Daniel 2:23

THE MESSAGE

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
I offer thanks and praise to you,God of my fathers,because you have given mewisdom and power.And now you have let me knowwhat we asked of you,for you have let us knowthe king’s mystery.

Hebrew Names Version
I thank you, and praise you, you God of my fathers, who have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we desired of you; for you have made known to us the king's matter.

King James Version
I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast made known unto me now what we desired of thee: for thou hast now made known unto us the king's matter.

English Standard Version
To you, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we asked of you, for you have made known to us the king's matter."

New American Standard Bible
"To You, God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, For You have given me wisdom and power; Even now You have made known to me what we requested of You, For You have made known to us the king's matter."

New Century Version
I thank you and praise you, God of my ancestors, because you have given me wisdom and power. You told me what we asked of you; you told us about the king's dream."

Amplified Bible
"I thank You and praise You, O God of my fathers, For You have given me wisdom and power; Even now You have made known to me what we requested of You, For You have made known to us [the solution to] the king's matter."

Geneva Bible (1587)
I thanke thee & prayse thee, O thou God of my fathers, that thou hast giuen mee wisedome and strength, and hast shewed me nowe the thing that wee desired of thee: for thou hast declared vnto vs the kings matter.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
"To You, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, For You have given me wisdom and power; Even now You have made known to me what we requested of You, For You have made known to us the king's matter."

Berean Standard Bible
To You, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, because You have given me wisdom and power. And now You have made known to me what we have requested, for You have made known to us the dream of the king."

Contemporary English Version
You are the God who was worshiped by my ancestors. Now I thank you and praise you for making me wise and telling me the king's dream, together with its meaning."

Complete Jewish Bible
I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors, for giving me wisdom and power, and revealing to me what we wanted from you, for giving us the answer for the king."

Darby Translation
I thank thee, and I praise thee, O God of my fathers, Who hast given me wisdom and might, And hast made known unto me already what we desired of thee; For thou hast made known unto us the king's matter.

Easy-to-Read Version
God of my ancestors, I thank you and praise you. You gave me wisdom and power. You told us what we asked for. You told us about the king's dream."

George Lamsa Translation
To thee, O God of my fathers, I give thanks, and I praise thee, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast now made known to me what we desired of thee; for thou hast made known to us the kings matter.

Good News Translation
I praise you and honor you, God of my ancestors. You have given me wisdom and strength; you have answered my prayer and shown us what to tell the king."

Lexham English Bible
To you, O God of my ancestors, I give thanks and I give praises, for the wisdom and the power you gave to me, and now you have made known to me what we have asked from you, for you have made known to us the matter of the king."

Literal Translation
I thank You and praise You, O God of my fathers, who has given me wisdom and might, and has made me know what we ask of You. For You have revealed to us the king's matter.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
I thanke the, and prayse the (O thou God off my fathers) that thou hast lent me wy?dome and strength, & hast shewed me the thinge, that we desyred off the, for thou hast opened the kynges matter vnto me.

American Standard Version
I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast now made known unto me what we desired of thee; for thou hast made known unto us the king's matter.

Bible in Basic English
I give you praise and worship, O God of my fathers, who have given me wisdom and strength, and have now made clear to me what we were requesting from you: for you have given us knowledge of the king's business.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
I thank Thee, and praise Thee, O Thou God of my fathers, who hath given me wisdom and might, and hast now made known unto me what we desired of Thee; for Thou hast made known unto us the king's matter.

King James Version (1611)
I thanke thee and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast giuen me wisedome and might, and hast made knowen vnto me now what we desired of thee: for thou hast now made knowen vnto vs the kings matter.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
I thanke thee and prayse thee O thou God of my fathers, that thou hast geuen me wisdome and strength, and hast shewed me now the thing that we desired of thee: for thou hast declared the kinges matter vnto vs.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
I give thanks to thee, and praise thee, O God of my fathers, for thou has given me wisdom and power, and has made known to me the things which we asked of thee; and thou has made known to me the king’s vision.

English Revised Version
I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast now made known unto me what we desired of thee: for thou hast made known unto us the king's matter.

World English Bible
I thank you, and praise you, you God of my fathers, who have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we desired of you; for you have made known to us the king's matter.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
God of oure fadris, Y knowleche to thee, and Y herie thee, for thou hast youe wisdom and strengthe to me; and now thou hast schewid to me tho thingis, whiche we preieden thee, for thou hast openyd to vs the word of the kyng.

