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Good News Translation
Daniel 2:5
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The king replied to the Chaldeans, “My word is final: If you don’t tell me the dream and its interpretation, you will be torn limb from limb, and your houses will be made a garbage dump.
The king answered the Kasdim, The thing is gone from me: if you don't make known to me the dream and the interpretation of it, you shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill.
The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from me: if ye will not make known unto me the dream, with the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill.
The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, "The word from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be torn limb from limb, and your houses shall be laid in ruins.
The king replied to the Chaldeans, "The command from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you will be torn limb from limb and your houses will be turned into a rubbish heap.
King Nebuchadnezzar said to them, "I meant what I said. You must tell me the dream and what it means. If you don't, I will have you torn apart, and I will turn your houses into piles of stones.
The king replied to the Chaldeans, "My command is firm and unchangeable: if you do not reveal to me the [content of the] dream along with its interpretation, you shall be cut into pieces and your houses shall be made a heap of rubbish.
And the King answered & sayd to the Caldeans, The thing is gone from me. If ye will not make me vnderstande the dreame with the interpretation thereof, ye shall be drawen in pieces, and your houses shall be made a iakes.
The king replied to the Chaldeans, "The command from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you will be torn limb from limb and your houses will be made a rubbish heap.
The king replied to the astrologers, "My word is final: If you do not tell me the dream and its interpretation, you will be cut into pieces and your houses will be reduced to rubble.
But the king replied, "No! I have made up my mind. If you don't tell me both the dream and its meaning, you will be chopped to pieces and your houses will be torn down.
The king answered the astrologers, "Here is what I have decided: if you don't tell me both the dream and its interpretation, you will be torn limb from limb and your houses reduced to rubble.
The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The command is gone forth from me: If ye do not make known unto me the dream, and its interpretation, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill.
Then King Nebuchadnezzar said to them, "No, you must tell me the dream, and then you must tell me what it means. If you don't, I will give an order for you to be cut into pieces. And I will order your houses to be destroyed until they are nothing but piles of dust and ashes.
The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The word that I have spoken is true; if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be cut in pieces and your houses shall be plundered.
The king answered and said to the astrologers, "The command from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its explanation, then you will be broken into pieces and your houses will be laid in ruins.
The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The word is certainly gone from me. If you will not make known the dream and its meaning to me, you will be made into mere members, and your houses shall be made an outhouse.
The kynge gaue the Caldees their answere, ad sayde: It is gone fro me: Yf ye wil not make me vnderstonde the dreame with the interpretacion theroff, ye shal dye, and youre houses shal be prysed.
The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from me: if ye make not known unto me the dream and the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill.
The king made answer and said to the Chaldaeans, This is my decision: if you do not make clear to me the dream and the sense of it, you will be cut in bits and your houses made waste.
The king answered and said to the Chaldeans: 'The thing is certain with me; if ye make not known unto me the dream and the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill.
The King answered, and said to the Caldeans, The thing is gone from mee: if ye will not make knowen vnto me the dreame, with the interpretation thereof, yee shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shalbe made a dunghill.
The king aunswered and sayde to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone fro me: If ye will not make me vnderstand the dreame with the interpretation therof, ye shall be drawne in peeces, & your houses made a lakes.
The king answered the Chaldeans, The thing has departed from me: if ye do not make known to me the dream and the interpretation, ye shall be destroyed, and your houses shall be spoiled.
The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from me: if ye make not known unto me the dream and the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill.
The king answered the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from me: if you don't make known to me the dream and the interpretation of it, you shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill.
And the kyng answeride, and seide to Caldeis, The word is goen awei fro me; if ye schewen not to me the dreem, and expownyng therof, ye schulen perische, and youre housis schulen be forfetid.
The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing has gone from me: if you don't make known to me the dream and the interpretation thereof, you shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill.
The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from me: if ye will not make known to me the dream, with the interpretation of it, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill.
The king replied to the wise men, "My decision is firm. If you do not inform me of both the dream and its interpretation, you will be dismembered and your homes reduced to rubble!
The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, "My decision is firm: if you do not make known the dream to me, and its interpretation, you shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made an ash heap.
But the king said to the astrologers, "I am serious about this. If you don't tell me what my dream was and what it means, you will be torn limb from limb, and your houses will be turned into heaps of rubble!
The king answered, saying, "My word is sure. If you do not tell me what my dream was and what it means, you will be torn apart and your houses will be laid waste.
