Daniel 2:1

Nebuchadnezzar Has a Disturbing Dream

2:1 In the second year of his ¹  reign Nebuchadnezzar had many dreams. ²  His mind ³  was disturbed and he suffered from insomnia. ⁴ 

Daniel 2:30

2:30 As for me, this mystery was revealed to me not because I possess more wisdom ⁵  than any other living person, but so that the king may understand ⁶  the interpretation and comprehend the thoughts of your mind. ⁷ 

Daniel 2:35

2:35 Then the iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold were broken in pieces without distinction ⁸  and became like chaff from the summer threshing floors that the wind carries away. Not a trace of them could be found. But the stone that struck the statue became a large mountain that filled the entire earth.

Daniel 2:39

2:39 Now after you another kingdom ⁹  will arise, one inferior to yours. Then a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule in all the earth.

Daniel 4:18

4:18 “This is the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, saw. Now you, Belteshazzar, declare its ¹⁰  interpretation, for none of the wise men in ¹¹  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 4:34

4:34 But at the end of the appointed time ¹²  I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up ¹³  toward heaven, and my sanity returned to me.

I extolled the Most High,

and I praised and glorified the one who lives forever.

For his authority is an everlasting authority,

and his kingdom extends from one generation to the next.

Daniel 4:36

4:36 At that time my sanity returned to me. I was restored ¹⁴  to the honor of my kingdom, and my splendor returned to me. My ministers and my nobles were seeking me out, and I was reinstated ¹⁵  over my kingdom. I became even greater than before.

Daniel 5:2

5:2 While under the influence ¹⁶  of the wine, Belshazzar issued an order to bring in the gold and silver vessels – the ones that Nebuchadnezzar his father ¹⁷  had confiscated ¹⁸  from the temple in Jerusalem ¹⁹  – so that the king and his nobles, together with his wives and his concubines, could drink from them. ²⁰ 

Daniel 5:12

5:12 Thus there was found in this man Daniel, whom the king renamed Belteshazzar, an extraordinary spirit, knowledge, and skill to interpret ²¹  dreams, solve riddles, and decipher knotty problems. ²²  Now summon ²³  Daniel, and he will disclose the interpretation.”

Daniel 6:10

6:10 When Daniel realized ²⁴  that a written decree had been issued, he entered his home, where the windows ²⁵  in his upper room opened toward Jerusalem. ²⁶  Three ²⁷  times daily he was ²⁸  kneeling ²⁹  and offering prayers and thanks to his God just as he had been accustomed to do previously.

Daniel 6:13

6:13 Then they said to the king, “Daniel, who is one of the captives ³⁰  from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or to the edict that you issued. Three times daily he offers his prayer.” ³¹ 

Daniel 7:4

7:4 “The first one was like a lion with eagles’ wings. As I watched, its wings were pulled off and it was lifted up from the ground. It was made to stand on two feet like a human being, and a human mind ³²  was given to it. ³³ 

Daniel 8:3

8:3 I looked up ³⁴  and saw ³⁵  a ³⁶  ram with two horns standing at the canal. Its two horns were both long, ³⁷  but one was longer than the other. The longer one was coming up after the shorter one.

Daniel 8:7

8:7 I saw it approaching the ram. It went into a fit of rage against the ram ³⁸  and struck it ³⁹  and broke off its two horns. The ram had no ability to resist it. ⁴⁰  The goat hurled the ram ⁴¹  to the ground and trampled it. No one could deliver the ram from its power. ⁴² 

Daniel 8:13

8:13 Then I heard a holy one ⁴³  speaking. Another holy one said to the one who was speaking, “To what period of time does the vision pertain – this vision concerning the daily sacrifice and the destructive act of rebellion and the giving over of both the sanctuary and army to be trampled?”

Daniel 11:8

11:8 He will also take their gods into captivity to Egypt, along with their cast images and prized utensils of silver and gold. Then he will withdraw for some years from ⁴⁴  the king of the north.

Daniel 11:35-36

11:35 Even some of the wise will stumble, resulting in their refinement, purification, and cleansing until the time of the end, for it is still for the appointed time.

