Daniel 2:8
King James Version (1769)
Other translations
| Verse | KJV | BSB | ASV |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | The king answered and said, I know of certainty that ye would gain the time, because ye see the thing is gone from me. | The king replied, “I know for sure that you are stalling for time, because you see that my word is final. | The king answered and said, I know of a certainty that ye would gain time, because ye see the thing is gone from me. |
In context
AI-assisted, sourcedNebuchadnezzar has demanded that his wise men tell him both his dream and its meaning. Twice they ask him to tell them the dream first. Here the king accuses them of trying to gain time, "because ye see the thing is gone from me." Daniel 2:5Daniel 2:6Daniel 2:7Daniel 2:8
SpeakingNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who had dreamed troubling dreams. Daniel 2:1Daniel 2:8
ToThe Chaldeans and the other wise men he had called: magicians, astrologers and sorcerers. Daniel 2:2Daniel 2:4Daniel 2:7
Also involvedAll the wise men of Babylon, including Daniel and his friends. They were sought to be killed when the king's anger broke out. Daniel 2:12Daniel 2:13
The king says he knows for certain that the wise men are trying to gain time. In the next verse he explains why: he believes they have prepared lying words and hope to wait until the time changes. Only if they can tell the dream will he trust their interpretation. Daniel 2:8Daniel 2:9Strong's H2084Strong's H5732
At the royal court in Babylon, where the king's wise men served. Daniel 2:12Daniel 2:48Daniel overview
The eventsIn the second year of Nebuchadnezzar's reign, early in Daniel's time in Babylon. Daniel 2:1Daniel overview
WrittenTraditional view: written by Daniel in the 500s BC. Scholarly view: many critical scholars date the book's final form to about 167-164 BC, while others hold to the 500s BC date. Daniel overview
HereThe verse shows that the wise men had no real way to know the dream. That sets up their own admission that only the gods could tell it. Then comes Daniel's witness that there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets. Daniel 2:10Daniel 2:11Daniel 2:27Daniel 2:28
In the whole of ScriptureThe chapter contrasts human wisdom with God's. Babylon's experts stall and fail. Daniel prays, and God reveals the secret, for he gives wisdom to the wise and changes the times and the seasons. Daniel 2:18Daniel 2:19Daniel 2:21Daniel 2:22Daniel overview
For readersThe wise men tried to buy time with deceit. Elsewhere Scripture tells believers to walk in wisdom, "redeeming the time" (Colossians 4:5; Ephesians 5:16). Daniel shows the better way: he asked the king openly for time and then turned to God in prayer. Daniel 2:9Daniel 2:16Daniel 2:18Colossians 4:5Ephesians 5:16
- gainזְבַן
The word means "to buy, gain." The king is saying the wise men are trying to buy time, that is, to stall. Strong's H2084Daniel 2:8
- timeעִדָּן
It means time as a span of duration. The wise men hoped to wait "till the time be changed" (2:9). Daniel later praises God as the one who "changeth the times and the seasons" (2:21). Strong's H5732Daniel 2:9Daniel 2:21
- goneאַזְדָּא
The lexicon defines it as "to be gone," and the word list glosses it here as "[is] assured." The same phrase appears in 2:5, "The thing is gone from me." Strong's H0230Daniel 2:5Daniel 2:8
Takeaway
Babylon's wise men could only stall, because no human could tell the king's dream. The chapter goes on to show that the God of heaven alone reveals secrets, and he answered Daniel's prayer. Daniel 2:8Daniel 2:10Daniel 2:11Daniel 2:19Daniel 2:28
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.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [was] replying | עָנֵ֤ה | 'a-NEH | H6032 | to answerעֲנָה (a.nah) 1) to answer, respond 1a) (P'al) 1a1) to answer, make reply 1a2) to respond |
| king the | מַלְכָּא֙ | mal-KA' | H4430 | kingמֶ֫לֶךְ (me.lekh) king Aramaic of me.lekh (מֶ֫לֶךְ "king" H4428) § 1) king |
| and [was] saying | וְאָמַ֔ר | ve-'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) |
| according to | מִן־ | min- | H4481 | fromמִן־ (min) 1) from, out of, by, by reason of, at, more than 1a) from, out of (of place) 1b) from, by, as a result of, by reason of, at, according to, (of source) 1c) from (of time) 1d) beyond, more than (in comparisons) |
| certain | יַצִּיב֙ | ya-TZIV | H3330 | certainיַצִּיב (yats.tsiv) n 1) the truth adv 2) surely, reliably, truly adj 3) reliable, true, certain, sure |
| [am] knowing | יָדַ֣ע | ya-DA' | H3046 | to knowיְדַע (ye.da) 1) to know 1a) (P'al) to know 1b) (Aphel) to let someone know, communicate, inform, cause to know |
| I | אֲנָ֔ה | 'a-NAH | H0576B | meאֲנָה (a.nah) I (first pers. sing. -usually used for emphasis) Aramaic of a.ni (אֲנִי, אָֽנֹכִ֫י "I" H0589) |
| that | דִּ֥י | 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 |
| the time | עִדָּנָ֖א | 'i-da-NA' | H5732 | timeעִדָּן (id.dan) 1) time 1a) time (of duration) 1b) year |
| you | אַנְתּ֣וּן | 'an-TUN | H0608 | youאַנְתּוּן (an.tun) you, thou (second pers. pl.) Aramaic of at.tem (אַתֶּם "you(m.p.)" H0859D) |
| [are] gaining | זָבְנִ֑ין | za-ve-NIN | H2084 | to buyזְבַן (ze.van) 1) to buy, gain 1a) (P'al) gain (participle) |
| because | קֳבֵל֙ | 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 |
| that | דִּ֣י | 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 |
| you have seen | חֲזֵית֔וֹן | cha-zei-TON | H2370 | to seeחֲזָה (cha.zah) 1) to see, behold 1a)(P'al) 1a1) to see 1a2) to see, behold, witness 1a3) to behold (in a dream or vision) 1a4) customary, seemly (passive) |
| that | דִּ֥י | 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 |
| [is] assured | אַזְדָּ֖א | 'az-DA' | H0230 | goneאַזְדָּא (a.zad) (P'al) to be gone Aramaic of a.zal (אָזַל "be gone" H0235) |
| from me | מִנִּ֥י | mi-NI | H4481 | fromמִן־ (min) 1) from, out of, by, by reason of, at, more than 1a) from, out of (of place) 1b) from, by, as a result of, by reason of, at, according to, (of source) 1c) from (of time) 1d) beyond, more than (in comparisons) |
| word the | מִלְּתָֽא׃ | mi-le-TA' | H4406 | wordמִלָּה (mil.lah) 1) word, thing 1a) word, utterance, command 1b) thing, affair, matter |
Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.