Daniel 2:1

Nebuchadnezzar Has a Disturbing Dream

2:1 In the second year of his ¹  reign Nebuchadnezzar had many dreams. ²  His mind ³  was disturbed and he suffered from insomnia. ⁴ 

Daniel 2:39

2:39 Now after you another kingdom ⁵  will arise, one inferior to yours. Then a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule in all the earth.

Daniel 3:12

3:12 But there are Jewish men whom you appointed over the administration of the province of Babylon – Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego – and these men ⁶  have not shown proper respect to you, O king. They don’t serve your gods and they don’t pay homage to the golden statue that you have erected.”

Daniel 4:17

4:17 This announcement is by the decree of the sentinels;

this decision is by the pronouncement of the holy ones,

so that ⁷  those who are alive may understand

that the Most High has authority over human kingdoms, ⁸ 

and he bestows them on whomever he wishes.

He establishes over them even the lowliest of human beings.’

Daniel 4:32

4:32 You will be driven from human society, and you will live with the wild animals. You will be fed grass like oxen, and seven periods of time will pass by for you before ⁹  you understand that the Most High is ruler over human kingdoms and gives them to whomever he wishes.”

Daniel 4:34

4:34 But at the end of the appointed time ¹⁰  I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up ¹¹  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 4:36

4:36 At that time my sanity returned to me. I was restored ¹²  to the honor of my kingdom, and my splendor returned to me. My ministers and my nobles were seeking me out, and I was reinstated ¹³  over my kingdom. I became even greater than before.

Daniel 6:16

6:16 So the king gave the order, ¹⁴  and Daniel was brought and thrown into a den ¹⁵  of lions. The king consoled ¹⁶  Daniel by saying, “Your God whom you continually serve will rescue you!”

Daniel 6:24

6:24 The king gave another order, ¹⁷  and those men who had maliciously accused ¹⁸  Daniel were brought and thrown ¹⁹  into the lions’ den – they, their children, and their wives. ²⁰  They did not even reach the bottom of the den before the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.

Daniel 6:26

6:26 I have issued an edict that throughout all the dominion of my kingdom people are to revere and fear the God of Daniel.

“For he is the living God;

he endures forever.

His kingdom will not be destroyed;

his authority is forever. ²¹ 

Daniel 7:5

7:5 “Then ²²  a second beast appeared, like a bear. It was raised up on one side, and there were three ribs ²³  in its mouth between its teeth. ²⁴  It was told, ²⁵  ‘Get up and devour much flesh!’

Daniel 7:7

7:7 “After these things, as I was watching in the night visions ²⁶  a fourth beast appeared – one dreadful, terrible, and very strong. ²⁷  It had two large rows ²⁸  of iron teeth. It devoured and crushed, and anything that was left it trampled with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that came before it, and it had ten horns.

Daniel 7:9

7:9 “While I was watching,

thrones were set up,

and the Ancient of Days ²⁹  took his seat.

His attire was white like snow;

the hair of his head was like lamb’s ³⁰  wool.

His throne was ablaze with fire

and its wheels were all aflame. ³¹ 

Daniel 7:14

7:14 To him was given ruling authority, honor, and sovereignty.

All peoples, nations, and language groups were serving ³²  him.

His authority is eternal and will not pass away. ³³ 

His kingdom will not be destroyed. ³⁴ 

Daniel 7:25

7:25 He will speak words against the Most High.

He will harass ³⁵  the holy ones of the Most High continually.

His intention ³⁶  will be to change times established by law. ³⁷ 

They will be delivered into his hand

For a time, times, ³⁸  and half a time.

Daniel 9:4

9:4 I prayed to the LORD my God, confessing in this way:

“O Lord, ³⁹  great and awesome God who is faithful to his covenant ⁴⁰  with those who love him and keep his commandments,

Daniel 9:13

9:13 Just as it is written in the law of Moses, so all this calamity has come on us. Still we have not tried to pacify ⁴¹  the LORD our God by turning back from our sin and by seeking wisdom ⁴²  from your reliable moral standards. ⁴³ 

Daniel 9:27--10:1

9:27 He will confirm a covenant with many for one week. ⁴⁴ 

But in the middle of that week

he will bring sacrifices and offerings to a halt.

