Daniel 2:26

2:26 The king then asked Daniel (whose name was also Belteshazzar), “Are you able to make known to me the dream that I saw, as well as its interpretation?”

Daniel 2:31

2:31 “You, O king, were watching as a great statue – one ¹  of impressive size and extraordinary brightness – was standing before you. Its appearance caused alarm.

Daniel 2:34

2:34 You were watching as ²  a stone was cut out, ³  but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its iron and clay feet, breaking them in pieces.

Daniel 4:10

4:10 Here are the visions of my mind ⁴  while I was on my bed.

While I was watching,

there was a tree in the middle of the land. ⁵ 

It was enormously tall. ⁶ 

Daniel 4:13

4:13 While I was watching in my mind’s visions ⁷  on my bed,

a holy sentinel ⁸  came down from heaven.

Daniel 4:20

4:20 The tree that you saw that grew large and strong, whose top reached to the sky, and which could be seen ⁹  in all the land,

Daniel 7:1-2

Daniel has a Vision of Four Animals Coming up from the Sea

7:1 In the first ¹⁰  year of King Belshazzar of Babylon, Daniel had ¹¹  a dream filled with visions ¹²  while he was lying on his bed. Then he wrote down the dream in summary fashion. ¹³  7:2 Daniel explained: ¹⁴  “I was watching in my vision during the night as ¹⁵  the four winds of the sky ¹⁶  were stirring up the great sea. ¹⁷ 

Daniel 7:13

7:13 I was watching in the night visions,

“And with ¹⁸  the clouds of the sky ¹⁹ 

one like a son of man ²⁰  was approaching.

He went up to the Ancient of Days

and was escorted ²¹  before him.

Daniel 2:8

2:8 The king replied, “I know for sure that you are attempting to gain time, because you see that my decision is firm.

Daniel 2:43

2:43 And ²²  in that you saw iron mixed with wet clay, so people will be mixed ²³  with one another ²⁴  without adhering to one another, just as ²⁵  iron does not mix with clay.

Daniel 2:45

2:45 You saw that a stone was cut from a mountain, but not by human hands; it smashed the iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold into pieces. The great God has made known to the king what will occur in the future. ²⁶  The dream is certain, and its interpretation is reliable.”

Daniel 3:19

3:19 Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with rage, and his disposition changed ²⁷  toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He gave orders ²⁸  to heat the furnace seven times hotter than it was normally heated.

Daniel 3:25

3:25 He answered, “But I see four men, untied and walking around in the midst of the fire! No harm has come to them! And the appearance of the fourth is like that of a god!” ²⁹ 

Daniel 3:27

3:27 Once the satraps, prefects, governors, and ministers of the king had gathered around, they saw that those men were physically ³⁰  unharmed by the fire. ³¹  The hair of their heads was not singed, nor were their trousers damaged. Not even the smell of fire was to be found on them!

Daniel 4:9

4:9 saying, “Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, in whom I know there to be a spirit of the holy gods and whom no mystery baffles, consider ³²  my dream that I saw and set forth its interpretation!

Daniel 4:18

4:18 “This is the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, saw. Now you, Belteshazzar, declare its ³³  interpretation, for none of the wise men in ³⁴  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 5:5

5:5 At that very moment the fingers of a human hand appeared ³⁵  and wrote on the plaster of the royal palace wall, opposite the lampstand. ³⁶  The king was watching the back ³⁷  of the hand that was writing.

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 ³⁸  was given to it. ³⁹ 

Daniel 7:6

7:6 “After these things, ⁴⁰  as I was watching, another beast ⁴¹  like a leopard appeared, with four bird-like wings on its back. ⁴²  This beast had four heads, ⁴³  and ruling authority was given to it.

Daniel 7:9

7:9 “While I was watching,

thrones were set up,

and the Ancient of Days ⁴⁴  took his seat.

His attire was white like snow;

the hair of his head was like lamb’s ⁴⁵  wool.

His throne was ablaze with fire

and its wheels were all aflame. ⁴⁶ 

Daniel 4:23

4:23 As for the king seeing a holy sentinel coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Chop down the tree and destroy it, but leave its taproot in the ground, with a band of iron and bronze around it, surrounded by the grass of the field. Let it become damp with the dew of the sky, and let it live with the wild animals, until seven periods of time go by for him’ –

Daniel 7:7

7:7 “After these things, as I was watching in the night visions ⁴⁷  a fourth beast appeared – one dreadful, terrible, and very strong. ⁴⁸  It had two large rows ⁴⁹  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 5:23

5:23 Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven. You brought before you the vessels from his temple, and you and your nobles, together with your wives and concubines, drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone – gods ⁵⁰  that cannot see or hear or comprehend! But you have not glorified the God who has in his control ⁵¹  your very breath and all your ways!

