Daniel 1:17

1:17 Now as for these four young men, God endowed them with knowledge and skill in all sorts of literature and wisdom – and Daniel had insight into all kinds of visions and dreams.

Daniel 2:5

2:5 The king replied ¹  to the wise men, “My decision is firm. ²  If you do not inform me of both the dream and its interpretation, you will be dismembered ³  and your homes reduced to rubble!

Daniel 2:21

2:21 He changes times and seasons,

deposing some kings

and establishing others. ⁴ 

He gives wisdom to the wise;

he imparts knowledge to those with understanding; ⁵ 

Daniel 2:40

2:40 Then there will be a fourth kingdom, one strong like iron. Just like iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything, and as iron breaks in pieces ⁶  all of these metals, ⁷  so it will break in pieces and crush the others. ⁸ 

Daniel 3:14

3:14 Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you don’t serve my gods and that you don’t pay homage to the golden statue that I erected?

Daniel 3:18

3:18 But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we don’t serve your gods, and we will not pay homage to the golden statue that you have erected.”

Daniel 6:2

6:2 Over them would be three supervisors, one of whom was Daniel. These satraps were accountable ⁹  to them, so that the king’s interests might not incur damage.

Daniel 7:6

7:6 “After these things, ¹⁰  as I was watching, another beast ¹¹  like a leopard appeared, with four bird-like wings on its back. ¹²  This beast had four heads, ¹³  and ruling authority was given to it.

Daniel 7:13

7:13 I was watching in the night visions,

“And with ¹⁴  the clouds of the sky ¹⁵ 

one like a son of man ¹⁶  was approaching.

He went up to the Ancient of Days

and was escorted ¹⁷  before him.

Daniel 8:9

8:9 From one of them came a small horn. ¹⁸  But it grew to be very big, toward the south and the east and toward the beautiful land. ¹⁹ 

Daniel 8:23

8:23 Toward the end of their rule, when rebellious acts ²⁰  are complete, a rash ²¹  and deceitful ²²  king will arise. ²³ 

Daniel 8:27

8:27 I, Daniel, was exhausted ²⁴  and sick for days. Then I got up and again carried out the king’s business. But I was astonished at the vision, and there was no one to explain it.

Daniel 11:41

11:41 Then he will enter the beautiful land. ²⁵  Many ²⁶  will fall, but these will escape: ²⁷  Edom, Moab, and the Ammonite leadership.

[2:5]  ¹ tn Aram “answered and said,” a common idiom to indicate a reply, but redundant in contemporary English.

[2:5]  ² tn It seems clear from what follows that Nebuchadnezzar clearly recalls the content of the dream, although obviously he does not know what to make of it. By not divulging the dream itself to the would-be interpreters, he intends to find out whether they are simply leading him on. If they can tell him the dream’s content, which he is able to verify, he then can have confidence in their interpretation, which is what eludes him. The translation “the matter is gone from me” (cf. KJV, ASV), suggesting that the king had simply forgotten the dream, is incorrect. The Aramaic word used here (אַזְדָּא, ’azda’) is probably of Persian origin; it occurs in the OT only here and in v. 8. There are two main possibilities for the meaning of the word: “the matter is promulgated by me” (see KBL 1048 s.v.) and therefore “publicly known” (cf. NRSV; F. Rosenthal, Grammar, 62-63, §189), or “the matter is irrevocable” (cf. NAB, NIV, TEV, CEV, NLT; HALOT 1808 s.v. אזד; cf. also BDB 1079 s.v.). The present translation reflects this latter option. See further E. Vogt, Lexicon linguae aramaicae, 3.

[2:5]  ³ tn Aram “made limbs.” Cf. 3:29.

[2:21]  ⁴ tn Aram “kings.”

[2:21]  ⁵ tn Aram “the knowers of understanding.”

[2:40]  ⁶ tc Theodotion and the Vulgate lack the phrase “and as iron breaks in pieces.”

[2:40]  ⁷ tn The Aramaic text does not have this word, but it has been added in the translation for clarity.

[2:40]  ⁸ tn The words “the others” are supplied from the context.

[6:2]  ⁹ tn Aram “giving an account.”

[7:6]  ¹⁰ tn Aram “this.” So also in v. 7.

[7:6]  ¹¹ tn Aram “and behold, another one.”

[7:6]  ¹² tn Or “sides.”

[7:6]  ¹³ sn If the third animal is Greece, the most likely identification of these four heads is the four-fold division of the empire of Alexander the Great following his death. See note on Dan 8:8.

[7:13]  ¹⁴ tc The LXX has ἐπί (epi, “upon”) here (cf. Matt 24:30; 26:64). Theodotion has μετά (meta, “with”) here (cf. Mark 14:62; Rev 1:7).

[7:13]  ¹⁵ tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.

[7:13]  ¹⁶ sn This text is probably the main OT background for Jesus’ use of the term “son of man.” In both Jewish and Christian circles the reference in the book of Daniel has traditionally been understood to refer to an individual, usually in a messianic sense. Many modern scholars, however, understand the reference to have a corporate identity. In this view, the “son of man” is to be equated with the “holy ones” (vv. 18, 21, 22, 25) or the “people of the holy ones” (v. 27) and understood as a reference to the Jewish people. Others understand Daniel’s reference to be to the angel Michael.

[7:13]  ¹⁷ tn Aram “they brought him near.”

[8:9]  ¹⁸ sn This small horn is Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who controlled the Seleucid kingdom from ca. 175-164 B.C. Antiochus was extremely hostile toward the Jews and persecuted them mercilessly.

[8:9]  ¹⁹ sn The expression the beautiful land (Heb. הַצֶּבִי [hatsÿvi] = “the beauty”) is a cryptic reference to the land of Israel. Cf. 11:16, 41, where it is preceded by the word אֶרֶץ (’erets, “land”).

[8:23]  ²⁰ tc The present translation reads הַפְּשָׁעִים (happÿsha’im, “rebellious acts”) for the MT הַפֹּשְׁעִים (happoshÿ’im, “rebels”). While the MT is understandable (cf. NIV, “when rebels have become completely wicked”), the filling up of transgressions is a familiar OT expression (cf. Gen 15:16) and fits this context well. Cf. the LXX, Theodotion, the Vulgate, and the Syriac.

[8:23]  ²¹ tn Heb “strong of face.”

[8:23]  ²² tn Heb “understanding riddles.” Possible meanings include “double-dealing” (BDB 295 s.v. חִידָה; cf. TEV, CEV) and “with a good knowledge of intrigue” (HALOT 309 s.v. חִידָה; cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[8:23]  ²³ tn Heb “stand” or “stand up.”

[8:27]  ²⁴ tn The Hebrew word here is נִהְיֵיתִי (nihyetiy). Its meaning is not entirely clear. Hebrew הָיָה (hayah) normally has meanings such as “to be” or “become.” Here, however, it describes Daniel’s emotional and physical response to the enigmatic vision that he has seen. It is parallel to the following verb, which refers to illness, and seems to refer to a state of utter exhaustion due to the amazing things that Daniel has just seen. The LXX lacks the word. On the meaning of the word see further, BDB 227-28 s.v. הָיָה Niph.2; DCH 2:540 s.v. היה I Ni.3.

[11:41]  ²⁵ sn The beautiful land is a cryptic reference to the land of Israel.

[11:41]  ²⁶ tn This can be understood as “many people” (cf. NRSV) or “many countries” (cf. NASB, NIV, NLT).

[11:41]  ²⁷ tn Heb “be delivered from his hand.”