Daniel 2 · Verse 27

Daniel 2:27

Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the king;
Daniel 2:27, King James Version

Daniel 2:27 in other translations

BSBDaniel answered the king, “No wise man, enchanter, medium, or magician can explain to the king the mystery of which he inquires.
WEBDaniel answered before the king, and said, “The secret which the king has demanded can’t be shown to the king by wise men, enchanters, magicians, or soothsayers;
ASVDaniel answered before the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded can neither wise men, enchanters, magicians, nor soothsayers, show unto the king;
YLTDaniel hath answered before the king and said, ‘The secret that the king is asking, the wise men, the enchanters, the scribes, the soothsayers, are not able to shew to the king;
DARBYDaniel answered in the presence of the king and said, The secret that the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the magicians, the scribes, the astrologers, shew unto the king;
BBEThen Daniel said in answer to the king, No wise men, or users of secret arts, or wonder-workers, or readers of signs, are able to make clear to the king the secret he is searching for;
WebsterDaniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded, the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the sooth-sayers, cannot show to the king;

What does Daniel 2:27 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
27. cannot--Daniel, being learned in all the lore of the Chaldeans (Da 1:4), could authoritatively declare the impossibility of mere man solving the king's difficulty. soothsayers--from a root, "to cut off"; referring to their cutting the heavens into divisions, and so guessing at men's destinies from the place of the stars at one's birth.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 27 Cannot the wise men - Cannot your own able men, aided by your gods, tell you the secret? This question was necessary in order that the king might see the foolishness of depending on the one, or worshipping the other. The soothsayers - One of our old words: "The tellers of truth:" but גזרין gazerin is the name of another class of those curious artists, unless we suppose it to mean the same as the Chaldeans, Dan 2:2. They are supposed to be persons who divined by numbers, amulets, etc. There are many conjectures about them, which, whatever learning they show, cast little light upon this place.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Daniel 2:24-30

Daniel takes away the king's opinion of his magicians and soothsayers. The insufficiency of creatures should drive us to the all-sufficiency of the Creator. There is One who can do that for us, and make known that to us, which none on earth can, particularly the work of redemption, and the secret designs of God's love to us therein. Daniel confirmed the king in his opinion, that the dream was of great consequence…

Read the full comment on Daniel 2:24-30 →

Daniel 2:27 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

עָנֵ֧ה'a.Neh[was] replyingH6032
דָנִיֵּ֛אלda.ni.YelDanielH1841
קֳדָ֥םko.DambeforeH6925
מַלְכָּ֖אmal.Ka'king theH4430
וְאָמַ֑רve.'a.Marand [was] sayingH560
רָזָה֙ra.Zah'secret theH7328
דִּֽי\־di-whichH1768
מַלְכָּ֣אmal.Ka'king theH4430
שָׁאֵ֔לsha.'El[is] askingH7593
לָ֧אla'notH3809
חַכִּימִ֣יןcha.ki.Minwise menH2445
אָֽשְׁפִ֗ין'a.she.FinconjurersH826
חַרְטֻמִּין֙char.tu.MinmagiciansH2749
גָּזְרִ֔יןga.ze.RinastrologersH1505
יָכְלִ֖יןya.khe.Lin[are] being ableH3202
לְהַֽחֲוָיָ֥הle.ha.cha.va.Yahto declareH2324
לְמַלְכָּֽא\׃le.mal.Ka'to king theH4430

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Daniel 2:27

  • Isaiah 44:25

    That frustrateth the tokens of the liars, and maketh diviners mad; that turneth wise men backward, and maketh their knowledge foolish;

  • Daniel 2:2

    Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to shew the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king.

  • Isaiah 47:12-14

    Stand now with thine enchantments, and with the multitude of thy sorceries, wherein thou hast laboured from thy youth; if so be thou shalt be able to profit, if so be thou mayest prevail. Thou art wearied in the multitude of thy counsels. Let now the astrologers, the stargazers, the monthly prognosticators, stand up, and save thee from these things that shall come upon thee. Behold, they shall be as stubble; the fire shall burn them; they shall not deliver themselves from the power of the flame: there shall not be a coal to warm at, nor fire to sit before it.

  • Daniel 2:10-11

    The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, There is not a man upon the earth that can shew the king’s matter: therefore there is no king, lord, nor ruler, that asked such things at any magician, or astrologer, or Chaldean. 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.

  • Daniel 5:7-8

    The king cried aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. And the king spake, and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and shew me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom. Then came in all the king’s wise men: but they could not read the writing, nor make known to the king the interpretation thereof.

  • Job 5:12-13

    He disappointeth the devices of the crafty, so that their hands cannot perform their enterprise. He taketh the wise in their own craftiness: and the counsel of the froward is carried headlong.

  • Isaiah 19:3

    And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof; and I will destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek to the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
cannot.
2,10,11; 5:7,8; Job 5:12,13; Isa 19:3; 44:25; 47:12-14

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Daniel 2:26

    The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, Art thou able to make known unto me the dream which I have seen, and the interpretation thereof?

  • Daniel 2:27

    Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the king;

  • Daniel 2:28

    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;

Read all of Daniel 2

Daniel 2:27 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Daniel respondió delante del rey, y dijo: El misterio que el rey demanda, ni sabios, ni astrólogos, ni magos, ni adivinos lo pueden enseñar al rey.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Daniel répondit devant le roi, et dit: Le secret que le roi demande, les sages, les enchanteurs, les devins, les augures, n’ont pu l’indiquer au roi;
German
Elberfelder 1871		Daniel antwortete vor dem König und sprach: Das Geheimnis, welches der König verlangt, können Weise, Beschwörer, Schriftgelehrte und Wahrsager dem König nicht anzeigen.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Et respondens Daniel coram rege, ait: Mysterium, quod rex interrogat, sapientes, magi, arioli, et aruspices nequeunt indicare regi: