Daniel 2:10 kjv
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.
Daniel 2:10 nkjv
The Chaldeans answered the king, and said, "There is not a man on earth who can tell the king's matter; therefore no king, lord, or ruler has ever asked such things of any magician, astrologer, or Chaldean.
Daniel 2:10 niv
The astrologers answered the king, "There is no one on earth who can do what the king asks! No king, however great and mighty, has ever asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or astrologer.
Daniel 2:10 esv
The Chaldeans answered the king and said, "There is not a man on earth who can meet the king's demand, for no great and powerful king has asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or Chaldean.
Daniel 2:10 nlt
The astrologers replied to the king, "No one on earth can tell the king his dream! And no king, however great and powerful, has ever asked such a thing of any magician, enchanter, or astrologer!
Daniel 2 10 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Isa 47:13-14 | ...let the astrologers, the stargazers...save you...they cannot deliver themselves... | Illustrates the powerlessness of Babylon's so-called wise men. |
| Jer 10:7 | ...who would not fear You, O King of the nations? For this is Your due; For among all the wise men of the nations, And in all their kingdoms, there is none like You. | Emphasizes God's unparalleled wisdom and uniqueness above all earthly wisdom. |
| 1 Cor 1:19-20 | For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise...Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?” | Highlights God's act of exposing the futility of worldly wisdom. |
| 1 Cor 2:14 | But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God...because they are spiritually discerned. | Points to human inability to understand spiritual truths without divine aid. |
| Rom 1:21-22 | For even though they knew God...professing to be wise, they became fools. | Connects reliance on human wisdom to foolishness when rejecting God. |
| Prov 3:5-7 | Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding... | Contrasts human understanding with trust in divine wisdom. |
| Job 28:12-23 | But where can wisdom be found? ...God understands its way... | Affirms that true wisdom originates with God and is hidden from human discovery. |
| Isa 41:22-23 | Let them declare...what is to happen; Declare the things to come hereafter...that we may know that you are gods... | Challenges false gods and their diviners to prove their power by predicting the future, which they cannot. |
| Dan 2:27-28 | Daniel answered before the king and said, "As for the mystery about which the king has inquired, neither wise men, conjurers...can declare it to the king. But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries..." | Daniel's direct confirmation that only God can reveal such secrets. |
| Dan 2:47 | The king answered Daniel and said, "Surely your God is a God of gods and a Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries..." | Nebuchadnezzar's ultimate recognition of God's supremacy as the sole revealer. |
| Deut 29:29 | The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our sons forever... | Establishes God as the arbiter of what is known and what remains hidden. |
| Amos 3:7 | Surely the Lord God does nothing Unless He reveals His secret counsel To His servants the prophets. | Links God's revelation to His chosen servants, in contrast to earthly wise men. |
| Isa 46:9-10 | Remember the former things long past...Declaring the end from the beginning...saying, 'My purpose will be established, And I will accomplish all My good pleasure.' | God's unique power to know and declare the future, confirming His sovereignty. |
| Num 12:6 | ...If there is a prophet among you, I the Lord make Myself known to him in a vision. | God communicates knowledge directly to His chosen ones. |
| Ps 147:5 | Great is our Lord and abundant in power; His understanding is beyond measure. | Affirms the infinite scope of God's knowledge and understanding. |
| Rom 11:33 | Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! | Celebrates the immeasurable nature of God's wisdom and knowledge. |
| Col 2:3 | ...in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. | Highlights Christ as the ultimate embodiment and source of all true wisdom. |
| Jam 1:5 | But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God...and it will be given to him. | Encourages seeking true wisdom from God, not from human sources. |
| 2 Tim 3:7 | always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. | Describes those who pursue knowledge but never attain genuine spiritual truth. |
| Zech 10:2 | For the teraphim speak iniquity, And the diviners see a lie... | Exposes the deceptive nature of occult practices and divination. |
Daniel 2 verses
Daniel 2 10 Meaning
Daniel 2:10 expresses the utter helplessness and professional bankruptcy of King Nebuchadnezzar's wise men—the Chaldeans, magicians, and conjurers—when confronted with the king's unique demand. They declare it an impossible feat for any human, confirming that no monarch, regardless of their might, had ever made such an unprecedented request to their kind. This statement serves as a stark admission that knowledge of such a deep mystery lay completely beyond the grasp of all earthly wisdom and occultic practices.
Daniel 2 10 Context
Daniel 2:10 takes place in the early reign of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. The king had a dream that deeply disturbed him, but upon waking, he forgot its content. In a move unprecedented in recorded history, he demanded that his "wise men" not only interpret the dream but first declare what the dream itself was. This placed an impossible demand upon his elite counselors: the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and Chaldeans (who were a distinct scholarly class knowledgeable in astrology and divination).
