TRV
Translation
King James Version
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.
KJV (with Strong's)
The king H4430 answered H6032 and said H560 to the Chaldeans H3779, The thing H4406 is gone H230 from me H4481: if H2006 ye will not H3809 make known H3046 unto me the dream H2493, with the interpretation H6591 thereof, ye shall be cut H5648 in pieces H1917, and your houses H1005 shall be made H7761 a dunghill H5122.
Complete Jewish Bible
The king answered the astrologers, "Here is what I have decided: if you don't tell me both the dream and its interpretation, you will be torn limb from limb and your houses reduced to rubble.
Berean Standard Bible
The king replied to the astrologers, “My word is final: If you do not tell me the dream and its interpretation, you will be cut into pieces and your houses will be reduced to rubble.
American Standard Version
The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from me: if ye make not known unto me the dream and the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill.
World English Bible Messianic
The king answered the Kasdim, The thing is gone from me: if you don’t make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill.
Geneva Bible (1599)
And the King answered and sayd to the Caldeans, The thing is gone from me. If ye will not make me vnderstande the dreame with the interpretation thereof, ye shall be drawen in pieces, and your houses shall be made a iakes.
Young's Literal Translation
The king hath answered and said to the Chaldeans, `The thing from me is gone; if ye do not cause me to know the dream and its interpretation, pieces ye are made, and your houses are made dunghills;
Study This Verse
Commentary on Daniel 2 verses 1–13
1 ¶ And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled, and his sleep brake from him.
2 Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to shew the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king.
3 And the king said unto them, I have dreamed a dream, and my spirit was troubled to know the dream.
4 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.
5 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.
6 But if ye shew the dream, and the interpretation thereof, ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honour: therefore shew me the dream, and the interpretation thereof.
7 They answered again and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation of it.
8 The king answered and said, I know of certainty that ye would gain the time, because ye see the thing is gone from me.
9 But if ye will not make known unto me the dream, there is but one decree for you: for ye have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me, till the time be changed: therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that ye can shew me the interpretation thereof.
10 The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is not a man upon the earth that can shew the king's matter: therefore there is no king, lord, nor ruler, that asked such things at any magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean.
11 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.
12 For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.
13 And the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they sought Daniel and his fellows to be slain.
We meet with a great difficulty in the date of this story; it is said to be in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Dan 2:1. Now Daniel was carried to Babylon in his first year, and, it should seem, he was three years under tutors and governors before he was presented to the king, Dan 1:5. How then could this happen in the second year? Perhaps, though three years were appointed for the education of other children, yet Daniel was so forward that he was taken into business when he had been but one year at school, and so in the second year he became thus considerable. Some make it to be the second year after he began to reign alone, but the fifth or sixth year since he began to reign in partnership with his father. Some read it, and in the second year, (the second after Daniel and his fellows stood before the king), in the kingdom of Nebuchadnezzar, or in his reign, this happened; as Joseph, in the second year after his skill in dreams, showed and expounded Pharaoh's, so Daniel, in the second year after he commenced master in that art, did this service. I would much rather take it some of these ways than suppose, as some do, that it was in the second year after he had conquered Egypt, which was the thirty-sixth year of his reign, because it appears by what we meet with in Ezekiel, that Daniel was famous both for wisdom and prevalence in prayer long before that; and therefore this passage, or story, which shows how he came to be so eminent for both these must be laid early in Nebuchadnezzar's reign. Now here we may observe,
I. The perplexity that Nebuchadnezzar was in by reason of a dream which he had dreamed but had forgotten (Dan 2:1): He dreamed dreams, that is, a dream consisting of divers distinct parts, or which filled his head as much as if it had been many dreams. Solomon speaks of a multitude of dreams, strangely incoherent, in which there are divers vanities, Ecc 5:7. This dream of Nebuchadnezzar's had nothing in the thing itself but what might be paralleled in many a common dream, in which are often represented to men things as foreign as are here mentioned; but there was something in the impression it made upon him which carried with it an incontestable evidence of its divine original and its prophetic significancy. Note, The greatest of men are not exempt from, nay, they lie most open to, those cares and troubles of mind which disturb their repose in the night, while the sleep of the labouring man is sweet and sound, and the sleep of the sober temperate man free from confused dreams. The abundance of the rich will not suffer them to sleep at all for care, and the excesses of gluttons and drunkards will not suffer them to sleep quietly for dreaming. But this recorded here was not from natural causes. Nebuchadnezzar was a troubler of God's Israel, but God here troubled him; for he that made the soul can make his sword to approach to it. He had his guards about him, but they could not keep trouble from his spirit. We know not the uneasiness of many that live in great pomp, and, one would think, in pleasure, too. We look into their houses, and are tempted to envy them; but, could we look into their hearts, we should pity them rather. All the treasures and all the delights of the children of men, which this mighty monarch had command of, could not procure him a little repose, when by reason of the trouble of his mind his sleep broke from him. But God gives his beloved sleep, who return to him as their rest.