11:36 “Then the king ⁴⁵  will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every deity and he will utter presumptuous things against the God of gods. He will succeed until the time of ⁴⁶  wrath is completed, for what has been decreed must occur. ⁴⁷ 

Daniel 12:7

12:7 Then I heard the man clothed in linen who was over the waters of the river as he raised both his right and left hands to the sky ⁴⁸  and made an oath by the one who lives forever: “It is for a time, times, and half a time. Then, when the power of the one who shatters ⁴⁹  the holy people has been exhausted, all these things will be finished.”

[2:1]  ¹ tn Heb “Nebuchadnezzar’s.” The possessive pronoun is substituted in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[2:1]  ² tn Heb “dreamed dreams.” The plural is used here and in v. 2, but the singular in v. 3. The plural “dreams” has been variously explained. Some interpreters take the plural as denoting an indefinite singular (so GKC 400 §124.o). But it may be that it is describing a stream of related dreams, or a dream state. In the latter case, one might translate: “Nebuchadnezzar was in a trance.” See further, J. A. Montgomery, Daniel (ICC), 142.

[2:1]  ³ tn Heb “his spirit.”

[2:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “his sleep left (?) him.” The use of the verb הָיָה (hayah, “to be”) here is unusual. The context suggests a meaning such as “to be finished” or “gone.” Cf. Dan 8:27. Some scholars emend the verb to read נָדְדָה (nadÿdah, “fled”); cf. Dan 6:19. See further, DCH 2:540 s.v. היה I Ni.3; HALOT 244 s.v. היה nif; BDB 227-28 s.v. הָיָה Niph.2.

[2:30]  ⁵ tn Aram “not for any wisdom which is in me more than [in] any living man.”

[2:30]  ⁶ tn Aram “they might cause the king to know.” The impersonal plural is used here to refer to the role of God’s spirit in revealing the dream and its interpretation to the king. As J. A. Montgomery says, “it appropriately here veils the mysterious agency” (Daniel [ICC], 164-65).

[2:30]  ⁷ tn Aram “heart.”

[2:35]  ⁸ tn Aram “as one.” For the meaning “without distinction” see the following: F. Rosenthal, Grammar, 36, §64, and p. 93; E. Vogt, Lexicon linguae aramaicae, 60.

[2:39]  ⁹ sn The identity of the first kingdom is clearly Babylon. The identification of the following three kingdoms is disputed. The common view is that they represent Media, Persia, and Greece. Most conservative scholars identify them as Media-Persia, Greece, and Rome.

[4:18]  ¹⁰ 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.

[4:18]  ¹¹ tn Aram “of.”

[4:34]  ¹² tn Aram “days.”

[4:34]  ¹³ tn Aram “lifted up my eyes.”

[4:36]  ¹⁴ tc The translation reads הַדְרֵת (hadret, “I returned”) rather than the MT הַדְרִי (hadri, “my honor”); cf. Theodotion.

[4:36]  ¹⁵ tc The translation reads הָתְקְנֵת (hotqÿnet, “I was established”) rather than the MT הָתְקְנַת (hotqÿnat, “it was established”). As it stands, the MT makes no sense here.

[5:2]  ¹⁶ tn Or perhaps, “when he had tasted” (cf. NASB) in the sense of officially initiating the commencement of the banquet. The translation above seems preferable, however, given the clear evidence of inebriation in the context (cf. also CEV “he got drunk and ordered”).

[5:2]  ¹⁷ tn Or “ancestor”; or “predecessor” (also in vv. 11, 13, 18). The Aramaic word translated “father” can on occasion denote these other relationships.

[5:2]  ¹⁸ tn Or “taken.”

[5:2]  ¹⁹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[5:2]  ²⁰ sn Making use of sacred temple vessels for an occasion of reveling and drunkenness such as this would have been a religious affront of shocking proportions to the Jewish captives.

[5:12]  ²¹ tc The translation reads מִפְשַׁר (mifshar) rather than the MT מְפַשַּׁר (mÿfashar) and later in the verse reads וּמִשְׁרֵא (mishre’) rather than the MT וּמְשָׁרֵא (mÿshare’). The Masoretes have understood these Aramaic forms to be participles, but they are more likely to be vocalized as infinitives. As such, they have an epexegetical function in the syntax of their clause.