After the king's initial demand and decree for their death if they failed, the wise men made a series of pleas. Daniel 2:10 is their collective and definitive statement to the king, explicitly articulating the utter impossibility of his request from a human perspective. Their declaration sets the stage for God's divine intervention through Daniel, establishing a clear theological contrast between the bankruptcy of all human and occultic wisdom and the singular, sovereign wisdom and power of the God of Heaven.
Daniel 2 10 Word analysis
- The Chaldeans: (Aramaic: כַּשְׂדָּאֵי, Kaśdāʾê) - Refers to a prominent and influential caste in Babylonian society, expert in astrology, divination, and secret knowledge. Often synonymous with the broader term "wise men." Their collective response signifies the universal agreement among the court's intellectual elite.
- answered before the king: This signifies a formal and public declaration in the royal court, a direct address to Nebuchadnezzar, indicating the gravity and official nature of their reply.
- and said: Introduces their direct speech, an explicit confession of their incapacity.
- 'There is not a man: (Aramaic: לֵית אֱנָשׁ, lêṯ ʾĕnāš) - An absolute and emphatic negative. It declares a universal truth from their limited perspective—no human being, regardless of their supposed wisdom or power, can fulfill this task.
- on earth: (Aramaic: עַל־אַרְעָא, ʿal-ʾarʿāʾ) - Expands the scope of their inability beyond the Babylonian court to all humanity globally. No human anywhere possesses such knowledge or power.
- who can explain the king’s matter: (Aramaic: חַוָּיָה לְמִלְתָא, ḥawwāyāh ləmilətāʾ) - "Explain" here (from ḥavah) means to declare, reveal, or make known something hidden. "Matter" (Aramaic: מִלָּה, mil·lāh) refers to the king's word, decree, or the secret dream itself. The core problem was not interpreting a known dream, but knowing the unknown dream first.
- consequently no king: (Aramaic: לָכֵן מֶלֶךְ, lāḵēn meleḵ) - "Consequently" implies that based on the unique and impossible nature of the demand, no prior monarch has ever made such a request. This validates their declaration of human impossibility.
- whatever great or mighty he might be: Emphasizes the supreme power and authority traditionally held by monarchs, implying that even with all their dominion, no king before Nebuchadnezzar had ever dared to ask such a profound impossibility. This highlights the unprecedented nature of Nebuchadnezzar's demand, a direct test of the wisdom class.
- has ever asked such a thing: Stresses that this demand breaks all historical precedent and defies the conventional scope of services provided by royal advisors, confirming its unique, unattainable status for humans.
- of any magician, conjurer, or Chaldean: (Aramaic: חַרְטֻמִּין, ḥarṭummîn; אַשָּׁפִין, ʾaššāp̄în; כַּשְׂדָּאֵי, Kaśdāʾê) - This comprehensive listing covers all categories of royal wise men in Babylon, encompassing sacred scribes, enchanters, astrologers, and soothsayers. By enumerating them, they emphasize that the inability extends across every group and individual who claimed access to hidden knowledge, thus cementing the complete void of human capability.
Daniel 2 10 Bonus section
This verse subtly introduces a polemic against the supposed omniscience of Babylonian occultic practices. The Chaldeans, who prided themselves on their secret knowledge and communication with various spirits or deities to interpret omens and predict futures, are rendered utterly powerless when the knowledge required is entirely internal to the king and forgotten by him. Their inability to access or recall the king's forgotten dream clearly distinguishes their limited, human-bound methods from the absolute knowledge held by the God of Daniel. This admission of universal inability among all "wise men" served to glorify the singular power of the Most High God, who alone possesses infinite wisdom and can reveal hidden things, as dramatically demonstrated through Daniel. The Chaldeans' response, under the immediate threat of death, functions as a powerful, coerced testimony to the singular majesty of God, even before Daniel has acted.
Daniel 2 10 Commentary
Daniel 2:10 marks the crucial pivot point where human wisdom and occultic power reach their absolute limit. The declaration by the Chaldeans is not merely an admission of their personal failure, but a theological statement about the boundaries of earthly knowledge. By emphasizing that "not a man on earth" could fulfill the king's request, they implicitly acknowledge that such knowledge can only originate from a non-human, transcendent source. Their argument—that no king, however powerful, had ever asked such a thing—underscores the unprecedented nature of Nebuchadnezzar's demand, which pushed the "wise men" beyond their conventional and self-proclaimed abilities. This verse brilliantly sets the stage for the true God to display His unique sovereignty over all mysteries and revelations, revealing His power to a pagan king and nation, and magnifying His chosen servant Daniel. Practically, this verse illustrates that genuine wisdom and true insight often transcend human capacity and can only come through divine revelation, not human speculation or occult practices.