Daniel 4:18

4:18 “This is the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, saw. Now you, Belteshazzar, declare its ¹  interpretation, for none of the wise men in ²  my kingdom are able to make known to me the interpretation. But you can do so, for a spirit of the holy gods is in you.”

Daniel 5:11

5:11 There is a man in your kingdom who has within him a spirit of the holy gods. In the days of your father, he proved to have ³  insight, discernment, and wisdom like that ⁴  of the gods. ⁵  King Nebuchadnezzar your father appointed him chief of the magicians, astrologers, wise men, and diviners. ⁶ 

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¹ tc The present translation reads פִּשְׁרֵהּ (pishreh, “its interpretation”) with the Qere and many medieval Hebrew MSS; the Kethib is פִּשְׁרָא (pishra’, “the interpretation”); so also v. 16.

² tn Aram “of.”

³ tn Aram “[there were] discovered to be in him.”

⁴ tn Aram “wisdom like the wisdom.” This would be redundant in terms of English style.

⁵ tc Theodotion lacks the phrase “and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods.”

⁶ tc The MT includes a redundant reference to “your father the king” at the end of v. 11. None of the attempts to explain this phrase as original are very convincing. The present translation deletes the phrase, following Theodotion and the Syriac.