King James Bible
"I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast made known unto me now what we desired of thee: for thou hast now made known unto us the king’s matter."
Daniel begins his prayer with worship, acknowledging God as the deity of his ancestors—Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This connection to covenant history emphasizes continuity of faith despite Daniel's exile in Babylon, affirming that the God who acted in Israel's past remains active in the present crisis. Daniel credits God as the source of both intellectual insight and spiritual strength needed to interpret Nebuchadnezzar's dream. In the Babylonian court where wise men relied on occult practices, Daniel's acknowledgment distinguishes divine revelation from human cleverness or magical arts. The shift from singular to plural pronouns reveals Daniel's corporate prayer with his three friends, highlighting their unity in seeking God's intervention. This phrase emphasizes the immediacy of God's response to their desperate petition when facing execution. Daniel confirms that God has revealed both Nebuchadnezzar's forgotten dream and its interpretation. The repetition of "made known" underscores the miraculous nature of this revelation, as the "king's matter" had been declared impossible for any human to discern.