2:10 The wise men replied to the king, “There is no man on earth who is able to disclose the king’s secret, 4 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!” 5
2:12 Because of this the king got furiously angry 6 and gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. 2:13 So a decree went out, and the wise men were about 7 to be executed. They also sought 8 Daniel and his friends so that they could be executed.
1 tn Aram “one is your law,” i.e., only one thing is applicable to you.
2 tn Aram “a lying and corrupt word.”
3 tn Aram “I will know.”
4 tn Aram “matter, thing.”
5 tn Aram “whose dwelling is not with flesh.”
6 tn Aram “was angry and very furious.” The expression is a hendiadys (two words or phrases expressing a single idea).
7 tn The Aramaic participle is used here to express the imminent future.
8 tn The impersonal active plural (“they sought”) of the Aramaic verb could also be translated as an English passive: “Daniel and his friends were sought” (cf. NAB).