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Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his:
Daniel 2:20 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Daniel answered, Blessed be the name of God forever and ever; for wisdom and might are his.
  • BSB and declared: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to Him.
  • 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 from this time forth and for evermore.
  • Ps 145:1–2I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever.
  • Rev 5:12Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.
  • Job 12:13With him is wisdom and strength, he hath counsel and understanding.
  • Ps 147:5Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite.
  • Jer 32:19Great in counsel, and mighty in work: for thine eyes are open upon all the ways of the sons of men: to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings:
  • Job 12:16–22With him is strength and wisdom: the deceived and the deceiver are his.
  • Dan 2:21–23And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding:
  • Jude 1:24Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,
  • Ps 72:18–19Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel, who only doeth wondrous things.
  • Ps 115:18But we will bless the LORD from this time forth and for evermore. Praise the LORD.
  • Ps 103:1–2Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
  • 1 Kgs 8:56Blessed be the LORD, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant.
  • 1 Chr 29:10–12Wherefore David blessed the LORD before all the congregation: and David said, Blessed be thou, LORD God of Israel our father, for ever and ever.
  • Prov 8:14Counsel is mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength.
  • Ps 50:23Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright will I shew the salvation of God.
  • Ps 41:13Blessed be the LORD God of Israel from everlasting, and to everlasting. Amen, and Amen.
  • Gen 14:20And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.
  • Ps 62:11God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this; that power belongeth unto God.
  • 1 Chr 29:20And David said to all the congregation, Now bless the LORD your God. And all the congregation blessed the LORD God of their fathers, and bowed down their heads, and worshipped the LORD, and the king.
  • Matt 6:13And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
  • 2 Chr 20:21And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever.

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.