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and declared: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to Him.
Daniel 2:20 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB Daniel answered, Blessed be the name of God forever and ever; for wisdom and might are his.
  • KJV Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his:
  • NKJV Daniel answered and said: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, For wisdom and might are His.
  • NASB Daniel said, “May the name of God be blessed forever and ever, For wisdom and power belong to Him.
  • NLT He said, “Praise the name of God forever and ever, for he has all wisdom and power.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Daniel praises God's name forever, ascribing to Him wisdom and might. His prayer exalts God's character above the crisis.

Overview

This doxology opens a hymn celebrating God's eternal sovereignty. Wisdom and might, the very things Babylon's experts lacked, belong supremely to the Lord. Daniel's worship grounds the whole episode in God's glory rather than his own.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 22

  • Ps 113:2Blessed be the name of the LORD both now and forevermore.
  • Ps 145:1–2A Psalm of praise. Of David. I will exalt You, my God and King; I will bless Your name forever and ever.
  • Rev 5:12In a loud voice they were saying: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing!”
  • Job 12:13Wisdom and strength belong to God; counsel and understanding are His.
  • Ps 147:5Great is our Lord, and mighty in power; His understanding has no limit.
  • Jer 32:19the One great in counsel and mighty in deed, whose eyes are on all the ways of the sons of men, to reward each one according to his ways and according to the fruit of his deeds.
  • Job 12:16–22True wisdom and power belong to Him. The deceived and the deceiver are His.
  • Dan 2:21–23He changes the times and seasons; He removes kings and establishes them. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.
  • Jude 1:24Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you unblemished in His glorious presence, with great joy—
  • Ps 72:18–19Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, who alone does marvelous deeds.
  • Ps 115:18But it is we who will bless the LORD, both now and forevermore. Hallelujah!
  • Ps 103:1–2Of David. Bless the LORD, O my soul; all that is within me, bless His holy name.
  • 1 Kgs 8:56“Blessed be the LORD, who has given rest to His people Israel according to all that He promised. Not one word has failed of all the good promises He made through His servant Moses.
  • 1 Chr 29:10–12Then David blessed the LORD in the sight of all the assembly and said: “May You be blessed, O LORD, God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting.
  • Prov 8:14Counsel and sound judgment are mine; I have insight and strength.
  • Ps 50:23He who sacrifices a thank offering honors Me, and to him who rights his way, I will show the salvation of God.”
  • Ps 41:13Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen.
  • Gen 14:20and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” Then Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of everything.
  • Ps 62:11God has spoken once; I have heard this twice: that power belongs to God,
  • 1 Chr 29:20Then David said to the whole assembly, “Blessed be the LORD your God.” So the whole assembly blessed the LORD, the God of their fathers. They bowed down and paid homage to the LORD and to the king.
  • Matt 6:13And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’
  • 2 Chr 20:21Then Jehoshaphat consulted with the people and appointed those who would sing to the LORD and praise the splendor of His holiness. As they went out before the army, they were singing: “Give thanks to the LORD, for His loving devotion endures forever.”

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Daniel videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Daniel 2:20YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on DanielMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Daniel sees the stone cut without hands that shatters the kingdoms, and 'one like a son of man' given everlasting dominion — titles and visions Jesus claims as his own.

How Daniel 2:20 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.