Daniel 2:28
in Daniel 2But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the latter days. Your dream and the visions that came into your mind as you lay on your bed were these:
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
but there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and he hath made known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these:
KJV
But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon thy bed, are these;
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This verse in Daniel 2
Commentary
8 notes on this verseThere is a God in heaven - To distinguish him from those idols, the works of men’s hands; and from the false gods in which the Chaldeans trusted. In the latter days - A phrase which, in the prophets, generally means the times of the Messiah. God is about to show what shall take place from this time to the latest ages of the world. And the vision most certainly contains a very extensive and consecutive prophecy; which I shall treat more largely at the close of the chapter, giving in the mean time a short exposition.
This site's exposition
Art thou able to make known
on Daniel 2:26-30
The king's question repeats the original impossible demand, and Daniel's answer opens by conceding it outright, the wise men, astrologers, magicians and soothsayers cannot shew it, a flat agreement with everything the Chaldeans already said. What follows is the pivot the whole scene has been built for, there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and Daniel refuses even his own credit for what is coming, this secret is not revealed to me for any wisdom that I have more than any living, insisting the revelation serves the king's understanding and the wise men's rescue rather than Daniel's own reputation.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
Verse 28. "But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries." Therefore it is only in vain that thou inquirest (other MSS have: "that he inquire") of men as to something which is known only to God in heaven. Also, by indirectly drawing Nebuchadnezzar away from the worship of many gods, Daniel directs him to the knowledge of the one (true) God. "Who hath shown thee, King Nebuchadnezzar, what is going to take place (the Vulg. reads: "the things which are going to take place") in the last times."
A commentator
Augustine of HippoON THE LITERAL INTERPRETATION OF GENESIS 12:9.20 · Written in the 5th century.
proposed
The one who interprets what another has seen is more a prophet than the one who had seen.… Less a prophet is he who … sees in spirit only the signs of the things signified, and a greater prophet is he who is granted only an understanding of images. But the greatest prophet is he who is endowed with both gifts, namely, that of seeing in spirit the symbolic likeness of corporeal objects and that of understanding them with the vital power of the mind. Such a one was Daniel. His preeminence was tested and established when he not only told the dream he had had but also explained the meaning of it. For the corporeal images themselves were produced in his spirit, and an understanding of them was revealed in his mind. I am using the word spirit, therefore, in the sense in which Paul uses it, where he distinguishes it from the mind: "I will pray with the spirit, but I will pray with the mind also." Here he implies that signs of things are formed in the spirit and that an understanding of the signs shines forth in the mind.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
), that is, in the times that were to come, reaching as far as the setting up of Christ's kingdom in the world, which was to be in the latter days, Heb. i.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
(Da 2:27). revealeth secrets-- (Am 3:7; Compare Ge 41:45, Zaphnath-paaneah, "revealer of secrets," the title given to Joseph. the latter days--literally, "in the after days" (Da 2:29); "hereafter" (Ge 49:1). It refers to the whole future, including the Messianic days, which is the final dispensation (Isa 2:2). visions of thy head--conceptions formed in the brain.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
