Daniel 2:27

Brenton's Septuagint

And Daniel answered before the king, and said, The mystery which the king asks the explanation of is not in the power of the wise men, magicians, enchanters, or soothsayers to declare to the king.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Daniel answered the king: “No wise man, medium, magician, or diviner is able to make known to the king the mystery he asked about.

Hebrew Names Version
Daniyel answered before the king, and said, The secret which the king has demanded can neither wise men, enchanters, magicians, nor soothsayers, show to the king;

King James Version
Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the king;

English Standard Version
Daniel answered the king and said, "No wise men, enchanters, magicians, or astrologers can show to the king the mystery that the king has asked,

New American Standard Bible
Daniel answered before the king and said, "As for the secret about which the king has inquired, neither wise men, sorcerers, soothsayer priests, nor diviners are able to declare it to the king.

New Century Version
Daniel answered, "No wise man, magician, or fortune-teller can explain to the king the secret he has asked about.

Amplified Bible
Daniel answered the king and said, "Regarding the mystery about which the king has inquired, neither the wise men, enchanters, magicians, nor astrologers are able to answer the king,

Geneva Bible (1587)
Daniel answered in the presence of the King, and sayd, The secret which the King hath demanded, can neither the wise, the astrologians, the inchanters, nor the southsayers declare vnto the King.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Daniel answered before the king and said, "As for the mystery about which the king has inquired, neither wise men, conjurers, magicians nor diviners are able to declare it to the king.

Berean Standard Bible
Daniel answered the king, "No wise man, medium, magician, or diviner can explain to the king the mystery of which he inquires.

Contemporary English Version
Daniel answered: Your Majesty, not even the smartest person in all the world can do what you are demanding.

Complete Jewish Bible
Dani'el answered the king, "No sage, exorcist, magician or astrologer can tell his majesty the secret he has asked about.

Darby Translation
Daniel answered in the presence of the king and said, The secret that the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the magicians, the scribes, the astrologers, shew unto the king;

Easy-to-Read Version
Daniel answered, "King Nebuchadnezzar, no wise man, no man who does magic, and no Chaldean could tell the king the secret things he has asked about.

George Lamsa Translation
Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The mystery which the king has demanded to know, can no wise men, sorcerers, nor the magicians, nor the astrologers reveal to the king;

Good News Translation
Daniel replied, "Your Majesty, there is no wizard, magician, fortuneteller, or astrologer who can tell you that.

Lexham English Bible
Daniel answered the king and said, "The mystery that the king asks, no wise men, conjurers, magicians, or diviners are able to make known to the king.

Literal Translation
Daniel replied before the king and said, The secret which the king has demanded cannot be shown to the king by the wise men, the conjurers, the magicians, or the star-gazing ones.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Daniel answered the kynge to his face, and sayde: As for this secrete, for the which the kinge maketh inquisicion: it is nether the wyse, the sorcerer, the charmer ner the deuell coniurer, that can certifie the kynge off it:

American Standard Version
Daniel answered before the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded can neither wise men, enchanters, magicians, nor soothsayers, show unto the king;

Bible in Basic English
Then Daniel said in answer to the king, No wise men, or users of secret arts, or wonder-workers, or readers of signs, are able to make clear to the king the secret he is searching for;

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Daniel answered before the king, and said: 'The secret which the king hath asked can neither wise men, enchanters, magicians, nor astrologers, declare unto the king;

King James Version (1611)
Daniel answered in the presence of the King, and said, The secret which the King hath demanded, cannot the wise men, the astrologians, the magicians, ye southsaiers shew vnto the king:

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Daniel aunswered in the presence of the king, and sayd: As for this secrete for the whiche the king maketh inquisition, there can neither the men of vnderstanding, nor soothsayers, nor the wyse men, nor readers of destinies declare it vnto the king:

English Revised Version
Daniel answered before the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded can neither wise men, enchanters, magicians, nor soothsayers, shew unto the king;

World English Bible
Daniel answered before the king, and said, The secret which the king has demanded can neither wise men, enchanters, magicians, nor soothsayers, show to the king;

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And Danyel answeride bifore the king, and seide, The priuytee which the kyng axith, wise men, and astronomyens, and dyuynours, and lokeris of auteris, moun not schewe to the kyng.

Update Bible Version
Daniel answered before the king, and said, The secret which the king has demanded can neither wise men, psychics, sacred scholars, nor astrologers, show to the king;

Webster's Bible Translation
Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded, the wise [men], the astrologers, the magicians, the sooth-sayers, cannot show to the king;

New English Translation
Daniel replied to the king, "The mystery that the king is asking about is such that no wise men, astrologers, magicians, or diviners can possibly disclose it to the king.

New King James Version
Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, "The secret which the king has demanded, the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, and the soothsayers cannot declare to the king.

New Living Translation
Daniel replied, "There are no wise men, enchanters, magicians, or fortune-tellers who can reveal the king's secret.

New Life Bible
Daniel answered the king and said, "No wise men, wonder-workers, or men who use secret ways can make this dream known to the king.

New Revised Standard
Daniel answered the king, "No wise men, enchanters, magicians, or diviners can show to the king the mystery that the king is asking,

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Daniel answered before the king, and said, - The secret which the king hath asked, the wise men, the magicians, the sacred scribes, the astrologers, are not able to declare unto the king;

Douay-Rheims Bible
And Daniel made answer before the king, and said: The secret that the king desireth to know, none of the wise men, or the philosophers, or the diviners, or the soothsayers, can declare to the king.

