King James Bible
"Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the astrologers, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, for to shew the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king."
Nebuchadnezzar summons four distinct groups of Babylonian wise men, representing the full spectrum of occult and scholarly expertise in his court. This comprehensive gathering reflects both the king's desperation and the hierarchical nature of Babylonian advisory systems, where different specialists claimed unique supernatural or interpretive abilities. The unusual demand is not merely to interpret a dream but to first reveal what the dream was—an impossible test designed to verify their claimed powers. This request sets up the dramatic tension that will ultimately demonstrate the superiority of Daniel's God over Babylon's wisdom traditions. Their immediate compliance shows both the absolute authority of the monarch and their confidence in their abilities, unaware they face an unprecedented challenge. This physical assembly before the throne emphasizes the formal, high-stakes nature of the confrontation about to unfold.