Verse Lens · Concise explanation
Daniel 1:20 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 20. 20And in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king enquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers that were in all his realm.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Quick Meaning
Daniel 1:20 develops this movement with “And in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king enquired of them, he found…”.
Read It With
- Daniel 1:17–21
Read Daniel 1:20 with 1:17–21. Daniel 1:20 develops this movement with “And in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king enquired of them, he found…”. The complete unit establishes this movement: God gives all four learning and gives Daniel vision insight; their education and examination end with service spanning to Cyrus.
Why This Verse Appears Here
1:8-16 completes “A Bounded Food Test Negotiates Conscience and Risk”; the text now turns to “God-Given Learning Meets Royal Examination.” This completes the present movement before the next larger development: Chapter 2 tests Daniel's dream wisdom under a lethal royal demand. Within that movement: Daniel 1:20 develops this movement with “And in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king enquired of them, he found…”.
What Remains True
Faithful conviction can combine clarity, respect for others' risk, testing, learning, and gratitude. Daniel 1:17-21 keeps that truth tied to this claim: God gives all four learning and gives Daniel vision insight; their education and examination end with service spanning to Cyrus. In this unit: Daniel 1:20 develops this movement with “And in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king enquired of them, he found…”.
How It Can Shape Life
- When conscience is involved, state the concern honestly, seek a workable accommodation, and do not transfer the cost of your conviction onto someone with less power. In Daniel 1:17-21, respond specifically to this movement: God gives all four learning and gives Daniel vision insight; their education and examination end with service spanning to Cyrus. For Daniel 1:20 specifically, keep this reviewed contribution in view: develops this movement with “And in all matters of wisdom and understanding, that the king enquired of them, he found…”. Read it inside 1:17–21; do not convert its wording into an unsupported modern identification.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Daniel 1:17-21 — God-Given Learning Meets Royal ExaminationSources used for this Verse Lens
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing KJV wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: Daniel 1:17-21, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew aramaic text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Daniel
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew-Aramaic wording, morphology, language boundary, names, repeated roots, clauses, and lexical controls.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Dan.xml, 1:17-21; Hebrew 1:1–2:4a and 8:1–12:13, Aramaic 2:4b–7:28
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Daniel with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Verse-level Hebrew-Aramaic, textual, historical, translation, chronology, angelic-language, and duration notes.
Exact location: NET Bible Daniel PDF, printed pp. 1644–1645, translation and translator notes on 1:17-21
Open source ↗