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 2:41

2:41 In that you were seeing feet and toes ⁸  partly of wet clay ⁹  and partly of iron, so this will be a divided kingdom. Some of the strength of iron will be in it, for you saw iron mixed with wet clay. ¹⁰ 

Daniel 3:12

3:12 But there are Jewish men whom you appointed over the administration of the province of Babylon – Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego – and these men ¹¹  have not shown proper respect to you, O king. They don’t serve your gods and they don’t pay homage to the golden statue that you have erected.”

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 ¹²  dreams, solve riddles, and decipher knotty problems. ¹³  Now summon ¹⁴  Daniel, and he will disclose the interpretation.”

Daniel 5:16

5:16 However, I have heard ¹⁵  that you are able to provide interpretations and to decipher knotty problems. Now if you are able to read this writing and make known to me its interpretation, you will wear purple and have a golden collar around your neck and be third ¹⁶  ruler in the kingdom.”

Daniel 7:7

7:7 “After these things, as I was watching in the night visions ¹⁷  a fourth beast appeared – one dreadful, terrible, and very strong. ¹⁸  It had two large rows ¹⁹  of iron teeth. It devoured and crushed, and anything that was left it trampled with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that came before it, and it had ten horns.

Daniel 7:14

7:14 To him was given ruling authority, honor, and sovereignty.

All peoples, nations, and language groups were serving ²⁰  him.

His authority is eternal and will not pass away. ²¹ 

His kingdom will not be destroyed. ²² 

Daniel 7:20

7:20 I also wanted to know ²³  the meaning of the ten horns on its head, and of that other horn which came up and before which three others fell. This was the horn that had eyes ²⁴  and a mouth speaking arrogant things, whose appearance was more formidable than the others. ²⁵ 

Daniel 7:25

7:25 He will speak words against the Most High.

He will harass ²⁶  the holy ones of the Most High continually.

His intention ²⁷  will be to change times established by law. ²⁸ 

They will be delivered into his hand

For a time, times, ²⁹  and half a time.

Daniel 8:17

8:17 So he approached the place where I was standing. As he came, I felt terrified and fell flat on the ground. ³⁰  Then he said to me, “Understand, son of man, ³¹  that the vision pertains to the time of the end.”

Daniel 9:11

9:11 “All Israel has broken ³²  your law and turned away by not obeying you. ³³  Therefore you have poured out on us the judgment solemnly threatened ³⁴  in the law of Moses the servant of God, for we have sinned against you. ³⁵ 

Daniel 9:18

9:18 Listen attentively, ³⁶  my God, and hear! Open your eyes and look on our desolated ruins ³⁷  and the city called by your name. ³⁸  For it is not because of our own righteous deeds that we are praying to you, ³⁹  but because your compassion is abundant.

Daniel 9:24-25

9:24 “Seventy weeks ⁴⁰  have been determined

concerning your people and your holy city

to put an end to ⁴¹  rebellion,

to bring sin ⁴²  to completion, ⁴³ 

to atone for iniquity,

to bring in perpetual ⁴⁴  righteousness,

to seal up ⁴⁵  the prophetic vision, ⁴⁶ 

and to anoint a most holy place. ⁴⁷ 

9:25 So know and understand:

From the issuing of the command ⁴⁸  to restore and rebuild

Jerusalem ⁴⁹  until an anointed one, a prince arrives, ⁵⁰ 

there will be a period of seven weeks ⁵¹  and sixty-two weeks.

It will again be built, ⁵²  with plaza and moat,

but in distressful times.

Daniel 11:4

11:4 Shortly after his rise to power, ⁵³  his kingdom will be broken up and distributed toward the four winds of the sky ⁵⁴  – but not to his posterity or with the authority he exercised, for his kingdom will be uprooted and distributed to others besides these.

Daniel 11:7-8

11:7 “There will arise in his ⁵⁵  place one from her family line ⁵⁶  who will come against their army and will enter the stronghold of the king of the north and will move against them successfully. ⁵⁷  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 ⁵⁸  the king of the north.

Daniel 11:10

11:10 His sons ⁵⁹  will wage war, mustering a large army which will advance like an overflowing river and carrying the battle all the way to the enemy’s ⁶⁰  fortress. ⁶¹ 

Daniel 11:27

11:27 These two kings, their minds ⁶²  filled with evil intentions, will trade ⁶³  lies with one another at the same table. But it will not succeed, for there is still an end at the appointed time.

