King James Bible
"The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, The thing is gone from me: if ye will not make known unto me the dream, with the interpretation thereof, ye shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a dunghill."
Nebuchadnezzar addresses his court magicians, declaring either that he has forgotten the dream or that his decision is final and irrevocable. This phrase establishes the king's absolute authority and introduces an impossible test—the wise men must reveal both the dream and its meaning. The king demands that his advisors prove their supernatural abilities by telling him what he dreamed before interpreting it. This unprecedented requirement exposes the limitations of Babylonian wisdom and sets the stage for God's intervention through Daniel. The brutal punishment reflects typical Ancient Near Eastern royal decrees—dismemberment and property destruction that extends judgment to one's entire household. This extreme threat reveals both Nebuchadnezzar's despotic nature and his desperation to understand his troubling dream.