Daniel 3:1

Daniel’s Friends Are Tested

3:1 ¹ King Nebuchadnezzar had a golden ²  statue made. ³  It was ninety feet ⁴  tall and nine feet ⁵  wide. He erected it on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.

Daniel 2:34

2:34 You were watching as ⁶  a stone was cut out, ⁷  but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its iron and clay feet, breaking them in pieces.

Daniel 2:31

2:31 “You, O king, were watching as a great statue – one ⁸  of impressive size and extraordinary brightness – was standing before you. Its appearance caused alarm.

Daniel 4:14

4:14 He called out loudly ⁹  as follows: ¹⁰ 

‘Chop down the tree and lop off its branches!

Strip off its foliage

and scatter its fruit!

Let the animals flee from under it

and the birds from its branches!

Daniel 4:21

4:21 whose foliage was attractive and its fruit plentiful, and from which there was food available for all, under whose branches wild animals ¹¹  used to live, and in whose branches birds of the sky used to nest –

Daniel 4:12

4:12 Its foliage was attractive and its fruit plentiful;

on it there was food enough for all.

Under it the wild animals ¹²  used to seek shade,

and in its branches the birds of the sky used to nest.

All creatures ¹³  used to feed themselves from it.

Daniel 6:17

6:17 Then a stone was brought and placed over the opening ¹⁴  to the den. The king sealed ¹⁵  it with his signet ring and with those ¹⁶  of his nobles so that nothing could be changed with regard to Daniel.

Daniel 2:45

2:45 You saw that a stone was cut from a mountain, but not by human hands; it smashed the iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold into pieces. The great God has made known to the king what will occur in the future. ¹⁷  The dream is certain, and its interpretation is reliable.”

Daniel 4:5

4:5 I saw a dream that ¹⁸  frightened me badly. The things I imagined while lying on my bed – these visions of my mind – were terrifying me.

Daniel 4:10

4:10 Here are the visions of my mind ¹⁹  while I was on my bed.

While I was watching,

there was a tree in the middle of the land. ²⁰ 

It was enormously tall. ²¹ 

Daniel 11:42

11:42 He will extend his power ²²  against other lands; the land of Egypt will not escape.

Daniel 8:22

8:22 The horn that was broken ²³  and in whose place there arose four others stands for four kingdoms that will arise from his nation, though they will not have his strength.

Daniel 11:15

11:15 Then the king of the north will advance and will build siege mounds and capture a well-fortified city. ²⁴  The forces of the south will not prevail, not even his finest contingents. ²⁵  They will have no strength to prevail.

Daniel 10:10

10:10 Then ²⁶  a hand touched me and set me on my hands and knees. ²⁷ 

Daniel 2:39

2:39 Now after you another kingdom ²⁸  will arise, one inferior to yours. Then a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule in all the earth.

Daniel 2:44

2:44 In the days of those kings the God of heaven will raise up an everlasting kingdom that will not be destroyed and a kingdom that will not be left to another people. It will break in pieces and bring about the demise of all these kingdoms. But it will stand forever.

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. ²⁹  This horn had eyes resembling human eyes and a mouth speaking arrogant ³⁰  things.

Daniel 1:12

1:12 “Please test your servants for ten days by providing us with some vegetables to eat and water to drink.

Daniel 1:16

1:16 So the warden removed the delicacies and the wine ³¹  from their diet ³²  and gave them a diet of vegetables instead.

Daniel 5:1

Belshazzar Sees Mysterious Handwriting on a Wall

5:1 King Belshazzar ³³  prepared a great banquet ³⁴  for a thousand of his nobles, and he was drinking wine in front of ³⁵  them all. ³⁶ 

Daniel 5:18

5:18 As for you, O king, the most high God bestowed on your father Nebuchadnezzar a kingdom, greatness, honor, and majesty. ³⁷ 

Daniel 8:20

8:20 The ram that you saw with the two horns stands for the kings of Media and Persia.

