So all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the inscription or interpret it for him.
Parallel translations
- WEB Then came in all the king’s wise men; but they could not read the writing, nor make known to the king the interpretation.
- KJV 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.
- NKJV Now all the king’s wise men came, but they could not read the writing, or make known to the king its interpretation.
- NASB Then all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the inscription or make known its interpretation to the king.
- NLT But when all the king’s wise men had come in, none of them could read the writing or tell him what it meant.
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
All the king's wise men come in but cannot read or interpret the writing. The best of Babylon's wisdom is helpless before God's message.
Overview
The failure of the wise men repeats a pattern seen with Nebuchadnezzar's dream: worldly expertise cannot grasp what God alone reveals. Their inability heightens the contrast with Daniel, who receives understanding from the Most High. Scripture teaches that the things of God are made known not by human cleverness but by divine gift.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Dan 2:27Daniel answered the king, “No wise man, enchanter, medium, or magician can explain to the king the mystery of which he inquires.
- Gen 41:8In the morning his spirit was troubled, so he summoned all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could interpret them for him.
- Dan 4:7When the magicians, enchanters, astrologers, and diviners came in, I told them the dream, and they could not interpret it for me.
- Isa 47:9These two things will overtake you in a moment, in a single day: loss of children, and widowhood. They will come upon you in full measure, in spite of your many sorceries and the potency of your spells.
- Isa 47:12–15So take your stand with your spells and with your many sorceries, with which you have wearied yourself from your youth. Perhaps you will succeed; perhaps you will inspire terror!
- Dan 5:15Now the wise men and enchanters were brought before me to read this inscription and interpret it for me, but they could not give its interpretation.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 5:8 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.