Daniel 2:21

2:21 He changes times and seasons,

deposing some kings

and establishing others. ¹ 

He gives wisdom to the wise;

he imparts knowledge to those with understanding; ² 

Daniel 2:31

2:31 “You, O king, were watching as a great statue – one ³  of impressive size and extraordinary brightness – was standing before you. Its appearance caused alarm.

Daniel 2:39

2:39 Now after you another kingdom ⁴  will arise, one inferior to yours. Then a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule in all the earth.

Daniel 3:1

Daniel’s Friends Are Tested

3:1 ⁵ King Nebuchadnezzar had a golden ⁶  statue made. ⁷  It was ninety feet ⁸  tall and nine feet ⁹  wide. He erected it on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.

Daniel 3:18

3:18 But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we don’t serve your gods, and we will not pay homage to the golden statue that you have erected.”

Daniel 6:1

Daniel is Thrown into a Lions’ Den

6:1 It seemed like a good idea to Darius ¹⁰  to appoint over the kingdom 120 satraps ¹¹  who would be in charge of the entire kingdom.

Daniel 6:8

6:8 Now let the king issue a written interdict ¹²  so that it cannot be altered, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be changed. ¹³ 

Daniel 7:16

7:16 I approached one of those standing nearby and asked him about the meaning ¹⁴  of all this. So he spoke with me and revealed ¹⁵  to me the interpretation of the vision: ¹⁶ 

[2:21]  ¹ tn Aram “kings.”

[2:21]  ² tn Aram “the knowers of understanding.”

[2:31]  ³ tn Aram “an image.”

[2:39]  ⁴ 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.

[3:1]  ⁵ sn The LXX introduces this chapter with the following chronological note: “in the eighteenth year of.” Such a date would place these events at about the time of the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. (cf. 2 Kgs 25:8). However, there seems to be no real basis for associating the events of Daniel 3 with this date.

[3:1]  ⁶ sn There is no need to think of Nebuchadnezzar’s image as being solid gold. No doubt the sense is that it was overlaid with gold (cf. Isa 40:19; Jer 10:3-4), with the result that it presented a dazzling self-compliment to the greatness of Nebuchadnezzar’s achievements.

[3:1]  ⁷ sn According to a number of patristic authors, the image represented a deification of Nebuchadnezzar himself. This is not clear from the biblical text, however.

[3:1]  ⁸ tn Aram “sixty cubits.” Assuming a length of 18 inches for the standard cubit, the image would be 90 feet (27.4 m) high.

[3:1]  ⁹ tn Aram “six cubits.” Assuming a length of 18 inches for the standard cubit, the image would be 9 feet (2.74 m) wide.

[3:1]  sn The dimensions of the image (ninety feet high and nine feet wide) imply that it did not possess normal human proportions, unless a base for the image is included in the height dimension. The ancient world knew of other tall statues. For example, the Colossus of Rhodes – the huge statue of Helios which stood (ca. 280-224 B.C.) at the entrance to the harbor at Rhodes and was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world – was said to be seventy cubits (105 ft or 32 m) in height, which would make it even taller than Nebuchadnezzar’s image.

[6:1]  ¹⁰ tn Aram “It was pleasing before Darius.”

[6:1]  ¹¹ tn This is a technical term for an official placed in charge of a region of the empire (cf. KJV, NLT “prince[s]”; NCV, TEV “governors”). These satraps were answerable to a supervisor, who in turn answered to Darius.

[6:8]  ¹² tn Aram “establish a written interdict and inscribe a written decree.”

[6:8]  ¹³ tn Or “removed.”

[7:16]  ¹⁴ tn Aram “what is certain.”

[7:16]  ¹⁵ tn Aram “and made known.”

[7:16]  ¹⁶ tn Aram “matter,” but the matter at hand is of course the vision.