king, he said to them, "I had a dream that I can't get out of my mind. I can't sleep until I know what it means." The fortunetellers, speaking in the Aramaic language, said, "Long live the king! Tell us the dream and we will interpret it." The king answered the fortunetellers, "This is my decree: If you can't tell me both the dream itself and its interpretation, I'll have you ripped to pieces, limb from limb, and your homes torn down. But if you tell me both the dream and its interpretation, I'll lavish you with gifts and honors. So go to it: Tell me the dream and its interpretation." They answered, "If it please your majesty, tell us the dream. We'll give the interpretation." But the king said, "I know what you're up to—you're just playing for time. You know you're up a tree. You know that if you can't tell me my dream, you're doomed. I see right through you—you're going to cook up some fancy stories and confuse the issue until I change my mind. Nothing doing! First tell me the dream, then I'll know that you're on the up and up with the interpretation and not just blowing smoke in my eyes." The fortunetellers said, "Nobody anywhere can do what you ask. And no king, great or small, has ever demanded anything like this from any magician, enchanter, or fortuneteller. What you're asking is impossible unless some god or goddess should reveal it—and they don't hang around with people like us." That set the king off. He lost his temper and ordered the whole company of Babylonian wise men killed. When the death warrant was issued, Daniel and his companions were included. They also were marked for execution. When Arioch, chief of the royal guards, was making arrangements for the execution, Daniel wisely took him aside and quietly asked what was going on: "Why this all of a sudden?" After Arioch filled in the background, Daniel went to the king and asked for a little time so that he could interpret the dream. ¹⁷Daniel then went home and told his companions Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah what was going on. He asked them to pray to the God of heaven for mercy in solving this mystery so that the four of them wouldn't be killed along with the whole company of Babylonian wise men. ¹⁹That night the answer to the mystery was given to Daniel in a vision. Daniel blessed the God of heaven, saying, "Blessed be the name of God, forever and ever. He knows all, does all: He changes the seasons and guides history, He raises up kings and also brings them down, he provides both intelligence and discernment, He opens up the depths, tells secrets, sees in the dark—light spills out of him! God of all my ancestors, all thanks! all praise! You made me wise and strong. And now you've shown us what we asked for. You've solved the king's mystery."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

revealeth: Daniel 2:11, Daniel 2:28, Daniel 2:29, Genesis 37:5-9, Genesis 41:16, Genesis 41:25-28, Job 12:22, Psalms 25:14, Isaiah 41:22, Isaiah 41:26, Isaiah 42:9, Matthew 13:13, Romans 16:25, Romans 16:26, 1 Corinthians 2:9-11, Ephesians 3:5

he knoweth: Job 26:6, Psalms 139:11, Psalms 139:12, Jeremiah 23:24, Luke 12:2, Luke 12:3, John 21:17, 1 Corinthians 4:5, Hebrews 4:13

and the: Daniel 5:11, Daniel 5:14, Psalms 36:9, Psalms 104:2, John 1:9, John 8:12, John 12:45, John 12:46, 1 Timothy 6:16, James 1:17, 1 John 1:5

Reciprocal: Deuteronomy 29:29 - secret 1 Kings 2:15 - for it was 2 Kings 6:12 - telleth Job 12:21 - poureth Psalms 75:7 - he putteth Jeremiah 32:17 - there Ezekiel 28:3 - no secret Daniel 2:19 - was Obadiah 1:6 - how are his 1 Corinthians 2:10 - the deep 1 Peter 1:12 - it

Cross-References

Genesis 2:8
Then God planted a garden in Eden, in the east. He put the Man he had just made in it. God made all kinds of trees grow from the ground, trees beautiful to look at and good to eat. The Tree-of-Life was in the middle of the garden, also the Tree-of-Knowledge-of-Good-and-Evil.

Psalms 127:1
A Pilgrim Song of Solomon If God doesn't build the house, the builders only build shacks. If God doesn't guard the city, the night watchman might as well nap. It's useless to rise early and go to bed late, and work your worried fingers to the bone. Don't you know he enjoys giving rest to those he loves?

Proverbs 18:22
Find a good spouse, you find a good life— and even more: the favor of God !

Proverbs 19:14
House and land are handed down from parents, but a congenial spouse comes straight from God .

