Daniel 2:27
New International Version
Daniel replied, “No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about,

New Living Translation
Daniel replied, “There are no wise men, enchanters, magicians, or fortune-tellers who can reveal the king’s secret.

English Standard Version
Daniel answered the king and said, “No wise men, enchanters, magicians, or astrologers can show to the king the mystery that the king has asked,

Berean Standard Bible
Daniel answered the king, “No wise man, enchanter, medium, or magician can explain to the king the mystery of which he inquires.

King James Bible
Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the king;

New King James Version
Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, “The secret which the king has demanded, the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, and the soothsayers cannot declare to the king.

New American Standard Bible
Daniel answered before the king and said, “As for the secret about which the king has inquired, neither wise men, sorcerers, soothsayer priests, nor diviners are able to declare it to the king.

NASB 1995
Daniel answered before the king and said, “As for the mystery about which the king has inquired, neither wise men, conjurers, magicians nor diviners are able to declare it to the king.

NASB 1977
Daniel answered before the king and said, “As for the mystery about which the king has inquired, neither wise men, conjurers, magicians, nor diviners are able to declare it to the king.

Legacy Standard Bible
Daniel answered before the king and said, “As for the mystery about which the king is asking, neither wise men, conjurers, magicians, nor diviners are able to declare it to the king.

Amplified Bible
Daniel answered the king and said, “Regarding the mystery about which the king has inquired, neither the wise men, enchanters, magicians, nor astrologers are able to answer the king,

Christian Standard Bible
Daniel answered the king, “No wise man, medium, magician, or diviner is able to make known to the king the mystery he asked about.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Daniel answered the king: “No wise man, medium, diviner-priest, or astrologer is able to make known to the king the mystery he asked about.

American Standard Version
Daniel answered before the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded can neither wise men, enchanters, magicians, nor soothsayers, show unto the king;

Contemporary English Version
Daniel answered: Your Majesty, not even the smartest person in all the world can do what you are demanding.

English Revised Version
Daniel answered before the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded can neither wise men, enchanters, magicians, nor soothsayers, shew unto the king;

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Daniel answered the king, "No wise adviser, psychic, magician, or fortuneteller can tell the king this secret.

Good News Translation
Daniel replied, "Your Majesty, there is no wizard, magician, fortuneteller, or astrologer who can tell you that.

International Standard Version
By way of answer, Daniel addressed the king: "None of the advisors, enchanters, diviners, or astrologers can explain the secret that the king has requested to be made known.

Majority Standard Bible
Daniel answered the king, ?No wise man, enchanter, medium, or magician can explain to the king the mystery of which he inquires.

NET Bible
Daniel replied to the king, "The mystery that the king is asking about is such that no wise men, astrologers, magicians, or diviners can possibly disclose it to the king.

New Heart English Bible
Daniel answered before the king, and said, "The secret which the king has demanded is such that no wise men, enchanters, magicians, nor soothsayers, can show to the king;

Webster's Bible Translation
Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded, the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the sooth-sayers, cannot show to the king;

World English Bible
Daniel answered before the king, and said, “The secret which the king has demanded can’t be shown to the king by wise men, enchanters, magicians, or soothsayers;
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
Daniel has answered before the king and said, “The secret that the king is asking, the wise men, the enchanters, the scribes, the soothsayers, are not able to show to the king;

Young's Literal Translation
Daniel hath answered before the king and said, 'The secret that the king is asking, the wise men, the enchanters, the scribes, the soothsayers, are not able to shew to the king;

Smith's Literal Translation
Daniel answered before the king, and said, The secret that the, king asked, not the wise men, the enchanters, the sacred scribes, the diviners, shall be able to show to the king;
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
And Daniel made answer before the king, and said: The secret that the king desireth to know, none of the wise men, or the philosophers, or the diviners, or the soothsayers can declare to the king.

Catholic Public Domain Version
And Daniel, facing the king, answered and said, “The secret that the king seeks, the wise men, the seers, and the soothsayers are unable to reveal to the king.

New American Bible
In the king’s presence Daniel made this reply: “The mystery about which the king has inquired, the wise men, enchanters, magicians, and diviners could not explain to the king.

