Daniel 2:10

2:10 The wise men replied to the king, “There is no man on earth who is able to disclose the king’s secret, ¹  for no king, regardless of his position and power, has ever requested such a thing from any magician, astrologer, or wise man.

Daniel 4:18

4:18 “This is the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, saw. Now you, Belteshazzar, declare its ²  interpretation, for none of the wise men in ³  my kingdom are able to make known to me the interpretation. But you can do so, for a spirit of the holy gods is in you.”

Daniel 6:15

6:15 Then those men came by collusion to the king and ⁴  said to him, ⁵  “Recall, ⁶  O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no edict or decree that the king issues can be changed.”

Daniel 8:4

8:4 I saw that the ram was butting westward, northward, and southward. No animal ⁷  was able to stand before it, and there was none who could deliver from its power. ⁸  It did as it pleased and acted arrogantly. ⁹ 

[2:10]  ¹ tn Aram “matter, thing.”

[4:18]  ² tc The present translation reads פִּשְׁרֵהּ (pishreh, “its interpretation”) with the Qere and many medieval Hebrew MSS; the Kethib is פִּשְׁרָא (pishra’, “the interpretation”); so also v. 16.

[4:18]  ³ tn Aram “of.”

[6:15]  ⁴ tc Theodotion lacks the words “came by collusion to the king and.”

[6:15]  ⁵ tn Aram “the king.”

[6:15]  ⁶ tn Aram “know”; NAB “Keep in mind”; NASB “Recognize”; NIV, NCV “Remember.”

[8:4]  ⁷ tn Or “beast” (NAB).

[8:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “hand.” So also in v. 7.

[8:4]  ⁹ tn In the Hiphil the Hebrew verb גָּדַל (gadal, “to make great; to magnify”) can have either a positive or a negative sense. For the former, used especially of God, see Ps 126:2, 3; Joel 2:21. In this chapter (8:4, 8, 11, 25) the word has a pejorative sense, describing the self-glorification of this king. The sense seems to be that of vainly assuming one’s own superiority through deliberate hubris.