Daniel 2:21

Bible in Basic English (1941)

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:

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

וְ֠הוּא מְהַשְׁנֵ֤א עִדָּנַיָּא֙ וְזִמְנַיָּ֔א מְהַעְדֵּ֥ה מַלְכִ֖ין וּמְהָקֵ֣ים מַלְכִ֑ין יָהֵ֤ב חָכְמְתָא֙ לְחַכִּימִ֔ין וּמַנְדְּעָ֖א לְיָדְעֵ֥י בִינָֽה׃

Transliteration

And-he məhašnēʾ ʿiddānayyāʾ and-zimənayyāʾ, məhaʿdēh malkin and-məhāqêm malkin; yāhēb ḥākəmətāʾ to-ḥakkîmîn and-mandəʿāʾ to-yādəʿê bînāh.

Grammar Details

• *məhašnēʾ*: verb, Pael participle, masculine singular - changes
• *ʿiddānayyāʾ*: noun, masculine plural, emphatic state - times/seasons
• *zimənayyāʾ*: noun, masculine plural, emphatic state - times/seasons
• *məhaʿdēh*: verb, Aphel participle, masculine singular - removes
• *malkin*: noun, masculine plural - kings
• *məhāqêm*: verb, Aphel participle, masculine singular - establishes/sets up
• *yāhēb*: verb, Peal participle, masculine singular - gives
• *ḥākəmətāʾ*: noun, feminine, emphatic state - wisdom
• *ḥakkîmîn*: noun, masculine plural - wise ones
• *mandəʿāʾ*: noun, masculine, emphatic state - knowledge
• *yādəʿê*: participle, masculine plural, construct state - knowers of
• *bînāh*: noun, feminine - understanding

Word Meanings

• *məhašnēʾ*: changes/alters
• *ʿiddānayyāʾ*: times/seasons/epochs
• *zimənayyāʾ*: times/appointed times/seasons
• *məhaʿdēh*: removes/deposes
• *məhāqêm*: establishes/sets up/installs
• *yāhēb*: gives/grants
• *mandəʿāʾ*: knowledge/insight
• *yādəʿê bînāh*: those who know understanding/discerning ones

