1:8 But Daniel made up his mind 1 that he would not defile 2 himself with the royal delicacies or the royal wine. 3 He therefore asked the overseer of the court officials for permission not to defile himself.
2:14 Then Daniel spoke with prudent counsel 6 to Arioch, who was in charge of the king’s executioners and who had gone out to execute the wise men of Babylon.
2:25 So Arioch quickly ushered Daniel into the king’s presence, saying to him, “I 7 have found a man from the captives of Judah who can make known the interpretation to the king.”
5:17 But Daniel replied to the king, “Keep your gifts, and give your rewards to someone else! However, I will read the writing for the king and make known its 9 interpretation.
6:14 When the king heard this, 16 he was very upset and began thinking about 17 how he might rescue Daniel. Until late afternoon 18 he was struggling to find a way to rescue him.
7:1 In the first 22 year of King Belshazzar of Babylon, Daniel had 23 a dream filled with visions 24 while he was lying on his bed. Then he wrote down the dream in summary fashion. 25
7:28 “This is the conclusion of the matter. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts troubled me greatly, and the color drained from my face. 26 But I kept the matter to myself.” 27
8:27 I, Daniel, was exhausted 28 and sick for days. Then I got up and again carried out the king’s business. But I was astonished at the vision, and there was no one to explain it.
10:1 29 In the third 30 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. 31 He understood the message and gained insight by the vision.
10:7 Only I, Daniel, saw the vision; the men who were with me did not see it. 32 On the contrary, they were overcome with fright 33 and ran away to hide.
2:24 Then Daniel went in to see 39 Arioch (whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon). He came 40 and said to him, “Don’t destroy the wise men of Babylon! Escort me 41 to the king, and I will disclose the interpretation to him!” 42
4:19 Then Daniel (whose name is also Belteshazzar) was upset for a brief time; 43 his thoughts were alarming him. The king said, “Belteshazzar, don’t let the dream and its interpretation alarm you.” But Belteshazzar replied, “Sir, 44 if only the dream were for your enemies and its interpretation applied to your adversaries!
6:10 When Daniel realized 45 that a written decree had been issued, he entered his home, where the windows 46 in his upper room opened toward Jerusalem. 47 Three 48 times daily he was 49 kneeling 50 and offering prayers and thanks to his God just as he had been accustomed to do previously.
“For he is the living God;
he endures forever.
His kingdom will not be destroyed;
his authority is forever. 55
1 tn Heb “placed on his heart.”
2 tn Or “would not make himself ceremonially unclean”; TEV “become ritually unclean.”
sn Various reasons have been suggested as to why such food would defile Daniel. Perhaps it had to do with violations of Mosaic law with regard to unclean foods, or perhaps it had to do with such food having been offered to idols. Daniel’s practice in this regard is strikingly different from that of Esther, who was able successfully to conceal her Jewish identity.
3 tn Heb “with the delicacies of the king and with the wine of his drinking.”
4 tn Heb “from all of them.”
5 tn Heb “stood before the king.”
6 tn Aram “returned prudence and counsel.” The expression is a hendiadys.
7 sn Arioch’s claim is self-serving and exaggerated. It is Daniel who came to him, and not the other way around. By claiming to have found one capable of solving the king’s dilemma, Arioch probably hoped to ingratiate himself to the king.
8 sn This explanation of the meaning of the name Belteshazzar may be more of a paronomasia than a strict etymology.
9 tn Or “the.”
10 tn Aram “looking to find.”
11 tn Aram “from the side of the kingdom.”
12 tn Aram “pretext and corruption.”
13 tn Aram “no negligence or corruption was found in him.” The Greek version of Theodotion lacks the phrase “and no negligence or corruption was found in him.”
14 tn Aram “from the sons of the captivity [of].”
15 tn Aram “prays his prayer.”
16 tn Aram “the word.”
17 tn Aram “placed his mind on.”
18 tn Aram “the entrances of the sun.”
19 tn Aram “mouth.”
20 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.
21 tn Aram “the signet rings.”
