Daniel 2:2

2:2 The king issued an order ¹  to summon the magicians, astrologers, sorcerers, and wise men ²  in order to explain his dreams to him. ³  So they came and awaited the king’s instructions. ⁴ 

Daniel 2:10-11

2:10 The wise men replied to the king, “There is no man on earth who is able to disclose the king’s secret, ⁵  for no king, regardless of his position and power, has ever requested such a thing from any magician, astrologer, or wise man. 2:11 What the king is asking is too difficult, and no one exists who can disclose it to the king, except for the gods – but they don’t live among mortals!” ⁶ 

Daniel 5:7-8

5:7 The king called out loudly ⁷  to summon ⁸  the astrologers, wise men, and diviners. The king proclaimed ⁹  to the wise men of Babylon that anyone who could read this inscription and disclose its interpretation would be clothed in purple ¹⁰  and have a golden collar ¹¹  placed on his neck and be third ruler in the kingdom.

5:8 So all the king’s wise men came in, but they were unable to read the writing or to make known its ¹²  interpretation to the king.

Ayub 5:12-13

5:12 He frustrates ¹³  the plans ¹⁴  of the crafty ¹⁵ 

so that ¹⁶  their hands cannot accomplish

what they had planned! ¹⁷ 

5:13 He catches ¹⁸  the wise in their own craftiness, ¹⁹ 

and the counsel of the cunning ²⁰  is brought to a quick end. ²¹ 

Yesaya 19:3

19:3 The Egyptians will panic, ²² 

and I will confuse their strategy. ²³ 

They will seek guidance from the idols and from the spirits of the dead,

from the pits used to conjure up underworld spirits, and from the magicians. ²⁴ 

Yesaya 44:25

44:25 who frustrates the omens of the empty talkers ²⁵ 

and humiliates ²⁶  the omen readers,

who overturns the counsel of the wise men ²⁷ 

and makes their advice ²⁸  seem foolish,

Yesaya 47:12-14

47:12 Persist ²⁹  in trusting ³⁰  your amulets

and your many incantations,

which you have faithfully recited ³¹  since your youth!

Maybe you will be successful ³²  –

maybe you will scare away disaster. ³³ 

47:13 You are tired out from listening to so much advice. ³⁴ 

Let them take their stand –

the ones who see omens in the sky,

who gaze at the stars,

who make monthly predictions –

let them rescue you from the disaster that is about to overtake you! ³⁵ 

47:14 Look, they are like straw,

which the fire burns up;

they cannot rescue themselves

from the heat ³⁶  of the flames.

There are no coals to warm them,

no firelight to enjoy. ³⁷ 

[2:2]  ¹ tn Heb “said.” So also in v. 12.

[2:2]  ² tn Heb “Chaldeans.” The term Chaldeans (Hebrew כַּשְׂדִּים, kasdim) is used in the book of Daniel both in an ethnic sense and, as here, to refer to a caste of Babylonian wise men and astrologers.

[2:2]  ³ tn Heb “to explain to the king his dreams.”

[2:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “stood before the king.”

[2:10]  ⁵ tn Aram “matter, thing.”

[2:11]  ⁶ tn Aram “whose dwelling is not with flesh.”

[5:7]  ⁷ tn Aram “in strength.”

[5:7]  ⁸ tn Aram “cause to enter.”

[5:7]  ⁹ tn Aram “answered and said.”

[5:7]  ¹⁰ sn Purple was a color associated with royalty in the ancient world.

[5:7]  ¹¹ tn The term translated “golden collar” here probably refers to something more substantial than merely a gold chain (cf. NIV, NCV, NRSV, NLT) or necklace (cf. NASB).

[5:8]  ¹² tc Read וּפִשְׁרֵהּ (ufishreh) with the Qere rather than וּפִשְׁרָא (ufishra’) of the Kethib.

[5:12]  ¹³ tn The Hiphil form מֵפֵר (mefer) is the participle from פָּרַר (parar, “to annul; to frustrate; to break”). It continues the doxological descriptions of God; but because of the numerous verses in this section, it may be clearer to start a new sentence with this form (rather than translating it “who…”).

[5:12]  ¹⁴ tn The word is related to the verb “to think; to plan; to devise,” and so can mean “thoughts; plans; imagination.” Here it refers to the plan of the crafty that must be frustrated (see also Isa 44:25 for the contrast).

[5:12]  ¹⁵ tn The word עֲרוּמִים (’arumim) means “crafty” or “shrewd.” It describes the shrewdness of some to achieve their ends (see Gen 3:1, where the serpent is more cunning than all the creatures, that is, he knows where the dangers are and will attempt to bring down the innocent). In the next verse it describes the clever plans of the wise – those who are wise in their own sight.