Update Bible Version
I thank you, and praise you, O you God of my fathers, who have given me wisdom and might, and have now made known to me what we desired of you; for you have made known to us the king's matter.

Webster's Bible Translation
I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast made known to me now what we desired of thee: for thou hast [now] made known to us the king's matter.

New English Translation
O God of my fathers, I acknowledge and glorify you, for you have bestowed wisdom and power on me. Now you have enabled me to understand what I requested from you. For you have enabled me to understand the king's dilemma."

New King James Version
"I thank You and praise You, O God of my fathers; You have given me wisdom and might, And have now made known to me what we asked of You, For You have made known to us the king's demand."

New Living Translation
I thank and praise you, God of my ancestors, for you have given me wisdom and strength. You have told me what we asked of you and revealed to us what the king demanded."

New Life Bible
I give thanks and praise to You, O God of my fathers. For You have given me wisdom and power. Even now You have made known what we asked of You. You have made the king's dream known to us."

New Revised Standard
To you, O God of my ancestors, I give thanks and praise, for you have given me wisdom and power, and have now revealed to me what we asked of you, for you have revealed to us what the king ordered."

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Unto the, O God of my fathers, do I render thanks and praise, in that, wisdom and might, thou hast given unto me, - yea, already, hast thou made known to me that which we desired of thee, for, the matter of the king, hast thou made known unto us.

Douay-Rheims Bible
To thee, O God of our fathers, I give thanks, and I praise thee: because thou hast given me wisdom and strength: and now thou hast shewn me what we desired of thee, for thou hast made known to us the king’s discourse.

Revised Standard Version
To thee, O God of my fathers, I give thanks and praise, for thou hast given me wisdom and strength, and hast now made known to me what we asked of thee, for thou hast made known to us the king's matter."

Young's Literal Translation
Thee, O God of my fathers, I am thanking and praising, for wisdom and might Thou hast given to me; and now, Thou hast caused me to know that which we have sought from Thee, for the king's matter Thou hast caused us to know.'

