Daniel 6:13

6:13 Then they said to the king, “Daniel, who is one of the captives ¹  from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or to the edict that you issued. Three times daily he offers his prayer.” ² 

Daniel 6:16

6:16 So the king gave the order, ³  and Daniel was brought and thrown into a den ⁴  of lions. The king consoled ⁵  Daniel by saying, “Your God whom you continually serve will rescue you!”

Daniel 6:20

6:20 As he approached the den, he called out to Daniel in a worried voice, ⁶  “Daniel, servant of the living God, was your God whom you continually serve able to rescue you from the lions?”

Daniel 7:7

7:7 “After these things, as I was watching in the night visions ⁷  a fourth beast appeared – one dreadful, terrible, and very strong. ⁸  It had two large rows ⁹  of iron teeth. It devoured and crushed, and anything that was left it trampled with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that came before it, and it had ten horns.

Daniel 7:9

7:9 “While I was watching,

thrones were set up,

and the Ancient of Days ¹⁰  took his seat.

His attire was white like snow;

the hair of his head was like lamb’s ¹¹  wool.

His throne was ablaze with fire

and its wheels were all aflame. ¹² 

Daniel 8:7

8:7 I saw it approaching the ram. It went into a fit of rage against the ram ¹³  and struck it ¹⁴  and broke off its two horns. The ram had no ability to resist it. ¹⁵  The goat hurled the ram ¹⁶  to the ground and trampled it. No one could deliver the ram from its power. ¹⁷ 

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. ¹⁸  Then he said to me, “Understand, son of man, ¹⁹  that the vision pertains to the time of the end.”

Daniel 8:24

8:24 His power will be great, but it will not be by his strength alone. He will cause terrible destruction. ²⁰  He will be successful in what he undertakes. ²¹  He will destroy powerful people and the people of the holy ones. ²² 

Daniel 10:1

An Angel Appears to Daniel

10:1 ²³ In the third ²⁴  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. ²⁵  He understood the message and gained insight by the vision.

Daniel 10:11

10:11 He said to me, “Daniel, you are of great value. ²⁶  Understand the words that I am about to ²⁷  speak to you. So stand up, ²⁸  for I have now been sent to you.” When he said this ²⁹  to me, I stood up shaking.

Daniel 11:17

11:17 His intention ³⁰  will be to come with the strength of his entire kingdom, and he will form alliances. ³¹  He will give the king of the south ³²  a daughter ³³  in marriage in order to destroy the kingdom, but it will not turn out to his advantage.

[6:13]  ¹ tn Aram “from the sons of the captivity [of].”

[6:13]  ² tn Aram “prays his prayer.”

[6:16]  ³ tn Aram “said.” So also in vv. 24, 25.

[6:16]  ⁴ sn The den was perhaps a pit below ground level which could be safely observed from above.

[6:16]  ⁵ tn Aram “answered and said [to Daniel].”

[6:20]  ⁶ tn Aram “The king answered and said to Daniel.” This phrase has not been included in the translation for stylistic reasons; it is redundant in English.

[7:7]  ⁷ tn The Aramaic text has also “and behold.” So also in vv. 8, 13.

[7:7]  ⁸ sn The fourth animal differs from the others in that it is nondescript. Apparently it was so fearsome that Daniel could find nothing with which to compare it. Attempts to identify this animal as an elephant or other known creature are conjectural.

[7:7]  ⁹ tn The Aramaic word for “teeth” is dual rather than plural, suggesting two rows of teeth.

[7:9]  ¹⁰ tn Or “the Ancient One” (NAB, NRSV, NLT), although the traditional expression has been retained in the present translation because it is familiar to many readers. Cf. TEV “One who had been living for ever”; CEV “the Eternal God.”

[7:9]  ¹¹ tn Traditionally the Aramaic word נְקֵא (nÿqe’) has been rendered “pure,” but here it more likely means “of a lamb.” Cf. the Syriac neqya’ (“a sheep, ewe”). On this word see further, M. Sokoloff, “’amar neqe’, ‘Lamb’s Wool’ (Dan 7:9),” JBL 95 (1976): 277-79.

[7:9]  ¹² tn Aram “a flaming fire.”

[8:7]  ¹³ tn Heb “him.”

[8:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “the ram.”

[8:7]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “stand before him.”

[8:7]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “on my face.”

[8:17]  ¹⁹ tn Or “human one.”

[8:24]  ²⁰ tn Heb “extraordinarily he will destroy.”

[8:24]  ²¹ tn Heb “he will succeed and act.”

[8:24]  ²² tn See the corresponding Aramaic expression in 7:27. If the “holy ones” are angels, then this probably refers to the angels as protectors of God’s people. One could translate, “people belonging to (i.e., protected by) the holy ones.” If the “holy ones” are God’s people, then this is an appositional construction, “the people who are the holy ones.” One could translate simply “holy people.” For examples of a plural appositional genitive after “people,” see 11:15, 32. Because either interpretation is possible, the translation has deliberately preserved the ambiguity of the Hebrew grammar here.

[10:1]  ²³ 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]  ²⁴ 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]  ²⁵ 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.

[10:11]  ²⁶ tn Or “a treasured person”; KJV “a man greatly beloved”; NASB “man of high esteem.”

[10:11]  ²⁷ tn The Hebrew participle is often used, as here, to refer to the imminent future.

[10:11]  ²⁸ tn Heb “stand upon your standing.”

[10:11]  ²⁹ tn Heb “spoke this word.”

[11:17]  ³⁰ tn Heb “and he will set his face.” Cf. vv. 18, 19.

[11:17]  ³¹ tc The present translation reads מֵישָׁרִים (mesharim, “alliances”) for the MT וִישָׁרִים (viysharim, “uprightness”).

[11:17]  ³² tn Heb “him”; the referent (the king of the south) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:17]  ³³ tn Heb “the daughter of the women.”

[11:17]  sn The daughter refers to Cleopatra, the daughter of Antiochus, who was given in marriage to Ptolemy V.