But there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets - One of the principal objects contemplated in all that occurred respecting this dream and its interpretation was, to direct the mind of the monarch to the true God, and to secure the acknowledgment of his supremacy. Hence, it was so ordered that those who were most eminent for wisdom, and who were regarded as the favorites of heaven, were constrained to confess their entire inability to explain the mystery. The way was thus prepared to show that he who “could” do this must be the true God, and must be worthy of adoration and praise. Thus prepared, the mind of the monarch was now directed by this pious Hebrew youth, though a captive, to a truth so momentous and important. His whole training, his modesty and his piety, all were combined to lead him to attribute whatever skill he might evince in so difficult a matter to the true God alone: and we can scarcely conceive of a more sublime object of contemplation than this young man, in the most magnificent court of the world, directing the thoughts of the most mighty monarch that then occupied a throne, to the existence and the perfections of the true God. And maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar - Margin, “hath made.” The translation in the text is more correct, for it was not true that he had as yet actually made these things known to the king. […]
The words behind it
21 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| בְּרַ֡ם | beram | nevertheless | H1297 → | 5 times |
| אִיתַ֞י | ʾitai | there | H383 → | 17 times |
| אֱלָ֤הּ | ʾelah | [is] a God | H426 → | 95 times |
| בִּשְׁמַיָּא֙ | bishmaiya' | in heavens the | H8065 → | 38 times |
| גָּלֵ֣א | gale' | [who] reveals | H1541 → | 9 times |
| רָזִ֔ין | razin | secrets | H7328 → | 9 times |
| וְהוֹדַ֗ע | vehoda' | and he has made known | H3046 → | 47 times |
| לְמַלְכָּא֙ | lemalka' | to king the | H4430 → | 180 times |
| נְבֽוּכַדְנֶצַּ֔ר | nevukhadnetzar | Nebuchadnezzar | H5020 → | 31 times |
| מָ֛ה | mah | what | H4101 → | 13 times |
| דִּ֥י | di | that | H1768 → | 345 times |
| לֶהֱוֵ֖א | leheve' | it will be | H1934 → | 71 times |
| בְּאַחֲרִ֣ית | beacharit | at [the] end of | H320 → | |
| יוֹמַיָּ֑א | yomaiya' | days the | H3118 → | 16 times |
| חֶלְמָ֨ךְ | chelmakh | dream your | H2493 → | 22 times |
| וְחֶזְוֵ֥י | vechezvei | and [the] visions of | H2376 → | 12 times |
| רֵאשָׁ֛ךְ | reshakh | head your | H7217 → | 14 times |
| עַֽל־ | ʾal- | on | H5922 → | 104 times |
| מִשְׁכְּבָ֖ךְ | mishkevakh | bed your | H4903 → | 6 times |
| דְּנָ֥ה | denah | [is] this | H1836 → | 58 times |
| הֽוּא׃ פ | hu' | it | H1932 → | 22 times |
בְּרַ֡םnevertheless
beramH1297 →5 times
אִיתַ֞יthere
ʾitaiH383 →17 times
אֱלָ֤הּ[is] a God
ʾelahH426 →95 times
בִּשְׁמַיָּא֙in heavens the
bishmaiya'H8065 →38 times
גָּלֵ֣א[who] reveals
gale'H1541 →9 times
רָזִ֔יןsecrets
razinH7328 →9 times
וְהוֹדַ֗עand he has made known
vehoda'H3046 →47 times
לְמַלְכָּא֙to king the
lemalka'H4430 →180 times
נְבֽוּכַדְנֶצַּ֔רNebuchadnezzar
nevukhadnetzarH5020 →31 times
מָ֛הwhat
mahH4101 →13 times
דִּ֥יthat
diH1768 →345 times
לֶהֱוֵ֖אit will be
leheve'H1934 →71 times
בְּאַחֲרִ֣יתat [the] end of
beacharitH320 →
יוֹמַיָּ֑אdays the
yomaiya'H3118 →16 times
חֶלְמָ֨ךְdream your
chelmakhH2493 →22 times
וְחֶזְוֵ֥יand [the] visions of
vechezveiH2376 →12 times
רֵאשָׁ֛ךְhead your
reshakhH7217 →14 times
עַֽל־on
ʾal-H5922 →104 times
מִשְׁכְּבָ֖ךְbed your
mishkevakhH4903 →6 times
דְּנָ֥ה[is] this
denahH1836 →58 times
הֽוּא׃ פit
hu'H1932 →22 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
Daniel 2:22He reveals the deep and hidden things; He knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with Him.
it leads to
- Job 12:22
He reveals the deep things of darkness and brings deep shadows into light.
- Psalms 25:14
The LORD confides in those who fear Him, and reveals His covenant to them.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 John 1:5
And this is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you: God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.
- Jeremiah 23:24
“Can a man hide in secret places where I cannot see him?” declares the LORD. “Do I not fill the heavens and the earth?” declares the LORD.
- James 1:17
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, with whom there is no change or shifting shadow.
- Job 12:22
Through
Amos 4:13For behold, He who forms the mountains, who creates the wind and reveals His thoughts to man, who turns the dawn to darkness and strides on the heights of the earth—the LORD, the God…
it leads to
- Amos 5:8
He who made the Pleiades and Orion, who turns darkness into dawn and darkens day into night, who summons the waters of the sea and pours them over the face of the earth—the LORD…
- Micah 1:3
For behold, the LORD comes forth from His dwelling place; He will come down and tread on the high places of the earth.
- Amos 9:6
He builds His upper rooms in the heavens and founds His vault upon the earth. He summons the waters of the sea and pours them over the face of the earth. The LORD is…
- Amos 5:8
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Daniel
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Daniel; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, ON THE LITERAL INTERPRETATION OF GENESIS 12:9.20; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, St. Jerome, Commentary on Daniel, CHAPTER TWO; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.