Daniel 4:7

When the magicians, enchanters, astrologers, and diviners came in, I told them the dream, and they could not interpret it for me.

BSB

Parallel translations

4 additional translations

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KJV

Then came in the magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers: and I told the dream before them; but they did not make known unto me the interpretation thereof.

ASV

Then came in the magicians, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers; and I told the dream before them; but they did not make known unto me the interpretation thereof.

YLT

Then coming up are the scribes, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers, and the dream I have told before them, and its interpretation they are not making known to me.

DBT

Then came in the scribes, the magicians, the Chaldeans, and the astrologers; and I told the dream before them; but they did not make known unto me the interpretation of it.

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On this verse

He did not give these details casually: it was in parallel so as to make clear to everyone the prophet's wisdom by comparison—hence his listing the nationalities of the wise men of Babylon so as to highlight the fact that whereas they understood absolutely nothing, …

Theodoret of Cyrus· COMMENTARY ON DANIEL 4:7-8, 458patristic

Related commentary

Then he described what happened in his second vision, as none of the magicians, soothsayers, and Chaldeans were able to declare the matter to the king, until Daniel was called who also described to Nebuchadnezzar his first vision, so that in all things God might glorify his own slaves the prophets beyond the other barbarians and foreign nations, who pretend to be flattered in their human wisdom, having practiced earthly learning.

Hippolytus of Rome· Commentary on Daniel 3.2.2-6, 235patristic

Then came in the magicians, the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers,.... See Gill on Dan 2:2, and I told the dream before them, but they did not make known unto me the interpretation thereof; because they could not; before they pretended, if the dream was told, they could give the interpretation of it; but now, though it was told, they could not do it; which shows the vanity of their art, the falsehood of their pretensions, and that they were but jugglers and impostors.

John Gill· Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763)reformed

Then came in the magicians ... - All the words occurring here are found in Dan 2:2, and are explained in the note at that verse, except the word rendered soothsayers. This occurs in Dan 2:27. See it explained in the note at that verse. All these words refer to the same general class of persons - those who were regarded as endued with eminent wisdom; who were supposed to be qualified to explain remarkable occurrences, to foretell the future, and to declare the will of heaven from portents and wonders.

Albert Barnes· Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)evangelical

Providence ordered it so that they should be first puzzled with it, that Daniel's interpreting it afterwards might redound to the glory of the God of Daniel. Now was fulfilled what Isaiah foretold ( ch. xlvii. 12, 13 ), that when the ruin of Babylon was drawing on her enchantments and sorceries, her astrologers and star-gazers, should not be able to do her any service.

Matthew Henry· Commentary on the Whole Bible, 1710puritan

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Cross-references

19 linked verses

The verses this one reaches12

Genesis 41:8
In the morning his spirit was troubled, so he summoned all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could interpret them for him.
Genesis 41:24
And the thin heads of grain swallowed the seven plump ones. I told this dream to the magicians, but no one could explain it to me.”
Isaiah 44:25
who foils the signs of false prophets and makes fools of diviners, who confounds the wise and turns their knowledge into nonsense,
Daniel 5:8
So all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the inscription or interpret it for him.
Daniel 4:18
This is the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, saw. Now, Belteshazzar, tell me the interpretation, because none of the wise men of my kingdom can interpret it for me. But you are able, because the spirit of the holy gods is in you.”
Daniel 2:7
They answered a second time, “Let the king tell the dream to his servants, and we will give the interpretation.”
1 Kings 4:30
Solomon’s wisdom was greater than that of all the men of the East, greater than all the wisdom of Egypt.
Daniel 2:1–2
In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams that troubled his spirit, and sleep escaped him.
Daniel 2:27
Daniel answered the king, “No wise man, enchanter, medium, or magician can explain to the king the mystery of which he inquires.
Jeremiah 27:9–10
But as for you, do not listen to your prophets, your diviners, your interpreters of dreams, your mediums, or your sorcerers who declare, ‘You will not serve the king of Babylon.’
2 Timothy 3:8–9
Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth. They are depraved in mind and disqualified from the faith.
Daniel 2:10
The astrologers answered the king, “No one on earth can do what the king requests! No king, however great and powerful, has ever asked anything like this of any magician, enchanter, or astrologer.

7 more linked verses are grouped by book below ↓

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The quotation web

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Original language

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Around this verse

Word doors

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread — the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

Featured studies

Featured studyFaith Under Fire — the Furnace and the Lions' DenThis study walks through this verse.

About this book

Daniel in the Lions' Den — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

Daniel — A Hebrew exile at Babylonian and Persian courts sees empires rise and fall, a Son of Man coming with clouds, and seventy weeks locating Messiah in time. The canon's densest apocalyptic text — and its most interpretively contested.

Canon: Old Testament
Author: Daniel (traditional — Jesus cites ‘Daniel the prophet’ in Matt 24:15); critical scholarship dates composition to the 2nd c. BC Maccabean period (both positions surfaced)
Date: Traditional: 6th c. BC. Critical: c. 165 BC. Site default: traditional; critical view surfaced at depth 2

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first — the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Isaiah 44:25
who foils the signs of false prophets and makes fools of diviners, who confounds the wise and turns their knowledge into nonsense,
leads to
- Psalms 33:10
  The LORD frustrates the plans of the nations; He thwarts the devices of the peoples.
- Isaiah 47:12–14
  So take your stand with your spells and with your many sorceries, with which you have wearied yourself from your youth. Perhaps you will succeed; perhaps you will inspire terror!
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- Job 5:12–14
  He thwarts the schemes of the crafty, so that their hands find no success.
- 2 Samuel 15:31
  Now someone told David: “Ahithophel is among the conspirators with Absalom.” So David pleaded, “O LORD, please turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness!”
- Jeremiah 50:36
  A sword is against her false prophets, and they will become fools. A sword is against her warriors, and they will be filled with terror.
Through
Daniel 2:27
Daniel answered the king, “No wise man, enchanter, medium, or magician can explain to the king the mystery of which he inquires.
leads to
- Daniel 2:2
  So the king gave orders to summon the magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and astrologers to explain his dreams. When they came and stood before the king,
- Isaiah 44:25
  who foils the signs of false prophets and makes fools of diviners, who confounds the wise and turns their knowledge into nonsense,
- Daniel 2:10–11
  The astrologers answered the king, “No one on earth can do what the king requests! No king, however great and powerful, has ever asked anything like this of any magician, enchanter, or astrologer.

The whole web at once: see the Arc.

Where the connections lead

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