Daniel 2:11

11 And the thing that the king is asking [is too] difficult and {there is no one who} can reveal it to the king except [the] gods {whose dwelling is not with mortals}."

Daniel 2:11 Meaning and Commentary

Daniel 2:11

And it is a rare thing the king requireth,
&e.] Meaning not scarce, or seldom heard of; for they had before asserted it never had been required; but that it was hard and difficult, yea, with them, and as they supposed with any other, impossible to be done: and there is none other that can show it before the king, except the
gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh;
these men own there was a God, though, they held, more than one; and the omniscience of God, though they seem to have no notion of his omnipresence; and to suggest as if he had no concern with mortals; had no regard to men on earth, nor communicated the knowledge of things unto them. Jarchi, Aben Ezra, and Saadiah, interpret this of angels, who are incorporeal; but the superior deities of the Gentiles are rather designed; who were supposed to dwell in heaven, and to have no conversation with men on earth; these, it is owned, could declare to the king what he desired, and no other; and therefore should not persist in his demand on them.

Daniel 2:11 In-Context

9 for if you [do] not make the dream known to me, {your verdict is fixed}, and you have conspired to say [a] lying and deceitful word to me until the {circumstances} will change. Therefore, tell me the dream, and I will know that you can tell me its explanation."

10 The {astrologers} answered the king and said, "There is not a man on earth that is able to reveal the word of the king; {in fact}, no great and powerful king has [ever] asked a thing like this of any magician or conjurer or {astrologer}.

11 And the thing that the king is asking [is too] difficult and {there is no one who} can reveal it to the king except [the] gods {whose dwelling is not with mortals}."

12 Because of this the king became angry, and he became very much enraged, and he said [that] all the wise men of Babylon [are] to be destroyed.

13 And the decree was issued, and the wise men {were on the verge of being executed}, and they searched for Daniel and his companions to be executed.

Footnotes

• [a] Literally "there is not another"
• [b] Literally "concerning their dwelling is not with flesh"