What Does Daniel 2:13 Mean in the King James?

And the decree went forth that the wise men should be slain; and they sought Daniel and his fellows to be slain.

Daniel 2:13 · KJV

The analysis reads the King James wording.

King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.

THE KEY

The decree turns seeking into a hunt, while the same Aramaic root soon turns toward a plea for mercy.

THE MEANING

A command becomes pursuit: Daniel and his companions are sought as targets for death. The verse holds the terror of being marked for slaughter, where even wisdom offers no shelter from the decree’s reach.

WHAT THIS UNDOES

The lie undone is that wisdom makes a person untouchable: here, the wise are marked for slaughter.

THE ROOT

בְעוֹ

beʿo

GROWS FROM

בעא

beʿa

To seek, ask, or request.

The Aramaic root holds seeking and asking together, while the object gives the action its direction. Here Daniel is sought for death; soon the same root describes a plea for mercy that preserves life.

ALSO GROWS

mibʿē: To seek or request.

מִבְעֵא

In Daniel 2:18, this form describes seeking mercy; the same root that marks Daniel as a target can also carry an appeal for preservation.

beʿā: He sought or asked.

בְּעָא

This verbal form keeps the act of searching joined to asking, showing how the purpose of the pursuit depends on what is being sought.

THE PATTERN

Seeking takes its direction from its object: it can pursue a person for death or turn toward mercy, peace, and discovery.

That they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

Daniel 2:18 · KJVThe search for Daniel becomes a plea for mercy, and the same Aramaic root gives voice to both acts of seeking.

Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.

Psalm 34:14 · KJVSeeking here is directed toward wholeness and peace, with pursuit carrying the search into action.

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:

Matthew 7:7 · KJVSeeking becomes an appeal directed toward what can be found and opened.

THE THREAD

That they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

Daniel 2:18 · KJV

Here Daniel and his companions seek mercy using the same Aramaic root that describes the officers seeking Daniel in this verse. The root holds both actions together, while their objects reveal the difference between pursuit toward death and appeal for life.

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