Daniel 2:24
King James Version (1769)
Other translations
| Verse | KJV | BSB | ASV |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24 | Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had ordained to destroy the wise men of Babylon: he went and said thus unto him; Destroy not the wise men of Babylon: bring me in before the king, and I will shew unto the king the interpretation. | Therefore Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon, and said to him, “Do not execute the wise men of Babylon! Bring me before the king, and I will give him the interpretation.” | Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon; he went and said thus unto him: Destroy not the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will show unto the king the interpretation. |
In context
AI-assisted, sourcedAfter God showed Daniel the king's dream in a night vision, Daniel went straight to Arioch, the officer ordered to kill Babylon's wise men. He asked him to stop the killings and bring him to the king, promising to give the interpretation. Daniel 2:19Daniel 2:23Daniel 2:24Daniel 2:12Daniel 2:14
SpeakingDaniel speaks to Arioch. He was one of the young men of Judah taken to Babylon, where he was named Belteshazzar. Daniel 2:24Daniel overviewStrong's H1841H
ToArioch, captain of the king's guard, whom King Nebuchadnezzar had appointed to kill the wise men. Daniel 2:14Daniel 2:24Strong's H0746B
Also involvedAll the wise men of Babylon were under the death decree, including Daniel and his friends Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. The king is also involved, since Daniel offers to tell him the interpretation. Daniel 2:12Daniel 2:13Daniel 2:17Daniel 2:18Daniel 2:24
Daniel acts on what God revealed. He asks that the execution stop and that he be taken to the king to explain the dream. Arioch then quickly brings him in. Daniel 2:19Daniel 2:24Daniel 2:25
In Babylon, at the court of King Nebuchadnezzar, a city on the Euphrates. This part of Daniel is written in Aramaic, the common language of the empire. Strong's H0895Babylon 1Daniel overviewDaniel 2:24
The eventsThese events happen in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, right after God answered the prayer of Daniel and his friends. Daniel 2:1Daniel 2:18Daniel 2:19
WrittenTraditional view: Daniel wrote the book in the 500s BC. Scholarly view: many critical scholars date its final form to about 167-164 BC, though others hold to the 500s BC date. Daniel overview
HereThe verse shows Daniel moving from prayer and praise to action. He uses what God gave him to save lives, even the lives of the other wise men of Babylon, who could not show the king his dream. Daniel 2:18Daniel 2:23Daniel 2:24Daniel 2:27
In the whole of ScriptureThe chapter shows that only God can reveal such secrets. The wise men admitted no man could do it, and Daniel tells the king that "there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets." It also shows that God rules over kings and kingdoms. Daniel 2:10Daniel 2:11Daniel 2:22Daniel 2:28Daniel overview
For readersDaniel shows how to stay faithful under foreign rulers: he prayed with his friends, thanked God, and then acted boldly for the good of others. Compare Acts 27:24, where Paul is told, "thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee." Daniel 2:17Daniel 2:18Daniel 2:23Daniel 2:24Daniel overviewActs 27:24
- interpretationפְּשַׁר
This word means the interpretation of a dream. It runs through the chapter: the wise men could offer it only if told the dream, but Daniel will give both the dream and its meaning. Strong's H6591Daniel 2:4Daniel 2:5Daniel 2:7Daniel 2:36Daniel 2:45
- destroyאֲבַד
The word means to perish or, in this form, to destroy. Daniel repeats the king's own order to destroy the wise men and asks Arioch not to carry it out. Strong's H0007Daniel 2:12Daniel 2:24
- shewחֲוָה
The word means to show, interpret, explain, or declare. Daniel promises to declare to the king what the king's wise men could not show. Strong's H2324Daniel 2:10Daniel 2:24Daniel 2:27
Takeaway
Daniel received God's answer and used it at once to save others' lives and to point the king to God. He did not keep the gift for himself, and he later said plainly that the secret came from God, not from his own wisdom. Daniel 2:24Daniel 2:28Daniel 2:30
Drafted by AI from the Scripture and data shown under “Show sources,” then checked automatically and by a second AI pass. Updated 2026-10-28.
The world around the text
About 605-536 BC. King of Babylon: Nebuchadnezzar (605-562 BC). Where Daniel lived and served for about seventy years. The capital of the Babylonian empire, on the Euphrates south of modern Baghdad, in the land the Bible calls Shinar and Chaldea.
