Daniel 2:4

2:4 The wise men replied to the king: [What follows is in Aramaic ¹ ] “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will disclose its ²  interpretation.”

Daniel 2:25

2:25 So Arioch quickly ushered Daniel into the king’s presence, saying to him, “I ³  have found a man from the captives of Judah who can make known the interpretation to the king.”

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 5:10

5:10 Due to the noise ⁴  caused by the king and his nobles, the queen mother ⁵  then entered the banquet room. She ⁶  said, “O king, live forever! Don’t be alarmed! Don’t be shaken!

Daniel 5:17

Daniel Interprets the Handwriting on the Wall

5:17 But Daniel replied to the king, “Keep your gifts, and give your rewards to someone else! However, I will read the writing for the king and make known its ⁷  interpretation.

Daniel 6:14-15

6:14 When the king heard this, ⁸  he was very upset and began thinking about ⁹  how he might rescue Daniel. Until late afternoon ¹⁰  he was struggling to find a way to rescue him. 6:15 Then those men came by collusion to the king and ¹¹  said to him, ¹²  “Recall, ¹³  O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no edict or decree that the king issues can be changed.”

Daniel 9:20

Gabriel Gives to Daniel a Prophecy of Seventy Weeks

9:20 While I was still speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and presenting my request before the LORD my God concerning his holy mountain ¹⁴  –

[2:4]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Or “the.”

[2:25]  ³ sn Arioch’s claim is self-serving and exaggerated. It is Daniel who came to him, and not the other way around. By claiming to have found one capable of solving the king’s dilemma, Arioch probably hoped to ingratiate himself to the king.

[5:10]  ⁴ tn Aram “words of the king.”

[5:10]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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.

[5:17]  ⁷ tn Or “the.”

[6:14]  ⁸ tn Aram “the word.”

[6:14]  ⁹ tn Aram “placed his mind on.”

[6:14]  ¹⁰ tn Aram “the entrances of the sun.”

[6:15]  ¹¹ tc Theodotion lacks the words “came by collusion to the king and.”

[6:15]  ¹² tn Aram “the king.”

[6:15]  ¹³ tn Aram “know”; NAB “Keep in mind”; NASB “Recognize”; NIV, NCV “Remember.”

[9:20]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the holy mountain of my God.”