New Revised Standard Version
Daniel answered the king, “No wise men, enchanters, magicians, or diviners can show to the king the mystery that the king is asking,
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The mystery which the king has demanded to know, can no wise men, sorcerers, nor the magicians, nor the astrologers reveal to the king;

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Daniel answered and said before the King: “The mystery that the King asked, neither wise men, nor Magi, neither Sorcerers, nor Enchanters can show the King
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Daniel answered before the king, and said: 'The secret which the king hath asked can neither wise men, enchanters, magicians, nor astrologers, declare unto the king;

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And Daniel answered before the king, and said, The mystery which the king asks the explanation of is not in the power of the wise men, magicians, enchanters, or soothsayers to declare to the king.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Daniel Interprets the Dream
26The king responded to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to tell me what I saw in the dream, as well as its interpretation?” 27Daniel answered the king, “No wise man, enchanter, medium, or magician can explain to the king the mystery of which he inquires. 28But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the latter days. Your dream and the visions that came into your mind as you lay on your bed were these:…

Cross References
Genesis 41:16
“I myself cannot do it,” Joseph replied, “but God will give Pharaoh a sound answer.”

Isaiah 41:21-24
“Present your case,” says the LORD. “Submit your arguments,” says the King of Jacob. / “Let them come and tell us what will happen. Tell the former things, so that we may reflect on them and know the outcome. Or announce to us what is coming. / Tell us the things that are to come, so that we may know that you are gods. Yes, do something good or evil, that we may look on together in dismay. ...

Isaiah 44:24-26
Thus says the LORD, your Redeemer who formed you from the womb: “I am the LORD, who has made all things, who alone stretched out the heavens, who by Myself spread out the earth, / who foils the signs of false prophets and makes fools of diviners, who confounds the wise and turns their knowledge into nonsense, / who confirms the message of His servant and fulfills the counsel of His messengers, who says of Jerusalem, ‘She will be inhabited,’ and of the cities of Judah, ‘They will be rebuilt, and I will restore their ruins,’

Isaiah 47:12-14
So take your stand with your spells and with your many sorceries, with which you have wearied yourself from your youth. Perhaps you will succeed; perhaps you will inspire terror! / You are wearied by your many counselors; let them come forward now and save you—your astrologers who observe the stars, who monthly predict your fate. / Surely they are like stubble; the fire will burn them up. They cannot deliver themselves from the power of the flame. There will be no coals to warm them or fire to sit beside.

Isaiah 48:5-7
Therefore I declared it to you long ago; I announced it before it came to pass, so that you could not claim, ‘My idol has done this; my carved image and molten god has ordained it.’ / You have heard these things; look at them all. Will you not acknowledge them? From now on I will tell you of new things, hidden things unknown to you. / They are created now, and not long ago; you have not heard of them before today. So you cannot claim, ‘I already knew them!’

Jeremiah 10:10-11
But the LORD is the true God; He is the living God and eternal King. The earth quakes at His wrath, and the nations cannot endure His indignation. / Thus you are to tell them: “These gods, who have made neither the heavens nor the earth, will perish from this earth and from under these heavens.”

Jeremiah 27:9-10
But as for you, do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your interpreters of dreams, your mediums, or your sorcerers who declare, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon.’ / For they prophesy to you a lie that will serve to remove you from your land; I will banish you and you will perish.

Ezekiel 28:3
Behold, you are wiser than Daniel; no secret is hidden from you!

Amos 3:7
Surely the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing His plan to His servants the prophets.

Acts 4:10-12
then let this be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. / This Jesus is ‘the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.’ / Salvation exists in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

Acts 8:9-11
Prior to that time, a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and astounded the people of Samaria. He claimed to be someone great, / and all the people, from the least to the greatest, heeded his words and said, “This man is the divine power called the Great Power.” / They paid close attention to him because he had astounded them for a long time with his sorcery.

Acts 13:6-12
They traveled through the whole island as far as Paphos, where they found a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus, / an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, a man of intelligence, summoned Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God. / But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith. ...

1 Corinthians 1:19-20
For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” / Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?