[5:12]  ²² tn Aram “to loose knots.”

[5:12]  ²³ tn Aram “let [Daniel] be summoned.”

[6:10]  ²⁴ tn Aram “knew.”

[6:10]  ²⁵ sn In later rabbinic thought this verse was sometimes cited as a proof text for the notion that one should pray only in a house with windows. See b. Berakhot 34b.

[6:10]  ²⁶ map For the location of Jerusalem see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[6:10]  ²⁷ sn This is apparently the only specific mention in the OT of prayer being regularly offered three times a day. The practice was probably not unique to Daniel, however.

[6:10]  ²⁸ tc Read with several medieval Hebrew MSS and printed editions הֲוָה (havah) rather than the MT הוּא (hu’).

[6:10]  ²⁹ tn Aram “kneeling on his knees” (so NASB).

[6:10]  sn No specific posture for offering prayers is prescribed in the OT. Kneeling, as here, and standing were both practiced.

[6:13]  ³⁰ tn Aram “from the sons of the captivity [of].”

[6:13]  ³¹ tn Aram “prays his prayer.”

[7:4]  ³² tn Aram “heart of a man.”

[7:4]  ³³ sn The identity of the first animal, derived from v. 17 and the parallels in chap. 2, is Babylon. The reference to the plucking of its wings is probably a reference to the time of Nebuchadnezzar’s insanity (cf. chap. 4). The latter part of v. 4 then describes the restoration of Nebuchadnezzar. The other animals have traditionally been understood to represent respectively Media-Persia, Greece, and Rome, although most of modern scholarship identifies them as Media, Persia, and Greece. For a biblical parallel to the mention of lion, bear, and leopard together, see Hos 13:7-8.

[8:3]  ³⁴ tn Heb “lifted my eyes.”

[8:3]  ³⁵ tn Heb “and behold.”

[8:3]  ³⁶ tn Heb “one.” The Hebrew numerical adjective occasionally functions like an English indefinite article. See GKC 401 §125.b.

[8:3]  ³⁷ tn Heb “high” (also “higher” later in this verse).

[8:7]  ³⁸ tn Heb “him.”

[8:7]  ³⁹ tn Heb “the ram.”

[8:7]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “stand before him.”

[8:7]  ⁴¹ tn Heb “he hurled him.” The referents of both pronouns (the male goat and the ram) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:7]  ⁴² sn The goat of Daniel’s vision represents Greece; the large horn represents Alexander the Great. The ram stands for Media-Persia. Alexander’s rapid conquest of the Persians involved three battles of major significance which he won against overwhelming odds: Granicus (334 B.C.), Isus (333 B.C.), and Gaugemela (331 B.C.).

[8:13]  ⁴³ sn The holy one referred to here is presumably an angel. Cf. 4:13[10], 23 [20].

[11:8]  ⁴⁴ 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”).

[11:36]  ⁴⁵ sn The identity of this king is problematic. If vv. 36-45 continue the description of Antiochus Epiphanes, the account must be viewed as erroneous, since the details do not match what is known of Antiochus’ latter days. Most modern scholars take this view, concluding that this section was written just shortly before the death of Antiochus and that the writer erred on several key points as he tried to predict what would follow the events of his own day. Conservative scholars, however, usually understand the reference to shift at this point to an eschatological figure, viz., the Antichrist. The chronological gap that this would presuppose to be in the narrative is not necessarily a problem, since by all accounts there are many chronological gaps throughout the chapter, as the historical figures intended by such expressions as “king of the north” and “king of the south” repeatedly shift.

[11:36]  ⁴⁶ tn The words “the time of” are added in the translation for clarification.

[11:36]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “has been done.” The Hebrew verb used here is the perfect of certitude, emphasizing the certainty of fulfillment.

[12:7]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “to the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.

[12:7]  ⁴⁹ tc The present translation reads יַד־נֹפֵץ (yad-nofets, “hand of one who shatters”) rather than the MT נַפֵּץ־יַד (nappets-yad, “to shatter the hand”).