Albert Barnes Commentary Daniel 4:7

"Then came in the magicians, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers; and I told the dream before them; but they did not make known unto me the interpretation thereof." — Daniel 4:7 (ASV)

Then the magicians came in... - All the words found here are in (Daniel 2:2), and are explained in the note for that verse, except the word translated “soothsayers.” This word occurs in (Daniel 2:27); see it explained in the note for that verse. All these words refer to the same general class of persons—those who were regarded as endowed with eminent wisdom, who were supposed to be qualified to explain remarkable occurrences, to foretell the future, and to declare the will of heaven from portents and wonders. At a time when revelation was still limited, when the boundaries of science were not determined with accuracy, when it was possible that some way might be discovered to lift the mysterious veil from the future, and when it was an open question whether that might be through dreams, communication with departed spirits, or some undisclosed secrets of nature, it was not unnatural that people should be found who claimed this knowledge was under their control.

Such claimants to preternatural knowledge are indeed found in every age. Though a large portion of them are undoubted deceivers, the existence of such an order of persons should be regarded as merely the exponent of the deep and earnest desire existing in the human heart to penetrate the mysterious future, to find something that will disclose to humanity—all whose great interests lie in the future—what is still to come. Compare the remarks at the close of (Daniel 2).

And I told the dream before them... - In their presence. In this instance, he did not make such a difficult demand of them as he did on a former occasion, when he required them not only to interpret the dream but also to tell him what it was (Daniel 2). However, their pretended power here was equally vain. It is not clear whether they attempted an interpretation of this dream; but if they did, it was wholly unsatisfactory to the king himself. It would seem more probable that they supposed the dream might have some reference to the proud monarch himself, and that, as it indicated some awful calamity, they did not dare to venture a conjecture regarding its meaning.