Daniel 11:30

11:30 The ships of Kittim ⁶⁴  will come against him, leaving him disheartened. ⁶⁵  He will turn back and direct his indignation against the holy covenant. He will return and honor ⁶⁶  those who forsake the holy covenant.

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 ⁶⁷  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 ⁶⁸  wrath is completed, for what has been decreed must occur. ⁶⁹ 

[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.”

[2:41]  ⁸ tc The LXX lacks “and toes.”

[2:41]  ⁹ tn Aram “potter’s clay.”

[2:41]  ¹⁰ tn Aram “clay of clay” (also in v. 43).

[3:12]  ¹¹ sn Daniel’s absence from this scene has sparked the imagination of commentators, some of whom have suggested that perhaps he was unable to attend the dedication due to sickness or due to being away on business. Hippolytus supposed that Daniel may have been watching from a distance.

[5:12]  ¹² 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]  ¹³ tn Aram “to loose knots.”

[5:12]  ¹⁴ tn Aram “let [Daniel] be summoned.”

[5:16]  ¹⁵ tn The Aramaic text has also the words “about you.”

[5:16]  ¹⁶ tn Or perhaps “one of three rulers,” in the sense of becoming part of a triumvir. So also v. 29.

[7:7]  ¹⁷ tn The Aramaic text has also “and behold.” So also in vv. 8, 13.

[7:7]  ¹⁸ sn The fourth animal differs from the others in that it is nondescript. Apparently it was so fearsome that Daniel could find nothing with which to compare it. Attempts to identify this animal as an elephant or other known creature are conjectural.

[7:7]  ¹⁹ tn The Aramaic word for “teeth” is dual rather than plural, suggesting two rows of teeth.

[7:14]  ²⁰ tn Some take “serving” here in the sense of “worshiping.”

[7:14]  ²¹ tn Aram “is an eternal authority which will not pass away.”

[7:14]  ²² tn Aram “is one which will not be destroyed.”

[7:20]  ²³ tn The words “I also wanted to know” are added in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[7:20]  ²⁴ tc The conjunction in the MT before “eyes” is odd. The ancient versions do not seem to presuppose it.

[7:20]  ²⁵ tn Aram “greater than its companions.”

[7:25]  ²⁶ tn Aram “wear out” (so KJV, ASV, NRSV); NASB, NLT “wear down.” The word is a hapax legomenon in biblical Aramaic, but in biblical Hebrew it especially refers to wearing out such things as garments. Here it is translated “harass…continually.”

[7:25]  ²⁷ tn Aram “he will think.”

[7:25]  ²⁸ tn Aram “times and law.” The present translation is based on the understanding that the expression is a hendiadys.

[7:25]  ²⁹ sn Although the word times is vocalized in the MT as a plural, it probably should be regarded as a dual. The Masoretes may have been influenced here by the fact that in late Aramaic (and Syriac) the dual forms fall out of use. The meaning would thus be three and a half “times.”

[8:17]  ³⁰ tn Heb “on my face.”

[8:17]  ³¹ tn Or “human one.”

[9:11]  ³² tn Or “transgressed.” The Hebrew verb has the primary sense of crossing a boundary, in this case, God’s law.

[9:11]  ³³ tn Heb “by not paying attention to your voice.”

[9:11]  ³⁴ tn Heb “the curse and the oath which is written.” The term “curse” refers here to the judgments threatened in the Mosaic law (see Deut 28) for rebellion. The expression “the curse and the oath” is probably a hendiadys (cf. Num 5:21; Neh 10:29) referring to the fact that the covenant with its threatened judgments was ratified by solemn oath and made legally binding upon the covenant community.

[9:11]  ³⁵ tn Heb “him.”

[9:18]  ³⁶ tn Heb “turn your ear.”

[9:18]  ³⁷ tn Heb “desolations.” The term refers here to the ruined condition of Judah’s towns.

[9:18]  ³⁸ tn Heb “over which your name is called.” Cf. v. 19. This expression implies that God is the owner of his city, Jerusalem. Note the use of the idiom in 2 Sam 12:28; Isa 4:1; Amos 9:12.

[9:18]  ³⁹ tn Heb “praying our supplications before you.”

[9:24]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “sevens.” Elsewhere the term is used of a literal week (a period of seven days), cf. Gen 29:27-28; Exod 34:22; Lev 12:5; Num 28:26; Deut 16:9-10; 2 Chr 8:13; Jer 5:24; Dan 10:2-3. Gabriel unfolds the future as if it were a calendar of successive weeks. Most understand the reference here as periods of seventy “sevens” of years, or a total of 490 years.

