Daniel 1:15

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

Daniel 2:39

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

Daniel 4:11

4:11 The tree grew large and strong.

Its top reached far into the sky;

it could be seen ³  from the borders of all the land. ⁴ 

Daniel 4:20

4:20 The tree that you saw that grew large and strong, whose top reached to the sky, and which could be seen ⁵  in all the land,

Daniel 5:1

Belshazzar Sees Mysterious Handwriting on a Wall

5:1 King Belshazzar ⁶  prepared a great banquet ⁷  for a thousand of his nobles, and he was drinking wine in front of ⁸  them all. ⁹ 

Daniel 5:6

5:6 Then all the color drained from the king’s face ¹⁰  and he became alarmed. ¹¹  The joints of his hips gave way, ¹²  and his knees began knocking together.

Daniel 5:8

5:8 So all the king’s wise men came in, but they were unable to read the writing or to make known its ¹³  interpretation to the king.

Daniel 11:43

11:43 He will have control over the hidden stores of gold and silver, as well as all the treasures of Egypt. Libyans and Ethiopians ¹⁴  will submit to him. ¹⁵ 

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¹ 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).

² 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 tn Aram “its sight.” So also v. 17.

⁴ tn Or “to the end of all the earth” (so KJV, ASV); NCV, CEV “from anywhere on earth.”

⁵ tn Aram “its sight.”

⁶ 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.

⁷ 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.

⁸ sn The king probably sat at an elevated head table.

⁹ tn Aram “the thousand.”

¹⁰ tn Aram “[the king’s] brightness changed for him.”

¹¹ tn Aram “his thoughts were alarming him.”

¹² tn Aram “his loins went slack.”

¹³ tc Read וּפִשְׁרֵהּ (ufishreh) with the Qere rather than וּפִשְׁרָא (ufishra’) of the Kethib.

¹⁴ tn Or “Nubians” (NIV, NCV); Heb “Cushites.”

¹⁵ tn Heb “Libyans and Cushites [will be] at his footsteps.”