The king answered the Chaldeans, "This is a public decree: if you do not tell me both the dream and its interpretation, you shall be torn limb from limb, and your houses shall be laid in ruins.
The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The word from me, is unalterable: If ye shall not make known to me the dream and the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and, your houses, into a dunghill, shall be turned;
And the king, answering, said to the Chaldeans: The thing is gone out of my mind: unless you tell me the dream, and the meaning thereof, you shall be put to death, and your houses shall be confiscated.
The king answered the Chalde'ans, "The word from me is sure: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be torn limb from limb, and your houses shall be laid in ruins.
The king hath answered and said to the Chaldeans, `The thing from me is gone; if ye do not cause me to know the dream and its interpretation, pieces ye are made, and your houses are made dunghills;
The king answered the fortunetellers, "This is my decree: If you can't tell me both the dream itself and its interpretation, I'll have you ripped to pieces, limb from limb, and your homes torn down. But if you tell me both the dream and its interpretation, I'll lavish you with gifts and honors. So go to it: Tell me the dream and its interpretation."
Contextual Overview
Bible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
ye shall: This was unreasonable, arbitrary, and tyrannical in the extreme; but, in the course of God's providence, it was overruled to serve the most important purpose. Daniel 3:29, 1 Samuel 15:33, Psalms 50:22, Psalms 58:7
cut in pieces: Chal, made pieces
made: Deuteronomy 13:16, Joshua 6:26, 2 Kings 10:27, Ezra 6:11
Reciprocal: 1 Samuel 22:16 - Thou shalt 1 Kings 18:12 - he shall slay me Daniel 3:6 - the same Daniel 4:9 - tell
Cross-References
He made all kinds of beautiful trees grow there and produce good fruit. In the middle of the garden stood the tree that gives life and the tree that gives knowledge of what is good and what is bad.
The first river is the Pishon; it flows around the country of Havilah.
(Pure gold is found there and also rare perfume and precious stones.)
So the Lord God sent them out of the Garden of Eden and made them cultivate the soil from which they had been formed.
Later she gave birth to another son, Abel. Abel became a shepherd, but Cain was a farmer.
If you try to grow crops, the soil will not produce anything; you will be a homeless wanderer on the earth."
He sends rain on the land and he waters the fields.
You make grass grow for the cattle and plants for us to use, so that we can grow our crops
He brings storm clouds from the ends of the earth; he makes lightning for the storms, and he brings out the wind from his storeroom.
None of the idols of the nations can send rain; the sky by itself cannot make showers fall. We have put our hope in you, O Lord our God, because you are the one who does these things.
Gill's Notes on the Bible
The king answered and said to the Chaldeans,.... In the same language they spoke to him:
the thing is gone from me; either the dream was gone from him; it was out of his mind, he had forgot it, and could not call it to remembrance; he had been dreaming of monarchies and kingdoms, which are themselves but dreams and tales, and empty things that pass away, and which he might have learned from hence: or, as it may be rendered, "the word is confirmed by me" z. Saadiah says, that some observe that the word here used has the signification of strength or firmness; and so Aben Ezra interprets the word, is stable and firm; to which agrees the Syriac version,
"most sure is the word which I pronounce;''
referring not to the dream, but to what follows the king's declaration, both with respect to threatenings and promises:
if ye will not make known unto me the dream, with the interpretation thereof; the king speaks as if he thought it was in their power, but they were unwilling to do it; though no doubt, had they been able, they would have readily done it, both for their credit and advantage:
ye shall be cut in pieces; not only cut in two, but into various pieces, limb by limb, as Agag by Samuel, and the Ammonites by David; and which was a punishment often inflicted in the eastern nations; as Orpheus was cut to pieces by the Thracian women, and Bessus by order of Alexander the great a; much the same punishment as, with us, to be hanged, drawn, and quartered:
and your houses shall be made a dunghill; be destroyed, and never rebuilt more, but put to the most contemptible uses: and this was common among the Romans; when any were found plotting against the government, or guilty of treason, they were not only capitally punished, but their houses were pulled down, or the names of them changed; or, however, were not used for dwelling houses; so the house of Caius Cassius was pulled down and demolished for his affectation of government, and for treason; and that of M. Maulins Capitolinus, who was suspected of seizing the government, after he was thrown from the rock, was made a mint of; and that of Spuflus Melius for the same crime, after he had suffered, was by reproach called Aequimelium; and of the like kind many instances are given b and so among the Grecians; Pausanias c relates of Astylus Crotoniata, that by way of punishment, and as a mark of infamy upon him for a crime he had done, his house was appointed for a public prison. Herodotus d reports Leutychides, general of the Lacedemonians in Thessalian expedition, that having received money by way of bribery, for which he was tried and condemned, though he made his escape, his house was demolished; and the same usage and custom remains to this day in France: thus the unhappy Damien, a madman, who of late stabbed the French king; one part of his sentence was, that the house in which he was born should be pulled down, as he himself also was pulled and cut to pieces; see
2 Kings 10:27.
z ×××ª× ×× × ×××× "verbum a me firmum, [vel] firmatum", Michaelis; "a me decretum et statutum", L'Empereur. a Vid. Curtium, l. 7. c. 5. p. 206. b Vid. Alex. ab Alex. Genial. Dier. l. 3. c. 23. c Eliac. 2. sive l. 6. p. 366. d Erato, sive I. 6. p. 72.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from me - The Vulgate renders this, âSermo recessit a meâ - âThe word is departed from me.â So the Greek, ÎÌ Î»Î¿ÌÎ³Î¿Ï Î±ÌÏ Ì ÎµÌÎ¼Î¿Ï Í Î±ÌÏεÌÏÏη Ho logos ap' emou apesteÌ. Luther, âEs ist mir entfallenâ - âIt has fallen away from me,â or has departed from me. Coverdale, âIt is gone from me.â The Chaldee word rendered âthe thingâ - ×××ª× mıÌllethaÌh - means, properly, âa word, saying, discourseâ - something which is âspoken;â then, like ××ר daÌbaÌr and the Greek ÏÌηÍμα reÌma, a âthing.â The reference here is to the matter under consideration, to wit, the dream and its meaning. The fair interpretation is, that he had forgotten the dream, and that if he retained âanyâ recollection of it, it was only such an imperfect outline as to alarm him. The word rendered âis goneâ - ×××× 'azeddaÌ' - which occurs only here and in Daniel 2:8, is supposed to be the same as ××× 'aÌzal - âto go away, to depart.â Gesenius renders the whole phrase, âThe word has gone out from me; i. e., what I have said is ratified, and cannot be recalled;â and Prof. Bush (in loc.) contends that this is the true interpretation, and this also is the interpretation preferred by John D. Michaelis, and Dathe. A construction somewhat similar is adopted by Aben Ezra, C. B. Michaelis, Winer, Hengstenberg, and Prof. Stuart, that it means, âMy decree is firm, or steadfast;â to wit, that if they did not furnish an interpretation of the dream, they should be cut off. The question as to the true interpretation, then, is between two constructions: whether it means, as in our version, that the dream had departed from him - that is, that he had forgotten it - or, that a decree or command had gone from him, that if they could not interpret the dream they should be destroyed. That the former is the correct interpretation seems to me to be evident.
(1) It is the natural construction, and accords best with the meaning of the original words. Thus no one can doubt that the word ××× millaÌh, and the words ××ר daÌbaÌr and ÏÌηÍμα reÌma, are used in the sense of âthing,â and that the natural and proper meaning of the Chaldee verb ××× 'aÌzad is, to âgo away, depart.â Compare the Hebrew (××× 'aÌzal) in Deuteronomy 32:36, âHe seeth that their power is gone;â 1 Samuel 9:7, âThe bread is spent in our vessels;â Job 14:11, âThe waters fail from the sea;â and the Chaldee (××× 'aÌzal) in Ezra 4:23, âThey went up in haste to Jerusalem;â Ezra 5:8, âWe went into the province of Judea;â and Daniel 2:17, Daniel 2:24; Daniel 6:18 (19), 19(20).
(2) This interpretation is sustained by the Vulgate of Jerome, and by the Greek.
(3) It does not appear that any such command had at that time gone forth from the king, and it was only when they came before him that he promulgated such an order. Even though the word, as Gesenins and Zickler (Chaldaismus Dan. Proph.) maintain, is a feminine participle present, instead of a verb in the preterit, still it would then as well apply to the âdreamâ departing from him, as the command or edict. We may suppose the king to say, âThe thing leaves me; I cannot recal it.â
(4) It was so understood by the magicians, and the king did not attempt to correct their apprehension of what he meant. Thus, in Daniel 2:7, they say, âLet the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation thereof.â This shows that they understood that the dream had gone from him, and that they could not be expected to interpret its meaning until they were apprised what it was.
