Amplified Bible
Daniel 2:4
4Then the Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic, “O king, live forever! Tell the dream to your servants, and we will declare the interpretation.”
Daniel 2:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Then spake the Chaldeans to the king in Syriack, O king, live for ever: tell thy servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation.
- New International Version (NIV)Then the astrologers answered the king, “May the king live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will interpret it.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)Then the Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic, "O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation."
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic, “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation.”
Context of Daniel 2:4
2Then the king gave a command to call the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king. 3The king said to them, “I had a dream, and my spirit is troubled and anxious to know the [content and meaning of the] dream.” Then the Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic, “O king, live forever! Tell the dream to your servants, and we will declare the interpretation.” 5The king replied to the Chaldeans, “My command is firm and unchangeable: if you do not reveal to me the [content of the] dream along with its interpretation, you shall be cut into pieces and your houses shall be made a heap of rubbish. 6But if you tell [me] the [content of the] dream along with its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. So tell me the dream and its interpretation.”
Read all of Daniel 2Daniel 2:4 word by word
וַֽיְדַבְּר֧וּ הַכַּשְׂדִּ֛ים לַמֶּ֖לֶךְ אֲרָמִ֑ית מַלְכָּא֙ לְעָלְמִ֣ין חֱיִ֔י אֱמַ֥ר חֶלְמָ֛א לְעַבְדָ֖ךְ וּפִשְׁרָ֥א נְחַוֵּֽא׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Then spakeדָבַרdâbar · to speak: speakH1696
- the Chaldeansכַּשְׂדִּיםkaώdîy kaώdîymâh · ChaldeaH3778
- to the kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
- in Syriackאֲרָמִית'ărâmîyth · AramaicH762
- O kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4430
- liveחֲיָאchăyâ' chăyâh · to liveH2418
- for everעָלַם‛âlam · perpetuityH5957
- tellאֲמַר'ămar · to sayH560
- thy servantsעֲבַד‛ăbad · servant/slaveH5649
- the dreamחֵ֫לֶםchêlem · dreamH2493
- and we will shewחֲוָהchăvâ' · to showH2324
- the interpretationפְּשַׁרpeshar · interpretationH6591
Cross-references for Daniel 2:4
- Genesis 31:47Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha (stone monument of testimony in Aramaic), but Jacob called it Galeed.
- Ezra 4:7Later, in the days of [King] Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel and the rest of their associates wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia; and the text of the letter was written in Aramaic and translated from Aramaic.
- Isaiah 36:11Then Eliakim and Shebna and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, “Please, speak to your servants in Aramaic, because we understand it; and do not speak to us in Judean (Hebrew) in the hearing of the people who are [stationed] on the wall.”
- Daniel 3:9They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever!
- Daniel 4:19“Then Daniel, whose [Babylonian] name was Belteshazzar, was appalled and speechless for a while [because he was deeply concerned about the destiny of the king], and his thoughts alarmed him. The king said, ‘Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its interpretation frighten you.’ Belteshazzar answered, ‘My lord, may the dream be [meant] for those who hate you and its message for your enemies!
- Daniel 5:10Now the queen [mother], overhearing the [excited] words of the king and his nobles, came into the banquet area. The queen [mother] spoke and said, “O king, live forever! Do not be alarmed at your thoughts or let your face be changed.
- Daniel 6:6Then these commissioners and satraps agreed to approach the king and said to him, “King Darius, live forever!
- 1 Samuel 10:24Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see him whom the Lord has chosen? For there is no one like him among all the people.” So all the people shouted and said, “Long live the king!”
- 1 Kings 1:25Because he has gone down today [to En-Rogel] and has sacrificed oxen and fattened steers and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the king’s sons, the commanders of the army and Abiathar the priest [to this feast]; and [right now] they are eating and drinking in his presence; and they say, ‘Long live King Adonijah!’
- Nehemiah 2:3and I said to the king, “Let the king live forever. Why should my face not be sad when the city, the place of my fathers’ tombs, lies desolate and its gates have been consumed by fire?”
- Matthew 21:9The crowds that went ahead of Him, and those that followed Him, were shouting [in praise and adoration], “Hosanna to the Son of David (Messiah); Blessed [praised, glorified] is He who comes in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest [heaven]!”
- Mark 11:9Those who went in front and those who were following [Him] were shouting [in joy and praise], “Hosanna (Save, I pray)! Blessed (praised, glorified) is He who comes in the name of the Lord!
- Daniel 4:7Then the magicians, the enchanters (Magi), the Chaldeans [who were the master astrologers] and the diviners came in, and I told them the dream, but they could not interpret it and make known its meaning to me.
- Daniel 5:8Then all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the writing or reveal to the king its interpretation.
- Genesis 41:8So when morning came his spirit was troubled and disturbed and he sent and called for all the magicians and all the wise men of Egypt. And Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could interpret them to him.
- Isaiah 44:25Frustrating the signs and confounding the omens of boasters (false prophets), Making fools out of fortune-tellers, Counteracting the wise And making their knowledge ridiculous,
Commentaries on Daniel 2:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Then spake the Chaldeans to the king in Syriac - ארמית aramith, the language of Aram or Syria. What has been generally called the Chaldee. O king, live for ever - חיי לעלמין מלכא Malca leolmin cheyi . With these words the Chaldee part of Daniel commences; and continues to the end of the seventh chapter. These kinds of compliments are still in use in the East Indies. A superior gives a blessing to an inferior by saying to him, when the latter is in the act…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4Then spake the Chaldeans to the king - The meaning is, either that the Chaldeans spoke in the name of the entire company of the soothsayers and magicians (see the notes, Daniel 1:20; Daniel 2:2), because they were the most prominent among them, or the name is used to denote the collective body of soothsayers, meaning that this request was made by the entire company. In Syriac - In the original - ארמית 'ărâmı̂yt - in “Aramean.” Greek, ̀ Suristi - “in…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4Aramaic had been established by the Assyrians as the common language used for international communication. The Babylonians continued this practice. Tell your servants the dream: The Babylonian wise men needed to know the contents of the dream so that they could look them up in their reference books. They did not depend on divine revelation.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. Here begins the Chaldee portion of Daniel, which continues to the end of the seventh chapter. In it the course, character, and crisis of the Gentile power are treated; whereas, in the other parts, which are in Hebrew, the things treated apply more particularly to the Jews and Jerusalem. Syriac--the Aramean Chaldee, the vernacular tongue of the king and his court; the prophet, by mentioning it here, hints at the reason of his own adoption of it from…Read the comment
Topics related to Daniel 2:4
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Daniel 2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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