But when all the king’s wise men had come in, none of them could read the writing or tell him what it meant.
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.
- BSB So all the king’s wise men came in, but they could not read the inscription or interpret it for him.
- 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.
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 before the king, and said, The secret which the king has demanded can neither wise men, enchanters, magicians, nor soothsayers, show to the king;
- Gen 41:8In the morning, his spirit was troubled, and he sent and called for all of Egypt’s magicians and wise men. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but there was no one who could interpret them to Pharaoh.
- Dan 4:7Then came in the magicians, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers; and I told the dream before them; but they did not make known to me its interpretation.
- Isa 47:9But these two things shall come to you in a moment in one day, the loss of children and widowhood. They will come on you in their full measure, in the multitude of your sorceries, and the great abundance of your enchantments.
- Isa 47:12–15“Stand now with your enchantments, and with the multitude of your sorceries, in which you have labored from your youth; as if you might profit; as if you might prevail.
- Dan 5:15Now the wise men, the enchanters, have been brought in before me, that they should read this writing, and make known to me its interpretation; but they could not show the interpretation of the thing.
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
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