Daniel 2:4

Then the astrologers answered the king in Aramaic, “O king, may you live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation.”

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The Chaldeans address King Nebuchadnezzar in Aramaic immediately after he voices his anxiety over a dream he cannot recall.

The words — וַיְדַבְּרוּ (va.y.da.be.ru) means "and they spoke," and אֱמַר ('e.mar) means "tell!" The phrase מַלְכָּא לְעָלְמִין חֱיִי (mal.ka' le.'al.min che.yi) literally renders "O king, live forever!"

The thread — The royal blessing "O king, may you live forever!" appears in Daniel 3:9 and Daniel 5:10. The use of Aramaic for court proceedings mirrors the official letter-writing recorded in Ezra 4:7.

Why it lands — The verse records a procedural demand that the king state the dream before the interpreters can offer any meaning. It requires the reader to note how court protocol dictated the sequence of revelation and royal command.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

וַֽיְדַבְּר֧וּva/y.da.be.Ruand/ they spoke הַכַּשְׂדִּ֛יםha./kas.Dimthe/ Chaldeans לַמֶּ֖לֶךְla./Me.lekhto the/ king אֲרָמִ֑ית'a.ra.MitAramaic מַלְכָּא֙mal.Ka/'king/ O לְעָלְמִ֣יןle./'al.Minfor/ ever חֱיִ֔יche.Yilive!אֱמַ֥ר'e.Martell!חֶלְמָ֛אchel.Ma/'dream/ the לְעַבְדָ֖ךְle./'av.da.yi/khto/ servant/ your וּפִשְׁרָ֥אu./fish.Ra/'and/ interpretation/ the נְחַוֵּֽא׃ne.cha.Ve'we will declare

King James Version

Then spake the Chaldeans to the king in Syriack, O king, live for ever: tell thy servants the dream, and we will shew the interpretation.

Cross-references

Ezra 4:7 And in the days of Artaxerxes king of Persia, Bishlam, Mithredath, Tabeel, and the rest of his associates wrote a letter to Artaxerxes. It was written in Aramaic and then translated.
Daniel 3:9 saying to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, may you live forever!
Daniel 5:10 Hearing the outcry of the king and his nobles, the queen entered the banquet hall. “O king, may you live forever!” she said. “Do not let your thoughts terrify you, or your face grow pale.
Isaiah 36:11 Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, since we understand it. Do not speak to us in Hebrew in the hearing of the people on the wall.”
1 Kings 1:31 Bathsheba bowed facedown in homage to the king and said, “May my lord King David live forever!”
Daniel 6:6 So the administrators and satraps went together to the king and said, “O King Darius, may you live forever!
Daniel 6:21 Then Daniel replied, “O king, may you live forever!
Genesis 31:47 Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha, and Jacob called it Galeed.
Genesis 41:8 In the morning his spirit was troubled, so he summoned all the magicians and wise men of Egypt. Pharaoh told them his dreams, but no one could interpret them for him.
1 Samuel 10:24 Samuel said to all the people, “Do you see the one the LORD has chosen? There is no one like him among all the people.” And all the people shouted, “Long live the king!”