Daniel 2 · Verse 5

Daniel 2:5

The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from me: if ye will not make known unto me the dream, with the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill.
Daniel 2:5, King James Version

Daniel 2:5 in other translations

BSBThe 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 rubble.
WEBThe king answered the Chaldeans, “The thing has gone from me. If you don’t make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you will be cut in pieces, and your houses will be made a dunghill.
ASVThe king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from me: if ye make not known unto me the dream and the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill.
YLTThe king hath answered and said to the Chaldeans, ‘The thing from me is gone; if ye do not cause me to know the dream and its interpretation, pieces ye are made, and your houses are made dunghills;
DARBYThe king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The command is gone forth from me: If ye do not make known unto me the dream, and its interpretation, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill.
BBEThe king made answer and said to the Chaldaeans, This is my decision: if you do not make clear to me the dream and the sense of it, you will be cut in bits and your houses made waste.
WebsterThe king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from me: if ye will not make known to me the dream, with the interpretation of it, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill.

What does Daniel 2:5 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
5. The thing--that is, The dream, "is gone from me." Gesenius translates, "The decree is gone forth from me," irrevocable (compare Is 45:23); namely, that you shall be executed, if you do not tell both the dream and the interpretation. English Version is simpler, which supposes the king himself to have forgotten the dream. Pretenders to supernatural knowledge often bring on themselves their own punishment. cut in pieces--(1Sa 15:33). houses ... dunghill--rather, "a morass heap." The Babylonian houses were built of sun-dried bricks; when demolished, the rain dissolves the whole into a mass of mire, in the wet land, near the river [Stuart]. As to the consistency of this cruel threat with Nebuchadnezzar's character, see Da 4:17, "basest of men"; Jr 39:5, 6; 52:9-11.

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 5 Ye shall be cut in pieces - This was arbitrary and tyrannical in the extreme; but, in the order of God's providence, it was overruled to serve the most important purpose.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Daniel 2:1-13

Nebuchadnezzar's dream. (Dn 2:1-13) It is revealed to Daniel. (Dn 2:14-23) He obtains admission to the king. (Dn 2:24-30) The dream and the interpretation. (Dn 2:31-45) Honours to Daniel and his friends. (Dn 2:46-49) Verses 1-13 The greatest men are most open to cares and troubles of mind, which disturb their repose in the night, while the sleep of the labouring man is sweet and sound. We know not the uneasiness of…

Read the full comment on Daniel 2:1-13 →

Daniel 2:5 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.

עָנֵ֤ה'a.Neh[was] replyingH6032
מַלְכָּא֙mal.Ka'king theH4430
וְאָמַ֣רve.'a.Marand [was] sayingH560
לְכַשְׂדָּאֵ֔יle.khas.da.'eito Chaldeans theH3779
מִלְּתָ֖אmi.le.Ta'word theH4406
מִנִּ֣יmi.Nifrom meH4481
אַזְדָּ֑א'az.Da'[is] assuredH230
הֵ֣ןhenifH2006
לָ֤אla'notH3809
תְהֽוֹדְעוּנַּ֙נִי֙te.hod.'u.Na.niyou will make known to meH3046
חֶלְמָ֣אchel.Ma'dream theH2493
וּפִשְׁרֵ֔הּu.fish.Rehand interpretation itsH6591
הַדָּמִין֙ha.da.MinmembersH1917
תִּתְעַבְד֔וּןtit.'av.Dunyou will be madeH5648
וּבָתֵּיכ֖וֹןu.va.tei.Khonand houses yourH1005
נְוָלִ֥יne.va.Lia refuse-heapH5122
יִתְּשָׂמֽוּן\׃yi.te.sa.Munthey will be madeH7761

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

Cross references for Daniel 2:5

  • Ezra 6:11

    Also I have made a decree, that whosoever shall alter this word, let timber be pulled down from his house, and being set up, let him be hanged thereon; and let his house be made a dunghill for this.

  • Daniel 3:29

    Therefore I make a decree, That every people, nation, and language, which speak any thing amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed–nego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill: because there is no other God that can deliver after this sort.

  • 2 Kings 10:27

    And they brake down the image of Baal, and brake down the house of Baal, and made it a draught house unto this day.

  • Psalms 50:22

    Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.

  • 1 Samuel 15:33

    And Samuel said, As thy sword hath made women childless, so shall thy mother be childless among women. And Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal.

  • Psalms 58:7

    Let them melt away as waters which run continually: when he bendeth his bow to shoot his arrows, let them be as cut in pieces.

  • Daniel 2:12

    For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.

  • Deuteronomy 13:16

    And thou shalt gather all the spoil of it into the midst of the street thereof, and shalt burn with fire the city, and all the spoil thereof every whit, for the Lord thy God: and it shall be an heap for ever; it shall not be built again.

  • Joshua 6:26

    And Joshua adjured them at that time, saying, Cursed be the man before the Lord, that riseth up and buildeth this city Jericho: he shall lay the foundation thereof in his firstborn, and in his youngest son shall he set up the gates of it.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
ye shall.This was unreasonable, arbitrary, and tyrannical in the extreme; but, in the course of God's providence, it was overruled to serve the most important purpose.
3:29; 1Sa 15:33; Ps 50:22; 58:7
cut in pieces. Chal. made pieces. made.
De 13:16; Jos 6:26; 2Ki 10:27; Ezr 6:11

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

Context

  • Daniel 2:4

    Then spake the Chaldeans to the king in Syriack, O king, live for ever: tell thy servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation.

  • Daniel 2:5

    The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from me: if ye will not make known unto me the dream, with the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill.

  • Daniel 2:6

    But if ye shew the dream, and the interpretation thereof, ye shall receive of me gifts and rewards and great honour: therefore shew me the dream, and the interpretation thereof.

Read all of Daniel 2

Daniel 2:5 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Respondió el rey y dijo á los Caldeos: El negocio se me fué: si no me mostráis el sueño y su declaración, seréis hechos cuartos, y vuestras casas serán puestas por muladares.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Le roi répondit et dit aux Chaldéens: La chose est par moi prononcée: si vous ne me faites pas connaître le songe et son interprétation, vous serez mis en pièces, et vos maisons seront réduites en tas d’immondices;
German
Elberfelder 1871		Der König antwortete und sprach zu den Chaldäern: Die Sache ist von mir fest beschlossen: wenn ihr mir den Traum und seine Deutung nicht kundtut, so sollt ihr in Stücke zerhauen, und eure Häuser sollen zu Kotstätten gemacht werden;
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Et respondens rex ait Chaldæis: Sermo recessit a me: nisi indicaveritis mihi somnium, et conjecturam ejus, peribitis vos, et domus vestræ publicabuntur.