Daniel 1:8

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.

Daniel 1:20

1:20 In every matter of wisdom and ⁴  insight the king asked them about, he found them to be ten times ⁵  better than any of the magicians and astrologers that were in his entire empire.

Daniel 2:18

2:18 He asked them to pray for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery so that he ⁶  and his friends would not be destroyed along with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

Daniel 7:16

7:16 I approached one of those standing nearby and asked him about the meaning ⁷  of all this. So he spoke with me and revealed ⁸  to me the interpretation of the vision: ⁹ 

---

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 tc The MT lacks the conjunction, reading the first word in the phrase as a construct (“wisdom of insight”). While this reading is not impossible, it seems better to follow Theodotion, the Syriac, the Vulgate, and the Sahidic Coptic, all of which have the conjunction.

⁵ tn Heb “hands.”

⁶ tn Aram “Daniel.” The proper name is redundant here in English, and has not been included in the translation.

⁷ tn Aram “what is certain.”

⁸ tn Aram “and made known.”

⁹ tn Aram “matter,” but the matter at hand is of course the vision.