Daniel 2:7
in Daniel 2They answered a second time, “Let the king tell the dream to his servants, and we will give the interpretation.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
They answered the second time and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.
KJV
They answered again and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation of it.
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This verse in Daniel 2
Commentary
4 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
They answered again, and said, Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation of it - Certainly not an unreasonable request, in any circumstances, and especially in theirs. They did not profess, evidently, to be able to recal a dream that was forgotten, but the extent of their profession on this subject appears to have been, that they were able to “explain” what was commonly regarded as a prognostic of a future event.
This site's exposition
we will shew the interpretation of it
on Daniel 2:7-9
The wise men repeat their request nearly word for word, and the repetition itself is the giveaway the king seizes on, I know of certainty that ye would gain the time, since the thing is gone from him, not forgotten but withheld by the same God who will shortly restore it to Daniel. Barnes reads the king's suspicion as shrewd rather than merely cruel, a ruler who has met professional flattery before and will not be delayed by it. The decree the king threatens is not yet spoken here, but the standoff that produces it is fully drawn.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
When the magicians begged of him to tell them the dream, though the request was highly rational and just, he tells them that they did but dally with him, to gain time (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
They answered again, and said,.... Or, a "second" (e) time; repeating the same words, having nothing more to say: let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation thereof; the first part was but right and reasonable, though the latter was mere boasting and arrogancy. (e) תנינות δευτερον, Sept.; "secundo", Pagninus, Montanus, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator; so Ar.
The words behind it
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| עֲנ֥וֹ | ano | they replied | H6032 → | 30 times |
| תִנְיָנ֖וּת | tinyanut | a second [time] | H8579 → | |
| וְאָמְרִ֑ין | veamerin | and [they were] saying | H560 → | 71 times |
| מַלְכָּ֕א | malka' | king O | H4430 → | 180 times |
| חֶלְמָ֛א | chelma' | dream the | H2493 → | 22 times |
| יֵאמַ֥ר | yemar | let him tell | H560 → | 71 times |
| לְעַבְד֖וֹהִי | leavdohi | to servants his | H5649 → | 7 times |
| וּפִשְׁרָ֥ה | ufishrah' | and interpretation the | H6591 → | 31 times |
| נְהַחֲוֵֽה׃ | nehachaveh | we will declare | H2324 → | 14 times |
עֲנ֥וֹthey replied
anoH6032 →30 times
תִנְיָנ֖וּתa second [time]
tinyanutH8579 →
וְאָמְרִ֑יןand [they were] saying
veamerinH560 →71 times
מַלְכָּ֕אking O
malka'H4430 →180 times
חֶלְמָ֛אdream the
chelma'H2493 →22 times
יֵאמַ֥רlet him tell
yemarH560 →71 times
לְעַבְד֖וֹהִיto servants his
leavdohiH5649 →7 times
וּפִשְׁרָ֥הand interpretation the
ufishrah'H6591 →31 times
נְהַחֲוֵֽה׃we will declare
nehachavehH2324 →14 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
Ecclesiastes 10:4If the ruler’s temper flares against you, do not abandon your post, for calmness lays great offenses to rest.
it leads to
- Proverbs 25:15
Through patience a ruler can be persuaded, and a gentle tongue can break a bone.
- Ecclesiastes 8:3
Do not hasten to leave his presence, and do not persist in a bad cause, for he will do whatever he pleases.
- 1 Samuel 25:24–44
She fell at his feet and said, “My lord, may the blame be on me alone, but please let your servant speak to you; hear the words of your servant.
- Proverbs 25:15
Through
Daniel 2:4Then the astrologers answered the king in Aramaic, “O king, may you live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation.”
it leads to
- Daniel 3:9
saying to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, may you live forever!
- Daniel 5:10
Hearing the outcry of the king and his nobles, the queen entered the banquet hall. “O king, may you live forever!” she said. “Do not let your thoughts terrify you, or your face grow…
- Ezra 4:7
And in the days of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of his associates wrote a letter to Artaxerxes. It was written in Aramaic and then translated.
- Isaiah 36:11
Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, since we understand it. Do not speak to us in Hebrew in the hearing of the people on…
- Daniel 3:9
Through
Daniel 2:9If you do not tell me the dream, there is only one decree for you. You have conspired to speak before me false and fraudulent words, hoping the situation will change. Therefore tell me…
it leads to
- Esther 4:11
“All the royal officials and the people of the king’s provinces know that one law applies to every man or woman who approaches the king in the inner court without being summoned—that he be…
- Esther 4:11
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Daniel
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Daniel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.