2:3 The king told them, “I have had a dream, 1 and I 2 am anxious to understand the dream.”
2:12 Because of this the king got furiously angry 5 and gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.
4:1 (3:31) 8 “King Nebuchadnezzar, to all peoples, nations, and language groups that live in all the land: Peace and prosperity! 9
6:19 In the morning, at the earliest sign of daylight, the king got up and rushed to the lions’ den.
1 tn Heb “I have dreamed a dream” (so KJV, ASV).
2 tn Heb “my spirit.”
3 tn Aram “his servants.”
4 tn Or “the.”
5 tn Aram “was angry and very furious.” The expression is a hendiadys (two words or phrases expressing a single idea).
6 tc In the MT this word is understood to begin the following address (“answered and said to the king, ‘O Nebuchadnezzar’”). However, it seems unlikely that Nebuchadnezzar’s subordinates would address the king in such a familiar way, particularly in light of the danger that they now found themselves in. The present translation implies moving the atnach from “king” to “Nebuchadnezzar.”
7 tn Aram “to return a word to you.”
8 sn Beginning with 4:1, the verse numbers through 4:37 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Aramaic text (BHS), with 4:1 ET = 3:31 AT, 4:2 ET = 3:32 AT, 4:3 ET = 3:33 AT, 4:4 ET = 4:1 AT, etc., through 4:37 ET = 4:34 AT. Thus Dan 3:31-33 of the Aramaic text appears as Dan 4:1-3 in the English Bible, and the corresponding verses of ch. 4 differ accordingly. In spite of the division of the Aramaic text, a good case can be made that 3:31-33 AT (= 4:1-3 ET) is actually the introduction to ch. 4.
9 tn Aram “May your peace increase!”
10 tn Or “royal greatness and majestic honor,” if the four terms are understood as a double hendiadys.
11 tc The present translation reads הַפְּשָׁעִים (happÿsha’im, “rebellious acts”) for the MT הַפֹּשְׁעִים (happoshÿ’im, “rebels”). While the MT is understandable (cf. NIV, “when rebels have become completely wicked”), the filling up of transgressions is a familiar OT expression (cf. Gen 15:16) and fits this context well. Cf. the LXX, Theodotion, the Vulgate, and the Syriac.
12 tn Heb “strong of face.”
13 tn Heb “understanding riddles.” Possible meanings include “double-dealing” (BDB 295 s.v. חִידָה; cf. TEV, CEV) and “with a good knowledge of intrigue” (HALOT 309 s.v. חִידָה; cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).
14 tn Heb “stand” or “stand up.”