On the wing ⁴⁵  of abominations will come ⁴⁶  one who destroys,

until the decreed end is poured out on the one who destroys.”

An Angel Appears to Daniel

10:1 ⁴⁷ In the third ⁴⁸  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. ⁴⁹  He understood the message and gained insight by the vision.

Daniel 10:13

10:13 However, the prince of the kingdom of Persia was opposing me for twenty-one days. But ⁵⁰  Michael, one of the leading princes, came to help me, because I was left there ⁵¹  with the kings of Persia.

Daniel 11:7

11:7 “There will arise in his ⁵²  place one from her family line ⁵³  who will come against their army and will enter the stronghold of the king of the north and will move against them successfully. ⁵⁴ 

Daniel 11:35

11:35 Even some of the wise will stumble, resulting in their refinement, purification, and cleansing until the time of the end, for it is still for the appointed time.

Daniel 11:39

11:39 He will attack ⁵⁵  mighty fortresses, aided by ⁵⁶  a foreign deity. To those who recognize him he will grant considerable honor. He will place them in authority over many people, and he will parcel out land for a price. ⁵⁷ 

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

[2:1]  ² 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]  ³ tn Heb “his spirit.”

[2:1]  ⁴ 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.

[2:39]  ⁵ sn The identity of the first kingdom is clearly Babylon. The identification of the following three kingdoms is disputed. The common view is that they represent Media, Persia, and Greece. Most conservative scholars identify them as Media-Persia, Greece, and Rome.

[3:12]  ⁶ sn Daniel’s absence from this scene has sparked the imagination of commentators, some of whom have suggested that perhaps he was unable to attend the dedication due to sickness or due to being away on business. Hippolytus supposed that Daniel may have been watching from a distance.

[4:17]  ⁷ tc The present translation follows an underlying reading of עַל־דִּבְרַת (’al-divrat, “so that”) rather than MT עַד־דִּבְרַת (’ad-divrat, “until”).

[4:17]  ⁸ tn Aram “the kingdom of man”; NASB “the realm of mankind”; NCV “every kingdom on earth.”

[4:32]  ⁹ tn Aram “until.”

[4:34]  ¹⁰ tn Aram “days.”

[4:34]  ¹¹ tn Aram “lifted up my eyes.”

[4:36]  ¹² tc The translation reads הַדְרֵת (hadret, “I returned”) rather than the MT הַדְרִי (hadri, “my honor”); cf. Theodotion.

[4:36]  ¹³ tc The translation reads הָתְקְנֵת (hotqÿnet, “I was established”) rather than the MT הָתְקְנַת (hotqÿnat, “it was established”). As it stands, the MT makes no sense here.

[6:16]  ¹⁴ tn Aram “said.” So also in vv. 24, 25.

[6:16]  ¹⁵ sn The den was perhaps a pit below ground level which could be safely observed from above.

[6:16]  ¹⁶ tn Aram “answered and said [to Daniel].”

[6:24]  ¹⁷ tn Aram “said.”

[6:24]  ¹⁸ tn Aram “had eaten the pieces of.” The Aramaic expression is ironic, in that the accusers who had figuratively “eaten the pieces of Daniel” are themselves literally devoured by the lions.

[6:24]  ¹⁹ tn The Aramaic active impersonal verb is often used as a substitute for the passive.

[6:24]  ²⁰ tc The LXX specifies only the two overseers, together with their families, as those who were cast into the lions’ den.

[6:26]  ²¹ tn Aram “until the end.”

[7:5]  ²² tn Aram “and behold.”

[7:5]  ²³ sn The three ribs held securely in the mouth of the bear, perhaps representing Media-Persia, apparently symbolize military conquest, but the exact identity of the “ribs” is not clear. Possibly it is a reference to the Persian conquest of Lydia, Egypt, and Babylonia.

