English Standard Version
Daniel 2:5
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.
Daniel 2:5 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from me: if ye will not make known unto me the dream, with the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill.
- New International Version (NIV)The king replied to the astrologers, “This is what I have firmly decided: If you do not tell me what my dream was and interpret it, I will have you cut into pieces and your houses turned into piles of rubble.
- New King James Version (NKJV)The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, “My decision is firm: if you do not make known the dream to me, and its interpretation, you shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made an ash heap.
- New Living Translation (NLT)But the king said to the astrologers, “I am serious about this. If you don’t tell me what my dream was and what it means, you will be torn limb from limb, and your houses will be turned into heaps of rubble!
Context of Daniel 2:5
3And the king said to them, "I had a dream, and my spirit is troubled to know the dream." 4Then the Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic, "O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation." The 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." 7They answered a second time and said, "Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show its interpretation."
Read all of Daniel 2Daniel 2:5 word by word
עָנֵ֤ה מַלְכָּא֙ וְאָמַ֣ר לְכַשְׂדָּאֵ֔י מִלְּתָ֖א מִנִּ֣י אַזְדָּ֑א הֵ֣ן לָ֤א תְהֽוֹדְעוּנַּ֙נִי֙ חֶלְמָ֣א וּפִשְׁרֵ֔הּ הַדָּמִין֙ תִּתְעַבְד֔וּן וּבָתֵּיכ֖וֹן נְוָלִ֥י יִתְּשָׂמֽוּן׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- The kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4430
- answeredעֲנָה‛ănâh · to answerH6032
- and saidאֲמַר'ămar · to sayH560
- to the Chaldeansכַּשְׂדַּיkaώday · ChaldeanH3779
- The thingמִלָּהmillâh · wordH4406
- is goneאַזְדָּא'ăzâd · goneH230
- from meמִן־min · fromH4481
- ifהֵןhên · ifH2006
- ye will notלָאlâ' lâh · notH3809
- make knownיְדַעyeda‛ · to knowH3046
- unto me the dreamחֵ֫לֶםchêlem · dreamH2493
- with the interpretationפְּשַׁרpeshar · interpretationH6591
- thereof, ye shall be cutעֲבַד‛ăbad · to makeH5648
- in piecesהַדָּםhaddâm · pieceH1917
- and your housesבַּ֫יִתbayith · houseH1005
- shall be madeשׂוּםώûm · to set: put/giveH7761
- a dunghillנְוָלוּnevâlû nevâlîy · dunghillH5122
Cross-references for Daniel 2:5
- Daniel 3:29Therefore I make a decree: Any people, nation, or language that speaks anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego shall be torn limb from limb, and their houses laid in ruins, for there is no other god who is able to rescue in this way."
- 1 Samuel 15:33And Samuel said, "As your sword has made women childless, so shall your mother be childless among women." And Samuel hacked Agag to pieces before the Lord in Gilgal.
- Psalms 50:22"Mark this, then, you who forget God, lest I tear you apart, and there be none to deliver!
- Psalms 58:7Let them vanish like water that runs away; when he aims his arrows, let them be blunted.
- Deuteronomy 13:16You shall gather all its spoil into the midst of its open square and burn the city and all its spoil with fire, as a whole burnt offering to the Lord your God. It shall be a heap forever. It shall not be built again.
- Joshua 6:26Joshua laid an oath on them at that time, saying, "Cursed before the Lord be the man who rises up and rebuilds this city, Jericho. "At the cost of his firstborn shall he lay its foundation, and at the cost of his youngest son shall he set up its gates."
- 2 Kings 10:27And they demolished the pillar of Baal, and demolished the house of Baal, and made it a latrine to this day.
- Ezra 6:11Also I make a decree that if anyone alters this edict, a beam shall be pulled out of his house, and he shall be impaled on it, and his house shall be made a dunghill.
Commentaries on Daniel 2:5
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5Ye shall be cut in pieces - This was arbitrary and tyrannical in the extreme; but, in the order of God's providence, it was overruled to serve the most important purpose.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from me - The Vulgate renders this, “Sermo recessit a me” - “The word is departed from me.” So the Greek, ̔ ́ ̓ ̓ ̓͂ ̓́ Ho logos ap' emou apestē Luther, “Es ist mir entfallen” - “It has fallen away from me,” or has departed from me. Coverdale, “It is gone from me.” The Chaldee word rendered “the thing” - מלתה mı̂llethâh - means, properly, “a word, saying, discourse” - something which is…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-49God gave a dream that showed the course of world history over the centuries, and Daniel explained its mysterious images. This dream and its interpretation highlight a key theme of the book—the certain final establishment of the kingdom of God as the ultimate goal of history (Daniel 2:44–45; 7:9–14, 26–27). This chapter also shows that paganism cannot understand the actions and plans of Israel’s God.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. The thing--that is, The dream, "is gone from me." Gesenius translates, "The decree is gone forth from me," irrevocable (compare Is 45:23); namely, that you shall be executed, if you do not tell both the dream and the interpretation. English Version is simpler, which supposes the king himself to have forgotten the dream. Pretenders to supernatural knowledge often bring on themselves their own punishment. cut in pieces--(1Sa 15:33). houses…Read the comment
Topics related to Daniel 2:5
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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Commentaries