[9:24]  ⁴¹ tc Or “to finish.” The present translation reads the Qere (from the root תָּמַם, tamam) with many witnesses. The Kethib has “to seal up” (from the root הָתַם, hatam), a confusion with a reference later in the verse to sealing up the vision.

[9:24]  ⁴² tc The present translation reads the Qere (singular), rather than the Kethib (plural).

[9:24]  ⁴³ tn The Hebrew phrase לְכַלֵּא (lÿkhalle’) is apparently an alternative (metaplastic) spelling of the root כָּלָה (kalah, “to complete, finish”), rather than a form of כָּלָא (kala’, “to shut up, restrain”), as has sometimes been supposed.

[9:24]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “everlasting.”

[9:24]  ⁴⁵ sn The act of sealing in the OT is a sign of authentication. Cf. 1 Kgs 21:8; Jer 32:10, 11, 44.

[9:24]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “vision and prophecy.” The expression is a hendiadys.

[9:24]  ⁴⁷ tn Or “the most holy place” (NASB, NLT); or “a most holy one”; or “the most holy one,” though the expression is used of places or objects elsewhere, not people.

[9:25]  ⁴⁸ tn Or “decree” (NASB, NIV); or “word” (NAB, NRSV).

[9:25]  ⁴⁹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[9:25]  ⁵⁰ tn The word “arrives” is added in the translation for clarification.

[9:25]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “sevens” (also later in this line and in v. 26).

[9:25]  sn The accents in the MT indicate disjunction at this point, which would make it difficult, if not impossible, to identify the “anointed one/prince” of this verse as messianic. The reference in v. 26 to the sixty-two weeks as a unit favors the MT accentuation, not the traditional translation. If one follows the MT accentuation, one may translate “From the going forth of the message to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until an anointed one, a prince arrives, there will be a period of seven weeks. During a period of sixty-two weeks it will again be built, with plaza and moat, but in distressful times.” The present translation follows a traditional reading of the passage that deviates from the MT accentuation.

[9:25]  ⁵² tn Heb “it will return and be built.” The expression is a verbal hendiadys.

[11:4]  ⁵³ tn Heb “and when he stands.”

[11:4]  ⁵⁴ tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.

[11:7]  ⁵⁵ sn The reference is to the king of Egypt.

[11:7]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “the stock of her roots.”

[11:7]  sn The reference to one from her family line is probably to Berenice’s brother, Ptolemy III Euergetes (ca. 246-221 B.C.).

[11:7]  ⁵⁷ tn Heb “will deal with them and prevail.”

[11:8]  ⁵⁸ 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”).

[11:10]  ⁵⁹ sn The sons of Seleucus II Callinicus were Seleucus III Ceraunus (ca. 227-223 B.C.) and Antiochus III the Great (ca. 223-187 B.C.).

[11:10]  ⁶⁰ tn Heb “his”; the referent (the enemy of the king of the north) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:10]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “and he will certainly come and overflow and cross over and return and be aroused unto a fortress.” The translation has attempted to simplify the syntax of this difficult sequence.

[11:27]  ⁶² tn Heb “heart.” So also in v. 28.

[11:27]  ⁶³ tn Heb “speak.”

[11:30]  ⁶⁴ sn The name Kittim has various designations in extra-biblical literature. It can refer to a location on the island of Cyprus, or more generally to the island itself, or it can be an inclusive term to refer to parts of the Mediterranean world that lay west of the Middle East (e.g., Rome). For ships of Kittim the Greek OT (LXX) has “Romans,” an interpretation followed by a few English versions (e.g., TEV). A number of times in the Dead Sea Scrolls the word is used in reference to the Romans. Other English versions are more generic: “[ships] of the western coastlands” (NIV, NLT); “from the west” (NCV, CEV).

[11:30]  ⁶⁵ sn This is apparently a reference to the Roman forces, led by Gaius Popilius Laenas, which confronted Antiochus when he came to Egypt and demanded that he withdraw or face the wrath of Rome. Antiochus wisely withdrew from Egypt, albeit in a state of bitter frustration.

[11:30]  ⁶⁶ tn Heb “show regard for.”

[11:36]  ⁶⁷ 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]  ⁶⁸ tn The words “the time of” are added in the translation for clarification.

[11:36]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “has been done.” The Hebrew verb used here is the perfect of certitude, emphasizing the certainty of fulfillment.