English Standard Version
Daniel 2:4
4Then the Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic, "O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will show 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.”
- 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.”
- New Living Translation (NLT)Then the astrologers answered the king in Aramaic, “Long live the king! Tell us the dream, and we will tell you what it means.”
Context of Daniel 2:4
2Then the king commanded that the magicians, the enchanters, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans be summoned to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king. 3And the king said to them, "I had a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream." Then the Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic, "O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation." 5The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, "The word from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be torn limb from limb, and your houses shall be laid in ruins. 6But if you show the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. Therefore show 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, but Jacob called it Galeed.
- Ezra 4:7In the days of Artaxerxes, Bishlam and Mithredath and Tabeel and the rest of their associates wrote to Artaxerxes king of Persia. The letter was written in Aramaic and translated.
- Isaiah 36:11Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, "Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it. Do not speak to us in the language of Judah within the hearing of the people who are on the wall."
- Daniel 3:9They declared to King Nebuchadnezzar, "O king, live forever!
- Daniel 4:19Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was dismayed for a while, and his thoughts alarmed him. The king answered and said, "Belteshazzar, let not the dream or the interpretation alarm you." Belteshazzar answered and said, "My lord, may the dream be for those who hate you and its interpretation for your enemies!
- Daniel 5:10The queen, because of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banqueting hall, and the queen declared, "O king, live forever! Let not your thoughts alarm you or your color change.
- Daniel 6:6Then these high officials and satraps came by agreement to the king and said to him, "O King Darius, live forever!
- 1 Samuel 10:24And Samuel said to all the people, "Do you see him whom the Lord has chosen? There is none like him among all the people." And all the people shouted, "Long live the king!"
- 1 Kings 1:25For he has gone down this day and has sacrificed oxen, fattened cattle, and sheep in abundance, and has invited all the king's sons, the commanders of the army, and Abiathar the priest. And behold, they are eating and drinking before him, and saying, 'Long live King Adonijah!'
- Nehemiah 2:3I said to the king, "Let the king live forever! Why should not my face be sad, when the city, the place of my fathers' graves, lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire?"
- Matthew 21:9And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!"
- Mark 11:9And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
- Daniel 4:7Then the magicians, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers came in, and I told them the dream, but they could not make known to me its interpretation.
- Daniel 5:8Then all the king's wise men came in, but they could not read the writing or make known to the king the interpretation.
- Genesis 41:8So in the morning his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called for all the magicians of Egypt and all its wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was none who could interpret them to Pharaoh.
- Isaiah 44:25who frustrates the signs of liars and makes fools of diviners, who turns wise men back and makes their knowledge foolish,
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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries