Daniel 1:8

1:8 But Daniel made up his mind ¹  that he would not defile ²  himself with the royal delicacies or the royal wine. ³  He therefore asked the overseer of the court officials for permission not to defile himself.

Daniel 1:15

1:15 At the end of the ten days their appearance was better and their bodies were healthier ⁴  than all the young men who had been eating the royal delicacies.

Daniel 1:17-18

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.

1:18 When the time appointed by the king arrived, ⁵  the overseer of the court officials brought them into Nebuchadnezzar’s presence.

Daniel 2:8

2:8 The king replied, “I know for sure that you are attempting to gain time, because you see that my decision is firm.

Daniel 4:26

4:26 They said to leave the taproot of the tree, for your kingdom will be restored to you when you come to understand that heaven ⁶  rules.

Daniel 5:5

5:5 At that very moment the fingers of a human hand appeared ⁷  and wrote on the plaster of the royal palace wall, opposite the lampstand. ⁸  The king was watching the back ⁹  of the hand that was writing.

Daniel 8:2

8:2 In this ¹⁰  vision I saw myself in Susa ¹¹  the citadel, ¹²  which is located in the province of Elam. In the vision I saw myself at the Ulai Canal. ¹³ 

Daniel 9:21

9:21 yes, while I was still praying, ¹⁴  the man Gabriel, whom I had seen previously ¹⁵  in a vision, was approaching me in my state of extreme weariness, ¹⁶  around the time of the evening offering.

Daniel 11:28

11:28 Then the king of the north ¹⁷  will return to his own land with much property. His mind will be set against the holy covenant. He will take action, and then return to his own land.

Daniel 12:2

12:2 Many of those who sleep

in the dusty ground will awake –

some to everlasting life,

and others to shame and everlasting abhorrence. ¹⁸ 

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

[1:8]  ² 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]  ³ tn Heb “with the delicacies of the king and with the wine of his drinking.”

[1:15]  ⁴ tn Heb “fat of flesh”; KJV, ASV “fatter in flesh”; NASB, NRSV “fatter” (although this is no longer a sign of health in Western culture).

[1:18]  ⁵ tn Heb “at the end of the days which the king said to bring them.”

[4:26]  ⁶ sn The reference to heaven here is a circumlocution for God. There was a tendency in Jewish contexts to avoid direct reference to God. Cf. the expression “kingdom of heaven” in the NT and such statements as “I have sinned against heaven and in your sight” (Luke 15:21).

[5:5]  ⁷ tn Aram “came forth.”

[5:5]  ⁸ sn The mention of the lampstand in this context is of interest because it suggests that the writing was in clear view.

[5:5]  ⁹ tn While Aramaic פַּס (pas) can mean the palm of the hand, here it seems to be the back of the hand that is intended.

[8:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the.”

[8:2]  ¹¹ sn Susa (Heb. שׁוּשַׁן, shushan), located some 230 miles (380 km) east of Babylon, was a winter residence for Persian kings during the Achaemenid period. The language of v. 2 seems to suggest that Daniel may not have been physically present at Susa, but only saw himself there in the vision. However, the Hebrew is difficult, and some have concluded that the first four words of v. 2 in the MT are a later addition (cf. Theodotion).

[8:2]  ¹² tn The Hebrew word בִּירָה (birah, “castle, palace”) usually refers to a fortified structure within a city, but here it is in apposition to the city name Susa and therefore has a broader reference to the entire city (against this view, however, see BDB 108 s.v. 2). Cf. NAB “the fortress of Susa”; TEV “the walled city of Susa.”

[8:2]  ¹³ tn The term אוּבַל (’uval = “stream, river”) is a relatively rare word in biblical Hebrew, found only here and in vv. 3 and 6. The Ulai was apparently a sizable artificial canal in Susa (cf. NASB, NIV, NCV), and not a river in the ordinary sense of that word.

[9:21]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “speaking in prayer.”

[9:21]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “in the beginning.”

[9:21]  ¹⁶ tn The Hebrew expression בִּיעָף מֻעָף (mu’af bi’af) is very difficult. The issue is whether the verb derives from עוּף (’uf, “to fly”) or from יָעַף (ya’af, “to be weary”). Many ancient versions and modern commentators take the first of these possibilities and understand the reference to be to the swift flight of the angel Gabriel in his coming to Daniel. The words more likely refer to the extreme weariness, not of the angel, but of Daniel. Cf. 7:28; 8:27; 10:8-9, 16-17; also NASB.

[11:28]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king of the north) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:2]  ¹⁸ sn This verse is the only undisputed reference to a literal resurrection found in the Hebrew Bible.