Who ruled
- King of BabylonNebuchadnezzar605-562 BC
The king who besieged Jerusalem, carried Daniel and the temple vessels to Babylon, and later destroyed the city and temple. His own building inscriptions boast of the Babylon he built. Daniel 1:1-22 Kings 24:12 Kings 25:8-10Jeremiah 25:1Babylonian Chronicles (ABC 5)
- Last king of Babylon, and his son who ruled in his placeNabonidus and Belshazzar556-539 BC
Nabonidus spent about ten years at the oasis of Tema in Arabia and left his son Belshazzar to rule in Babylon. That is why Belshazzar could only offer Daniel the place of "third ruler in the kingdom": he was himself second. Daniel 5:1Daniel 5:7Daniel 5:29Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7)Verse Account of Nabonidus
- Received the kingdom after Babylon fellDarius the MedianFrom 539 BC
Daniel says he "took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old" and set 120 princes over it. Records outside the Bible do not name him; he has been identified with Gubaru, the governor Cyrus set over Babylon, or with Cyrus himself. Daniel 5:31Daniel 6:1Daniel 9:1Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7)
- King of PersiaCyrus559-530 BC
He united the Medes and Persians, took Babylon in 539 BC, and let the exiles go home to rebuild the temple, as Isaiah had named him beforehand. Daniel 1:21Daniel 6:28Daniel 10:1Ezra 1:1-4Isaiah 44:28-45:1Cyrus Cylinder
- King of JudahJehoiakim609-598 BC
Judah's king when Daniel was taken. Jeremiah warned him and his people that the land would serve Babylon seventy years. Daniel 1:1-22 Kings 23:36-24:6Jeremiah 25:1-11
What was happening, 612 BC to 167 BC
- 612 BCWarNineveh falls
Babylon and the Medes destroyed Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, as Nahum and Zephaniah had foretold. Babylon became the great power of the region. Nahum 3:7Zephaniah 2:13Fall of Nineveh Chronicle (ABC 3)
- 605 BCWarBattle of Carchemish
Nebuchadnezzar defeated Pharaoh Necho of Egypt at Carchemish on the Euphrates, in Jehoiakim's fourth year. The same year he came against Jerusalem and took the first captives, Daniel among them. Jeremiah 46:2Daniel 1:1-4Babylonian Chronicles (ABC 5)
- 597 BCWarJerusalem surrenders
Nebuchadnezzar took King Jehoiachin, his nobles and craftsmen to Babylon. The prophet Ezekiel went into exile with them. 2 Kings 24:10-17Ezekiel 1:2Babylonian Chronicles (ABC 5)
- 586 BCWarJerusalem and the temple destroyed
Babylon's army burned the temple and the city and broke down its walls. Daniel later prays over "the desolations of Jerusalem" and asks God to shine on his "sanctuary that is desolate." 2 Kings 25:8-10Jeremiah 52:12-14Daniel 9:2Daniel 9:17
- c. 575 BCBuildingBabylon rebuilt in splendor
Nebuchadnezzar rebuilt Babylon with great walls, palaces and the blue-glazed Ishtar Gate, and his inscriptions praise his own work. Compare his boast: "Is not this great Babylon, that I have built?" Daniel 4:30Nebuchadnezzar's East India House InscriptionHerodotus, Histories 1.178-183
- 562 BCRulersNebuchadnezzar dies
His son Evil-merodach became king and released Jehoiachin of Judah from prison. 2 Kings 25:27-30Jeremiah 52:31-34
- c. 553-543 BCRulersNabonidus leaves Babylon to Belshazzar
King Nabonidus stayed at Tema in Arabia for about ten years, and the yearly New Year festival in Babylon was not held. Belshazzar governed in Babylon. Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7)Daniel 5:1Daniel 7:1
- 550 BCWarCyrus unites the Medes and Persians
Cyrus of Persia defeated Astyages king of the Medes, joining the two peoples in one kingdom. Daniel's vision names the ram's two horns as "the kings of Media and Persia," the higher coming up last. Daniel 8:3Daniel 8:20Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7)Herodotus, Histories 1.127-130
