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

9that if you do not make the dream known to me, there is only one decree for you. For you have agreed together to speak lying and corrupt words before me until the situation is changed; therefore tell me the dream, so that I may know that you can declare to me its interpretation.” 10The Chaldeans answered the king and said, “There is no person on earth who could declare the matter to the king, because no great king or ruler has ever asked anything like this of any soothsayer priest, sorcerer, or Chaldean. Moreover, the thing which the king demands is difficult, and there is no one else who could declare it to the king except gods, whose dwelling place is not with mortal flesh.” 12Because of this, the king became angry and extremely furious, and he gave orders to kill all the wise men of Babylon. 13So the decree was issued that the wise men be killed; and they looked for Daniel and his friends, to kill 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

• Moreover, the thingמִלָּהmillâh · wordH4406
• whichדִּיdîy · thatH1768
• the kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4430
• demandsשְׁאֵלshe'êl · to askH7593
• is difficultיַקִּירyaqqîyr · honorableH3358
• and thereאִיתַי'îythay · there isH383
• noלָאlâ' lâh · notH3809
• oneאׇחֳרָן'ochŏrân · anotherH321
• godsאֱלָהּ'ĕlâhh · godH426
• dwellingמְדָרmedôr medôr medâr · dwellingH4070
• fleshבְּשַׁרbeώar · 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