Daniel 1:18

1:18 When the time appointed by the king arrived, ¹  the overseer of the court officials brought them into Nebuchadnezzar’s presence.

Daniel 2:4

2:4 The wise men replied to the king: [What follows is in Aramaic ² ] “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will disclose its ³  interpretation.”

Daniel 2:8

2:8 The king replied, “I know for sure that you are attempting to gain time, because you see that my decision is firm.

Daniel 2:11

2:11 What the king is asking is too difficult, and no one exists who can disclose it to the king, except for the gods – but they don’t live among mortals!” ⁴ 

Daniel 2:18

2:18 He asked them to pray for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery so that he ⁵  and his friends would not be destroyed along with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

Daniel 4:31

4:31 While these words were still on the king’s lips, ⁶  a voice came down from heaven: “It is hereby announced to you, ⁷  King Nebuchadnezzar, that your kingdom has been removed from you!

Daniel 7:16

7:16 I approached one of those standing nearby and asked him about the meaning ⁸  of all this. So he spoke with me and revealed ⁹  to me the interpretation of the vision: ¹⁰ 

Daniel 9:23

9:23 At the beginning of your requests a message went out, and I have come to convey it to you, for you are of great value in God’s sight. ¹¹  Therefore consider the message and understand the vision: ¹² 

Daniel 11:14

11:14 “In those times many will oppose ¹³  the king of the south. ¹⁴  Those who are violent ¹⁵  among your own people will rise up in confirmation of ¹⁶  the vision, but they will falter.

[1:18]  ¹ tn Heb “at the end of the days which the king said to bring them.”

[2:4]  ² sn Contrary to common belief, the point here is not that the wise men (Chaldeans) replied to the king in the Aramaic language, or that this language was uniquely the language of the Chaldeans. It was this view that led in the past to Aramaic being referred to as “Chaldee.” Aramaic was used as a lingua franca during this period; its origins and usage were not restricted to the Babylonians. Rather, this phrase is better understood as an editorial note (cf. NAB) marking the fact that from 2:4b through 7:28 the language of the book shifts from Hebrew to Aramaic. In 8:1, and for the remainder of the book, the language returns to Hebrew. Various views have been advanced to account for this change of language, most of which are unconvincing. Most likely the change in language is a reflection of stages in the transmission history of the book of Daniel.

[2:4]  ³ tn Or “the.”

[2:11]  ⁴ tn Aram “whose dwelling is not with flesh.”

[2:18]  ⁵ tn Aram “Daniel.” The proper name is redundant here in English, and has not been included in the translation.

[4:31]  ⁶ tn Aram “in the mouth of the king.”

[4:31]  ⁷ tn Aram “to you they say.”

[7:16]  ⁸ tn Aram “what is certain.”

[7:16]  ⁹ tn Aram “and made known.”

[7:16]  ¹⁰ tn Aram “matter,” but the matter at hand is of course the vision.

[9:23]  ¹¹ tn Or “a precious treasure”; KJV “greatly beloved”; NASB, NIV “highly esteemed.”

[9:23]  ¹² tn This sentence is perhaps a compound hendiadys (“give serious consideration to the revelatory vision”).

[11:14]  ¹³ tn Heb “stand against.”

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

[11:14]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “to cause to stand.”