Jeremiah 10:7

10:7 Everyone should revere you, O King of all nations,¹

because you deserve to be revered.²

For there is no one like you

among any of the wise people of the nations nor among any of their kings.³

Daniel 2:2

2:2 The king issued an order⁴ to summon the magicians, astrologers, sorcerers, and wise men⁵ in order to explain his dreams to him.⁶ So they came and awaited the king’s instructions.⁷

Daniel 2:12

2:12 Because of this the king got furiously angry⁸ and gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.

Daniel 2:27

2:27 Daniel replied to the king, “The mystery that the king is asking about is such that no wise men, astrologers, magicians, or diviners can possibly disclose it to the king.

Daniel 4:6-7

4:6 So I issued an order⁹ for all the wise men of Babylon to be brought¹⁰ before me so that they could make known to me the interpretation of the dream. 4:7 When the magicians, astrologers, wise men, and diviners entered, I recounted the dream for them. But they were unable to make known its interpretation to me.

Daniel 5:7

5:7 The king called out loudly¹¹ to summon¹² the astrologers, wise men, and diviners. The king proclaimed¹³ to the wise men of Babylon that anyone who could read this inscription and disclose its interpretation would be clothed in purple¹⁴ and have a golden collar¹⁵ placed on his neck and be third ruler in the kingdom.

Matthew 2:1

The Visit of the Wise Men

2:1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem¹⁶ in Judea, in the time¹⁷ of King Herod,¹⁸ wise men¹⁹ from the East came to Jerusalem²⁰

¹tn Heb “Who should not revere you…?” The question is rhetorical and expects a negative answer.

²tn Heb “For it is fitting to you.”

³tn Heb “their royalty/dominion.” This is a case of substitution of the abstract for the concrete “royalty, royal power” for “kings” who exercise it.

⁴tn Heb “said.” So also in v. 12.

⁵tn 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.

⁶tn Heb “to explain to the king his dreams.”

⁷tn Heb “stood before the king.”

⁸tn Aram “was angry and very furious.” The expression is a hendiadys (two words or phrases expressing a single idea).

⁹tn Aram “from me there was placed a decree.”

¹⁰tn The Aramaic infinitive here is active.

¹¹tn Aram “in strength.”

¹²tn Aram “cause to enter.”

¹³tn Aram “answered and said.”

¹⁴sn Purple was a color associated with royalty in the ancient world.

¹⁵tn 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).

¹⁶map For location see Map5-B1; Map7-E2; Map8-E2; Map10-B4.

¹⁷tn Grk “in the days.”

¹⁸sn King Herod was Herod the Great, who ruled Palestine from 37 b.c. until he died in 4 b.c. He was known for his extensive building projects (including the temple in Jerusalem) and for his cruelty.

¹⁹sn The Greek term magi here describes a class of wise men and priests who were astrologers (L&N 32.40).

²⁰map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.