- October 539 BCWarBabylon falls to Cyrus
Cyrus's army entered Babylon without a long siege. Herodotus says the people were feasting when the city was taken. Daniel records that "in that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain." Daniel 5:30-31Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7)Herodotus, Histories 1.191Cyrus Cylinder
- 538 BCGod's peopleCyrus lets the exiles return
In his first year over Babylon, Cyrus proclaimed that the Jews could go back and build the LORD's house in Jerusalem. Daniel "continued even unto the first year of king Cyrus." Ezra 1:1-42 Chronicles 36:22-23Daniel 1:21Cyrus Cylinder
- c. 536 BCGod's peopleThe temple's foundation is laid
The returned exiles rebuilt the altar and laid the foundation of the temple. In the third year of Cyrus, Daniel was still in the east, mourning and praying. Ezra 3:1-11Daniel 10:1-3
- 334-331 BCWarAlexander the Great conquers Persia
Alexander of Macedon crossed into Asia and overthrew the Persian empire within four years. Daniel 8:21 names the rough goat as "the king of Grecia" and its great horn as "the first king." Daniel 8:5-8Daniel 8:21Arrian, Anabasis of Alexander 1-3
- 323-301 BCWarAlexander's empire is divided
Alexander died young, and after twenty years of war his generals divided his empire, chiefly into four kingdoms. Daniel 8:22 says "four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power." Daniel 8:8Daniel 8:22Daniel 11:4Diodorus Siculus, Library 18-20Plutarch, Demetrius 28-30
- 167 BCWarAntiochus IV defiles the temple
The Greek king Antiochus IV banned Jewish worship and set up a pagan altar on the altar of burnt offering. 1 Maccabees calls it "the abomination of desolation." Two centuries later Jesus spoke of "the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet" as still to come. 1 Maccabees 1:54-59Josephus, Antiquities 12.5.4Matthew 24:15
The full picture: places, culture and daily life. Scripture first, then ancient records of these years (the Babylonian Chronicles, the Cyrus Cylinder, Nebuchadnezzar's inscriptions) and ancient writers (Herodotus, Arrian, Diodorus, Josephus). Drafted by Claude and not yet reviewed by a person.
Where
- Babylon 1 settlementMapAbout this place
Locations from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Some ancient sites are uncertain.
Original Aramaic words
This passage was written in Aramaic, the common language of the Babylonian and Persian empires, which the Jews of the exile also spoke. It uses the same alphabet as Hebrew.
| English | Aramaic | Say it | Strong's | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| because | קֳבֵ֣ל | ko-VEL | H6903H | beforeקֳבֵל (qe.vel) subst 1) front prep 2) in front of, before, because of, in view of, by reason of, because of this, therefore conj 3) because that, inasmuch as, although, according as, before adv 4) accordingly, then |
| this | דְּנָ֗ה | de-NAH | H1836 | thisדְּנָה (de.nah) demons pron 1) this, on account of this adv 2) therefore |
| Daniel | דָּֽנִיֵּאל֙ | da-ni-yeL | H1841H | Danielדָּנִיֵּאל, דָּנִאֵל (da.niy.yel) A man living at the time of Exile and Return, first mentioned at Ezr.8.2 § Daniel = "God is my judge" 1) the 4th of the greater prophets, taken as hostage in the first deportation to Babylon, because of the gift of God of the interpretation of dreams, he became the 2nd in command of the Babylon empire and lasted through the end of the Babylonian empire and into the Persian empire. His prophecies are the key to the understanding of end time events. Noted for his purity and holiness by contemporary prophet, Ezekiel 1a) also, 'Belteshazzar' (H01095 or H01096) |
