Daniel 2:11 What the king requests is so difficult that no one can tell it to him except the gods, whose dwelling is not with mortals."

◄ Daniel 2:11 ►

New International Version
What the king asks is too difficult. No one can reveal it to the king except the gods, and they do not live among humans.”

New Living Translation
The king’s demand is impossible. No one except the gods can tell you your dream, and they do not live here among people.”

English Standard Version
The thing that the king asks is difficult, and no one can show it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.”

Berean Standard Bible
What the king requests is so difficult that no one can tell it to him except the gods, whose dwelling is not with mortals.”

King James Bible
And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is none other that can shew it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.

New King James Version
It is a difficult thing that the king requests, and there is no other who can tell it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.”

New American Standard Bible
Moreover, the thing which the king demands is difficult, and there is no one else who could declare it to the king except gods, whose dwelling place is not with mortal flesh.”

NASB 1995
“Moreover, the thing which the king demands is difficult, and there is no one else who could declare it to the king except gods, whose dwelling place is not with mortal flesh.”

NASB 1977
“Moreover, the thing which the king demands is difficult, and there is no one else who could declare it to the king except gods, whose dwelling place is not with mortal flesh.”

Legacy Standard Bible
Moreover, the matter which the king asks is difficult, and there is no one else who could declare it to the king except gods, whose dwelling place is not with flesh.”

Amplified Bible
Furthermore, what the king demands is an unusual and difficult thing indeed! No one except the gods can reveal it to the king, and their dwelling is not with [mortal] flesh.”

Christian Standard Bible
What the king is asking is so difficult that no one can make it known to him except the gods, whose dwelling is not with mortals.”

Holman Christian Standard Bible
What the king is asking is so difficult that no one can make it known to him except the gods, whose dwelling is not with mortals.”

American Standard Version
And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is no other that can show it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.

Contemporary English Version
It can't be done, except by the gods, and they don't live here on earth."

English Revised Version
And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is none other that can shew it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
What you ask is difficult, Your Majesty. No one can tell what you dreamed except the gods, and they don't live with humans."

Good News Translation
What Your Majesty is asking for is so difficult that no one can do it for you except the gods, and they do not live among human beings."

International Standard Version
Furthermore, what the king is asking is so difficult that no one can reveal it except the gods—and they don't live with human beings."

Majority Standard Bible
What the king requests is so difficult that no one can tell it to him except the gods, whose dwelling is not with mortals.”

NET Bible
What the king is asking is too difficult, and no one exists who can disclose it to the king, except for the gods--but they don't live among mortals!"

New Heart English Bible
It is a rare thing that the king requires, and there is no other who can show it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh."

Webster's Bible Translation
And it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is no other that can show it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.

World English Bible
It is a rare thing that the king requires, and there is no other who can show it before the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.”

Literal Translations

Literal Standard Version
and the thing that the king is asking [is] precious, and there are no others that show it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.”

Young's Literal Translation
and the thing that the king is asking is precious, and others are there not that do shew it before the king, save the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.'

Smith's Literal Translation
And the word the king asked will be made rare, and there is not another that will show it before the king except the gods that their dwelling is not with flesh.

Catholic Translations

Douay-Rheims Bible
For the thing that thou askest, O king, is difficult; nor can any one be found that can shew it before the king, except the gods, whose conversation is not with men.

Catholic Public Domain Version
For the answer that you seek, O king, is very difficult. Neither can anyone be found who can reveal it in the sight of the king, except the gods, whose conversation is not with men.”

New American Bible
What you demand, O king, is too difficult; there is no one who can tell it to the king except the gods, who do not dwell among people of flesh.”

New Revised Standard Version
The thing that the king is asking is too difficult, and no one can reveal it to the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with mortals.”

Translations from Aramaic

Lamsa Bible
For the thing that the king is asking is very difficult, and there is no man who can show it before the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with men born of flesh.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And the matter that the King asks is deep, and there is not a man to show it before the King, but only the gods, whose dwelling is not with children of flesh!”

OT Translations

JPS Tanakh 1917
And it is a hard thing that the king asketh, and there is none other that can declare it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.'

Brenton Septuagint Translation
For the question which the king asks is difficult, and there is no one else who shall answer it before the king, but the gods, whose dwelling is not with any flesh.

Additional Translations ...

Audio Bible

Context

Nebuchadnezzar's Dream
…10The astrologers answered the king, “No one on earth can do what the king requests! No king, however great and powerful, has ever asked anything like this of any magician, enchanter, or astrologer. 11 What the king requests is so difficult that no one can tell it to him except the gods, whose dwelling is not with mortals.” 12This response made the king so furious with anger that he gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.…

Berean Standard Bible · Download

Cross References

Genesis 41:16
“I myself cannot do it,” Joseph replied, “but God will give Pharaoh a sound answer.”

