Daniel 1:2

1:2 Now the Lord ¹  delivered ²  King Jehoiakim of Judah into his power, ³  along with some of the vessels ⁴  of the temple of God. ⁵  He brought them to the land of Babylonia ⁶  to the temple of his god ⁷  and put ⁸  the vessels in the treasury of his god.

Daniel 1:4

1:4 young men in whom there was no physical defect and who were handsome, ⁹  well versed in all kinds of wisdom, well educated ¹⁰  and having keen insight, ¹¹  and who were capable ¹²  of entering the king’s royal service ¹³  – and to teach them the literature and language ¹⁴  of the Babylonians. ¹⁵ 

Daniel 10:1

An Angel Appears to Daniel

10:1 ¹⁶ In the third ¹⁷  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. ¹⁸  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 ¹⁹  Michael, one of the leading princes, came to help me, because I was left there ²⁰  with the kings of Persia.

Daniel 11:2

11:2 Now I will tell you the truth.

The Angel Gives a Message to Daniel

“Three ²¹  more kings will arise for Persia. Then a fourth ²²  king will be unusually rich, ²³  more so than all who preceded him. When he has amassed power through his riches, he will stir up everyone against ²⁴  the kingdom of Greece.

Daniel 11:36

11:36 “Then the king ²⁵  will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every deity and he will utter presumptuous things against the God of gods. He will succeed until the time of ²⁶  wrath is completed, for what has been decreed must occur. ²⁷ 

[1:2]  ¹ tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[1:2]  ² tn Heb “gave.”

[1:2]  ³ tn Heb “hand,” which is often used idiomatically for one’s power and authority. See BDB 390 s.v. יָד 2.

[1:2]  ⁴ tn Or “utensils”; or “articles.”

[1:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “house of God.”

[1:2]  ⁶ sn The land of Babylonia (Heb “the land of Shinar”) is another name for Sumer and Akkad, where Babylon was located (cf. Gen 10:10; 11:2; 14:1, 9; Josh 7:21; Isa 11:11; Zech 5:11).

[1:2]  ⁷ tn Or “gods” (NCV, NRSV, TEV; also later in this verse). The Hebrew term can be used as a numerical plural for many gods or as a plural of majesty for one particular god. Since Nebuchadnezzar was a polytheist, it is not clear if the reference here is to many gods or one particular deity. The plural of majesty, while normally used for Israel’s God, is occasionally used of foreign gods (cf. BDB 43 s.v. אֱלֹהִים 1, 2). See Judg 11:24 (of the Moabite god Chemosh); 1 Sam 5:7 (of the Philistine god Dagon); 1 Kgs 11:33 (of the Canaanite goddess Astarte, the Moabite god Chemosh, and the Ammonite god Milcom); 2 Kgs 19:37 (of the Assyrian god Nisroch). Since gods normally had their own individual temples, Dan 1:2 probably refers to a particular deity, perhaps Marduk, the supreme god of Babylon, or Marduk’s son Nabu, after whom Nebuchadnezzar was named. The name Nebuchadnezzar means “Nabu has protected the son who will inherit” (HALOT 660 s.v. נְבוּכַדְרֶאצַּר). For a discussion of how temples functioned in Babylonian religion see H. Ringgren, Religions of the Ancient Near East, 77-81.

[1:2]  ⁸ tn Heb “brought.” Though the Hebrew verb “brought” is repeated in this verse, the translation uses “brought…put” for stylistic variation.

[1:4]  ⁹ tn Heb “good of appearance.”

[1:4]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “knowers of knowledge.”

[1:4]  ¹¹ tn Heb “understanders of knowledge.”

[1:4]  ¹² tn Heb “who had strength.”

[1:4]  ¹³ tn Heb “to stand in the palace of the king.” Cf. vv. 5, 19.

[1:4]  ¹⁴ sn The language of the Chaldeans referred to here is Akkadian, an East Semitic cuneiform language.

[1:4]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Chaldeans” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV). This is an ancient name for the Babylonians.

[10:1]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ 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]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and behold.”

[10:13]  ²⁰ 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).

[11:2]  ²¹ sn Perhaps these three more kings are Cambyses (ca. 530-522 B.C.), Pseudo-Smerdis (ca. 522 B.C.), and Darius I Hystaspes (ca. 522-486 B.C.).

[11:2]  ²² sn This fourth king is Xerxes I (ca. 486-465 B.C.). The following reference to one of his chiefs apparently has in view Seleucus Nicator.

[11:2]  ²³ tn Heb “rich with great riches.”

[11:2]  ²⁴ tn The text is difficult. The Hebrew has here אֶת (’et), the marker of a definite direct object. As it stands, this would suggest the meaning that “he will arouse everyone, that is, the kingdom of Greece.” The context, however, seems to suggest the idea that this Persian king will arouse in hostility against Greece the constituent elements of his own empire. This requires supplying the word “against,” which is not actually present in the Hebrew text.

[11:36]  ²⁵ sn The identity of this king is problematic. If vv. 36-45 continue the description of Antiochus Epiphanes, the account must be viewed as erroneous, since the details do not match what is known of Antiochus’ latter days. Most modern scholars take this view, concluding that this section was written just shortly before the death of Antiochus and that the writer erred on several key points as he tried to predict what would follow the events of his own day. Conservative scholars, however, usually understand the reference to shift at this point to an eschatological figure, viz., the Antichrist. The chronological gap that this would presuppose to be in the narrative is not necessarily a problem, since by all accounts there are many chronological gaps throughout the chapter, as the historical figures intended by such expressions as “king of the north” and “king of the south” repeatedly shift.

[11:36]  ²⁶ tn The words “the time of” are added in the translation for clarification.

[11:36]  ²⁷ tn Heb “has been done.” The Hebrew verb used here is the perfect of certitude, emphasizing the certainty of fulfillment.