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 2:11

2:11 What the king is asking is too difficult, and no one exists who can disclose it to the king, except for the gods – but they don’t live among mortals!” ⁴ 

Daniel 2:27

2:27 Daniel replied to the king, “The mystery that the king is asking about is such that no wise men, astrologers, magicians, or diviners can possibly disclose it to the king.

Daniel 3:17

3:17 If ⁵  our God whom we are serving exists, ⁶  he is able to rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire, and he will rescue us, O king, from your power as well.

Daniel 5:17

Daniel Interprets the Handwriting on the Wall

5:17 But Daniel replied to the king, “Keep your gifts, and give your rewards to someone else! However, I will read the writing for the king and make known its ⁷  interpretation.

Daniel 6:15

6:15 Then those men came by collusion to the king and ⁸  said to him, ⁹  “Recall, ¹⁰  O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians that no edict or decree that the king issues can be changed.”

Daniel 7:28

7:28 “This is the conclusion of the matter. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts troubled me greatly, and the color drained from my face. ¹¹  But I kept the matter to myself.” ¹² 

Daniel 8:27

8:27 I, Daniel, was exhausted ¹³  and sick for days. Then I got up and again carried out the king’s business. But I was astonished at the vision, and there was no one to explain it.

Daniel 11:21

11:21 “Then there will arise in his place a despicable person ¹⁴  to whom the royal honor has not been rightfully conferred. He will come on the scene in a time of prosperity and will seize the kingdom through deceit.

[1:8]  ¹ tn Heb “placed on his heart.”

[1:8]  ² tn Or “would not make himself ceremonially unclean”; TEV “become ritually unclean.”

[1:8]  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.

[1:8]  ³ tn Heb “with the delicacies of the king and with the wine of his drinking.”

[2:11]  ⁴ tn Aram “whose dwelling is not with flesh.”

[3:17]  ⁵ tc The ancient versions typically avoid the conditional element of v. 17.

[3:17]  ⁶ 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.

[5:17]  ⁷ tn Or “the.”

[6:15]  ⁸ tc Theodotion lacks the words “came by collusion to the king and.”

[6:15]  ⁹ tn Aram “the king.”

[6:15]  ¹⁰ tn Aram “know”; NAB “Keep in mind”; NASB “Recognize”; NIV, NCV “Remember.”

[7:28]  ¹¹ tn Aram “my brightness was changing on me.”

[7:28]  ¹² tn Aram “in my heart.”

[8:27]  ¹³ tn The Hebrew word here is נִהְיֵיתִי (nihyetiy). Its meaning is not entirely clear. Hebrew הָיָה (hayah) normally has meanings such as “to be” or “become.” Here, however, it describes Daniel’s emotional and physical response to the enigmatic vision that he has seen. It is parallel to the following verb, which refers to illness, and seems to refer to a state of utter exhaustion due to the amazing things that Daniel has just seen. The LXX lacks the word. On the meaning of the word see further, BDB 227-28 s.v. הָיָה Niph.2; DCH 2:540 s.v. היה I Ni.3.

[11:21]  ¹⁴ sn This despicable person to whom the royal honor has not been rightfully conferred is Antiochus IV Epiphanes (ca. 175-164 B.C.).