Daniel 11:3

11:3 Then a powerful king ³⁸  will arise, exercising great authority and doing as he pleases.

Daniel 2:35

2:35 Then the iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold were broken in pieces without distinction ³⁹  and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors that the wind carries away. Not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the statue became a large mountain that filled the entire earth.

Daniel 8:3

8:3 I looked up ⁴⁰  and saw ⁴¹  a ⁴²  ram with two horns standing at the canal. Its two horns were both long, ⁴³  but one was longer than the other. The longer one was coming up after the shorter one.

Daniel 8:8

8:8 The male goat acted even more arrogantly. But no sooner had the large horn become strong than it was broken, and there arose four conspicuous horns ⁴⁴  in its place, ⁴⁵  extending toward the four winds of the sky. ⁴⁶ 

Daniel 11:10

11:10 His sons ⁴⁷  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 ⁴⁸  fortress. ⁴⁹ 

Daniel 11:40

11:40 “At the time of the end the king of the south will attack ⁵⁰  him. Then the king of the north will storm against him ⁵¹  with chariots, horsemen, and a large armada of ships. ⁵²  He ⁵³  will invade lands, passing through them like an overflowing river. ⁵⁴ 

Daniel 4:3

4:3 “How great are his signs!

How mighty are his wonders!

His kingdom will last forever, ⁵⁵ 

and his authority continues from one generation to the next.”

Daniel 7:10

7:10 A river of fire was streaming forth

and proceeding from his presence.

Many thousands were ministering to him;

Many tens of thousands stood ready to serve him. ⁵⁶ 

The court convened ⁵⁷ 

and the books were opened.

Daniel 8:10

8:10 It grew so big it reached the army ⁵⁸  of heaven, and it brought about the fall of some of the army and some of the stars ⁵⁹  to the ground, where it trampled them.

Daniel 11:6

11:6 After some years have passed, they ⁶⁰  will form an alliance. Then the daughter ⁶¹  of the king of the south will come to the king of the north to make an agreement, but she will not retain her power, ⁶²  nor will he continue ⁶³  in his strength. ⁶⁴  She, together with the one who brought her, her child, ⁶⁵  and her benefactor will all be delivered over at that time. ⁶⁶ 

Daniel 7:5

7:5 “Then ⁶⁷  a second beast appeared, like a bear. It was raised up on one side, and there were three ribs ⁶⁸  in its mouth between its teeth. ⁶⁹  It was told, ⁷⁰  ‘Get up and devour much flesh!’

Daniel 7:20

7:20 I also wanted to know ⁷¹  the meaning of the ten horns on its head, and of that other horn which came up and before which three others fell. This was the horn that had eyes ⁷²  and a mouth speaking arrogant things, whose appearance was more formidable than the others. ⁷³ 

Daniel 8:5

8:5 While I was contemplating all this, ⁷⁴  a male goat ⁷⁵  was coming from the west over the surface of all the land ⁷⁶  without touching the ground. This goat had a conspicuous horn ⁷⁷  between its eyes.

Daniel 8:7

8:7 I saw it approaching the ram. It went into a fit of rage against the ram ⁷⁸  and struck it ⁷⁹  and broke off its two horns. The ram had no ability to resist it. ⁸⁰  The goat hurled the ram ⁸¹  to the ground and trampled it. No one could deliver the ram from its power. ⁸² 

Daniel 11:4

11:4 Shortly after his rise to power, ⁸³  his kingdom will be broken up and distributed toward the four winds of the sky ⁸⁴  – but not to his posterity or with the authority he exercised, for his kingdom will be uprooted and distributed to others besides these.

Daniel 6:12

6:12 So they approached the king and said to him, ⁸⁵  “Did you not issue an edict to the effect that for the next thirty days anyone who prays to any god or human other than to you, O king, would be thrown into a den of lions?” The king replied, “That is correct, ⁸⁶  according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be changed.”