Contextual Overview

¹⁴When Arioch, chief of the royal guards, was making arrangements for the execution, Daniel wisely took him aside and quietly asked what was going on: "Why this all of a sudden?" After Arioch filled in the background, Daniel went to the king and asked for a little time so that he could interpret the dream. Daniel then went home and told his companions Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah what was going on. He asked them to pray to the God of heaven for mercy in solving this mystery so that the four of them wouldn't be killed along with the whole company of Babylonian wise men. That night the answer to the mystery was given to Daniel in a vision. Daniel blessed the God of heaven, saying, "Blessed be the name of God, forever and ever. He knows all, does all: He changes the seasons and guides history, He raises up kings and also brings them down, he provides both intelligence and discernment, He opens up the depths, tells secrets, sees in the dark—light spills out of him! God of all my ancestors, all thanks! all praise! You made me wise and strong. And now you've shown us what we asked for. You've solved the king's mystery." So Daniel went back to Arioch, who had been put in charge of the execution. He said, "Call off the execution! Take me to the king and I'll interpret his dream." Arioch didn't lose a minute. He ran to the king, bringing Daniel with him, and said, "I've found a man from the exiles of Judah who can interpret the king's dream!" The king asked Daniel (renamed in Babylonian, Belteshazzar), "Are you sure you can do this—tell me the dream I had and interpret it for me?" 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: "While you were stretched out on your bed, O king, thoughts came to you regarding what is coming in the days ahead. The Revealer of Mysteries showed you what will happen. But the interpretation is given through me, not because I'm any smarter than anyone else in the country, but so that you will know what it means, so that you will understand what you dreamed. "What you saw, O king, was a huge statue standing before you, striking in appearance. And terrifying. The head of the statue was pure gold, the chest and arms were silver, the belly and hips were bronze, the legs were iron, and the feet were an iron-ceramic mixture. While you were looking at this statue, a stone cut out of a mountain by an invisible hand hit the statue, smashing its iron-ceramic feet. Then the whole thing fell to pieces—iron, tile, bronze, silver, and gold, smashed to bits. It was like scraps of old newspapers in a vacant lot in a hot dry summer, blown every which way by the wind, scattered to oblivion. But the stone that hit the statue became a huge mountain, dominating the horizon. This was your dream. "And now we'll interpret it for the king. You, O king, are the most powerful king on earth. The God of heaven has given you the works: rule, power, strength, and glory. He has put you in charge of men and women, wild animals and birds, all over the world—you're the head ruler, you are the head of gold. But your rule will be taken over by another kingdom, inferior to yours, and that one by a third, a bronze kingdom, but still ruling the whole land, and after that by a fourth kingdom, ironlike in strength. Just as iron smashes things to bits, breaking and pulverizing, it will bust up the previous kingdoms. "But then the feet and toes that ended up as a mixture of ceramic and iron will deteriorate into a mongrel kingdom with some remains of iron in it. Just as the toes of the feet were part ceramic and part iron, it will end up a mixed bag of the breakable and unbreakable. That kingdom won't bond, won't hold together any more than iron and clay hold together. "But throughout the history of these kingdoms, the God of heaven will be building a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will this kingdom ever fall under the domination of another. In the end it will crush the other kingdoms and finish them off and come through it all standing strong and eternal. It will be like the stone cut from the mountain by the invisible hand that crushed the iron, the bronze, the ceramic, the silver, and the gold. "The great God has let the king know what will happen in the years to come. This is an accurate telling of the dream, and the interpretation is also accurate." When Daniel finished, King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face in awe before Daniel. He ordered the offering of sacrifices and burning of incense in Daniel's honor. He said to Daniel, "Your God is beyond question the God of all gods, the Master of all kings. And he solves all mysteries, I know, because you've solved this mystery." Then the king promoted Daniel to a high position in the kingdom, lavished him with gifts, and made him governor over the entire province of Babylon and the chief in charge of all the Babylonian wise men. At Daniel's request the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to administrative posts throughout Babylon, while Daniel governed from the royal headquarters. ¹⁶King Nebuchadnezzar's Dream In the second year of his reign, King Nebuchadnezzar started having dreams that disturbed him deeply. He couldn't sleep. He called in all the Babylonian magicians, enchanters, sorcerers, and fortunetellers to interpret his dreams for him. When they came and lined up before the king, he said to them, "I had a dream that I can't get out of my mind. I can't sleep until I know what it means." The fortunetellers, speaking in the Aramaic language, said, "Long live the king! Tell us the dream and we will interpret it." The king answered the fortunetellers, "This is my decree: If you can't tell me both the dream itself and its interpretation, I'll have you ripped to pieces, limb from limb, and your homes torn down. But if you tell me both the dream and its interpretation, I'll lavish you with gifts and honors. So go to it: Tell me the dream and its interpretation." They answered, "If it please your majesty, tell us the dream. We'll give the interpretation." But the king said, "I know what you're up to—you're just playing for time. You know you're up a tree. You know that if you can't tell me my dream, you're doomed. I see right through you—you're going to cook up some fancy stories and confuse the issue until I change my mind. Nothing doing! First tell me the dream, then I'll know that you're on the up and up with the interpretation and not just blowing smoke in my eyes." The fortunetellers said, "Nobody anywhere can do what you ask. And no king, great or small, has ever demanded anything like this from any magician, enchanter, or fortuneteller. What you're asking is impossible unless some god or goddess should reveal it—and they don't hang around with people like us." That set the king off. He lost his temper and ordered the whole company of Babylonian wise men killed. When the death warrant was issued, Daniel and his companions were included. They also were marked for execution. When Arioch, chief of the royal guards, was making arrangements for the execution, Daniel wisely took him aside and quietly asked what was going on: "Why this all of a sudden?" After Arioch filled in the background, Daniel went to the king and asked for a little time so that he could interpret the dream. ¹⁷Daniel then went home and told his companions Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah what was going on. He asked them to pray to the God of heaven for mercy in solving this mystery so that the four of them wouldn't be killed along with the whole company of Babylonian wise men. ¹⁹That night the answer to the mystery was given to Daniel in a vision. Daniel blessed the God of heaven, saying, "Blessed be the name of God, forever and ever. He knows all, does all: He changes the seasons and guides history, He raises up kings and also brings them down, he provides both intelligence and discernment, He opens up the depths, tells secrets, sees in the dark—light spills out of him! God of all my ancestors, all thanks! all praise! You made me wise and strong. And now you've shown us what we asked for. You've solved the king's mystery."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

thank: 1 Chronicles 29:13, Psalms 50:14, Psalms 103:1-4, Isaiah 12:1, Matthew 11:25, Luke 10:21, John 11:41

