Daniel 2:12
in Daniel 2This response made the king so furious with anger that he gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.
KJV
For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.
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This verse in Daniel 2
Commentary
6 notes on this verseVerses 12, 13. "And when he had heard this, the king in a furious rage gave orders that all the wise men of Babylon should be slain. And when the decree went forth, the wise men were being slaughtered..." The Hebrews raise the question of why Daniel and the three lads did not enter before the king along with the other wise men, and why they were ordered to be slain with the rest when the decree was issued.
This site's exposition
wise men of Babylon
on Daniel 2:12-13
The king's anger turns one failure into a general sentence: he orders “to destroy all the wise men of Babylon”. The decree reaches “Daniel and his friends,” who had been absent from the audience of verse 2. This decree brings Daniel into the story.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
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 Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Note, It is very common for those that will not be convinced by reason to be provoked and exasperated by it, and to push on with fury what they cannot support with equity. The doom passed upon all the magicians of Babylon. There is but one decree for them all (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
For this cause the king was angry, and very furious,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
For this cause the king was angry - Because they failed in explaining the subject which had been referred to them. It is true that his anger was unjust, for their profession did not imply that they would undertake to explain what he demanded, but his wrath was not unnatural. His mind was alarmed, and he was troubled.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
And a decree was issued The law of the king and his decree were issued in the province.
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
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כָּל־ | kol- | as to | ||
| קֳבֵ֣ל | kovel | because | H6903 → | 29 times |
| דְּנָ֔ה | denah | this | H1836 → | 58 times |
| מַלְכָּ֕א | malka' | king the | H4430 → | 180 times |
| בְּנַ֖ס | benas | he was angry | H1149 → | |
| וּקְצַ֣ף | uketzaf | and he was furious | H7108 → | |
| שַׂגִּ֑יא | sagi' | exceedingly | H7690 → | 13 times |
| וַאֲמַר֙ | vaamar | and he said | H560 → | 71 times |
| לְה֣וֹבָדָ֔ה | lehoadah | to destroy | H7 → | 7 times |
| לְכֹ֖ל | lekhol | <obj.> all | H3606 → | 82 times |
| חַכִּימֵ֥י | chakimei | [the] wise men of | H2445 → | 14 times |
| בָבֶֽל׃ | vavel | Babylon | H895 → | 25 times |
כָּל־as to
kol-
קֳבֵ֣לbecause
kovelH6903 →29 times
דְּנָ֔הthis
denahH1836 →58 times
מַלְכָּ֕אking the
malka'H4430 →180 times
בְּנַ֖סhe was angry
benasH1149 →
וּקְצַ֣ףand he was furious
uketzafH7108 →
שַׂגִּ֑יאexceedingly
sagi'H7690 →13 times
וַאֲמַר֙and he said
vaamarH560 →71 times
לְה֣וֹבָדָ֔הto destroy
lehoadahH7 →7 times
לְכֹ֖ל<obj.> all
lekholH3606 →82 times
חַכִּימֵ֥י[the] wise men of
chakimeiH2445 →14 times
בָבֶֽל׃Babylon
vavelH895 →25 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 3:19At this, Nebuchadnezzar was filled with rage, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He gave orders to heat the furnace seven times hotter than usual,
it leads to
- Daniel 3:13
Then Nebuchadnezzar, furious with rage, summoned Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king,
- Leviticus 26:24
then I will act with hostility toward you, and I will strike you sevenfold for your sins.
- Daniel 3:13
Through
Matthew 2:16When Herod saw that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was filled with rage. Sending orders, he put to death all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years…
it leads to
- Isaiah 59:7
Their feet run to evil; they are swift to shed innocent blood. Their thoughts are sinful thoughts; ruin and destruction lie in their wake.
- Proverbs 28:15
Like a roaring lion or a charging bear is a wicked ruler over a helpless people.
- Isaiah 59:7
Through
Daniel 2:5The king replied to the astrologers, “My word is final: If you do not tell me the dream and its interpretation, you will be cut into pieces and your houses will be reduced to…
it leads to
- Ezra 6:11
I also decree that if any man interferes with this directive, a beam is to be torn from his house and raised up, and he is to be impaled on it. And his own…
- Daniel 3:29
Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything offensive against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego will be cut into pieces and their houses reduced to rubble.…
- Ezra 6:11
Through
Psalms 76:10Even the wrath of man shall praise You; with the survivors of wrath You will clothe Yourself.
it leads to
- Romans 9:17
For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”
- Romans 9:17
Through
Daniel 3:13Then Nebuchadnezzar, furious with rage, summoned Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. So these men were brought before the king,
it leads to
- Daniel 3:19
At this, Nebuchadnezzar was filled with rage, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He gave orders to heat the furnace seven times hotter than usual,
- Daniel 3:19
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies13
On this chapter
About Daniel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Daniel; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Hippolytus of Rome, Commentary on Daniel 2.3; 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.