Daniel 1:20

Bible in Basic English (1941)

And in any business needing wisdom and good sense, about which the king put questions to them, he saw that they were ten times better than all the wonder-workers and users of secret arts in all his kingdom.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

וְכֹ֗ל דְּבַר֙ חָכְמַ֣ת בִּינָ֔ה אֲשֶׁר־בִּקֵּ֥שׁ מֵהֶ֖ם הַמֶּ֑לֶךְ וַֽיִּמְצָאֵ֞ם עֶ֣שֶׂר יָד֗וֹת עַ֤ל כָּל־הַֽחַרְטֻמִּים֙ הָֽאַשָּׁפִ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֖ר בְּכָל־מַלְכוּתֽוֹ׃

Transliteration

and-every dəbhar ḥokhmath bînāh ʾăsher-biqqēsh from-them the-melekh wayyimtsāʾēm ten yādhôth above all-the-ḥarṭummîm the-ʾashshāphîm ʾăsher in-all-malkhûthô

Grammar Details

• *dəbhar*: noun masculine singular construct - matter of
• *ḥokhmath*: noun feminine singular construct - wisdom of
• *bînāh*: noun feminine singular - understanding
• *ʾăsher*: relative pronoun - who
• *biqqēsh*: piel perfect, 3rd masculine singular - he sought
• *melekh*: noun masculine singular with definite article - the king
• *wayyimtsāʾēm*: qal imperfect with waw consecutive, 3rd masculine singular + 3rd masculine plural suffix - and he found them
• *yādhôth*: noun feminine plural - hands/times
• *ḥarṭummîm*: noun masculine plural with definite article - the magicians
• *ʾashshāphîm*: noun masculine plural with definite article - the enchanters/astrologers
• *malkhûthô*: noun feminine singular with 3rd masculine singular suffix - his kingdom

Word Meanings

• *dəbhar ḥokhmath bînāh*: matter of wisdom and understanding/question requiring wisdom
• *biqqēsh*: sought/inquired/asked
• *wayyimtsāʾēm*: and he found them/and he discovered them
• *ʿeśer yādhôth*: ten times/tenfold
• *ḥarṭummîm*: magicians/diviners/dream interpreters
• *ʾashshāphîm*: enchanters/astrologers/conjurers
• *malkhûthô*: his kingdom/his realm/his domain

