Translations
F.O.G.MPrimary
F.O.G Message"What the king is asking is extraordinarily difficult. No one can reveal it except the gods themselves — and they do not dwell among mortals."
F.O.GSecondary
The F.O.G"The thing the king demands is weighty, and there is no other who can show it before the king except the elahin, whose dwelling is not with flesh."
KJV
King James VersionAnd it is a rare thing that the king requireth, and there is none other that can shew it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.
BSB
Berean Standard BibleWhat the king requests is so difficult that no one can tell it to him except the gods, whose dwelling is not with mortals.”
Footnotes
אֱלָהִין (elahin) is the Aramaic plural for "divine beings/gods" — the Chaldean wise men speak from within their polytheistic framework. The irony is profound: they unwittingly testify that only the divine realm possesses this knowledge. Daniel's subsequent revelation demonstrates that the one true Elah does condescend to dwell with flesh — an anticipation of the Incarnation (John 1:14). F.O.G. preserves the plural elahin to honour the wise men's pagan worldview; F.O.G. Message uses "gods" in the same spirit while allowing the theological irony to resonate forward.