Daniel 3:23

3:23 But those three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell into the furnace ⁸⁷  of blazing fire while still securely bound. ⁸⁸ 

Daniel 12:13

12:13 But you should go your way ⁸⁹  until the end. ⁹⁰  You will rest and then at the end of the days you will arise to receive ⁹¹  what you have been allotted.” ⁹² 

[3:1]  ¹ sn The LXX introduces this chapter with the following chronological note: “in the eighteenth year of.” Such a date would place these events at about the time of the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. (cf. 2 Kgs 25:8). However, there seems to be no real basis for associating the events of Daniel 3 with this date.

[3:1]  ² sn There is no need to think of Nebuchadnezzar’s image as being solid gold. No doubt the sense is that it was overlaid with gold (cf. Isa 40:19; Jer 10:3-4), with the result that it presented a dazzling self-compliment to the greatness of Nebuchadnezzar’s achievements.

[3:1]  ³ sn According to a number of patristic authors, the image represented a deification of Nebuchadnezzar himself. This is not clear from the biblical text, however.

[3:1]  ⁴ tn Aram “sixty cubits.” Assuming a length of 18 inches for the standard cubit, the image would be 90 feet (27.4 m) high.

[3:1]  ⁵ tn Aram “six cubits.” Assuming a length of 18 inches for the standard cubit, the image would be 9 feet (2.74 m) wide.

[3:1]  sn The dimensions of the image (ninety feet high and nine feet wide) imply that it did not possess normal human proportions, unless a base for the image is included in the height dimension. The ancient world knew of other tall statues. For example, the Colossus of Rhodes – the huge statue of Helios which stood (ca. 280-224 B.C.) at the entrance to the harbor at Rhodes and was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world – was said to be seventy cubits (105 ft or 32 m) in height, which would make it even taller than Nebuchadnezzar’s image.

[2:34]  ⁶ tn Aram “until.”

[2:34]  ⁷ tc The LXX, Theodotion, and the Vulgate have “from a mountain,” though this is probably a harmonization with v. 45.

[2:31]  ⁸ tn Aram “an image.”

[4:14]  ⁹ tn Aram “in strength.”

[4:14]  ¹⁰ tn Aram “and thus he was saying.”

[4:21]  ¹¹ tn Aram “the beasts of the field” (also in vv. 23, 25, 32).

[4:12]  ¹² tn Aram “the beasts of the field.”

[4:12]  ¹³ tn Aram “all flesh.”

[6:17]  ¹⁴ tn Aram “mouth.”

[6:17]  ¹⁵ sn The purpose of the den being sealed was to prevent unauthorized tampering with the opening of the den. Any disturbance of the seal would immediately alert the officials to improper activity of this sort.

[6:17]  ¹⁶ tn Aram “the signet rings.”

[2:45]  ¹⁷ tn Aram “after this.”

[4:5]  ¹⁸ tn Aram “and it.”

[4:10]  ¹⁹ tc The LXX lacks the first two words (Aram “the visions of my head”) of the Aramaic text.

[4:10]  ²⁰ tn Instead of “in the middle of the land,” some English versions render this phrase “a tree at the center of the earth” (NRSV); NAB, CEV “of the world”; NLT “in the middle of the earth.” The Hebrew phrase can have either meaning.

[4:10]  ²¹ tn Aram “its height was great.”

[11:42]  ²² tn Heb “hand.”

[8:22]  ²³ tn Heb “the broken one.” The word “horn” has been supplied in the translation to clarify the referent.

[11:15]  ²⁴ sn This well-fortified city is apparently Sidon. Its capture from the Ptolemies by Antiochus the Great was a strategic victory for the Seleucid kingdom.

[11:15]  ²⁵ tn Or “choice troops” (BDB 104 s.v. מִבְחָר), or “elite troops” (HALOT 542 s.v. מִבְחָר).