Referenced Verses

• Dan 7:25 : 25 And he will say words against the Most High, attempting to put an end to the saints of the Most High; and he will have the idea of changing times and law; and the saints will be given into his hands for a time and times and half a time.
• Jas 1:5 : 5 But if any man among you is without wisdom, let him make his request to God, who gives freely to all without an unkind word, and it will be given to him.
• Dan 2:9 : 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.
• Dan 4:17 : 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.
• Job 12:18 : 18 He undoes the chains of kings, and puts his band on them;
• 1 Kgs 4:29 : 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.
• Dan 4:32 : 32 And they will send you out from among men, to be with the beasts of the field; they will give you grass for your food like the oxen, and seven times will go by you, till you are certain that the Most High is ruler in the kingdom of men, and gives it to any man at his pleasure.
• Jas 1:17 : 17 Every good and true thing is given to us from heaven, coming from the Father of lights, with whom there is no change or any shade made by turning.
• Jas 3:15-17 : 15 This wisdom is not from heaven, but is of the earth and the flesh and the Evil One. 16 For where envy is, and the desire to get the better of others, there is no order, but every sort of evil-doing. 17 But the wisdom which is from heaven is first holy, then gentle, readily giving way in argument, full of peace and mercy and good works, not doubting, not seeming other than it is.
• Rev 19:16 : 16 And on his robe and on his leg is a name, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
• Dan 11:6 : 6 And at the end of years they will be joined together; and the daughter of the king of the south will come to the king of the north to make an agreement: but she will not keep the strength of her arm; and his offspring will not keep their place; but she will be uprooted, with those who were the cause of her coming, and her son, and he who took her in those times.
• Luke 1:51-52 : 51 With his arm he has done acts of power; he has put to flight those who have pride in their hearts. 52 He has put down kings from their seats, lifting up on high the men of low degree.
• Luke 21:15 : 15 For I will give you words and wisdom, so that not one of those who are against you will be able to get the better of you, or to put you in the wrong.
• Acts 13:21-22 : 21 Then at their request for a king, God gave them Saul, the son of Kish, a man of the family of Benjamin, who was their king for forty years. 22 And having put him on one side, he made David their king, to whom he gave witness, saying, I have taken David, the son of Jesse, a man dear to my heart, who will do all my pleasure.
• 1 Cor 1:30 : 30 But God has given you a place in Christ Jesus, through whom God has given us wisdom and righteousness and salvation, and made us holy:
• 1 Kgs 10:24 : 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.
• 1 Chr 22:12 : 12 Only may the Lord give you wisdom, and knowledge of his orders for Israel, so that you may keep the law of the Lord your God.
• 1 Chr 29:30 : 30 Together with all his rule and his power, and the events which took place in his time, in Israel and in all the kingdoms of other lands.
• 2 Chr 1:10-12 : 10 Give me now wisdom and knowledge, so that I may go out and come in before this people: for who is able to be the judge of this great people of yours? 11 And God said to Solomon, Because this was in your heart, and you did not make request for money, property, or honour, or for the destruction of your haters, or for long life; but you have made request for wisdom and knowledge for yourself, so that you may be the judge of my people over whom I have made you king: 12 Wisdom and knowledge are given to you; and I will give you wealth and honour, such as no king has had before you or ever will have after you.
• Esth 1:13 : 13 And the king said to the wise men, who had knowledge of the times, (for this was the king's way with all who were expert in law and in the giving of decisions:
• Exod 31:3 : 3 And I have given him the spirit of God and made him wise and full of knowledge and expert in every sort of handwork,
• Exod 31:6 : 6 And I have made selection of Oholiab with him, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and in the hearts of all who are wise I have put the knowledge to make whatever I have given you orders to have made;
• 1 Sam 2:7-8 : 7 The Lord gives wealth and takes a man's goods from him: crushing men down and again lifting them up; 8 Lifting the poor out of the dust, and him who is in need out of the lowest place, to give them their place among rulers, and for their heritage the seat of glory: for the pillars of the earth are the Lord's and he has made them the base of the world.
• 1 Kgs 3:8-9 : 8 And your servant has round him the people of your selection, a people so great that they may not be numbered, and no account of them may be given. 9 Give your servant, then, a wise heart for judging your people, able to see what is good and what evil; for who is able to be the judge of this great people? 10 Now these words and Solomon's request were pleasing to the Lord. 11 And God said to him, Because your request is for this thing, and not for long life for yourself or for wealth or for the destruction of your haters, but for wisdom to be a judge of causes; 12 I have done as you said: I have given you a wise and far-seeing heart, so that there has never been your equal in the past, and never will there be any like you in the future.
• 1 Kgs 3:28 : 28 And news of this decision which the king had made went through all Israel; and they had fear of the king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him to give decisions.
• Job 34:24-29 : 24 He sends the strong to destruction without searching out their cause, and puts others in their place. 25 For he has knowledge of their works, overturning them in the night, so that they are crushed. 26 The evil-doers are broken by his wrath, he puts his hand on them with force before the eyes of all onlookers. 27 Because they did not go after him, and took no note of his ways, 28 So that the cry of the poor might come up to him, and the prayer of those in need come to his ears. 29 ...
• Ps 31:14-15 : 14 But I had faith in you, O Lord; I said, You are my God. 15 The chances of my life are in your hand; take me out of the hands of my haters, and of those who go after me.
• Ps 75:5-7 : 5 Let not your horn be lifted up: let no more words of pride come from your outstretched necks. 6 For honour does not come from the east, or from the west, or uplifting from the south; 7 But God is the judge, putting down one, and lifting up another.
• Ps 113:7-8 : 7 He takes the poor man out of the dust, lifting him up from his low position; 8 To give him a place among the rulers, even with the rulers of his people.
• Prov 2:6-7 : 6 For the Lord gives wisdom; out of his mouth come knowledge and reason: 7 He has salvation stored up for the upright, he is a breastplate to those in whom there is no evil;
• Prov 8:15-16 : 15 Through me kings have their power, and rulers give right decisions. 16 Through me chiefs have authority, and the noble ones are judging in righteousness.
• Eccl 3:1-8 : 1 For everything there is a fixed time, and a time for every business under the sun. 2 A time for birth and a time for death; a time for planting and a time for uprooting; 3 A time to put to death and a time to make well; a time for pulling down and a time for building up; 4 A time for weeping and a time for laughing; a time for sorrow and a time for dancing; 5 A time to take stones away and a time to get stones together; a time for kissing and a time to keep from kissing; 6 A time for search and a time for loss; a time to keep and a time to give away; 7 A time for undoing and a time for stitching; a time for keeping quiet and a time for talk; 8 A time for love and a time for hate; a time for war and a time for peace.
• Jer 27:5-7 : 5 I have made the earth, and man and beast on the face of the earth, by my great power and by my outstretched arm; and I will give it to anyone at my pleasure. 6 And now I have given all these lands into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, my servant; and I have given the beasts of the field to him for his use. 7 And all the nations will be servants to him and to his son and to his son's son, till the time comes for his land to be overcome: and then a number of nations and great kings will take it for their use.