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 2:45

2:45 You saw that a stone was cut from a mountain, but not by human hands; it smashed the iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold into pieces. The great God has made known to the king what will occur in the future. ⁵  The dream is certain, and its interpretation is reliable.”

Daniel 4:19

Daniel Interprets Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

4:19 Then Daniel (whose name is also Belteshazzar) was upset for a brief time; ⁶  his thoughts were alarming him. The king said, “Belteshazzar, don’t let the dream and its interpretation alarm you.” But Belteshazzar replied, “Sir, ⁷  if only the dream were for your enemies and its interpretation applied to your adversaries!

Daniel 9:11-13

9:11 “All Israel has broken ⁸  your law and turned away by not obeying you. ⁹  Therefore you have poured out on us the judgment solemnly threatened ¹⁰  in the law of Moses the servant of God, for we have sinned against you. ¹¹  9:12 He has carried out his threats ¹²  against us and our rulers ¹³  who were over ¹⁴  us by bringing great calamity on us – what has happened to Jerusalem has never been equaled under all heaven! 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 ¹⁵  the LORD our God by turning back from our sin and by seeking wisdom ¹⁶  from your reliable moral standards. ¹⁷ 

Daniel 9:27

9:27 He will confirm a covenant with many for one week. ¹⁸ 

But in the middle of that week

he will bring sacrifices and offerings to a halt.

On the wing ¹⁹  of abominations will come ²⁰  one who destroys,

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

[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.

[2:45]  ⁵ tn Aram “after this.”

[4:19]  ⁶ tn Aram “about one hour.” The expression refers idiomatically to a brief period of time of undetermined length.

[4:19]  ⁷ tn Aram “my lord.”

[9:11]  ⁸ tn Or “transgressed.” The Hebrew verb has the primary sense of crossing a boundary, in this case, God’s law.

[9:11]  ⁹ tn Heb “by not paying attention to your voice.”

[9:11]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the curse and the oath which is written.” The term “curse” refers here to the judgments threatened in the Mosaic law (see Deut 28) for rebellion. The expression “the curse and the oath” is probably a hendiadys (cf. Num 5:21; Neh 10:29) referring to the fact that the covenant with its threatened judgments was ratified by solemn oath and made legally binding upon the covenant community.

[9:11]  ¹¹ tn Heb “him.”

[9:12]  ¹² tn Heb “he has fulfilled his word(s) which he spoke.”

[9:12]  ¹³ tn Heb “our judges.”

[9:12]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “who judged.”

[9:13]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “we have not pacified the face of.”

[9:13]  ¹⁶ tn Or “by gaining insight.”

[9:13]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “one seven” (also later in this line).

[9:27]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ tn The Hebrew text does not have this verb, but it has been supplied in the translation for clarity.