[7:5]  ²⁴ tc The LXX lacks the phrase “between its teeth.”

[7:5]  ²⁵ tn Aram “and thus they were saying to it.”

[7:7]  ²⁶ tn The Aramaic text has also “and behold.” So also in vv. 8, 13.

[7:7]  ²⁷ sn The fourth animal differs from the others in that it is nondescript. Apparently it was so fearsome that Daniel could find nothing with which to compare it. Attempts to identify this animal as an elephant or other known creature are conjectural.

[7:7]  ²⁸ tn The Aramaic word for “teeth” is dual rather than plural, suggesting two rows of teeth.

[7:9]  ²⁹ tn Or “the Ancient One” (NAB, NRSV, NLT), although the traditional expression has been retained in the present translation because it is familiar to many readers. Cf. TEV “One who had been living for ever”; CEV “the Eternal God.”

[7:9]  ³⁰ tn Traditionally the Aramaic word נְקֵא (nÿqe’) has been rendered “pure,” but here it more likely means “of a lamb.” Cf. the Syriac neqya’ (“a sheep, ewe”). On this word see further, M. Sokoloff, “’amar neqe’, ‘Lamb’s Wool’ (Dan 7:9),” JBL 95 (1976): 277-79.

[7:9]  ³¹ tn Aram “a flaming fire.”

[7:14]  ³² tn Some take “serving” here in the sense of “worshiping.”

[7:14]  ³³ tn Aram “is an eternal authority which will not pass away.”

[7:14]  ³⁴ tn Aram “is one which will not be destroyed.”

[7:25]  ³⁵ tn Aram “wear out” (so KJV, ASV, NRSV); NASB, NLT “wear down.” The word is a hapax legomenon in biblical Aramaic, but in biblical Hebrew it especially refers to wearing out such things as garments. Here it is translated “harass…continually.”

[7:25]  ³⁶ tn Aram “he will think.”

[7:25]  ³⁷ tn Aram “times and law.” The present translation is based on the understanding that the expression is a hendiadys.

[7:25]  ³⁸ sn Although the word times is vocalized in the MT as a plural, it probably should be regarded as a dual. The Masoretes may have been influenced here by the fact that in late Aramaic (and Syriac) the dual forms fall out of use. The meaning would thus be three and a half “times.”

[9:4]  ³⁹ tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here and in vv. 7, 9, 15, 16, and 19 is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[9:4]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “who keeps the covenant and the loyal love.” The expression is a hendiadys.

[9:13]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “we have not pacified the face of.”

[9:13]  ⁴² tn Or “by gaining insight.”

[9:13]  ⁴³ tn Heb “by your truth.” The Hebrew term does not refer here to abstract truth, however, but to the reliable moral guidance found in the covenant law. See vv 10-11.

[9:27]  ⁴⁴ tn Heb “one seven” (also later in this line).

[9:27]  ⁴⁵ tn The referent of the Hebrew word כְּנַף (kÿnaf, “wing”) is unclear here. The LXX and Theodotion have “the temple.” Some English versions (e.g., NAB, NIV) take this to mean “a wing of the temple,” but this is not clear.

[9:27]  ⁴⁶ tn The Hebrew text does not have this verb, but it has been supplied in the translation for clarity.

[10:1]  ⁴⁷ 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]  ⁴⁸ 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]  ⁴⁹ 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.

[10:13]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “and behold.”

[10:13]  ⁵¹ tc The Greek version of Theodotion reads “I left him [i.e., Michael] there,” and this is followed by a number of English translations (cf. NAB, NRSV, NLT).

[11:7]  ⁵² sn The reference is to the king of Egypt.

[11:7]  ⁵³ tn Heb “the stock of her roots.”

[11:7]  sn The reference to one from her family line is probably to Berenice’s brother, Ptolemy III Euergetes (ca. 246-221 B.C.).

[11:7]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “will deal with them and prevail.”

[11:39]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “act against.”

[11:39]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “with.”

[11:39]  ⁵⁷ tn Or perhaps “for a reward.”