1 Corinthians 2:6-8
Among the mature, however, we speak a message of wisdom—but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. / No, we speak of the mysterious and hidden wisdom of God, which He destined for our glory before time began. / None of the rulers of this age understood it. For if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

1 Corinthians 3:19-20
For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness.” / And again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.”


Treasury of Scripture

Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king has demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, show to the king;

cannot.

Daniel 2:2,10,11
Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to shew the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king…

Daniel 5:7,8
The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. And the king spake, and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and shew me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom…

Job 5:12,13
He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform their enterprise…

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Daniel 2
1. Nebuchadnezzar, forgetting his dream,
5. requires it of the Chaldeans, by promises and threats.
10. They acknowledging their inability are judged to die.
14. Daniel obtaining some respite finds the dream.
19. He blesses God.
24. He staying the decree is brought to the king.
31. The dream.
36. The interpretation.
46. Daniel's advancement.














Daniel answered the king
Daniel, a young Hebrew exile in Babylon, stands before King Nebuchadnezzar. This moment highlights Daniel's role as a prophet and servant of God, emphasizing his courage and faith. His response is a testament to his reliance on God rather than human wisdom. This encounter sets the stage for God's revelation through Daniel, contrasting the wisdom of God with the limitations of human understanding.

No wise man, enchanter, medium, or magician
The mention of these figures reflects the Babylonian reliance on various forms of divination and wisdom. In ancient Mesopotamia, these roles were highly esteemed, and their practitioners were believed to possess special knowledge. However, Daniel's statement underscores the futility of such practices when compared to the divine wisdom of God. This echoes the biblical theme that true wisdom and revelation come from God alone, as seen in Isaiah 44:25, where God frustrates the signs of false prophets and makes fools of diviners.

can explain to the king
The inability of the wise men to interpret the king's dream highlights the limitations of human wisdom and the sovereignty of God. This sets the stage for God to demonstrate His power and knowledge through Daniel. It also serves as a reminder of the biblical principle found in Proverbs 3:5-6, which encourages trust in the Lord rather than human understanding.

the mystery of which he inquires
The term "mystery" refers to the hidden knowledge of the king's dream and its meaning. In biblical terms, a mystery is something that is revealed by God in His timing. This concept is further explored in the New Testament, where mysteries are often associated with the revelation of God's plan through Christ (Ephesians 3:3-5). Daniel's ability to reveal the mystery points to the divine source of his wisdom and foreshadows the ultimate revelation of God's mysteries through Jesus Christ.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Daniel
A Hebrew prophet and wise man in the Babylonian court, known for his faithfulness to God and his ability to interpret dreams and visions.

2. King Nebuchadnezzar
The king of Babylon who had a troubling dream that none of his wise men could interpret.

3. Wise Men, Enchanters, Magicians, Diviners
The group of Babylonian advisors and practitioners of the occult who were unable to interpret the king's dream.

4. Babylon
The empire where Daniel and his friends were exiled, known for its wealth, power, and idolatry.

5. The Mystery
The dream of King Nebuchadnezzar, which was a divine revelation that required interpretation.
Teaching Points
God's Sovereignty Over Human Wisdom
Human wisdom and knowledge have limitations. Only God can reveal true mysteries and understanding.

Dependence on God for Revelation
Like Daniel, believers should seek God's guidance and revelation in times of uncertainty and mystery.

Faithfulness in Exile
Daniel's faithfulness in a foreign land serves as a model for Christians living in a world that often opposes God's truth.

The Power of Prayer and Faith
Daniel's ability to interpret the dream was rooted in his prayer life and faith in God. Believers are encouraged to cultivate a strong prayer life.