[10:10]  ²⁶ tn Heb “Behold.”

[10:10]  ²⁷ tc Theodotion lacks “and the palms of my hands.”

[10:10]  tn Heb “on my knees and the palms of my hands.”

[2:39]  ²⁸ 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.

[7:8]  ²⁹ tn Aram “were uprooted from before it.”

[7:8]  ³⁰ tn Aram “great.” So also in vv. 11, 20.

[1:16]  ³¹ tn Heb “the wine of their drinking.”

[1:16]  ³² tn The words “from their diet” are not in the Hebrew text but have been added in the translation for clarity.

[5:1]  ³³ sn As is clear from the extra-biblical records, it was actually Nabonidus (ca. 556-539 B.C.) who was king of Babylon at this time. However, Nabonidus spent long periods of time at Teima, and during those times Belshazzar his son was de facto king of Babylon. This arrangement may help to explain why later in this chapter Belshazzar promises that the successful interpreter of the handwriting on the wall will be made third ruler in the kingdom. If Belshazzar was in effect second ruler in the kingdom, this would be the highest honor he could grant.

[5:1]  ³⁴ sn This scene of a Babylonian banquet calls to mind a similar grandiose event recorded in Esth 1:3-8. Persian kings were also renowned in the ancient Near Eastern world for their lavish banquets.

[5:1]  ³⁵ sn The king probably sat at an elevated head table.

[5:1]  ³⁶ tn Aram “the thousand.”

[5:18]  ³⁷ tn Or “royal greatness and majestic honor,” if the four terms are understood as a double hendiadys.

[11:3]  ³⁸ sn The powerful king mentioned here is Alexander the Great (ca. 336-323 B.C.).

[2:35]  ³⁹ tn Aram “as one.” For the meaning “without distinction” see the following: F. Rosenthal, Grammar, 36, §64, and p. 93; E. Vogt, Lexicon linguae aramaicae, 60.

[8:3]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “lifted my eyes.”

[8:3]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “and behold.”

[8:3]  ⁴² tn Heb “one.” The Hebrew numerical adjective occasionally functions like an English indefinite article. See GKC 401 §125.b.

[8:3]  ⁴³ tn Heb “high” (also “higher” later in this verse).

[8:8]  ⁴⁴ tn The word “horns” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied.

[8:8]  ⁴⁵ sn The four conspicuous horns refer to Alexander’s successors. After his death, Alexander’s empire was divided up among four of his generals: Cassander, who took Macedonia and Greece; Lysimachus, who took Thrace and parts of Asia Minor; Seleucus, who took Syria and territory to its east; and Ptolemy, who took control of Egypt.

[8:8]  ⁴⁶ tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.

[11:10]  ⁴⁷ 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]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “his”; the referent (the enemy of the king of the north) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:10]  ⁴⁹ 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.

[11:40]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “engage in thrusting.”

[11:40]  ⁵¹ tn The referent of the pronoun is most likely the king of the south, in which case the text describes the king of the north countering the attack of the king of the south.

[11:40]  ⁵² tn Heb “many ships.”

[11:40]  ⁵³ tn This most likely refers to the king of the north who, in response to the aggression of the king of the south, launches an invasion of the southern regions.

[11:40]  ⁵⁴ tn Heb “and will overflow and pass over.”

[4:3]  ⁵⁵ tn Aram “his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.”

[7:10]  ⁵⁶ tn Aram “were standing before him.”

[7:10]  ⁵⁷ tn Aram “judgment sat.”

[8:10]  ⁵⁸ tn Traditionally, “host.” The term refers to God’s heavenly angelic assembly, which he sometimes leads into battle as an army.

[8:10]  ⁵⁹ sn In prescientific Israelite thinking the stars were associated with the angelic members of God’s heavenly assembly. See Judg 5:20; Job 38:7; Isa 40:26. In west Semitic mythology the stars were members of the high god’s divine assembly (see Isa 14:13).