(5) It is not necessary to suppose that the king retained the memory of the dream himself, and that he meant merely to try them; that is, that he told them a deliberate falsehood, in order to put their ability to the test. Nebuchadnezzar was a cruel and severe monarch, and such a thing would not have been entirely inconsistent with his character; but we should not needlessly charge cruelty and tyranny on any man, nor should we do it unless the evidence is so clear that we cannot avoid it. Besides, that such a test should be proposed is in the highest degree improbable. There was no need of it; and it was contrary to the established belief in such matters. These men were retained at court, among other reasons, for the very purpose of explaining the prognostics of the future. There was confidence in them; and they were retained âbecauseâ there was confidence in them. It does not appear that the Babylonian monarch had had any reason to distrust their ability as to what they professed; and why should he, therefore, on âthisâ occasion resolve to put them to so unusual, and obviously so unjust a trial?
For these reasons, it seems clear to me that our common version has given the correct sense of this passage, and that the meaning is, that the dream had actually so far departed from him that he could not repeat it, though he retained such an impression of its portentous nature, and of its appalling outline, as to fill his mind with alarm. As to the objection derived from this view of the passage by Bertholdt to the authenticity of this chapter, that it is wholly improbable that any man would be so unreasonable as to doom others to punishment because they could not recal his dream, since it entered not into their profession to be able to do it (Commentary i. p. 192), it may be remarked, that the character of Nebuchadnezzar was such as to make what is stated here by Daniel by no means improbable. Thus it is said respecting him 2 Kings 25:7, âAnd they slew the sons of Zedekiah âbefore his eyes,â and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him to Babylon.â Compare 2 Kings 25:18-21; Jeremiah 39:5, following; Jeremiah 52:9-11. See also Daniel 4:17, where he is called âthe basest of men.â Compare Hengstenberg, âDie Authentie des Daniel,â pp. 79-81. On this objection, see Introduction to the chapter, Section I. I.
If ye will not make known, unto me the dream, with the interpretation thereof - Whatever may be thought as to the question whether he had actually forgotten the dream, there can be no doubt that he demanded that they should state what it was, and then explain it. This demand was probably as unusual as it was in one sense unreasonable, since it did not fall fairly within their profession. Yet it was not unreasonable in this sense, that if they really had communication with the gods, and were qualified to explain future events, it might be supposed that they would be enabled to recal this forgotten dream. If the gods gave them power to explain what was to âcome,â they could as easily enable them to recal âthe past.â
Ye shall be cut in pieces - Margin, âmade.â The Chaldee is, âYe shall be made into pieces; âreferring to a mode of punishment that was common to many ancient nations. Compare 1 Samuel 15:33 : âAnd Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord in Gilgal.â Thus Orpheus is said to have been torn in pieces by the Thracian women; and Bessus was cut in pieces by order of Alexander the Great.
And your houses shall be made a dunghill - Compare 2 Kings 10:27. This is an expression denoting that their houses, instead of being elegant or comfortable mansions, should be devoted to the vilest of uses, and subjected to all kinds of dishonor and defilement. The language here used is in accordance with what is commonly employed by Orientals. They imprecate all sorts of indignities and abominations on the objects of their dislike, and it is not uncommon for them to smear over with filth what is the object of their contempt or abhorrenee. Thus when the caliph Omar took Jerusalem, at the head of the Saracen army, after ravaging the greater part of the city, he caused dung to be spread over the site of the sanctuary, in token of the abhorrence of all Mussulmans, and of its being henceforth regarded as the refuse and offscouring of all things. - Prof. Bush. The Greek renders this, âAnd your houses shall be plundered;â the Vulgate, âAnd your houses shall be confiscated.â But these renderings are entirely arbitrary. This may seem to be a harsh punishment which was threatened, and some may, perhaps, be disposed to say that it is improbable that a monarch would allow himself to use such intemperate language, and to make use of so severe a threatening, especially when the magicians had as yet shown no inability to interpret the dream, and had given no reasons to apprehend that they would be unable to do it. But we are to remember
(1) the cruel and arbitrary character of the king (see the references above);
(2) the nature of an Oriental despotism, in which a monarch is acccustomed to require all his commands to be obeyed, and his wishes gratified promptly, on pain of death;
(3) the fact that his mind was greatly excited by the dream; and
(4) that he was certain that something portentous to his kingdom had been prefigured by the dream, and that this was a case in which all the force of threatening, and all the prospect of splendid reward, should be used, that they might be induced to tax their powers to the utmost, and allay the tumults of his mind.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Daniel 2:5. Ye shall be cut in pieces — This was arbitrary and tyrannical in the extreme; but, in the order of God's providence, it was overruled to serve the most important purpose.
