Daniel 2:11
in Daniel 2What the king requests is so difficult that no one can tell it to him except the gods, whose dwelling is not with mortals.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is no other that can show it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Daniel 2
Commentary
8 notes on this verseAnd so since they said that what the king sought was impossible to be recounted by a man, God showed them that the things which are impossible with men, are possible with God.
This site's exposition
shew the king's matter
on Daniel 2:10-11
The Chaldeans' answer is candid in a way nothing before it has been, there is not a man upon the earth that can shew the king's matter, no king before Nebuchadnezzar has ever asked such a thing, and the reason follows in a sentence that indicts their own gods, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh. The bench notes the irony the narrative sets up without comment, pagan seers confessing that the very gods they serve do not walk among men, in a book about to show the God of heaven doing exactly what they say cannot be done.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
Therefore, so that the Chaldeans, who had plotted in some way, would not deceive the king with words of deceit, Nebuchadnezzar, who was sorely pricked, said to them, "'I myself know, in truth, that you are buying time, because you see that the matter has departed from me. And so if you do not report to me the dream, I know that you have contrived to say a false and twisted word before me until the matter is forgotten.'
The Chaldeans responded, Wherefore it is not possible to know precisely what you [the king] thought. What is humanly possible, they said, you may require from us, but not that which is beyond our nature. You who govern the greatest of all kingdoms must act …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
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.
And it is a rare thing the king requireth, Meaning not scarce, or seldom heard of; for they had before asserted it never had been required; but that it was hard and difficult, yea, with them, and as they supposed with any other, impossible to be done: and there is none other that can show it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh; these men own there was a God, though, they held, more than one; and the omniscience of God, though they seem to have no notion of his omnipresence; and to suggest as if he had no concern with mortals; had no regard to men on earth, nor communicated the knowledge of things unto them.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
And it is a rare thing that the king requireth - Chaldee, יקירה yaqqı̂yrâh - meaning, “choice, valuable, costly;” then, “heavy, hard, difficult.” Greek, βαρύς barus. Vulgate, “gravis - heavy, weighty.” The idea is not so much that the thing demanded by the king was “uncommon” or “rarely made” - though that was true, as that it was so difficult as to be beyond the human powers. They would not have been likely on such an occasion to say that the requirement was absolutely unjust or unreasonable.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh--answering to "no man upon the earth"; for there were, in their belief, "men in heaven," namely, men deified; for example, Nimrod. The supreme gods are referred to here, who alone, in the Chaldean view, could solve the difficulty, but who do not communicate with men.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
who..the king’s word who will be able to tell the king’s word.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
20 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּמִלְּתָ֨א | umileta' | and matter the | H4406 → | 24 times |
| דִֽי־ | di- | which | H1768 → | 345 times |
| מַלְכָּ֤ה | malkah' | king the | H4430 → | 180 times |
| שָׁאֵל֙ | shael | [is] asking | H7593 → | 6 times |
| יַקִּירָ֔ה | yakirah | [is] difficult | H3358 → | |
| וְאָחֳרָן֙ | veochoran | and [is] another | H321 → | 5 times |
| לָ֣א | la' | not | H3809 → | 82 times |
| אִיתַ֔י | ʾitai | there | H383 → | 17 times |
| דִּ֥י | di | who | H1768 → | 345 times |
| יְחַוִּנַּ֖הּ | yechavvinah | he will declare it | H2324 → | 14 times |
| קֳדָ֣ם | kodam | before | H6925 → | 42 times |
| מַלְכָּ֑א | malka' | king the | H4430 → | 180 times |
| לָהֵ֣ן | lahen | except | H3861 → | 7 times |
| אֱלָהִ֔ין | ʾelahin | gods | H426 → | 95 times |
| דִּ֚י | di | who | H1768 → | 345 times |
| מְדָ֣רְה֔וֹן | medarehon | dwelling place their | H4070 → | 4 times |
| עִם־ | ʾim- | [is] with | H5974 → | 22 times |
| בִּשְׂרָ֖א | bisra' | <the> flesh | H1321 → | 3 times |
| לָ֥א | la' | not | H3809 → | 82 times |
| אִיתֽוֹהִי׃ | ʾitohi | there it | H383 → | 17 times |
וּמִלְּתָ֨אand matter the
umileta'H4406 →24 times
דִֽי־which
di-H1768 →345 times
מַלְכָּ֤הking the
malkah'H4430 →180 times
שָׁאֵל֙[is] asking
shaelH7593 →6 times
יַקִּירָ֔ה[is] difficult
yakirahH3358 →
וְאָחֳרָן֙and [is] another
veochoranH321 →5 times
לָ֣אnot
la'H3809 →82 times
אִיתַ֔יthere
ʾitaiH383 →17 times
דִּ֥יwho
diH1768 →345 times
יְחַוִּנַּ֖הּhe will declare it
yechavvinahH2324 →14 times
קֳדָ֣םbefore
kodamH6925 →42 times
מַלְכָּ֑אking the
malka'H4430 →180 times
לָהֵ֣ןexcept
lahenH3861 →7 times
אֱלָהִ֔יןgods
ʾelahinH426 →95 times
דִּ֚יwho
diH1768 →345 times
מְדָ֣רְה֔וֹןdwelling place their
medarehonH4070 →4 times
עִם־[is] with
ʾim-H5974 →22 times
בִּשְׂרָ֖א<the> flesh
bisra'H1321 →3 times
לָ֥אnot
la'H3809 →82 times
אִיתֽוֹהִי׃there it
ʾitohiH383 →17 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
2 Corinthians 6:16What agreement can exist between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell with them and walk among them, and…
it leads to
- Revelation 21:3
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will…
- Exodus 29:45
Then I will dwell among the Israelites and be their God.
- Hebrews 8:10
For this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord. I will put My laws in their minds and inscribe them on their hearts. And…
- Leviticus 26:12
I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be My people.
- Ezekiel 37:26–27
And I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant. I will establish them and multiply them, and I will set My sanctuary among them forever.
- Revelation 21:3
Through
Matthew 19:26Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
it leads to
- Jeremiah 32:27
“Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh. Is anything too difficult for Me?
- Luke 1:37
For no word from God will ever fail.”
- Job 42:2
“I know that You can do all things and that no plan of Yours can be thwarted.
- Jeremiah 32:27
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Daniel
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Book of Daniel; Hippolytus of Rome, Commentary on Daniel 2.4; Hippolytus of Rome, Commentary on Daniel 2.3; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON DANIEL 2:11.