New English Translation
Daniel 2:4
4The wise men replied to the king: [What follows is in Aramaic] “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will disclose its 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.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)Then the Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic, "O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation."
- 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.”
Context of Daniel 2:4
2The king issued an order to summon the magicians, astrologers, sorcerers, and wise men in order to explain his dreams to him. So they came and awaited the king’s instructions. 3The king told them, “I have had a dream, and I am anxious to understand the dream.” The wise men replied to the king: [What follows is in Aramaic] “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will disclose its interpretation.” 5The king replied to the wise men, “My decision is firm. If you do not inform me of both the dream and its interpretation, you will be dismembered and your homes reduced to rubble! 6But if you can disclose the dream and its interpretation, you will receive from me gifts, a reward, and considerable honor. So disclose to 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 4:7And during the reign of Artaxerxes, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of their colleagues wrote to King Artaxerxes of Persia. This letter was first written in Aramaic but then translated. [Aramaic:]
- Isaiah 36:11Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the chief adviser, “Speak to your servants in Aramaic, for we understand it. Don’t speak with us in the Judahite dialect in the hearing of the people who are on the wall.”
- Daniel 3:9They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever!
- Daniel 4:19Then Daniel (whose name is also Belteshazzar) was upset for a brief time; his thoughts were alarming him. The king said, “Belteshazzar, don’t let the dream and its interpretation alarm you.” But Belteshazzar replied, “Sir, if only the dream were for your enemies and its interpretation applied to your adversaries!
- Daniel 5:10Due to the noise caused by the king and his nobles, the queen mother then entered the banquet room. She said, “O king, live forever! Don’t be alarmed! Don’t be shaken!
- Daniel 6:6So these supervisors and satraps came by collusion to the king and said to him, “O King Darius, live forever!
- 1 Samuel 10:24Then Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the one whom the Lord has chosen? Indeed, there is no one like him among all the people!” All the people shouted out, “Long live the king!”
- 1 Kings 1:25For today he has gone down and sacrificed many cattle, steers, and sheep and has invited all the king’s sons, the army commanders, and Abiathar the priest. At this moment they are having a feast in his presence, and they have declared, ‘Long live King Adonijah!’
- Nehemiah 2:3I replied to the king, “O king, live forever! Why would I not appear dejected when the city with the graves of my ancestors lies desolate and its gates destroyed by fire?”
- Matthew 21:9The crowds that went ahead of him and those following kept shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”
- Mark 11:9Both those who went ahead and those who followed kept shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!
- Daniel 4:7When the magicians, astrologers, wise men, and diviners entered, I recounted the dream for them. But they were unable to make known its interpretation to me.
- Daniel 5:8So all the king’s wise men came in, but they were unable to read the writing or to make known its interpretation to the king.
- Genesis 41:8In the morning he was troubled, so he called for all the diviner-priests of Egypt and all its wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could interpret them for him.
- Isaiah 44:25who frustrates the omens of the empty talkers and humiliates the omen readers, who overturns the counsel of the wise men and makes their advice seem 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
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