Daniel 2:9

2:9 If you don’t inform me of the dream, there is only one thing that is going to happen to you. ¹  For you have agreed among yourselves to report to me something false and deceitful ²  until such time as things might change. So tell me the dream, and I will have confidence ³  that you can disclose its interpretation.”

Daniel 2:30

2:30 As for me, this mystery was revealed to me not because I possess more wisdom ⁴  than any other living person, but so that the king may understand ⁵  the interpretation and comprehend the thoughts of your mind. ⁶ 

Daniel 2:39

2:39 Now after you another kingdom ⁷  will arise, one inferior to yours. Then a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule in all the earth.

Daniel 3:12

3:12 But there are Jewish men whom you appointed over the administration of the province of Babylon – Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego – and these men ⁸  have not shown proper respect to you, O king. They don’t serve your gods and they don’t pay homage to the golden statue that you have erected.”

Daniel 7:5

7:5 “Then ⁹  a second beast appeared, like a bear. It was raised up on one side, and there were three ribs ¹⁰  in its mouth between its teeth. ¹¹  It was told, ¹²  ‘Get up and devour much flesh!’

Daniel 7:8

7:8 “As I was contemplating the horns, another horn – a small one – came up between them, and three of the former horns were torn out by the roots to make room for it. ¹³  This horn had eyes resembling human eyes and a mouth speaking arrogant ¹⁴  things.

Daniel 8:13

8:13 Then I heard a holy one ¹⁵  speaking. Another holy one said to the one who was speaking, “To what period of time does the vision pertain – this vision concerning the daily sacrifice and the destructive act of rebellion and the giving over of both the sanctuary and army to be trampled?”

Daniel 9:13

9:13 Just as it is written in the law of Moses, so all this calamity has come on us. Still we have not tried to pacify ¹⁶  the LORD our God by turning back from our sin and by seeking wisdom ¹⁷  from your reliable moral standards. ¹⁸ 

Daniel 10:12

10:12 Then he said to me, “Don’t be afraid, Daniel, for from the very first day you applied your mind ¹⁹  to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard. I have come in response to your words.

Daniel 10:19-20

10:19 He said to me, “Don’t be afraid, you who are valued. ²⁰  Peace be to you! Be strong! Be really strong!” When he spoke to me, I was strengthened. I said, “Sir, you may speak now, ²¹  for you have given me strength.” 10:20 He said, “Do you know why I have come to you? ²²  Now I am about to return to engage in battle with the prince of Persia. When I go, the prince of Greece is coming.

Daniel 11:2

11:2 Now I will tell you the truth.

The Angel Gives a Message to Daniel

“Three ²³  more kings will arise for Persia. Then a fourth ²⁴  king will be unusually rich, ²⁵  more so than all who preceded him. When he has amassed power through his riches, he will stir up everyone against ²⁶  the kingdom of Greece.

Daniel 11:10

11:10 His sons ²⁷  will wage war, mustering a large army which will advance like an overflowing river and carrying the battle all the way to the enemy’s ²⁸  fortress. ²⁹ 

Daniel 11:25

11:25 He will rouse his strength and enthusiasm ³⁰  against the king of the south ³¹  with a large army. The king of the south will wage war with a large and very powerful army, but he will not be able to prevail because of the plans devised against him.

Daniel 11:35

11:35 Even some of the wise will stumble, resulting in their refinement, purification, and cleansing until the time of the end, for it is still for the appointed time.

[2:9]  ¹ tn Aram “one is your law,” i.e., only one thing is applicable to you.

[2:9]  ² tn Aram “a lying and corrupt word.”

[2:9]  ³ tn Aram “I will know.”

[2:30]  ⁴ tn Aram “not for any wisdom which is in me more than [in] any living man.”

[2:30]  ⁵ tn Aram “they might cause the king to know.” The impersonal plural is used here to refer to the role of God’s spirit in revealing the dream and its interpretation to the king. As J. A. Montgomery says, “it appropriately here veils the mysterious agency” (Daniel [ICC], 164-65).

[2:30]  ⁶ tn Aram “heart.”

[2:39]  ⁷ sn The identity of the first kingdom is clearly Babylon. The identification of the following three kingdoms is disputed. The common view is that they represent Media, Persia, and Greece. Most conservative scholars identify them as Media-Persia, Greece, and Rome.

[3:12]  ⁸ sn Daniel’s absence from this scene has sparked the imagination of commentators, some of whom have suggested that perhaps he was unable to attend the dedication due to sickness or due to being away on business. Hippolytus supposed that Daniel may have been watching from a distance.

[7:5]  ⁹ tn Aram “and behold.”

[7:5]  ¹⁰ sn The three ribs held securely in the mouth of the bear, perhaps representing Media-Persia, apparently symbolize military conquest, but the exact identity of the “ribs” is not clear. Possibly it is a reference to the Persian conquest of Lydia, Egypt, and Babylonia.

[7:5]  ¹¹ tc The LXX lacks the phrase “between its teeth.”

[7:5]  ¹² tn Aram “and thus they were saying to it.”

[7:8]  ¹³ tn Aram “were uprooted from before it.”

[7:8]  ¹⁴ tn Aram “great.” So also in vv. 11, 20.

[8:13]  ¹⁵ sn The holy one referred to here is presumably an angel. Cf. 4:13[10], 23 [20].

[9:13]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “we have not pacified the face of.”

[9:13]  ¹⁷ tn Or “by gaining insight.”

[9:13]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “by your truth.” The Hebrew term does not refer here to abstract truth, however, but to the reliable moral guidance found in the covenant law. See vv 10-11.

[10:12]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “gave your heart.”

[10:19]  ²⁰ tn Heb “treasured man.”

[10:19]  ²¹ tn Heb “my lord may speak.”

[10:20]  ²² sn The question is rhetorical, intended to encourage reflection on Daniel’s part.

[11:2]  ²³ 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]  ²⁴ 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]  ²⁵ tn Heb “rich with great riches.”

[11:2]  ²⁶ 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.

[11:10]  ²⁷ sn The sons of Seleucus II Callinicus were Seleucus III Ceraunus (ca. 227-223 B.C.) and Antiochus III the Great (ca. 223-187 B.C.).

[11:10]  ²⁸ tn Heb “his”; the referent (the enemy of the king of the north) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:10]  ²⁹ tn Heb “and he will certainly come and overflow and cross over and return and be aroused unto a fortress.” The translation has attempted to simplify the syntax of this difficult sequence.

[11:25]  ³⁰ tn Heb “heart.”

[11:25]  ³¹ sn This king of the south was Ptolemy Philometer (ca. 181-145 B.C.).