Daniel 2:11

Daniel 2:11 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is none other that can shew it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.
• New International Version (NIV)What the king asks is too difficult. No one can reveal it to the king except the gods, and they do not live among humans.”
• English Standard Version (ESV)The thing that the king asks is difficult, and no one can show it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh."
• New King James Version (NKJV)It is a difficult thing that the king requests, and there is no other who can tell it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.”

Context of Daniel 2:11

9If you do not tell me the dream, there is only one decree for you. You have conspired to speak before me false and fraudulent words, hoping the situation will change. Therefore tell me the dream, and I will know that you can give me its interpretation.” 10The astrologers answered the king, “No one on earth can do what the king requests! No king, however great and powerful, has ever asked anything like this of any magician, enchanter, or astrologer. What the king requests is so difficult that no one can tell it to him except the gods, whose dwelling is not with mortals.” 12This response made the king so angry and furious that he gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. 13So the decree went out that the wise men were to be executed, and men went to look for Daniel and his friends to execute them.

Daniel 2:11 word by word

וּמִלְּתָ֨א דִֽי־מַלְכָּ֤ה שָׁאֵל֙ יַקִּירָ֔ה וְאָחֳרָן֙ לָ֣א אִיתַ֔י דִּ֥י יְחַוִּנַּ֖הּ קֳדָ֣ם מַלְכָּ֑א לָהֵ֣ן אֱלָהִ֔ין דִּ֚י מְדָ֣רְה֔וֹן עִם־בִּשְׂרָ֖א לָ֥א אִיתֽוֹהִי׃Read the interlinear

• ·מִלָּהmillâh · wordH4406
• Whatדִּיdîy · thatH1768
• the kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4430
• requestsשְׁאֵלshe'êl · to askH7593
• is so difficultיַקִּירyaqqîyr · honorableH3358
• that noלָאlâ' lâh · notH3809
• oneאׇחֳרָן'ochŏrân · anotherH321
• ·אִיתַי'îythay · there isH383
• can tell itחֲוָהchăvâ' · to showH2324
• toקֳדָםqŏdâm qedâm · beforeH6925
• exceptלָהֵןlâhên · exceptH3861
• the godsאֱלָהּ'ĕlâhh · godH426
• dwellingמְדָרmedôr medôr medâr · dwellingH4070
• withעִם‛im · withH5974
• mortalsבְּשַׁרbeώar · fleshH1321

Commentaries on Daniel 2:11

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 11And it is a rare thing that the king requireth - Chaldee, יקירה yaqqı̂yrâh - meaning, “choice, valuable, costly;” then, “heavy, hard, difficult.” Greek, ́ barus Vulgate, “gravis - heavy, weighty.” The idea is not so much that the thing demanded by the king was “uncommon” or “rarely made” - though that was true, as that it was so difficult as to be beyond the human powers. They would not have been likely on such an occasion to say that the requirement was…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 10-11The Babylonian wise men could explain dreams, but they could not repeat a dream unless someone first told it to them. They also knew that only a divine being could do such a thing (see Daniel 2:17–23, 27–28).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1111. gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh--answering to "no man upon the earth"; for there were, in their belief, "men in heaven," namely, men deified; for example, Nimrod. The supreme gods are referred to here, who alone, in the Chaldean view, could solve the difficulty, but who do not communicate with men. The inferior gods, intermediate between men and the supreme gods, are unable to solve it. Contrast with this heathen idea of the utter severance of…Read the comment

Topics related to Daniel 2:11

• Government
• Magician
• Rulers

In the dictionaries

• Ask
• Iron
• Terrible
• Abed-Nego
• Aramaic; Aramaic Language
• Astrology
• Bible, the
• Daniel
• Daniel, Book of
• Divination

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