Daniel 1:3

1:3 The king commanded ¹  Ashpenaz, ²  who was in charge of his court officials, ³  to choose ⁴  some of the Israelites who were of royal and noble descent ⁵  –

Daniel 1:17

1:17 Now as for these four young men, God endowed them with knowledge and skill in all sorts of literature and wisdom – and Daniel had insight into all kinds of visions and dreams.

Daniel 2:27

2:27 Daniel replied to the king, “The mystery that the king is asking about is such that no wise men, astrologers, magicians, or diviners can possibly disclose it to the king.

Daniel 4:21

4:21 whose foliage was attractive and its fruit plentiful, and from which there was food available for all, under whose branches wild animals ⁶  used to live, and in whose branches birds of the sky used to nest –

Daniel 4:26

4:26 They said to leave the taproot of the tree, for your kingdom will be restored to you when you come to understand that heaven ⁷  rules.

Daniel 5:10

5:10 Due to the noise ⁸  caused by the king and his nobles, the queen mother ⁹  then entered the banquet room. She ¹⁰  said, “O king, live forever! Don’t be alarmed! Don’t be shaken!

Daniel 6:14

6:14 When the king heard this, ¹¹  he was very upset and began thinking about ¹²  how he might rescue Daniel. Until late afternoon ¹³  he was struggling to find a way to rescue him.

Daniel 7:10-11

7:10 A river of fire was streaming forth

and proceeding from his presence.

Many thousands were ministering to him;

Many tens of thousands stood ready to serve him. ¹⁴ 

The court convened ¹⁵ 

and the books were opened.

7:11 “Then I kept on watching because of the arrogant words of the horn that was speaking. I was watching ¹⁶  until the beast was killed and its body destroyed and thrown into ¹⁷  the flaming fire.

Daniel 7:22

7:22 until the Ancient of Days arrived and judgment was rendered ¹⁸  in favor of the holy ones of the Most High. Then the time came for the holy ones to take possession of the kingdom.

Daniel 8:19

8:19 Then he said, “I am going to inform you about what will happen in the latter time of wrath, for the vision ¹⁹  pertains to the appointed time of the end.

Daniel 9:3

9:3 So I turned my attention ²⁰  to the Lord God ²¹  to implore him by prayer and requests, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. ²² 

Daniel 10:7

10:7 Only I, Daniel, saw the vision; the men who were with me did not see it. ²³  On the contrary, they were overcome with fright ²⁴  and ran away to hide.

Daniel 11:14

11:14 “In those times many will oppose ²⁵  the king of the south. ²⁶  Those who are violent ²⁷  among your own people will rise up in confirmation of ²⁸  the vision, but they will falter.

Daniel 12:2

12:2 Many of those who sleep

in the dusty ground will awake –

some to everlasting life,

and others to shame and everlasting abhorrence. ²⁹ 

[1:3]  ¹ tn Or “gave orders to.” Heb “said to.”

[1:3]  ² sn It is possible that the word Ashpenaz is not a proper name at all, but a general term for “innkeeper.” See J. J. Collins, Daniel (Hermeneia), 127, n. 9. However, the ancient versions understand the term to be a name, and the present translation (along with most English versions) understands the word in this way.

[1:3]  ³ sn The word court official (Hebrew saris) need not mean “eunuch” in a technical sense (see Gen 37:36, where the term refers to Potiphar, who had a wife), although in the case of the book of Daniel there was in Jewish literature a common tradition to that effect. On the OT usage of this word see HALOT 769-70 s.v. סָרֹיס.

[1:3]  ⁴ tn Heb “bring.”

[1:3]  ⁵ tn Heb “and from the seed of royalty and from the nobles.”

[4:21]  ⁶ tn Aram “the beasts of the field” (also in vv. 23, 25, 32).

[4:26]  ⁷ sn The reference to heaven here is a circumlocution for God. There was a tendency in Jewish contexts to avoid direct reference to God. Cf. the expression “kingdom of heaven” in the NT and such statements as “I have sinned against heaven and in your sight” (Luke 15:21).

[5:10]  ⁸ tn Aram “words of the king.”

[5:10]  ⁹ tn Aram “the queen” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV). In the following discourse this woman is able to recall things about Daniel that go back to the days of Nebuchadnezzar, things that Belshazzar does not seem to recollect. It is likely that she was the wife not of Belshazzar but of Nabonidus or perhaps even Nebuchadnezzar. In that case, “queen” here means “queen mother” (cf. NCV “the king’s mother”).

[5:10]  ¹⁰ tn Aram “The queen.” The translation has used the pronoun “she” instead because repetition of the noun here would be redundant in terms of English style.

[6:14]  ¹¹ tn Aram “the word.”

[6:14]  ¹² tn Aram “placed his mind on.”

[6:14]  ¹³ tn Aram “the entrances of the sun.”

[7:10]  ¹⁴ tn Aram “were standing before him.”

[7:10]  ¹⁵ tn Aram “judgment sat.”

[7:11]  ¹⁶ tc The LXX and Theodotion lack the words “I was watching” here. It is possible that these words in the MT are a dittography from the first part of the verse.

[7:11]  ¹⁷ tn Aram “and given over to” (so NRSV).

[7:22]  ¹⁸ tc In the LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate the verb is active, understanding “judgment” to be the object rather than the subject of the verb (i.e., “the Ancient of Days rendered judgment”). This presupposes a different vocalization of the verb ( יְהַב [yÿhav] rather than the MT יְהִב [yÿhiv]).

[8:19]  ¹⁹ tn The Hebrew text does not actually state the referent (the vision Daniel saw in vv. 8-12; cf. also v. 13), which has been specified in the translation for clarity. Some Greek witnesses add “the vision” here.

[9:3]  ²⁰ tn Heb “face.”

[9:3]  ²¹ tn The Hebrew phrase translated “Lord God” here is אֲדֹנָי הָאֱלֹהִים (’adonay ha’elohim).

[9:3]  ²² sn When lamenting, ancient Israelites would fast, wear sackcloth, and put ashes on their heads to show their sorrow and contrition.

[10:7]  ²³ tn Heb “the vision.”

[10:7]  ²⁴ tn Heb “great trembling fell on them.”

[11:14]  ²⁵ tn Heb “stand against.”

[11:14]  ²⁶ sn This was Ptolemy V Epiphanes (ca. 203-181 B.C.).

[11:14]  ²⁷ tn Heb “sons of violence.” “Son(s) is sometimes used idiomatically in Hebrew to indicate that someone is characterized by a certain quality. So the expression “sons of violence” means that these individuals will be characterized by violent deeds.

[11:14]  ²⁸ tn Heb “to cause to stand.”

[12:2]  ²⁹ sn This verse is the only undisputed reference to a literal resurrection found in the Hebrew Bible.