II. The trial that he made of his magicians and astrologers whether they could tell him what his dream was, which he had forgotten. They were immediately sent for, to show the king his dreams, Dan 2:2. There are many things which we retain the impressions of, and yet have lost the images of the things; though we cannot tell what the matter was, we know how we were affected with it; so it was with this king. His dream had slipped out of his mind, and he could not possibly recollect it, but he was confident he should know it if he heard it again. God ordered it so that Daniel might have the more honour, and, in him, the God of Daniel. Note, God sometimes serves his own purposes by putting things out of men's minds as well as by putting things into their minds. The magicians, it is likely, were proud of their being sent for into the king's bed-chamber, to give him a taste of their office, not doubting but it would be for their honour. He tells them that he had dreamed a dream, Dan 2:3. They speak to him in the Syriac tongue, which was then the same with the Chaldee, but now they differ much. And henceforward Daniel uses that language, or dialect of the Hebrew, for the same reason that those words, Jer 10:11, are in that language because designed to convince the Chaldeans of the folly of their idolatry and to bring them to the knowledge and worship of the true and living God, which the stories of these chapters have a direct tendency to. But ch. 8 and forward, being intended for the comfort of the Jews, is written in their peculiar language. They, in their answer, complimented the king with their good wishes, desired him to tell his dream, and undertook with all possible assurance to interpret it, Dan 2:4. But the king insisted upon it that they must tell him the dream itself, because he had forgotten it and could not tell it to them. And, if they could not do this, they should all be put to death as deceivers (Dan 2:5), themselves cut to pieces and their houses made a dunghill. If they could, they should be rewarded and preferred, Dan 2:6. And they knew, as Balaam did concerning Balak, that he was able to promote them to great honour, and give them that wages of unrighteousness which, like him, they loved so dearly. No question therefore that they will do their utmost to gratify the king; if they do not, it is not for want of good-will, but for want of power, Providence so ordering it that the magicians of Babylon might now be as much confounded and put to shame as of old the magicians of Egypt had been, that, how much soever his people were both in Egypt and Babylon vilified and made contemptible, his oracles might in both be magnified and made honourable, by the silencing of those that set up in competition with them. The magicians, having reason on their side, insist upon it that the king must tell them the dream, and then, if they do not tell him the interpretation of it, it is their fault, Dan 2:7. But arbitrary power is deaf to reason. The king falls into a passion, gives them hard words, and, without any colour of reason, suspects that they could tell him but would not; and instead of upbraiding them with impotency, and the deficiency of their art, as he might justly have done, he charges them with a combination to affront him: You have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me. How unreasonable and absurd is this imputation! If they had undertaken to tell him what his dream was, and had imposed upon him with a sham, he might have charged them with lying and corrupt words; but to say this of them when they honestly confessed their own weakness only shows what senseless things indulged passions are, and how apt great men are to think it is their prerogative to pursue their humour in defiance of reason and equity, and all the dictates of both. When the magicians begged of him to tell them the dream, though the request was highly rational and just, he tells them that they did but dally with him, to gain time (Dan 2:8), till the time be changed (Dan 2:9), either till the king's desire to know his dream be over, and he grown indifferent whether he be told it or no, though now he is so hot upon it, or till they may hope he has so perfectly forgotten his dream (the remaining shades of which are slipping from him apace as he catches at them) that they may tell him what they please and make him believe it was his dream, and, when the thing which is going, is quite gone from him, as it will be in a little time, he will not be able to disprove them. And therefore, without delay, they must tell him