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.
4:35 All the inhabitants of the earth are regarded as nothing. 10
He does as he wishes with the army of heaven
and with those who inhabit the earth.
No one slaps 11 his hand
and says to him, ‘What have you done?’
6:23 Then the king was delighted and gave an order to haul Daniel up from the den. So Daniel was hauled up out of the den. He had no injury of any kind, because he had trusted in his God.
7:1 In the first 13 year of King Belshazzar of Babylon, Daniel had 14 a dream filled with visions 15 while he was lying on his bed. Then he wrote down the dream in summary fashion. 16
7:24 The ten horns
mean that ten kings will arise from that kingdom.
Another king will arise after them,
but he will be different from the earlier ones.
He will humiliate 17 three kings.
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 Aram “Daniel.” The proper name is redundant here in English, and has not been included in the translation.
5 tn Aram “the sons of man.”
6 tn Aram “the beasts of the field.”
7 tn Aram “hand.”
8 tc The ancient versions typically avoid the conditional element of v. 17.
9 tn The Aramaic expression used here is very difficult to interpret. The question concerns the meaning and syntax of אִיתַי (’itay, “is” or “exist”). There are several possibilities. (1) Some interpreters take this word closely with the participle later in the verse יָכִל (yakhil, “able”), understanding the two words to form a periphrastic construction (“if our God is…able”; cf. H. Bauer and P. Leander, Grammatik des Biblisch-Aramäischen, 365, §111b). But the separation of the two elements from one another is not an argument in favor of this understanding. (2) Other interpreters take the first part of v. 17 to mean “If it is so, then our God will deliver us” (cf. KJV, ASV, RSV, NASB). However, the normal sense of ’itay is existence; on this point see F. Rosenthal, Grammar, 45, §95. The present translation maintains the sense of existence for the verb (“If our God…exists”), even though the statement is admittedly difficult to understand in this light. The statement may be an implicit reference back to Nebuchadnezzar’s comment in v. 15, which denies the existence of a god capable of delivering from the king’s power.
10 tc The present translation reads כְּלָא (kÿla’), with many medieval Hebrew
11 tn Aram “strikes against.”
12 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.
13 sn The first year of Belshazzar’s reign would have been ca. 553
14 tn Aram “saw.”
15 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.
16 tn Aram “head of words.” The phrase is absent in Theodotion. Cf. NIV “the substance of his dream.”
17 tn Or “subjugate”; KJV, NASB, NIV “subdue”; ASV, NRSV “put down.”
18 tn Or “righteous.”
19 tn Heb “in all his deeds which he has done.”
20 tn Heb “we have not listened to his voice.”
21 tn The Hebrew preposition מִן (min) is used here with the verb עָמַד (’amad, “to stand”). It probably has a sense of separation (“stand away from”), although it may also be understood in an adversative sense (“stand against”).
22 tn Heb “his heart will be lifted up.” The referent (the king of the south) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
23 tn Heb “cause to fall.”
24 tn Heb “of myriads.”
25 tn Heb “hand.”
26 tn Heb “his face.” See v. 19 as well.
27 sn The commander is probably the Roman commander, Lucius Cornelius Scipio.
28 tn The Hebrew here is difficult in that the negative בִּלְתִּי (biltiy, “not”) is used in an unusual way. The sense is not entirely clear.
29 tn Heb “his shameful conduct he will return to him.”
30 sn The name Kittim has various designations in extra-biblical literature. It can refer to a location on the island of Cyprus, or more generally to the island itself, or it can be an inclusive term to refer to parts of the Mediterranean world that lay west of the Middle East (e.g., Rome). For ships of Kittim the Greek OT (LXX) has “Romans,” an interpretation followed by a few English versions (e.g., TEV). A number of times in the Dead Sea Scrolls the word is used in reference to the Romans. Other English versions are more generic: “[ships] of the western coastlands” (NIV, NLT); “from the west” (NCV, CEV).
31 sn This is apparently a reference to the Roman forces, led by Gaius Popilius Laenas, which confronted Antiochus when he came to Egypt and demanded that he withdraw or face the wrath of Rome. Antiochus wisely withdrew from Egypt, albeit in a state of bitter frustration.
32 tn Heb “show regard for.”