Daniel 2:12

Daniel 2:12 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.
• New International Version (NIV)This made the king so angry and furious that he ordered the execution of all the wise men of Babylon.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Because of this the king was angry and very furious, and commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be destroyed.
• New King James Version (NKJV)For this reason the king was angry and very furious, and gave the command to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.

Context of Daniel 2:12

10The wise men answered the king, ‘There is nobody on earth who can know your dream! No king has ever asked anyone to do anything like this. No magician, enchanter or wise man could do that. Even the greatest and most powerful king has never asked anyone to do this. 11You are asking us to do something much too difficult! Nobody can do it, except the gods. And they do not live among men.’ This made the king very angry. So he said to his soldiers, ‘Kill all the wise men in Babylon.’ 13He sent a message to command them to kill all his wise men. Some men went to look for Daniel and his friends too. They wanted to punish them with death. 14But Daniel spoke carefully to Arioch. He was the captain of the king's soldiers who had gone to kill the wise men of Babylon.

Daniel 2:12 word by word

כָּל־קֳבֵ֣ל דְּנָ֔ה מַלְכָּ֕א בְּנַ֖ס וּקְצַ֣ף שַׂגִּ֑יא וַאֲמַר֙ לְה֣וֹבָדָ֔ה לְכֹ֖ל חַכִּימֵ֥י בָבֶֽל׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Forקֳבֵלqebêl qŏbêl · before: becauseH6903
• thisדְּנָהdên · thisH1836
• causeכֹּלkôl · allH3606
• the kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4430
• was angryבְּנַסbenas · be angryH1149
• and veryשַׂגִּיאώaggîy' · greatH7690
• furiousקְצַףqetsaph · be angryH7108
• and commandedאֲמַר'ămar · to sayH560
• to destroyאֲבַד'ăbad · to destroyH7
• the wiseחַכִּיםchakkîym · wiseH2445
• of Babylonבָּבֶ֫ל, בָּבֶלbâbel · BabylonH895

Cross-references for Daniel 2:12

• Daniel 3:13When King Nebuchadnezzar heard this, he was very angry. He told his servants to bring Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to him. So they brought those men to stand in front of the king.
• Job 5:2Foolish people may be angry and jealous. That is what kills them.
• Psalms 76:10Everybody will praise you, even those who are angry against you. You will show them how angry you really are.
• Proverbs 16:14Someone may die if the king becomes angry with him. So a wise person will try to stop the king's anger.
• Proverbs 19:12When the king is angry, he makes people afraid, like a lion that roars. But when he is pleased with you, that is like dew on fresh grass.
• Proverbs 20:2When the king is angry, he is as dangerous as a lion that roars. If you make him angry, you will lose your life.
• Proverbs 27:3A stone is heavy to carry and sand also weighs a lot. But the silly acts of a fool give more pain than both of those.
• Proverbs 29:22An angry person causes arguments. When he is angry, he causes many sins to happen.
• Matthew 2:16When the wise men did not return to Herod, he was very angry. He knew that they had deceived him. So he sent his men to Bethlehem. He said to them, ‘Kill all the baby boys in Bethlehem. Kill the boys who live near there too. Kill all the boys who are two years old or younger than that.’ The wise men had told Herod how long ago they had first seen the special star. So he decided to kill the baby boys of that age.
• Matthew 5:22But what I now say to you is this: Anybody who is angry with his brother will have to stand in front of a judge. Or someone might call his brother by a bad name. Then he will have to stand in front of the Jewish leaders. They will judge him. But someone may say to his brother, “You are a fool.” God will judge that person. God may punish him in the fires of hell.

Commentaries on Daniel 2:12

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 12For this cause the king was angry - Because they failed in explaining the subject which had been referred to them. It is true that his anger was unjust, for their profession did not imply that they would undertake to explain what he demanded, but his wrath was not unnatural. His mind was alarmed, and he was troubled. He believed that what he had seen in his dream foreboded some important events, and, as an arbitrary sovereign, unaccustomed to restrain his…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 12The king was furious because contradicting or refusing his command was an offense punishable by death. eople were expected to treat the king like a god. By saying he was not, they broke the rules of the king’s court. The king’s sages were also expected to have a connection with the divine, but they admitted they did not. The offense against the king was so severe that he ordered all the wise men of Babylon to be executed. The king’s anger points ahead to…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 12-1312-13. Daniel and his companions do not seem to have been actually numbered among the Magi or Chaldeans, and so were not summoned before the king. Providence ordered it so that all mere human wisdom should be shown vain before His divine power, through His servant, was put forth. Da 2:24 shows that the decree for slaying the wise men had not been actually executed when Daniel interposed.Read the comment

Topics related to Daniel 2:12

• Government
• Magician
• Rulers

In the dictionaries

• Babylon
• Babylon, Babylonia, Babylonian
• Wise men
• Ask
• Iron
• Terrible
• Abed-Nego
• Aramaic; Aramaic Language
• Bible, the
• Cause

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