4:16 Let his mind 4 be altered from that of a human being,
and let an animal’s mind be given to him,
and let seven periods of time 5 go by for 6 him.
5:5 At that very moment the fingers of a human hand appeared 7 and wrote on the plaster of the royal palace wall, opposite the lampstand. 8 The king was watching the back 9 of the hand that was writing.
1 tn Aram “the sons of man.”
2 tn Aram “the beasts of the field.”
3 tn Aram “hand.”
4 tn Aram “its heart.” The metaphor of the tree begins to fade here and the reality behind the symbol (the king) begins to emerge.
5 sn The seven periods of time probably refer to seven years.
6 tn Aram “over” (also in vv. 23, 25, 32).
7 tn Aram “came forth.”
8 sn The mention of the lampstand in this context is of interest because it suggests that the writing was in clear view.
9 tn While Aramaic פַּס (pas) can mean the palm of the hand, here it seems to be the back of the hand that is intended.