[5:12]  ¹⁶ tn The consecutive clause showing result or purpose is simply introduced with the vav and the imperfect/jussive (see GKC 504-5 §166.a).

[5:12]  ¹⁷ tn The word תּוּשִׁיָּה (tushiyyah) is a technical word from wisdom literature. It has either the idea of the faculty of foresight, or of prudence in general (see 12:6; 26:3). It can be parallel in the texts to “wisdom,” “counsel,” “help,” or “strength.” Here it refers to what has been planned ahead of time.

[5:13]  ¹⁸ tn The participles continue the description of God. Here he captures or ensnares the wise in their wickedly clever plans. See also Ps 7:16, where the wicked are caught in the pit they have dug – they are only wise in their own eyes.

[5:13]  ¹⁹ sn This is the only quotation from the Book of Job in the NT (although Rom 11:35 seems to reflect 41:11, and Phil 1:19 is similar to 13:6). Paul cites it in 1 Cor 3:19.

[5:13]  ²⁰ tn The etymology of נִפְתָּלִים (niftalim) suggests a meaning of “twisted” (see Prov 8:8) in the sense of tortuous. See Gen 30:8; Ps 18:26 [27].

[5:13]  ²¹ tn The Niphal of מָהַר (mahar) means “to be hasty; to be irresponsible.” The meaning in the line may be understood in this sense: The counsel of the wily is hastened, that is, precipitated before it is ripe, i.e., frustrated (A. B. Davidson, Job, 39).

[19:3]  ²² tn Heb “and the spirit of Egypt will be laid waste in its midst.”

[19:3]  ²³ tn The verb בָּלַע (bala’, “confuse”) is a homonym of the more common בָּלַע (bala’, “swallow”); see HALOT 135 s.v. I בלע.

[19:3]  ²⁴ tn Heb “they will inquire of the idols and of the spirits of the dead and of the ritual pits and of the magicians.” Hebrew אוֹב (’ov, “ritual pit”) refers to a pit used by a magician to conjure up underworld spirits. See the note on “incantations” in 8:19.

[44:25]  ²⁵ tc The Hebrew text has בַּדִּים (baddim), perhaps meaning “empty talkers” (BDB 95 s.v. III בַּד). In the four other occurrences of this word (Job 11:3; Isa 16:6; Jer 48:30; 50:36) the context does not make the meaning of the term very clear. Its primary point appears to be that the words spoken are meaningless or false. In light of its parallelism with “omen readers,” some have proposed an emendation to בָּרִים (barim, “seers”). The Mesopotamian baru-priests were divination specialists who played an important role in court life. See R. Wilson, Prophecy and Society in Ancient Israel, 93-98. Rather than supporting an emendation, J. N. Oswalt (Isaiah [NICOT], 2:189, n. 79) suggests that Isaiah used בַּדִּים purposively as a derisive wordplay on the Akkadian word baru (in light of the close similarity of the d and r consonants).

[44:25]  ²⁶ tn Or “makes fools of” (NIV, NRSV); NAB and NASB both similar.

[44:25]  ²⁷ tn Heb “who turns back the wise” (so NRSV); NIV “overthrows the learning of the wise”; TEV “The words of the wise I refute.”

[44:25]  ²⁸ tn Heb “their knowledge” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV).

[47:12]  ²⁹ tn Heb “stand” (so KJV, ASV); NASB, NRSV “Stand fast.”

[47:12]  ³⁰ tn The word “trusting” is supplied in the translation for clarification. See v. 9.

[47:12]  ³¹ tn Heb “in that which you have toiled.”

[47:12]  ³² tn Heb “maybe you will be able to profit.”

[47:12]  ³³ tn Heb “maybe you will cause to tremble.” The object “disaster” is supplied in the translation for clarification. See the note at v. 9.

[47:13]  ³⁴ tn Heb “you are tired because of the abundance of your advice.”

[47:13]  ³⁵ tn Heb “let them stand and rescue you – the ones who see omens in the sky, who gaze at the stars, who make known by months – from those things which are coming upon you.”

[47:14]  ³⁶ tn Heb “hand,” here a metaphor for the strength or power of the flames.

[47:14]  ³⁷ tn The Hebrew text reads literally, “there is no coal [for?] their food, light to sit before it.” Some emend לַחְמָם (lakhmam, “their food”) to לְחֻמָּם (lÿkhummam, “to warm them”; see HALOT 328 s.v. חמם). This statement may allude to Isa 44:16, where idolaters are depicted warming themselves over a fire made from wood, part of which was used to form idols. The fire of divine judgment will be no such campfire; its flames will devour and destroy.