King James Bible
"Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, The secret which the king hath demanded cannot the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, the soothsayers, shew unto the king;"
Daniel stands before Nebuchadnezzar, the powerful Babylonian monarch who had threatened to execute all wise men for failing to reveal his dream. This formal introduction emphasizes Daniel's courage and the gravity of the moment as he prepares to address the crisis. The 'secret' refers to Nebuchadnezzar's troubling dream and its interpretation, which the king had withheld from his advisors as a test of their abilities. This unprecedented demand—to reveal both the dream's content and meaning—had created an impossible situation for the court's wisdom practitioners. Daniel acknowledges the limitations of human wisdom and occult practices, listing the four main categories of Babylon's spiritual advisors. By affirming their collective failure, he sets up a contrast that will highlight God's unique power to reveal mysteries beyond human capability.