Daniel 1:10

1:10 But he ¹  responded to Daniel, “I fear my master the king. He is the one who has decided ²  your food and drink. What would happen if he saw that you looked malnourished in comparison to the other young men your age? ³  If that happened, ⁴  you would endanger my life ⁵  with the king!”

Daniel 2:1

Nebuchadnezzar Has a Disturbing Dream

2:1 In the second year of his ⁶  reign Nebuchadnezzar had many dreams. ⁷  His mind ⁸  was disturbed and he suffered from insomnia. ⁹ 

Daniel 2:10

2:10 The wise men replied to the king, “There is no man on earth who is able to disclose the king’s secret, ¹⁰  for no king, regardless of his position and power, has ever requested such a thing from any magician, astrologer, or wise man.

Daniel 2:35

2:35 Then the iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold were broken in pieces without distinction ¹¹  and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors that the wind carries away. Not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the statue became a large mountain that filled the entire earth.

Daniel 3:2

3:2 Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent out a summons to assemble the satraps, prefects, governors, counselors, treasurers, judges, magistrates, ¹²  and all the other authorities of the province to attend the dedication of the statue that he ¹³  had erected.

Daniel 4:9

4:9 saying, “Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, in whom I know there to be a spirit of the holy gods and whom no mystery baffles, consider ¹⁴  my dream that I saw and set forth its interpretation!

Daniel 4:12

4:12 Its foliage was attractive and its fruit plentiful;

on it there was food enough for all.

Under it the wild animals ¹⁵  used to seek shade,

and in its branches the birds of the sky used to nest.

All creatures ¹⁶  used to feed themselves from it.

Daniel 4:34

4:34 But at the end of the appointed time ¹⁷  I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up ¹⁸  toward heaven, and my sanity returned to me.

I extolled the Most High,

and I praised and glorified the one who lives forever.

For his authority is an everlasting authority,

and his kingdom extends from one generation to the next.

Daniel 8:8

8:8 The male goat acted even more arrogantly. But no sooner had the large horn become strong than it was broken, and there arose four conspicuous horns ¹⁹  in its place, ²⁰  extending toward the four winds of the sky. ²¹ 

Daniel 9:16

9:16 O Lord, according to all your justice, ²²  please turn your raging anger ²³  away from your city Jerusalem, your holy mountain. For due to our sins and the iniquities of our ancestors, Jerusalem and your people are mocked by all our neighbors.

Daniel 9:18

9:18 Listen attentively, ²⁴  my God, and hear! Open your eyes and look on our desolated ruins ²⁵  and the city called by your name. ²⁶  For it is not because of our own righteous deeds that we are praying to you, ²⁷  but because your compassion is abundant.

Daniel 10:1

An Angel Appears to Daniel

10:1 ²⁸ In the third ²⁹  year of King Cyrus of Persia a message was revealed to Daniel (who was also called Belteshazzar). This message was true and concerned a great war. ³⁰  He understood the message and gained insight by the vision.

Daniel 10:16

10:16 Then ³¹  one who appeared to be a human being ³²  was touching my lips. I opened my mouth and started to speak, saying to the one who was standing before me, “Sir, ³³  due to the vision, anxiety has gripped me and I have no strength.

Daniel 11:25

11:25 He will rouse his strength and enthusiasm ³⁴  against the king of the south ³⁵  with a large army. The king of the south will wage war with a large and very powerful army, but he will not be able to prevail because of the plans devised against him.

Daniel 11:30

11:30 The ships of Kittim ³⁶  will come against him, leaving him disheartened. ³⁷  He will turn back and direct his indignation against the holy covenant. He will return and honor ³⁸  those who forsake the holy covenant.

Daniel 11:36

11:36 “Then the king ³⁹  will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every deity and he will utter presumptuous things against the God of gods. He will succeed until the time of ⁴⁰  wrath is completed, for what has been decreed must occur. ⁴¹ 

[1:10]  ¹ tn Heb “The overseer of the court officials.” The subject has been specified in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[1:10]  ² tn Heb “assigned.” See v. 5.

[1:10]  ³ tn Heb “Why should he see your faces thin from the young men who are according to your age?” The term translated “thin” occurs only here and in Gen 40:6, where it appears to refer to a dejected facial expression. The word is related to an Arabic root meaning “be weak.” See HALOT 277 s.v. II זעף.

[1:10]  ⁴ tn The words “if that happened” are not in the Hebrew text but have been added in the translation for clarity.

[1:10]  ⁵ tn Heb “my head.” Presumably this is an implicit reference to capital punishment (cf. NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT), although this is not entirely clear.

[2:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “Nebuchadnezzar’s.” The possessive pronoun is substituted in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[2:1]  ⁷ tn Heb “dreamed dreams.” The plural is used here and in v. 2, but the singular in v. 3. The plural “dreams” has been variously explained. Some interpreters take the plural as denoting an indefinite singular (so GKC 400 §124.o). But it may be that it is describing a stream of related dreams, or a dream state. In the latter case, one might translate: “Nebuchadnezzar was in a trance.” See further, J. A. Montgomery, Daniel (ICC), 142.

[2:1]  ⁸ tn Heb “his spirit.”

[2:1]  ⁹ tn Heb “his sleep left (?) him.” The use of the verb הָיָה (hayah, “to be”) here is unusual. The context suggests a meaning such as “to be finished” or “gone.” Cf. Dan 8:27. Some scholars emend the verb to read נָדְדָה (nadÿdah, “fled”); cf. Dan 6:19. See further, DCH 2:540 s.v. היה I Ni.3; HALOT 244 s.v. היה nif; BDB 227-28 s.v. הָיָה Niph.2.