Gill's Notes on the Bible

He revealeth the deep and secret things,.... The purposes of his own heart, which are the deep things of God, and the secrets that belong to him, and which are opened in providence by the execution of them; the "arcana imperii", or secrets of state, committed to men designed for government; the secrets or mysteries of grace, the deep things of the Gospel, made known to Gospel ministers; and particularly the deep and impenetrable secret of the king's dream, and the interpretation of it, revealed to Daniel:

he knoweth what is in the darkness; the actions of men committed in darkness; the schemes that are drawn in the privy councils and cabinets of princes; yea, the thoughts of men's hearts, which he in the utmost recesses of them, as well as their dreams in the night season; and particularly this of the king's, and which must have been buried in darkness, had he not revealed it:

and the light dwelleth with him; he is light itself, and the Father of lights; the light of nature, grace, and glory, is with him, and from him; the light of the word, the light of prophecy, and the light of the glorious Gospel; and also the Light of the world, the sun of righteousness, the Messiah; and of him some of the ancient Jews interpret this passage. R. Aba Serungia p, mentioning this passage, "and the light dwelleth with him", adds, this is the King Messiah, as it is said, "arise, shine", c. and his commentator q observes, that the sense of it is, he (God) retains the Messiah with himself, and does not send him forth unto us; see Psalms 43:3, and elsewhere r, in answer to the question, what is the name of the Messiah? among others, this is said, his name is Light, as it is said, "and the light dwelleth with him": and this is a name that is often given to Christ, and he takes to himself in the New Testament; see John 1:7 where he is called the "Light", that Light, the true Light, and the Light of the world; as he is both of Jews and Gentiles, even of all his people throughout the world: indeed, the light of nature, which every man has, is from him, as the Creator of all; and the light of grace, and the increase of it, which any are favoured with, is given by him; and all the light of knowledge in divine things, and of spiritual joy and comfort, beams from him the sun of righteousness: the light of the latter day, which will be so very great, as to be as the light of seven days, and to make the sun and moon unnecessary in a figurative sense, will be owing to him; as well as all that light of life and glory, the saints shall possess to all eternity, will be communicated through him: and Christ, who is this light, "dwells" with God; he who is the same with the divine Word, was with God, and dwells with him to all eternity; in the fulness of time this Word or Light was made flesh, or was clothed with it, and dwelt with men; when it was, that be came a light into the world, of which he often speaks; and having done his work, ascended to heaven, and now dwells with God in human nature; and will come again, and dwell with men on earth a thousand years, when he will be the light of the New Jerusalem state; and, after that, will take his people with him to heavens, and dwell with God, and they with him, for evermore. This shows that this Light, or the divine "Logos", is a person distinct from God the Father, with whom he dwells; that he is an eternal one, God never being without this Light and Word; and that he is all abiding light to his saints, and will be for evermore.

p In Bereshit Rabba, sect. 1. fol. 1, 3. q Auctor. Yade Moseh in ib. r Echa Rabbati, fol. 50. 2.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

He revealeth the deep and secret things - Things which are too profound for man to fathom by his own power, and which are concealed or hidden until he makes them known. What is said here is an advance on what was affirmed in the previous verse, and relates to another kind of knowledge. “That” related to such knowledge as was not properly beyond the grasp of the human intellect when unaided in any supernatural manner, and affirmed that even then all discoveries and inventions are to be traced to God; “this” refers to a species of knowledge which lies beyond any natural compass of the human powers, and in which a supernatural influence is needed - such things as the Chaldeans and astrologers claimed the power of disclosing. The assertion here is, that when the highest human wisdom showed itself insufficient for the exigency, God was able to disclose those deep truths which it was desirable for man to understand. Applied generally, this refers to the truths made known by revelation - truths which man could never have discovered by his unaided powers.

He knoweth what is in the darkness - What appears to man to be involved in darkness, and on which no light seems to shine. This may refer not only to what is concealed from man in the literal darkness of night, but to all that is mysterious; all that lies beyond the range of human inquiry; all that pertains to unseen worlds. An immensely large portion of the universe lies wholly beyond the range of human investigation at present, and is, of course, dark to man.

And the light dwelleth with him - The word rendered “dwelleth” (שׁרא sh^erēl) means, properly, to loose, to unbind, to solve, as e. g., hard questions, Daniel 5:16; and is then applied to travelers who unbind the loads of their beasts to put up for the night, and then it comes to mean to put up for the night, to lodge, to dwell. Hence, the meaning is, that the light abides with God; it is there as in its appropriate dwelling-place; he is in the midst of it: all is light about him; light when it is sent out goes from him; when it is gathered together, its appropriate place is with him. Compare Job 38:19-20 :

“Where is the way where light dwelleth?

And as for darkness, where is the place thereof?

That thou shouldest take it to the bound thereof,

And that thou shouldest know the paths to the house thereof?”

See the note at that passage. Compare also 1 Timothy 6:16 : “Dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto.” 1 John 1:5 : “God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.”