the dream. In vain do they plead, 1. That there is no man on earth that can retrieve the king's dream, Dan 2:10. There are settled rules by which to discover what the meaning of the dream was; whether they will hold or no is the question. But never were any rules offered to be given by which to discover what the dream was; they cannot work unless they have something to work upon. They acknowledge that the gods may indeed declare unto man what is his thought (Amo 4:13), for God understands our thoughts afar off (Psa 139:2), what they will be before we think them, what they are when we do not regard them, what they have been when we have forgotten them. But those who can do this are gods, that have not their dwelling with flesh (Dan 2:11), and it is they alone that can do this. As for men, their dwelling is with flesh; the wisest and greatest of men are clouded with a veil of flesh, which quite obstructs and confounds all their acquaintance with spirit, and their powers and operations; but the gods, that are themselves pure spirit, know what is in man. See here an instance of the ignorance of these magicians, that they speak of many gods, whereas there is but one and can be but one infinite; yet see their knowledge of that which even the light of nature teaches and the works of nature prove, that there is a God, who is a Spirit, and perfectly knows the spirits of men and all their thoughts, so as it is not possible that any man should. This confession of the divine omniscience is here extorted from these idolaters, to the honour of God and their own condemnation, who though they knew there is a God in heaven, to whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secret is hid, yet offered up their prayers and praises to dumb idols, that have eyes and see not, ears and hear not. 2. That there is no king on earth that would expect or require such a thing, Dan 2:10. This intimates that they were kings, lords, and potentates, not ordinary people, that the magicians had most dealings with, and at whose devotion they were, while the oracles of God and the gospel of Christ are dispensed to the poor. Kings and potentates have often required unreasonable things of their subjects, but they think that never any required so unreasonable a thing as this, and therefore hope his imperial majesty will not insist upon it. But it is all in vain; when passion is in the throne reason is under foot: He was angry and very furious, Dan 2:12. Note, It is very common for those that will not be convinced by reason to be provoked and exasperated by it, and to push on with fury what they cannot support with equity.
III. The doom passed upon all the magicians of Babylon. There is but one decree for them all (Dan 2:9); they all stand condemned without exception or distinction. The decree has gone forth, they must every man of them be slain (Dan 2:13), Daniel and his fellows (though they knew nothing of the matter) not excepted. See here, 1. What are commonly the unjust proceedings of arbitrary power. Nebuchadnezzar is here a tyrant in true colours, speaking death when he cannot speak sense, and treating those as traitors whose only fault is that they would serve him, but cannot. 2. What is commonly the just punishment of pretenders. How unrighteous soever Nebuchadnezzar was in this sentence, as to the ringleaders in the imposture, God was righteous. Those that imposed upon men, in pretending to do what they could not do, are now sentenced to death for not being able to do what they did not pretend to.
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 1–13. Public domain.
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Hippolytus of RomeAD 235
Hippolytus Exegetical Fragments - Scholia on Daniel
"The thing is gone from me." For this purpose was the vision concealed from the king, that he who was chosen of God., viz., Daniel, might be shown to be a prophet. For when things concealed from some are revealed by an other, he who tells them is of necessity shown to be a prophet.
JeromeAD 420
St. Jerome, Commentary on Daniel, CHAPTER TWO
Verse 5. "If you do not show me the vision and its interpretation, ye shall perish and your homes shall be confiscated..." He threatened punishment and offered rewards, in order that if they should be able to tell him the dream, he might therefore believe also that which was uncertain, namely the meaning of the dream. But if they should be unable to tell the king what he in his mental confusion could not recall, they would also lose claim to trustworthiness in the interpretation they might give.