O thou: Genesis 32:9-11, Exodus 3:15, 1 Kings 8:57, 1 Kings 18:36, 1 Chronicles 29:10, 2 Chronicles 20:6

who hast: Daniel 2:20, Daniel 2:21, Proverbs 8:14, Proverbs 21:22, Proverbs 24:5, Ecclesiastes 7:19, Ecclesiastes 9:16, Ecclesiastes 9:18

and hast: Daniel 2:18, Daniel 2:29, Daniel 2:30, Genesis 18:17, Psalms 25:14, Amos 3:7, John 15:15, Revelation 1:1, Revelation 5:5

Reciprocal: 1 Kings 10:24 - which God 2 Kings 6:12 - telleth Proverbs 2:6 - the Lord Daniel 1:17 - God Daniel 2:36 - General Acts 22:14 - The God Colossians 1:12 - Giving Revelation 11:17 - We give

Cross-References

Genesis 2:8
Then God planted a garden in Eden, in the east. He put the Man he had just made in it. God made all kinds of trees grow from the ground, trees beautiful to look at and good to eat. The Tree-of-Life was in the middle of the garden, also the Tree-of-Knowledge-of-Good-and-Evil.

Genesis 29:14
Laban said, "You're family! My flesh and blood!" When Jacob had been with him for a month, Laban said, "Just because you're my nephew, you shouldn't work for me for nothing. Tell me what you want to be paid. What's a fair wage?"

2 Samuel 5:1
Before long all the tribes of Israel approached David in Hebron and said, "Look at us—your own flesh and blood! In time past when Saul was our king, you were the one who really ran the country. Even then God said to you, ‘You will shepherd my people Israel and you'll be the prince.'"

Gill's Notes on the Bible

I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God my fathers,.... His remote ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and more near progenitors, to whom God had made promises, and revealed his secrets in time past, and still continued his favours to Daniel; for which he was abundantly thankful, and owned and confessed the goodness of God to him, and praised him on account of it:

who hast given me wisdom and might; or "strength" s; courage and fortitude of mind, to go in to the king when in his fury, to promise to show his dream, and the interpretation of it; and strength of faith in prayer to God to obtain it, and who gave him wisdom to know it: Jacchiades interprets this might of power to save his own life, and the life of others:

and hast made known unto me now what we desired of thee; for though it was only made known to Daniel, yet it was in consequence of the united prayers of him and his companions, to which he ascribes it; which shows his great modesty and humility, not to attribute it to his own prayer, and the interest he had in God, as a God hearing prayer:

for thou hast now made known unto us the king's matter; or "word" t; which he required of the wise men, namely, his dream, and the interpretation of it; this being made known to Daniel, he communicated it to his friends.

s גבורתא "fortitudinem", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus; "robur", Piscator. t מלת "verbum", Junius Tremellius, Broughtonus, Michaelis "sermonen", Pagninus, Montanus; "quod dicit rex", Cocceius.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers - By his “fathers” here, Daniel refers doubtless to the Jewish people in general, and not to his own particular ancestors. The meaning of the phrase “God of my fathers” is, that he had been their protector; had regarded them as his people; had conferred on them great favors. The particular ground of thanksgiving here is, that the same God who had so often revealed himself to the Hebrew people by the prophets in their own land, had now condescended to do the same thing to one of their nation, though a captive in a strange country. The favor thus bestowed had an increased value, from the fact that it showed that the Hebrew people were not forgotten, though far from the land of their birth, and that, though in captivity, they might still hope for the benign interposition of God.

Who hast given me wisdom and might - The word “wisdom” here undoubtedly refers to the ability which had now been given him to declare the nature and purport of the dream, imparting to him a degree of wisdom far superior to those pretenders to whom the matter had been at first submitted. The word “might” (Chaldee, strength - גבוּרתא g^ebûr^ethâ') does not probably differ materially from “wisdom.” It means “ability” to interpret the dream - implying that it was a task beyond natural human ability.

For thou hast now made known unto us the king’s matter - That is, it had been made known to him and his friends. He joins himself with them, for, although it was particularly made known to him, yet, as they had united with him in prayer that the secret might be disclosed, and as they shared common dangers, he regarded it as in fact made known to them all.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 23. I thank thee and praise thee — No wonder he should feel gratitude, when God by this merciful interference had saved both the life of him and his fellows; and was about to reflect the highest credit on the God of the Jews, and on the people themselves.