Witnessing Through God's Wisdom
Daniel's interpretation of the dream was a testimony to God's power. Christians can witness to others by demonstrating God's wisdom in their lives.(27) The secret . . .--In this and the next verse Daniel justifies the astonishment of the king, and explains to him that what the wise men had stated was perfectly true. The "gods whose dwelling was with flesh" (see Note on Daniel 2:11) could not reveal the secret, but there was a God in heaven who had made it known. Daniel here teaches us what Scripture lays down elsewhere (Genesis 20:3; Genesis 41:16; Genesis 41:25; Genesis 41:28; Numbers 22:35), that all power of prediction is to be excluded from heathen gods, and is possessed by wise men only so far as they acquire it through the God of heaven. . . . Verse 27. - Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, show unto the king. The differences between this and the Septuagint are but slight and unimportant. To render it literally, the LXX. is, "Daniel, having spoken out in the presence of the king, said, The mystery which the king saw is nut the showing of the wise men, the astrologers, the sorcerers, the magicians." There seems to have been a confusion between עֲנָה ('anah), "to answer," and צְנָה (tzenah), "to cry out;" the latter word is unsuitable in the present connection. The change from שׁאל to חזה is unlikely to have been the result of any mistake in the writing of the original. It may have been the Greek scribe who misread ἠρώτησεν into ἑώρακεν. Theodotion and the Peshitta present no peculiarities worthy of notice. Jerome translates asbshaphim by magi, as usual, following the Peshitta. It is to be observed that here again we have a list of the different classes of soothsayers, and the class of Chaldeans is omitted, as also those marked as mecashphim in ver. 2; instead, occupying the same place in the catalogue, is gazrin. This may have been the original word, as evidently the real meaning was not known either in Egypt or Asia Minor, as both the LXX. and Theodotion transfer the word. The Peshitta translates this word by asuphe, in reality the corresponding one to the second word in the Chaldee. This would seem to show that the word had disappeared from Eastern as well as Western Aramaic. It is derived from gezar, "to eat." Behrmann ('Das Buch Daniel') derives it thus, and says that it refers to the fact that those who studied nativities divided the heavens into sectiones or segmenta. This was precisely what the "Chaldeans" of classic times did; hence it is quite a possible thing that Chaldeans was inserted in some Greek translations, and got into the Aramaic from the Greek. The word does not seem to be used for , astrologers" in the Talmud. The occasion of Daniel's narrating the impotence of the other wise men in presence of the task set them by the king is that probably he recognized the accent of surprise in the king's tone. As if he said, "Yes, it is perfectly true, what none of these wise men could do, I, a mere youth, undertake to do." There is nothing of contempt for them in this, as is seen in the following verse. There may be a shade of rebuke implied to the king, who had demanded from men what they could not do. They had declared that only the gods could reveal this to the king. And what Daniel says is not in opposition to this, but confirmatory of it.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Daniel
דָנִיֵּ֛אל (ḏā·nî·yêl)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 1841: Daniel -- 'God is my judge', an Israelite leader in Babylon

answered
עָנֵ֧ה (‘ā·nêh)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 6032: To answer

the king,
מַלְכָּ֖א (mal·kā)
Noun - masculine singular determinate
Strong's 4430: A king

“No
לָ֧א (lā)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3809: Not, no

wise man,
חַכִּימִ֣ין (ḥak·kî·mîn)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 2445: Wise, a Magian

medium,
חַרְטֻמִּין֙ (ḥar·ṭum·mîn)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 2749: A horoscopist

magician,
גָּזְרִ֔ין (gā·zə·rîn)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural
Strong's 1505: To quarry, determine

or diviner
אָֽשְׁפִ֗ין (’ā·šə·p̄în)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 826: A conjurer, enchanter

can
יָכְלִ֖ין (yā·ḵə·lîn)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine plural
Strong's 3202: To be able

explain
לְהַֽחֲוָיָ֥ה (lə·ha·ḥă·wā·yāh)
Preposition-l | Verb - Hifil - Infinitive construct
Strong's 2324: To show

to the king
מַלְכָּ֣א (mal·kā)
Noun - masculine singular determinate
Strong's 4430: A king

the mystery
רָזָה֙ (rā·zāh)
Noun - masculine singular determinate
Strong's 7328: To attenuate, hide, a mystery

of which
דִּֽי־ (dî-)
Pronoun - relative
Strong's 1768: Who, which, that, because

[he]
לְמַלְכָּֽא׃ (lə·mal·kā)
Preposition-l | Noun - masculine singular determinate
Strong's 4430: A king

inquires.
שָׁאֵ֔ל (šā·’êl)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 7593: To inquire, to request, to demand


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OT Prophets: Daniel 2:27 Daniel answered before the king and said (Dan. Da Dn)
Daniel 2:26
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