God’s Word Translation
Daniel 4:9
9“Belteshazzar, head of the magicians, I know the spirit of the holy gods is in you. No secret is too hard for you ⌞to uncover⌟. Tell me the meaning of the visions I had in my dream.
Daniel 4:9 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)O Belteshazzar, master of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in thee, and no secret troubleth thee, tell me the visions of my dream that I have seen, and the interpretation thereof.
- New International Version (NIV)I said, “Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you, and no mystery is too difficult for you. Here is my dream; interpret it for me.
- English Standard Version (ESV)"O Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you and that no mystery is too difficult for you, tell me the visions of my dream that I saw and their interpretation.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, because I know that the Spirit of the Holy God is in you, and no secret troubles you, explain to me the visions of my dream that I have seen, and its interpretation.
Context of Daniel 4:9
7The magicians, psychics, astrologers, and fortunetellers came to me. I told them the dream, but they couldn’t tell me its meaning. 8Finally, Daniel came to me. (He had been renamed Belteshazzar after my god ⌞Bel⌟.) The spirit of the holy gods is in him. I told him the dream: “Belteshazzar, head of the magicians, I know the spirit of the holy gods is in you. No secret is too hard for you ⌞to uncover⌟. Tell me the meaning of the visions I had in my dream. 10These are the visions I had while I was asleep: I was looking, and I saw an oak tree in the middle of the earth. It was very tall. 11The tree grew, and it became strong enough and tall enough to reach the sky. It could be seen everywhere on earth.
Read all of Daniel 4Daniel 4:9 word by word
בֵּלְטְשַׁאצַּר֮ רַ֣ב חַרְטֻמַיָּא֒ דִּ֣י׀ אֲנָ֣ה יִדְעֵ֗ת דִּ֠י ר֣וּחַ אֱלָהִ֤ין קַדִּישִׁין֙ בָּ֔ךְ וְכָל־רָ֖ז לָא־אָנֵ֣ס לָ֑ךְ חֶזְוֵ֨י חֶלְמִ֧י דִֽי־חֲזֵ֛ית וּפִשְׁרֵ֖הּ אֱמַֽר׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- O Belteshazzarבֵּלְטְשַׁאצַּרbêlţesha'tstsar · BelteshazzarH1096
- masterרַבrab · greatH7229
- of the magiciansחַרְטֹםcharţôm · magicianH2749
- because Iאֲנָה'ănâ' 'ănâh · IH576
- knowיְדַעyeda‛ · to knowH3046
- that the spiritרוּחַrûach · spiritH7308
- of the holyקַדִּישׁqaddîysh · holyH6922
- godsאֱלָהּ'ĕlâhh · godH426
- in thee, and noלָאlâ' lâh · notH3809
- in thee, and noכֹּלkôl · allH3606
- secretרָזrâz · mysteryH7328
- troublethאֲנַס'ănas · to constrainH598
- thee, tellאֲמַר'ămar · to sayH560
- me the visionsחֱזוּchêzev · visionH2376
- of my dreamחֵ֫לֶםchêlem · dreamH2493
- that I have seenחֲזָהchăzâ' chăzâh · to seeH2370
- and the interpretationפְּשַׁרpeshar · interpretationH6591
Cross-references for Daniel 4:9
- Daniel 1:20Whenever the king asked them about things that required wisdom and insight, he found that they knew ten times more than all the magicians and psychics in his whole kingdom.
- Daniel 2:48Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many wonderful gifts. Nebuchadnezzar made Daniel governor of the whole province of Babylon and head of all Babylon’s wise advisers.
- Daniel 5:11There’s a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods. In the days of your grandfather, he was found to have insight, good judgment, and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods. Your grandfather, King Nebuchadnezzar, made him head of the magicians, psychics, astrologers, and fortunetellers.
- Daniel 4:8Finally, Daniel came to me. (He had been renamed Belteshazzar after my god ⌞Bel⌟.) The spirit of the holy gods is in him. I told him the dream:
- Genesis 41:38So Pharaoh asked his servants, “Can we find anyone like this—a man who has God’s Spirit in him?”
- 1 Samuel 4:8We’re in trouble now! Who can save us from the power of these mighty gods? These are the gods who struck the Egyptians with every kind of plague in the desert.
- Daniel 4:5I had a dream that terrified me. The visions I had while I was asleep frightened me.
- Daniel 2:3The king said to them, “I had a dream, and I’m troubled by it. I want to know what the dream was.”
- Genesis 11:6The Lord said, “They are one people with one language. This is only the beginning of what they will do! Now nothing they plan to do will be too difficult for them.
- Isaiah 33:18Your mind will be thinking of the terrors ⌞in the past⌟. Where are the scribes? Where are the tax collectors? Where are those who counted the towers?
- Isaiah 54:14You will be established in righteousness. You will be far from oppression, so you will not be afraid. You will be far from destruction, so it won’t come near you.
- Ezekiel 28:3You think that you are wiser than Daniel and that no secret can be hidden from you.
- Daniel 4:18⌞I said,⌟ “This is the dream I, King Nebuchadnezzar, had. Now you, Belteshazzar, tell me its meaning because the wise advisers in my kingdom can’t tell it to me. However, you can, because the spirit of the holy gods is in you.”
- Daniel 2:4The astrologers spoke to the king in Aramaic, “Your Majesty, may you live forever! Tell us the dream, and we’ll interpret it for you.”
- Genesis 40:9So the chief cupbearer told Joseph his dream. He said “In my dream a grapevine with three branches appeared in front of me.
- Genesis 41:15Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream, and no one can tell me what it means. I heard that when you are told a dream, you can say what it means.”
Commentaries on Daniel 4:9
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 9O Belteshazzar, master of the magicians - “Master,” in the sense that he was first among them, or was superior to them all. Or, perhaps, he still retained office at the head of this class of men - the office to which he had been appointed when he interpreted the former dream, Daniel 2:48. The word rendered “master” (רב rab ) is that which was applied to a teacher, a chief, or a great man among the Jews - from where came the title “rabbi.” Compare Daniel…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 8-9at last: Nebuchadnezzar first asked his Babylonian advisers for help. Even though Daniel held a high position, he was an exiled Jew, and the king turned to him only as a last resort. in whom is the spirit of the holy gods: See Daniel 2:47; compare 5:11. Despite his past experiences with the Most High God, Nebuchadnezzar still believed in many gods. In Egypt, Pharaoh said the same thing about Joseph (Genesis 41:37–38). The Most High God helped Daniel…Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 99. spirit of the holy gods--Nebuchadnezzar speaks as a heathen, who yet has imbibed some notions of the true God. Hence he speaks of "gods" in the plural but gives the epithet "holy," which applies to Jehovah alone, the heathen gods making no pretension to purity, even in the opinion of their votaries (De 32:31; compare Is 63:11). "I know" refers to his knowledge of Daniel's skill many years before (Da 2:8); hence he calls him "master of the magicians."…Read the comment
Topics related to Daniel 4:9
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Daniel 4
- 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
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
Commentaries