[2:10]  ¹⁰ tn Aram “matter, thing.”

[2:35]  ¹¹ tn Aram “as one.” For the meaning “without distinction” see the following: F. Rosenthal, Grammar, 36, §64, and p. 93; E. Vogt, Lexicon linguae aramaicae, 60.

[3:2]  ¹² sn The specific duties of the seven types of officials listed here (cf. vv. 3, 27) are unclear. The Aramaic words that are used are transliterations of Akkadian or Persian technical terms whose exact meanings are uncertain. The translations given here follow suggestions set forth in BDB.

[3:2]  ¹³ tn Aram “Nebuchadnezzar the king.” The proper name and title have been replaced by the relative pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[4:9]  ¹⁴ tc The present translation assumes the reading חֲזִי (khazi, “consider”) rather than the MT חֶזְוֵי (khezvey, “visions”). The MT implies that the king required Daniel to disclose both the dream and its interpretation, as in chapter 2. But in the following verses Nebuchadnezzar recounts his dream, while Daniel presents only its interpretation.

[4:12]  ¹⁵ tn Aram “the beasts of the field.”

[4:12]  ¹⁶ tn Aram “all flesh.”

[4:34]  ¹⁷ tn Aram “days.”

[4:34]  ¹⁸ tn Aram “lifted up my eyes.”

[8:8]  ¹⁹ tn The word “horns” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied.

[8:8]  ²⁰ sn The four conspicuous horns refer to Alexander’s successors. After his death, Alexander’s empire was divided up among four of his generals: Cassander, who took Macedonia and Greece; Lysimachus, who took Thrace and parts of Asia Minor; Seleucus, who took Syria and territory to its east; and Ptolemy, who took control of Egypt.

[8:8]  ²¹ tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.

[9:16]  ²² tn Or “righteousness.”

[9:16]  ²³ tn Heb “your anger and your rage.” The synonyms are joined here to emphasize the degree of God’s anger. This is best expressed in English by making one of the terms adjectival (cf. NLT “your furious anger”; CEV “terribly angry”).

[9:18]  ²⁴ tn Heb “turn your ear.”

[9:18]  ²⁵ tn Heb “desolations.” The term refers here to the ruined condition of Judah’s towns.

[9:18]  ²⁶ tn Heb “over which your name is called.” Cf. v. 19. This expression implies that God is the owner of his city, Jerusalem. Note the use of the idiom in 2 Sam 12:28; Isa 4:1; Amos 9:12.

[9:18]  ²⁷ tn Heb “praying our supplications before you.”

[10:1]  ²⁸ sn This chapter begins the final unit in the book of Daniel, consisting of chapters 10-12. The traditional chapter divisions to some extent obscure the relationship of these chapters.

[10:1]  ²⁹ tc The LXX has “first.”

[10:1]  sn Cyrus’ third year would have been ca. 536 B.C. Daniel would have been approximately eighty-four years old at this time.

[10:1]  ³⁰ tn The meaning of the Hebrew word צָבָא (tsava’) is uncertain in this context. The word most often refers to an army or warfare. It may also mean “hard service,” and many commentators take that to be the sense here (i.e., “the service was great”). The present translation assumes the reference to be to the spiritual conflicts described, for example, in 10:16–11:1.

[10:16]  ³¹ tn Heb “Behold.”

[10:16]  ³² tc So most Hebrew MSS; one Hebrew MS along with the Dead Sea Scrolls and LXX read “something that looked like a man’s hand.”

[10:16]  ³³ tn Heb “my lord,” here a title of polite address. Cf. v. 19.

[11:25]  ³⁴ tn Heb “heart.”

[11:25]  ³⁵ sn This king of the south was Ptolemy Philometer (ca. 181-145 B.C.).

[11:30]  ³⁶ sn The name Kittim has various designations in extra-biblical literature. It can refer to a location on the island of Cyprus, or more generally to the island itself, or it can be an inclusive term to refer to parts of the Mediterranean world that lay west of the Middle East (e.g., Rome). For ships of Kittim the Greek OT (LXX) has “Romans,” an interpretation followed by a few English versions (e.g., TEV). A number of times in the Dead Sea Scrolls the word is used in reference to the Romans. Other English versions are more generic: “[ships] of the western coastlands” (NIV, NLT); “from the west” (NCV, CEV).

[11:30]  ³⁷ sn This is apparently a reference to the Roman forces, led by Gaius Popilius Laenas, which confronted Antiochus when he came to Egypt and demanded that he withdraw or face the wrath of Rome. Antiochus wisely withdrew from Egypt, albeit in a state of bitter frustration.

[11:30]  ³⁸ tn Heb “show regard for.”

[11:36]  ³⁹ sn The identity of this king is problematic. If vv. 36-45 continue the description of Antiochus Epiphanes, the account must be viewed as erroneous, since the details do not match what is known of Antiochus’ latter days. Most modern scholars take this view, concluding that this section was written just shortly before the death of Antiochus and that the writer erred on several key points as he tried to predict what would follow the events of his own day. Conservative scholars, however, usually understand the reference to shift at this point to an eschatological figure, viz., the Antichrist. The chronological gap that this would presuppose to be in the narrative is not necessarily a problem, since by all accounts there are many chronological gaps throughout the chapter, as the historical figures intended by such expressions as “king of the north” and “king of the south” repeatedly shift.

[11:36]  ⁴⁰ tn The words “the time of” are added in the translation for clarification.

[11:36]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “has been done.” The Hebrew verb used here is the perfect of certitude, emphasizing the certainty of fulfillment.