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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SUMMARY
Daniel 2:5 dramatically unveils the absolute and terrifying authority of King Nebuchadnezzar, who, having been disturbed by a forgotten dream, issues an impossible ultimatum to his Chaldean wise men. He demands that they not only reveal the content of his lost dream but also provide its interpretation. This verse sets the incredibly high stakes for the entire chapter, declaring a brutal decree: failure to comply will result in the wise men being dismembered and their homes reduced to a public refuse heap, thereby underscoring the king's desperate need for divine revelation and the immense, life-threatening pressure placed upon his advisors.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Daniel 2:5 masterfully employs several powerful Literary Devices to heighten the drama, emphasize the king's absolute authority, and underscore the impossible nature of the task. Hyperbole is vividly evident in the extreme and gruesome nature of the threatened punishments ("cut in pieces," "made a dunghill"). While such retributions were historically plausible, their presentation here exaggerates the king's fury and the dire consequences of failure, effectively underscoring Nebuchadnezzar's absolute power and the life-or-death stakes involved. The king's declaration, "The thing is gone from me," functions as a potent form of Dramatic Irony, as the reader, aware of God's ultimate sovereignty, knows that only divine intervention can resolve such a mystery, thereby highlighting the inherent futility of human wisdom when confronted with divine secrets. Furthermore, the stark, visceral imagery of dismemberment and the desecration of homes creates a strong sense of Foreshadowing, subtly hinting at the ultimate destruction and humiliation of human kingdoms that stand in opposition to God's eternal kingdom, a central theme that Daniel's interpretation will later reveal. The stark contrast between the king's forgotten dream and his non-negotiable demand for its revelation also establishes a powerful Juxtaposition between the profound limitations of human knowledge and the absolute necessity of divine omniscience.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Daniel 2:5 stands as a profound theological statement on the inherent limitations of human wisdom and the absolute necessity of divine revelation. It starkly illustrates that even the most powerful human rulers and their most esteemed advisors are utterly helpless when confronted with mysteries that God alone holds. The king's demand, impossible for any human to fulfill through natural means or pagan practices, meticulously sets the stage for God to demonstrate His unique sovereignty, omnipotence, and exclusive ability to reveal hidden truths through His chosen servant, Daniel. This passage fundamentally teaches us that true knowledge and understanding, especially concerning the future or divinely concealed truths, do not originate from human intellect, worldly power, or any form of pagan divination, but solely from the Creator of all things, who is uniquely able to "reveal deep and secret things" (Daniel 2:22). It powerfully highlights the stark contrast between the fleeting, tyrannical power of human empires and the eternal, all-knowing power of God, who ultimately controls the destinies of nations and individuals, and whose wisdom far transcends any human capacity.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Daniel 2:5 serves as a powerful and enduring reminder of the inherent limits of human wisdom, control, and self-sufficiency, particularly when we are confronted with challenges that transcend our natural abilities. In our own lives, we frequently encounter "forgotten dreams"—situations, problems, or future uncertainties that seem utterly beyond our comprehension, our resources, or any human solution. This verse challenges us to humbly recognize the futility of relying solely on our own intellect, our accumulated knowledge, or the advice of worldly experts when confronted with divinely ordained mysteries or seemingly insurmountable obstacles. It encourages a profound posture of humility and dependence, prompting us to turn wholeheartedly to God, who alone possesses all wisdom, who knows the end from the beginning, and who delights in revealing deep and secret things. Just as Daniel's God sovereignly provided the answer where all human wisdom failed, so too can we trust in God's infinite ability to provide insight, guidance, and miraculous solutions for the impossible situations we face. This passage calls us to cultivate a deep and abiding dependence on divine revelation, diligently seeking God's wisdom through His inspired Word and persistent prayer, rather than succumbing to the anxiety, despair, or self-reliance that often arises from confronting our human limitations.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Why did King Nebuchadnezzar demand that the Chaldeans tell him the dream first, before interpreting it?
Answer: King Nebuchadnezzar's demand in Daniel 2:5 was a deliberate and strategic test of the Chaldeans' genuine supernatural abilities. If they truly possessed divine insight or could communicate with the gods, they should logically be able to discern the dream itself, even if he had forgotten it. This served as a critical filter: if they couldn't even reveal the dream's content, their subsequent interpretation would be exposed as a mere guess, manipulation, or charlatanism, rendering it worthless and untrustworthy. It was a shrewd move designed to expose imposters and ensure that any interpretation offered was truly from a supernatural source, thereby setting the stage for God's true and authentic revelation through Daniel later in Daniel chapter 2.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
While Daniel 2:5 powerfully articulates the limitations of human wisdom and the absolute necessity of divine revelation in the Old Testament context, it finds its ultimate and most profound Christ-centered fulfillment in Jesus Christ, who is the very embodiment of God's wisdom and the ultimate revealer of divine truth. Just as Daniel was God's chosen vessel to reveal the king's forgotten dream and its interpretation, Jesus is the Word made flesh, through whom God has fully and finally revealed Himself, His eternal purposes, and His glorious plan of salvation. The Chaldeans' utter inability to discern the king's dream vividly highlights humanity's spiritual blindness and our inherent inability to comprehend divine mysteries or discern God's will apart from His gracious intervention. In Christ, however, the "mystery hidden for ages and generations" has been gloriously made manifest to His saints (Colossians 1:26-27). He is the one "in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Colossians 2:3). The severe judgment threatened by Nebuchadnezzar for failure to reveal truth foreshadows the ultimate and just judgment on all who reject God's revealed truth in Christ. Yet, it also magnifies the boundless grace of God who, through Jesus, provides not a terrifying decree of death, but a gracious invitation to know Him, to receive the Spirit of truth, who guides us into all truth, and to find life eternal in Him.