Revised Standard Version
Daniel answered the king, "No wise men, enchanters, magicians, or astrologers can show to the king the mystery which the king has asked,

Young's Literal Translation
Daniel hath answered before the king and said, `The secret that the king is asking, the wise men, the enchanters, the scribes, the soothsayers, are not able to shew to the king;

THE MESSAGE
Daniel answered the king, "No mere human can solve the king's mystery, I don't care who it is—no wise man, enchanter, magician, diviner. But there is a God in heaven who solves mysteries, and he has solved this one. He is letting King Nebuchadnezzar in on what is going to happen in the days ahead. This is the dream you had when you were lying on your bed, the vision that filled your mind:

Contextual Overview

²⁴ And Daniel came to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon, and said to him; Destroy not the wise men of Babylon, but bring me in before the king, and I will declare the interpretation to the king. ²⁵ Then Arioch in haste brought in Daniel before the king, and said to him, I have found a man of the children of the captivity of Judea, who will declare the interpretation to the king. ²⁶ And the king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Baltasar, Canst thou declare to me the dream which I saw, and the interpretation thereof? ²⁷ And Daniel answered before the king, and said, The mystery which the king asks the explanation of is not in the power of the wise men, magicians, enchanters, or soothsayers to declare to the king. ²⁸ But there is a God in heaven revealing mysteries, and he has made known to king Nabuchodonosor what things must come to pass in the last days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are as follows, ²⁹ O king: thy thoughts upon thy bed arose as to what must come to pass hereafter: and he that reveals mysteries has made known to thee what must come to pass. ³⁰ Moreover, this mystery has not been revealed to me by reason of wisdom which is in me beyond all others living, but for the sake of making known the interpretation to the king, that thou mightest know the thoughts of thine heart.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

cannot: Daniel 2:2, Daniel 2:10, Daniel 2:11, Daniel 5:7, Daniel 5:8, Job 5:12, Job 5:13, Isaiah 19:3, Isaiah 44:25, Isaiah 47:12-14

Reciprocal: Genesis 41:8 - but there Exodus 7:11 - wise men Deuteronomy 29:29 - secret Esther 1:13 - the wise Ezekiel 28:3 - no secret Daniel 2:19 - was James 1:17 - good

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Daniel answered in the presence of the king,.... Boldly, and without fear:

and said, the secret which the king hath demanded: so he calls it, to show that it was something divine, which came from God, and could only be revealed by him, and was not to be found out by any art of man:

cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers show unto the king; this he premises to the revelation of the secret, not only to observe the unreasonableness of the king's demand upon them, and the injustice of putting men to death for it; but that the discovery of the whole might appear to be truly divine, and God might have all the glory; it being what no class of men whatever could ever have made known unto him. The last word, rendered "soothsayers" u, is not used before; the Septuagint version leaves it untranslated, and calls them Gazarenes; and so Saadiah says, it is the name of a nation or people so called; but Jarchi takes them to be a sort of men that had confederacy with devils: the word signifies such that "cut" into parts, as the soothsayers, who cut up creatures, and looked into their entrails, and by them made their judgment of events; or as the astrologers, who cut and divide the heavens into parts, and by them divide future things; or determine, as Jacchiades says, what shall befall men; for the word is used also in the sense of determining or decreeing; hence, Saadiah says, some interpret it of princes, who by their words determine the affairs of kingdoms: by some it is rendered "fatalists" w, who declare to men what their fate will be; but neither of these could show this secret to the king.

u גזרין sectores, Cocceius, Gejerus. w "Fatidici", Munster, Tigurine version; "qui de homine determinant hoc, vel illo modo ipsi eventurum esse", Jacchiades.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded, cannot the wise men ... show unto the king - Daniel regarded it as a settled and indisputable point that the solution could not be hoped for from the Chaldean sages. The highest talent which the realm could furnish had been applied to, and had failed. It was clear, therefore, that there was no hope that the difficulty would be removed by human skill. Besides this, Daniel would seem also to intimate that the thing, from the necessity of the case, was beyond the compass of the human powers. Alike in reference to the question whether a forgotten dream could be recalled, and to the actual “signification” of a dream so remarkable as this, the whole matter was beyond the ability of man.

The wise men, the astrologers ... - On these words, see the notes at Daniel 1:20. All these words occur in that verse, except גזרין gâz^erı̂yn - rendered “soothsayers.” This is derived from גזר gezar - “to cut, to cut off;” and then “to decide, to determine;” and it is thus applied to those who decide or determine the fates or destiny of men; that is, those who “by casting nativities from the place of the stars at one’s birth, and by various arts of computing and divining, foretold the fortunes and destinies of individuals.” See Gesenius, “Com. z. Isa.” 2:349-356, Section 4, Von den Chaldern und deren Astrologie. On p. 555, he has given a figure, showing how the heavens were “cut up,” or “divided,” by astrologers in the practice of their art. Compare the phrase numeri Babylonii, in Hor. “Carm.” I. xi. 2. The Greek is γαζαρηνῶν gazarēnōn - the Chaldee word in Greek letters. This is one of the words - not very few in number - which the authors of the Greek version did not attempt to translate. Such words, however, are not useless, as they serve to throw light on the question how the Hebrew and Chaldee were pronounced before the vowel points were affixed to those languages.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 27. Cannot the wise men] Cannot your own able men, aided by your gods, tell you the secret? This question was necessary in order that the king might see the foolishness of depending on the one, or worshipping the other.

The soothsayers — One of our old words: "The tellers of truth:" but גזרין gazerin is the name of another class of those curious artists, unless we suppose it to mean the same as the CHALDEANS, Daniel 2:2. They are supposed to be persons who divined by numbers, amulets, &c. There are many conjectures about them, which, whatever learning they show, cast little light upon this place.