22 sn The first year of Belshazzar’s reign would have been ca. 553
23 tn Aram “saw.”
24 tn Aram “and visions of his head.” The Aramaic is difficult here. Some scholars add a verb thought to be missing (e.g., “the visions of his head [were alarming him]”), but there is no external evidence to support such a decision and the awkwardness of the text at this point may be original.
25 tn Aram “head of words.” The phrase is absent in Theodotion. Cf. NIV “the substance of his dream.”
26 tn Aram “my brightness was changing on me.”
27 tn Aram “in my heart.”
28 tn The Hebrew word here is נִהְיֵיתִי (nihyetiy). Its meaning is not entirely clear. Hebrew הָיָה (hayah) normally has meanings such as “to be” or “become.” Here, however, it describes Daniel’s emotional and physical response to the enigmatic vision that he has seen. It is parallel to the following verb, which refers to illness, and seems to refer to a state of utter exhaustion due to the amazing things that Daniel has just seen. The LXX lacks the word. On the meaning of the word see further, BDB 227-28 s.v. הָיָה Niph.2; DCH 2:540 s.v. היה I Ni.3.
29 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.
30 tc The LXX has “first.”
sn Cyrus’ third year would have been ca. 536
31 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.
32 tn Heb “the vision.”
33 tn Heb “great trembling fell on them.”
34 tn Heb “The overseer of the court officials.” The subject has been specified in the translation for the sake of clarity.
35 tn Heb “assigned.” See v. 5.
36 tn Heb “Why should he see your faces thin from the young men who are according to your age?” The term translated “thin” occurs only here and in Gen 40:6, where it appears to refer to a dejected facial expression. The word is related to an Arabic root meaning “be weak.” See HALOT 277 s.v. II זעף.
37 tn The words “if that happened” are not in the Hebrew text but have been added in the translation for clarity.
38 tn Heb “my head.” Presumably this is an implicit reference to capital punishment (cf. NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT), although this is not entirely clear.
39 tc The MT has עַל עַל (’al ’al, “he entered upon”). Several medieval Hebrew
40 tc The LXX and Vulgate, along with one medieval Hebrew
41 tn Aram “cause me to enter.” So also in v. 25.
42 tn Aram “the king.”
43 tn Aram “about one hour.” The expression refers idiomatically to a brief period of time of undetermined length.
44 tn Aram “my lord.”
45 tn Aram “knew.”
46 sn In later rabbinic thought this verse was sometimes cited as a proof text for the notion that one should pray only in a house with windows. See b. Berakhot 34b.
47 map For the location of Jerusalem see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
48 sn This is apparently the only specific mention in the OT of prayer being regularly offered three times a day. The practice was probably not unique to Daniel, however.
49 tc Read with several medieval Hebrew
50 tn Aram “kneeling on his knees” (so NASB).
sn No specific posture for offering prayers is prescribed in the OT. Kneeling, as here, and standing were both practiced.
51 tn Aram “said.”
52 tn Aram “had eaten the pieces of.” The Aramaic expression is ironic, in that the accusers who had figuratively “eaten the pieces of Daniel” are themselves literally devoured by the lions.
53 tn The Aramaic active impersonal verb is often used as a substitute for the passive.
54 tc The LXX specifies only the two overseers, together with their families, as those who were cast into the lions’ den.
55 tn Aram “until the end.”
56 tc This phrase, repeated from v. 1, is absent in Theodotion.
57 tn The Hebrew text has “books”; the word “sacred” has been added in the translation to clarify that it is Scriptures that are referred to.
58 sn The tetragrammaton (the four Hebrew letters which constitute the divine Name, YHWH) appears eight times in this chapter, and nowhere else in the book of Daniel.
59 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
60 tn Or “a treasured person”; KJV “a man greatly beloved”; NASB “man of high esteem.”
61 tn The Hebrew participle is often used, as here, to refer to the imminent future.
62 tn Heb “stand upon your standing.”
63 tn Heb “spoke this word.”
64 tn Heb “gave your heart.”