| he went in | עַ֣ל | 'al | H5954 | to comeעֲלַל (a.lal) 1) to thrust in, go in, come in 1a) (P'al) to go in, come in 1b) (Aphel) to bring in 1c) (Hophal) to be brought in |
| to | עַל־ | 'al- | H5922 | sinceעַל (al) 1) upon, over, on account of, above, to, against 1a) upon, over, on account of, regarding, concerning, on behalf of 1b) over (with verbs of ruling) 1c) above, beyond (in comparison) 1d) to, against (of direction) |
| Arioch | אַרְי֔וֹךְ | 'ar-YOKH | H0746B | Ariochאֲרְיוֹךְ (a.re.yokh) A man living at the time of Exile and Return, first mentioned at Dan.2.14 § Arioch = "lion-like" the chief of the executioners for Nebuchadnezzar |
| whom | דִּ֚י | di | H1768 | thatדִּי (di) part of relation 1) who, which, that mark of genitive 2) that of, which belongs to, that conj 3) that, because |
| he had appointed | מַנִּ֣י | ma-NI | H4483 | to reckon/appointמְנָה (me.nah) 1) to number, reckon 1a) (P'al) to number 1b) (Pael) to appoint |
| king the | מַלְכָּ֔א | mal-KA' | H4430 | kingמֶ֫לֶךְ (me.lekh) king Aramaic of me.lekh (מֶ֫לֶךְ "king" H4428) § 1) king |
| to destroy | לְהוֹבָדָ֖ה | le-hoa-DAH | H0007 | to destroyאֲבַד (a.vad) 1) to perish, vanish 1a) (P'al) shall perish 1b) (Aphel) destroy 1c) (Hophal) be destroyed |
| obj. [the] wise men of | לְחַכִּימֵ֣י | le-cha-ki-MEI | H2445 | wiseחַכִּים (chak.kim) wise man, wise |
| Babylon | בָבֶ֑ל | va-VEL | H0895 | Babylonבָּבֶ֫ל, בָּבֶל (ba.vel) Aramaic of ba.vel (בָּבֶ֫ל, בָּבֶל "Babylon" H0894) § Babel or Babylon = "confusion (by mixing)" Babel or Babylon, the ancient site and/or capital of Babylonia (modern Hillah) situated on the Euphrates |
| he went | אֲזַ֣ל׀ | 'a-ZAL | H0236 | to goאֲזַל (a.zal) 1) to go, to go off 1a) (P'al) to go, go off |
| and as follows | וְכֵ֣ן | ve-KHEN | H3652 | thusכֵּן (ken) thus, so, as follows Aramaic of ken (כֵּן "so" H3651C) |
| he said | אֲמַר־ | 'a-mar- | H0560 | to sayאֲמַר (a.mar) (P'al) to say, to speak, to command, to tell, to relate Aramaic of a.mar (אָמַר "to say" H0559) |
| obj. [the] wise men of | לְחַכִּימֵ֤י | le-cha-ki-MEI | H2445 | wiseחַכִּים (chak.kim) wise man, wise |
| Babylon | בָבֶל֙ | va-VEL | H0895 | Babylonבָּבֶ֫ל, בָּבֶל (ba.vel) Aramaic of ba.vel (בָּבֶ֫ל, בָּבֶל "Babylon" H0894) § Babel or Babylon = "confusion (by mixing)" Babel or Babylon, the ancient site and/or capital of Babylonia (modern Hillah) situated on the Euphrates |
| may not | אַל־ | 'al- | H0409 | notאַל (al) no, not Aramaic of al (אַל "not" H0408) |
| you destroy | תְּהוֹבֵ֔ד | te-ho-VED | H0007 | to destroyאֲבַד (a.vad) 1) to perish, vanish 1a) (P'al) shall perish 1b) (Aphel) destroy 1c) (Hophal) be destroyed |
| bring in me | הַעֵ֙לְנִי֙ | ha-'E-le-ni | H5954 | to comeעֲלַל (a.lal) 1) to thrust in, go in, come in 1a) (P'al) to go in, come in 1b) (Aphel) to bring in 1c) (Hophal) to be brought in |
| before | קֳדָ֣ם | ko-DAM | H6925 | beforeקֳדָם (qo.dam) 1) before, in front of 1a) before 1b) from before |
| king the | מַלְכָּ֔א | mal-KA' | H4430 | kingמֶ֫לֶךְ (me.lekh) king Aramaic of me.lekh (מֶ֫לֶךְ "king" H4428) § 1) king |
| and interpretation the | וּפִשְׁרָ֖א | u-fish-RA' | H6591 | interpretationפְּשַׁר (pe.shar) interpretation (of dream) Aramaic of pit.ron (פִּתְרוֹן "interpretation" H6623) |
| to king the | לְמַלְכָּ֥א | le-mal-KA' | H4430 | kingמֶ֫לֶךְ (me.lekh) king Aramaic of me.lekh (מֶ֫לֶךְ "king" H4428) § 1) king |
| I will declare | אֲחַוֵּֽא׃ ס | 'a-cha-VE' | H2324 | to showחֲוָה (cha.vah) 1) to show, interpret, explain, inform, tell, declare 1a) (Pael) to show, interpret 1b) (Aphel) to show |
Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.