Daniel 2:1

Nebuchadnezzar Has a Disturbing Dream

2:1 In the second year of his ¹  reign Nebuchadnezzar had many dreams. ²  His mind ³  was disturbed and he suffered from insomnia. ⁴ 

Daniel 3:29

3:29 I hereby decree ⁵  that any people, nation, or language group that blasphemes ⁶  the god of Shadrach, Meshach, or Abednego will be dismembered and his home reduced to rubble! For there exists no other god who can deliver in this way.”

Daniel 7:19

7:19 “Then I wanted to know the meaning ⁷  of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others. It was very dreadful, with two rows of iron teeth and bronze claws, and it devoured, crushed, and trampled anything that was left with its feet.

Daniel 8:7

8:7 I saw it approaching the ram. It went into a fit of rage against the ram ⁸  and struck it ⁹  and broke off its two horns. The ram had no ability to resist it. ¹⁰  The goat hurled the ram ¹¹  to the ground and trampled it. No one could deliver the ram from its power. ¹² 

Daniel 8:17

8:17 So he approached the place where I was standing. As he came, I felt terrified and fell flat on the ground. ¹³  Then he said to me, “Understand, son of man, ¹⁴  that the vision pertains to the time of the end.”

Daniel 9:16

9:16 O Lord, according to all your justice, ¹⁵  please turn your raging anger ¹⁶  away from your city Jerusalem, your holy mountain. For due to our sins and the iniquities of our ancestors, Jerusalem and your people are mocked by all our neighbors.

Daniel 9:18

9:18 Listen attentively, ¹⁷  my God, and hear! Open your eyes and look on our desolated ruins ¹⁸  and the city called by your name. ¹⁹  For it is not because of our own righteous deeds that we are praying to you, ²⁰  but because your compassion is abundant.

Daniel 10:13

10:13 However, the prince of the kingdom of Persia was opposing me for twenty-one days. But ²¹  Michael, one of the leading princes, came to help me, because I was left there ²²  with the kings of Persia.

Daniel 10:16

10:16 Then ²³  one who appeared to be a human being ²⁴  was touching my lips. I opened my mouth and started to speak, saying to the one who was standing before me, “Sir, ²⁵  due to the vision, anxiety has gripped me and I have no strength.

Daniel 10:19

10:19 He said to me, “Don’t be afraid, you who are valued. ²⁶  Peace be to you! Be strong! Be really strong!” When he spoke to me, I was strengthened. I said, “Sir, you may speak now, ²⁷  for you have given me strength.”

Daniel 11:36

11:36 “Then the king ²⁸  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 ²⁹  wrath is completed, for what has been decreed must occur. ³⁰ 

[2:1]  ¹ tn Heb “Nebuchadnezzar’s.” The possessive pronoun is substituted in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[2:1]  ² tn Heb “dreamed dreams.” The plural is used here and in v. 2, but the singular in v. 3. The plural “dreams” has been variously explained. Some interpreters take the plural as denoting an indefinite singular (so GKC 400 §124.o). But it may be that it is describing a stream of related dreams, or a dream state. In the latter case, one might translate: “Nebuchadnezzar was in a trance.” See further, J. A. Montgomery, Daniel (ICC), 142.

[2:1]  ³ tn Heb “his spirit.”

[2:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “his sleep left (?) him.” The use of the verb הָיָה (hayah, “to be”) here is unusual. The context suggests a meaning such as “to be finished” or “gone.” Cf. Dan 8:27. Some scholars emend the verb to read נָדְדָה (nadÿdah, “fled”); cf. Dan 6:19. See further, DCH 2:540 s.v. היה I Ni.3; HALOT 244 s.v. היה nif; BDB 227-28 s.v. הָיָה Niph.2.

[3:29]  ⁵ tn Aram “from me is placed an edict.”

[3:29]  ⁶ tn Aram “speaks negligence.”

[7:19]  ⁷ tn Aram “to make certain.”

[8:7]  ⁸ tn Heb “him.”

[8:7]  ⁹ tn Heb “the ram.”

[8:7]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “stand before him.”

[8:7]  ¹¹ tn Heb “he hurled him.” The referents of both pronouns (the male goat and the ram) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:7]  ¹² sn The goat of Daniel’s vision represents Greece; the large horn represents Alexander the Great. The ram stands for Media-Persia. Alexander’s rapid conquest of the Persians involved three battles of major significance which he won against overwhelming odds: Granicus (334 B.C.), Isus (333 B.C.), and Gaugemela (331 B.C.).

[8:17]  ¹³ tn Heb “on my face.”

[8:17]  ¹⁴ tn Or “human one.”

[9:16]  ¹⁵ tn Or “righteousness.”

[9:16]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “your anger and your rage.” The synonyms are joined here to emphasize the degree of God’s anger. This is best expressed in English by making one of the terms adjectival (cf. NLT “your furious anger”; CEV “terribly angry”).

[9:18]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “turn your ear.”

[9:18]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “desolations.” The term refers here to the ruined condition of Judah’s towns.

[9:18]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “over which your name is called.” Cf. v. 19. This expression implies that God is the owner of his city, Jerusalem. Note the use of the idiom in 2 Sam 12:28; Isa 4:1; Amos 9:12.

[9:18]  ²⁰ tn Heb “praying our supplications before you.”

[10:13]  ²¹ tn Heb “and behold.”

[10:13]  ²² 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).

[10:16]  ²³ tn Heb “Behold.”

[10:16]  ²⁴ tc So most Hebrew MSS; one Hebrew MS along with the Dead Sea Scrolls and LXX read “something that looked like a man’s hand.”

[10:16]  ²⁵ tn Heb “my lord,” here a title of polite address. Cf. v. 19.

[10:19]  ²⁶ tn Heb “treasured man.”

[10:19]  ²⁷ tn Heb “my lord may speak.”

[11:36]  ²⁸ 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]  ²⁹ tn The words “the time of” are added in the translation for clarification.

[11:36]  ³⁰ tn Heb “has been done.” The Hebrew verb used here is the perfect of certitude, emphasizing the certainty of fulfillment.