1 Kings 8:39
be heard by You from heaven, Your dwelling place. And may You forgive and act, and repay each man according to all his ways, since You know his heart—for You alone know the hearts of all men—

Isaiah 41:23
Tell us the things that are to come, so that we may know that you are gods. Yes, do something good or evil, that we may look on together in dismay.

Isaiah 47:13-14
You are wearied by your many counselors; let them come forward now and save you—your astrologers who observe the stars, who monthly predict your fate. / Surely they are like stubble; the fire will burn them up. They cannot deliver themselves from the power of the flame. There will be no coals to warm them or fire to sit beside.

Jeremiah 10:7
Who would not fear You, O King of nations? This is Your due. For among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like You.

Ezekiel 28:3
Behold, you are wiser than Daniel; no secret is hidden from you!

Amos 3:7
Surely the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing His plan to His servants the prophets.

Job 11:7
Can you fathom the deep things of God or discover the limits of the Almighty?

Job 28:12-13
But where can wisdom be found, and where does understanding dwell? / No man can know its value, nor is it found in the land of the living.

Psalm 139:6
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.

Matthew 19:26
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

Mark 10:27
Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”

Luke 1:37
For no word from God will ever fail.”

John 1:18
No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is Himself God and is at the Father’s side, has made Him known.

John 6:46
not that anyone has seen the Father except the One who is from God; only He has seen the Father.

Treasury of Scripture

And it is a rare thing that the king requires, and there is none other that can show it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.

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Daniel 2

1. Nebuchadnezzar, forgetting his dream,
5. requires it of the Chaldeans, by promises and threats.
10. They acknowledging their inability are judged to die.
14. Daniel obtaining some respite finds the dream.
19. He blesses God.
24. He staying the decree is brought to the king.
31. The dream.
36. The interpretation.
46. Daniel's advancement.

Berean Study Bible

What the king requests is too difficult
This phrase highlights the perceived impossibility of the task set by King Nebuchadnezzar. The Aramaic word used here, "yakir," conveys a sense of something being heavy or burdensome. Historically, this reflects the absolute power of ancient Near Eastern monarchs, who often demanded the impossible to assert their divine-like authority. The wise men’s admission of the task's difficulty underscores human limitations and sets the stage for God’s intervention through Daniel.

they replied
The response of the wise men, likely astrologers and magicians, reflects their reliance on human wisdom and occult practices. In the historical context, these advisors were considered the intellectual elite of Babylon, yet their inability to fulfill the king's request highlights the futility of human wisdom without divine insight. This sets a contrast between the wisdom of the world and the wisdom that comes from God.

there is no one who can tell it to the king
This phrase emphasizes the exclusivity of divine revelation. The wise men acknowledge that no human possesses the ability to reveal such mysteries. This admission paves the way for Daniel, a servant of the Most High God, to demonstrate that true wisdom and revelation come from God alone. It reflects the biblical theme that God reveals His secrets to His servants (Amos 3:7).

except the gods
In the polytheistic context of Babylon, the wise men refer to their pantheon of deities. The Aramaic term "elahin" is used here, indicating their belief in multiple gods. This contrasts sharply with the monotheistic faith of Daniel, who serves the one true God. The wise men’s belief that only the gods could reveal such mysteries highlights their understanding of divine transcendence, yet they fail to recognize the immanence of the true God who interacts with His creation.

whose dwelling is not with men
This phrase reflects the ancient belief in the separation between the divine and human realms. The wise men acknowledge that the gods do not dwell among humans, indicating a belief in distant and uninvolved deities. In contrast, the God of Israel is both transcendent and immanent, dwelling among His people and revealing Himself through His prophets. This sets the stage for the revelation that God is not only powerful but also personal and present with His people, as demonstrated through Daniel’s forthcoming interpretation of the king’s dream.

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(11) A rare thing--i.e., a difficult matter. The difficulty is so great, that the gods whose dwelling is not with flesh are alone able to solve it. Here the reference is to a doctrine of Babylonian theology, according to which every man from his birth onward had a special deity attached to him as his protector. It lived in him, or "dwelt with flesh," as the wise men here remark. The deity, being united to the man, became a partaker of human infirmities. For instance, it was subject to the action of evil spirits, and to the influence of the spirits of sickness to such an extent that it might injure the person whom it was bound to protect. Even these deities, the wise men urge, cannot do what the king requires. Such wisdom belongs only to the gods whose dwelling is apart from man. (See Lenormant, La Magie, pp. 181-183.)