Referenced Verses

• 1 Kgs 4:29-34 : 29 And God gave Solomon a great store of wisdom and good sense, and a mind of wide range, as wide as the sand by the seaside. 30 And Solomon's wisdom was greater than the wisdom of all the people of the East and all the wisdom of Egypt. 31 For he was wiser than all men, even than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman and Calcol and Darda, the sons of Mahol; and he had a great name among all the nations round about. 32 He was the maker of three thousand wise sayings, and of songs to the number of a thousand and five. 33 He made sayings about all plants, from the cedar in Lebanon to the hyssop hanging on the wall; and about all beasts and birds and fishes and the small things of the earth. 34 People came from every nation to give ear to the wisdom of Solomon, from all the kings of the earth who had word of his wisdom.
• Gen 31:7 : 7 But your father has not kept faith with me, and ten times he has made changes in my payment; but God has kept him from doing me damage.
• Gen 41:8 : 8 And in the morning his spirit was troubled; and he sent for all the wise men of Egypt and all the holy men, and put his dream before them, but no one was able to give him the sense of it.
• Exod 7:22 : 22 And the wonder-workers of Egypt did the same with their secret arts: but Pharaoh's heart was made hard, and he would not give ear to them, as the Lord had said.
• Exod 8:7 : 7 And the wonder-workers did the same with their secret arts, making frogs come up over the land of Egypt.
• Exod 8:19 : 19 Then the wonder-workers said to Pharaoh, This is the finger of God: but Pharaoh's heart was hard, and he did not give ear to them, as the Lord had said.
• Num 14:22 : 22 Because all these men, having seen my glory and the signs which I have done in Egypt and in the waste land, still have put me to the test ten times, and have not given ear to my voice;
• 1 Kgs 10:23-24 : 23 And King Solomon was greater than all the kings of the earth in wealth and in wisdom. 24 And from all over the earth they came to see Solomon and to give ear to his wisdom, which God had put in his heart.
• Neh 4:12 : 12 And it came about that when the Jews who were living near them came, they said to us ten times, From all directions they are coming against us.
• Job 19:3 : 3 Ten times now you have made sport of me; it gives you no sense of shame to do me wrong.
• Dan 2:13 : 13 So the order went out that the wise men were to be put to death; and they were looking for Daniel and his friends to put them to death.
• Isa 19:3 : 3 And the spirit of Egypt will be troubled in her, and I will make her decisions without effect: and they will be turning to the false gods, and to those who make hollow sounds, and to those who have control of spirits, and to those who are wise in secret arts.
• Isa 47:12-14 : 12 Go on now with your secret arts, and all your wonder-working, to which you have given yourself up from your earliest days; it may be that they will be of profit to you, or by them you may put fear into your attackers. 13 But your mind is troubled by the number of your guides: let them now come forward for your salvation: the measurers of the heavens, the watchers of the stars, and those who are able to say from month to month what things are coming on you. 14 Truly, they have become like dry stems, they have been burned in the fire; they are not able to keep themselves safe from the power of the flame: it is not a coal for warming them, or a fire by which a man may be seated.
• Dan 2:2-9 : 2 Then the king gave orders that the wonder-workers, and the users of secret arts, and those who made use of evil powers, and the Chaldaeans, were to be sent for to make clear to the king his dreams. So they came and took their places before the king. 3 And the king said to them, I have had a dream, and my spirit is troubled by the desire to have the dream made clear to me. 4 Then the Chaldaeans said to the king in the Aramaean language, O King, have life for ever: give your servants an account of your dream, and we will make clear to you the sense of it. 5 The king made answer and said to the Chaldaeans, This is my decision: if you do not make clear to me the dream and the sense of it, you will be cut in bits and your houses made waste. 6 But if you make clear the dream and the sense of it, you will have from me offerings and rewards and great honour: so make clear to me the dream and the sense of it. 7 A second time they said in answer, Let the king give his servants an account of his dream, and we will make clear the sense. 8 The king made answer and said, I am certain that you are attempting to get more time, because you see that my decision is fixed; 9 That if you do not make my dream clear to me there is only one fate for you: for you have made ready false and evil words to say before me till the times are changed: so give me an account of the dream, and I will be certain that you are able to make the sense of it clear. 10 Then the Chaldaeans said to the king in answer, There is not a man on earth able to make clear the king's business; for no king, however great his power, has ever made such a request to any wonder-worker or user of secret arts or Chaldaean. 11 The king's request is a very hard one, and there is no other who is able to make it clear to the king, but the gods, whose living-place is not with flesh.
• Dan 2:21 : 21 By him times and years are changed: by him kings are taken away and kings are lifted up: he gives wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to those whose minds are awake:
• Dan 2:27-28 : 27 Then Daniel said in answer to the king, No wise men, or users of secret arts, or wonder-workers, or readers of signs, are able to make clear to the king the secret he is searching for; 28 But there is a God in heaven, the unveiler of secrets, and he has given to King Nebuchadnezzar knowledge of what will take place in the last days. Your dreams and the visions of your head on your bed are these:
• Dan 4:7-9 : 7 Then the wonder-workers, the users of secret arts, the Chaldaeans, and the readers of signs came in to me: and I put the dream before them but they did not make clear the sense of it to me. 8 But at last Daniel came in before me, he whose name was Belteshazzar, after the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods: and I put the dream before him, saying, 9 O Belteshazzar, master of the wonder-workers, because I am certain that the spirit of the holy gods is in you, and you are troubled by no secret; this is the dream which I saw: make clear to me its sense. 10 On my bed I saw a vision: there was a tree in the middle of the earth, and it was very high. 11 And the tree became tall and strong, stretching up to heaven, and to be seen from the ends of the earth: 12 Its leaves were fair and it had much fruit, and in it was food enough for all: the beasts of the field had shade under it, and the birds of heaven were resting in its branches, and it gave food to all living things. 13 In the visions of my head on my bed I saw a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven, 14 Crying out with a loud voice; and this is what he said: Let the tree be cut down and its branches broken off; let its leaves be taken off and its fruit sent in every direction: let the beasts get away from under it and the birds from its branches: 15 But keep its broken end and its roots still in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass; let him have the young grass of the field for food, and let him be wet with the dew of heaven, and let his part be with the beasts. 16 Let his heart be changed from that of a man, and the heart of a beast be given to him; and let seven times go by him. 17 This order is fixed by the watchers, and the decision is by the word of the holy ones: so that the living may be certain that the Most High is ruler over the kingdom of men, and gives it to any man at his pleasure, lifting up over it the lowest of men. 18 This dream I, King Nebuchadnezzar, saw; and do you, O Belteshazzar, make clear the sense of it, for all the wise men of my kingdom are unable to make the sense of it clear to me; but you are able, for the spirit of the holy gods is in you.
• Dan 5:7-8 : 7 The king, crying out with a loud voice, said that the users of secret arts, the Chaldaeans, and the readers of signs, were to be sent for. The king made answer and said to the wise men of Babylon, Whoever is able to make out this writing, and make clear to me the sense of it, will be clothed in purple and have a chain of gold round his neck, and will be a ruler of high authority in the kingdom. 8 Then all the king's wise men came in: but they were not able to make out the writing or give the sense of it to the king.
• Dan 5:17 : 17 Then Daniel made answer and said to the king, Keep your offerings for yourself, and give your rewards to another; but I, after reading the writing to the king, will give him the sense of it.
• 2 Tim 3:8-9 : 8 And as James and Jambres went against Moses, so do these go against what is true: men of evil minds, who, tested by faith, are seen to be false. 9 But they will go no farther: for their foolish behaviour will be clear to all men, as theirs was in the end.
• Ps 119:99 : 99 I have more knowledge than all my teachers, because I give thought to your unchanging word.
• Exod 7:11-12 : 11 Then Pharaoh sent for the wise men and the wonder-workers, and they, the wonder-workers of Egypt, did the same with their secret arts. 12 For every one of them put down his rod on the earth, and they became snakes: but Aaron's rod made a meal of their rods.
• 1 Kgs 10:1-3 : 1 Now the queen of Sheba, hearing great things of Solomon, came to put his wisdom to the test with hard questions. 2 And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels weighted down with spices, and stores of gold and jewels: and when she came to Solomon she had talk with him of everything in her mind. 3 And Solomon gave her answers to all her questions; there was no secret which the king did not make clear to her.