Daniel 1:16

1:16 So the warden removed the delicacies and the wine ¹  from their diet ²  and gave them a diet of vegetables instead.

Daniel 5:1

Belshazzar Sees Mysterious Handwriting on a Wall

5:1 King Belshazzar ³  prepared a great banquet ⁴  for a thousand of his nobles, and he was drinking wine in front of ⁵  them all. ⁶ 

Daniel 5:4

5:4 As they drank wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.

Daniel 10:3

10:3 I ate no choice food; no meat or wine came to my lips, ⁷  nor did I anoint myself with oil ⁸  until the end of those three weeks.

Daniel 1:8

1:8 But Daniel made up his mind ⁹  that he would not defile ¹⁰  himself with the royal delicacies or the royal wine. ¹¹  He therefore asked the overseer of the court officials for permission not to defile himself.

Daniel 1:5

1:5 So the king assigned them a daily ration ¹²  from his royal delicacies ¹³  and from the wine he himself drank. They were to be trained ¹⁴  for the next three years. At the end of that time they were to enter the king’s service. ¹⁵ 

Daniel 5:2

5:2 While under the influence ¹⁶  of the wine, Belshazzar issued an order to bring in the gold and silver vessels – the ones that Nebuchadnezzar his father ¹⁷  had confiscated ¹⁸  from the temple in Jerusalem ¹⁹  – so that the king and his nobles, together with his wives and his concubines, could drink from them. ²⁰ 

Daniel 5:23

5:23 Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven. You brought before you the vessels from his temple, and you and your nobles, together with your wives and concubines, drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone – gods ²¹  that cannot see or hear or comprehend! But you have not glorified the God who has in his control ²²  your very breath and all your ways!

Daniel 5:22

5:22 “But you, his son ²³  Belshazzar, have not humbled yourself, ²⁴  although you knew all this.

Daniel 12:13

12:13 But you should go your way ²⁵  until the end. ²⁶  You will rest and then at the end of the days you will arise to receive ²⁷  what you have been allotted.” ²⁸ 

Daniel 5:3

5:3 So they brought the gold and silver ²⁹  vessels that had been confiscated from the temple, the house of God ³⁰  in Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, together with his wives and concubines, drank from them.

[1:16]  ¹ tn Heb “the wine of their drinking.”

[1:16]  ² tn The words “from their diet” are not in the Hebrew text but have been added in the translation for clarity.

[5:1]  ³ sn As is clear from the extra-biblical records, it was actually Nabonidus (ca. 556-539 B.C.) who was king of Babylon at this time. However, Nabonidus spent long periods of time at Teima, and during those times Belshazzar his son was de facto king of Babylon. This arrangement may help to explain why later in this chapter Belshazzar promises that the successful interpreter of the handwriting on the wall will be made third ruler in the kingdom. If Belshazzar was in effect second ruler in the kingdom, this would be the highest honor he could grant.

[5:1]  ⁴ sn This scene of a Babylonian banquet calls to mind a similar grandiose event recorded in Esth 1:3-8. Persian kings were also renowned in the ancient Near Eastern world for their lavish banquets.

[5:1]  ⁵ sn The king probably sat at an elevated head table.

[5:1]  ⁶ tn Aram “the thousand.”

[10:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “mouth.”

[10:3]  ⁸ sn Anointing oneself with oil (usually olive oil) was a common OT practice due to the severity of the Middle Eastern sun (cf. Ps 121:6). It was also associated with rejoicing (e.g., Prov 27:9) and was therefore usually not practiced during a period of mourning.

[1:8]  ⁹ tn Heb “placed on his heart.”

[1:8]  ¹⁰ tn Or “would not make himself ceremonially unclean”; TEV “become ritually unclean.”

[1:8]  sn Various reasons have been suggested as to why such food would defile Daniel. Perhaps it had to do with violations of Mosaic law with regard to unclean foods, or perhaps it had to do with such food having been offered to idols. Daniel’s practice in this regard is strikingly different from that of Esther, who was able successfully to conceal her Jewish identity.

[1:8]  ¹¹ tn Heb “with the delicacies of the king and with the wine of his drinking.”

[1:5]  ¹² tn Heb “a thing of a day in its day.”

[1:5]  ¹³ tn Heb “from the delicacies of the king.”

[1:5]  ¹⁴ tn Or “educated.” See HALOT 179 s.v. I גדל.

[1:5]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “stand before the king.”

[5:2]  ¹⁶ tn Or perhaps, “when he had tasted” (cf. NASB) in the sense of officially initiating the commencement of the banquet. The translation above seems preferable, however, given the clear evidence of inebriation in the context (cf. also CEV “he got drunk and ordered”).

[5:2]  ¹⁷ tn Or “ancestor”; or “predecessor” (also in vv. 11, 13, 18). The Aramaic word translated “father” can on occasion denote these other relationships.

[5:2]  ¹⁸ tn Or “taken.”

[5:2]  ¹⁹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[5:2]  ²⁰ sn Making use of sacred temple vessels for an occasion of reveling and drunkenness such as this would have been a religious affront of shocking proportions to the Jewish captives.

[5:23]  ²¹ tn Aram “which.”

[5:23]  ²² tn Aram “in whose hand [are].”

[5:22]  ²³ tn Or “descendant”; or “successor.”

[5:22]  ²⁴ tn Aram “your heart.”

[12:13]  ²⁵ tn The words “your way” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.

[12:13]  ²⁶ tc The LXX lacks “until the end.”

[12:13]  ²⁷ tn The word “receive” is added in the translation for clarification.

[12:13]  ²⁸ sn The deuterocanonical writings known as the Story of Susanna and Bel and the Dragon appear respectively as chapters 13 and 14 of the book of Daniel in the Greek version of this book. Although these writings are not part of the Hebrew/Aramaic text of Daniel, they were popular among certain early communities who valued traditions about the life of Daniel.

[5:3]  ²⁹ tc The present translation reads וְכַסְפָּא (vÿkhaspa’, “and the silver”) with Theodotion and the Vulgate. Cf. v. 2. The form was probably accidentally dropped from the Aramaic text by homoioteleuton.

[5:3]  ³⁰ tn Aram “the temple of the house of God.” The phrase seems rather awkward. The Vulgate lacks “of the house of God,” while Theodotion and the Syriac lack “the house.”