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 11. - And it is a rare thing that the king requireth. The Septuagint Version of this passage is, "The thing which thou requirest, O king, is hard and strange." The last two winds are most likely a case of doublet - two different renderings of the same Aramaic wind, yakkirah. The primary meaning of this word is "heavy," and by transference it becomes "difficult," and then, "strange" or "rare." There may have been a slight difference of reading to account for the sentence taking the vocative term it does. It may be due to reading הדר instead of אחר in the following clause. Theodotion agrees with the Massoretic text. and translates yakkirah, βαρύς. The Peshitta does not differ here from the Massoretic text. The soothsayers still pursue their line of defence, which they had adopted in the preceding verse. The king cannot get the answer he demands - his demand is so difficult and strange. And there is none ether that can show it before the king except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh. The Septuagint rendering (lifters somewhat, though slightly, from the Massoretic text: "And there is no one who will show these things to the king, unless some (τις) angel, whose dwelling is not at all with flesh." The omission of ahoran, "other," gives some slight confirmation of the suggestion that ἐπίδοξος, "strange" or "peculiar," represents it. It is very characteristic of the time when the Septuagint translation was made, and of the opinions then current, that the, word אלחין (elohin), "gods," should be rendered ἄγγελος, "angels" By this time there was an avoidance of the use of the Divine name, and anything that suggested it; further, there was an avoidance of the names of heathen deities. The same feeling that makes the historian of the Book of Samuel represent (1 Samuel 29:6) Achish swearing by Jehovah rather than by his own gods, as would certainly be the case, makes the translator here represent the soothsayers referring to "angels." The idea of angels of the nations, which we find later in this book, was generally adopted by the Jews in Egypt (as e.g. Deuteronomy 32:8, LXX.). A question has been raised here as to whether the statement, "whose dwelling is not with flesh," is to be regarded as distinguishing all gods from human beings, or as distinguishing certain of the higher gods from the others. The first view is that of Hitzig, Kranichfeld, Bevan, and others; Professor Fuller and Von Lengerke and others maintain the latter opinion. There is one thing certain - that the soothsayers and interpreters of dreams and auguries believed, or, at all events, pretended they believed, themselves each under the guidance of a special genius or subordinate god. Such a god had his dwelling with flesh - that is to say, with humanity; but there were in their pantheon higher gods, whose dwelling was not with flesh. In some of the incantations and magical formulas which Lenormant has collected in his 'La Magie,' we find (p. 21) Selek-Moulou-ki coming to Ea his father for information as to the causes of disease, etc. Marduk is the Babylonian name for Selek-Moulou-ki, and Marduk was the great revealer; but by this his dwelling was with flesh. As we see, however, there were gods whose dwelling was not with flesh, who knew secrets hid even from Marduk. This excuse of the wise men is a preparation for Daniel's claim to raveal the secret of the king by the power of a higher God than any that communicated with the Babylonian soothsayers. Hitzig regards this as an artistic device of the author. We regard it as the providential intervention of God himself, that raise heathen soothsayers should shelter themselves under an excuse that forced into clearer light the supremacy of Jehovah. It indicates a special knowledge of Babylonian worship thus to lay stress on this distinction between higher and lower gods.

Parallel Commentaries ...

Hebrew

What
דִֽי־ (ḏî-)
Pronoun - relative
Strong's 1768: Who, which, that, because

the king
מַלְכָּ֤ה (mal·kāh)
Noun - masculine singular determinate
Strong's 4430: A king

requests
שָׁאֵל֙ (šā·’êl)
Verb - Qal - Participle - masculine singular
Strong's 7593: To inquire, to request, to demand

is so difficult
יַקִּירָ֔ה (yaq·qî·rāh)
Adjective - feminine singular
Strong's 3358: Honorable, difficult

that no
לָ֣א (lā)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3809: Not, no

one
וְאָחֳרָן֙ (wə·’ā·ḥo·rān)
Conjunctive waw | Adjective - masculine singular
Strong's 321: Another

can tell it
יְחַוִּנַּ֖הּ (yə·ḥaw·win·nah)
Verb - Piel - Imperfect - third person masculine singular | third person feminine singular
Strong's 2324: To show

to
קֳדָ֣ם (qo·ḏām)
Preposition
Strong's 6925: Before

him
מַלְכָּ֑א (mal·kā)
Noun - masculine singular determinate
Strong's 4430: A king

except
לָהֵ֣ן (lā·hên)
Conjunction
Strong's 3861: Therefore, except

the gods,
אֱלָהִ֔ין (’ĕ·lā·hîn)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 426: God

whose
דִּ֥י (dî)
Pronoun - relative
Strong's 1768: Who, which, that, because

dwelling
מְדָ֣רְה֔וֹן (mə·ḏā·rə·hō·wn)
Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine plural
Strong's 4070: A dwelling place

is
אִיתַ֔י (’î·ṯay)
Adverb
Strong's 383: Entity, as a, particle of affirmation, there is

not
לָ֥א (lā)
Adverb - Negative particle
Strong's 3809: Not, no

with
עִם־ (‘im-)
Preposition
Strong's 5974: With, equally with

mortals.”
בִּשְׂרָ֖א (biś·rā)
Noun - masculine singular determinate
Strong's 1321: Flesh, body, person, the pudenda of a, man

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OT Prophets: Daniel 2:11 It is a rare thing that (Dan. Da Dn)