[11:6]  ⁶⁰ sn Here they refers to Ptolemy II Philadelphus (ca. 285-246 B.C.) and Antiochus II Theos (ca. 262-246 B.C.).

[11:6]  ⁶¹ sn The daughter refers to Berenice, who was given in marriage to Antiochus II Theos.

[11:6]  ⁶² tn Heb “the strength of the arm.”

[11:6]  ⁶³ tn Heb “stand.” So also in vv. 7, 8, 11, 13.

[11:6]  ⁶⁴ tn Heb “and his arm.” Some understand this to refer to the descendants of the king of the north.

[11:6]  ⁶⁵ tc The present translation reads יַלְדָּה (yaldah, “her child”) rather than the MT יֹלְדָהּ (yolÿdah, “the one who begot her”). Cf. Theodotion, the Syriac, and the Vulgate.

[11:6]  ⁶⁶ sn Antiochus II eventually divorced Berenice and remarried his former wife Laodice, who then poisoned her husband, had Berenice put to death, and installed her own son, Seleucus II Callinicus (ca. 246-227 B.C.), as the Seleucid king.

[7:5]  ⁶⁷ tn Aram “and behold.”

[7:5]  ⁶⁸ 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]  ⁶⁹ tc The LXX lacks the phrase “between its teeth.”

[7:5]  ⁷⁰ tn Aram “and thus they were saying to it.”

[7:20]  ⁷¹ tn The words “I also wanted to know” are added in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[7:20]  ⁷² tc The conjunction in the MT before “eyes” is odd. The ancient versions do not seem to presuppose it.

[7:20]  ⁷³ tn Aram “greater than its companions.”

[8:5]  ⁷⁴ tn The words “all this” are added in the translation for stylistic reasons and for clarification.

[8:5]  ⁷⁵ tn Heb “and behold, a he-goat of the goats.”

[8:5]  ⁷⁶ tn Or “of the whole earth” (NAB, ASV, NASB, NRSV).

[8:5]  ⁷⁷ tn Heb “a horn of vision” [or “conspicuousness”], i.e., “a conspicuous horn,” one easily seen.

[8:7]  ⁷⁸ tn Heb “him.”

[8:7]  ⁷⁹ tn Heb “the ram.”

[8:7]  ⁸⁰ tn Heb “stand before him.”

[8:7]  ⁸¹ 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]  ⁸² 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.).

[11:4]  ⁸³ tn Heb “and when he stands.”

[11:4]  ⁸⁴ tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.

[6:12]  ⁸⁵ tc The MT also has “about the edict of the king,” but this phrase is absent in the LXX and the Syriac. The present translation deletes the expression.

[6:12]  tn Aram “before the king.”

[6:12]  ⁸⁶ tn Aram “the word is true.”

[3:23]  ⁸⁷ tn Aram “into the midst of the furnace.” For stylistic reasons the words “the midst of” have been left untranslated.

[3:23]  ⁸⁸ sn The deuterocanonical writings known as The Prayer of Azariah and The Song of the Three present at this point a confession and petition for God’s forgiveness and a celebration of God’s grace for the three Jewish youths in the fiery furnace. Though not found in the Hebrew/Aramaic text of Daniel, these compositions do appear in the ancient Greek versions.

[12:13]  ⁸⁹ tn The words “your way” are not in the Hebrew text, but are implied.

[12:13]  ⁹⁰ tc The LXX lacks “until the end.”

[12:13]  ⁹¹ tn The word “receive” is added in the translation for clarification.

[12:13]  ⁹² sn The deuterocanonical writings known as the Story of Susanna and Bel and the Dragon appear respectively as chapters 13 and 14 of the book of Daniel in the Greek version of this book. Although these writings are not part of the Hebrew/Aramaic text of Daniel, they were popular among certain early communities who valued traditions about the life of Daniel.