[2:31]  ¹ tn Aram “an image.”

[2:34]  ² tn Aram “until.”

[2:34]  ³ tc The LXX, Theodotion, and the Vulgate have “from a mountain,” though this is probably a harmonization with v. 45.

[4:10]  ⁴ tc The LXX lacks the first two words (Aram “the visions of my head”) of the Aramaic text.

[4:10]  ⁵ tn Instead of “in the middle of the land,” some English versions render this phrase “a tree at the center of the earth” (NRSV); NAB, CEV “of the world”; NLT “in the middle of the earth.” The Hebrew phrase can have either meaning.

[4:10]  ⁶ tn Aram “its height was great.”

[4:13]  ⁷ tn Aram “the visions of my head.”

[4:13]  ⁸ tn Aram “a watcher and a holy one.” The expression is a hendiadys; so also in v. 23. This “watcher” is apparently an angel. The Greek OT (LXX) in fact has ἄγγελος (angelo", “angel”) here. Theodotion simply transliterates the Aramaic word (’ir). The term is sometimes rendered “sentinel” (NAB) or “messenger” (NIV, NLT).

[4:20]  ⁹ tn Aram “its sight.”

[7:1]  ¹⁰ sn The first year of Belshazzar’s reign would have been ca. 553 B.C. Daniel would have been approximately 67 years old at the time of this vision.

[7:1]  ¹¹ tn Aram “saw.”

[7:1]  ¹² tn Aram “and visions of his head.” The Aramaic is difficult here. Some scholars add a verb thought to be missing (e.g., “the visions of his head [were alarming him]”), but there is no external evidence to support such a decision and the awkwardness of the text at this point may be original.

[7:1]  ¹³ tn Aram “head of words.” The phrase is absent in Theodotion. Cf. NIV “the substance of his dream.”

[7:2]  ¹⁴ tn Aram “answered and said.”

[7:2]  ¹⁵ tn Aram “and behold.”

[7:2]  ¹⁶ tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.

[7:2]  ¹⁷ sn The referent of the great sea is unclear. The common view that the expression refers to the Mediterranean Sea is conjectural.

[7:13]  ¹⁸ tc The LXX has ἐπί (epi, “upon”) here (cf. Matt 24:30; 26:64). Theodotion has μετά (meta, “with”) here (cf. Mark 14:62; Rev 1:7).

[7:13]  ¹⁹ tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.

[7:13]  ²⁰ sn This text is probably the main OT background for Jesus’ use of the term “son of man.” In both Jewish and Christian circles the reference in the book of Daniel has traditionally been understood to refer to an individual, usually in a messianic sense. Many modern scholars, however, understand the reference to have a corporate identity. In this view, the “son of man” is to be equated with the “holy ones” (vv. 18, 21, 22, 25) or the “people of the holy ones” (v. 27) and understood as a reference to the Jewish people. Others understand Daniel’s reference to be to the angel Michael.

[7:13]  ²¹ tn Aram “they brought him near.”

[2:43]  ²² tc The present translation reads the conjunction, with most medieval Hebrew MSS, LXX, Vulgate, and the Qere. The Kethib lacks the conjunction.

[2:43]  ²³ sn The reference to people being mixed is usually understood to refer to intermarriage.

[2:43]  ²⁴ tn Aram “with the seed of men.”

[2:43]  ²⁵ tc The present translation reads הֵיךְ דִּי (hekh diy) rather than the MT הֵא־כְדִי (he’-khÿdi). It is a case of wrong word division.

[2:45]  ²⁶ tn Aram “after this.”

[3:19]  ²⁷ tn Aram “the appearance of his face was altered”; cf. NLT “his face became distorted with rage”; NAB “[his] face became livid with utter rage.”

[3:19]  ²⁸ tn Aram “he answered and said.”

[3:25]  ²⁹ sn The phrase like that of a god is in Aramaic “like that of a son of the gods.” Many patristic writers understood this phrase in a christological sense (i.e., “the Son of God”). But it should be remembered that these are words spoken by a pagan who is seeking to explain things from his own polytheistic frame of reference; for him the phrase “like a son of the gods” is equivalent to “like a divine being.”

[3:27]  ³⁰ tn Aram “in their bodies.”

[3:27]  ³¹ tn Aram “the fire did not have power.”

[4:9]  ³² tc The present translation assumes the reading חֲזִי (khazi, “consider”) rather than the MT חֶזְוֵי (khezvey, “visions”). The MT implies that the king required Daniel to disclose both the dream and its interpretation, as in chapter 2. But in the following verses Nebuchadnezzar recounts his dream, while Daniel presents only its interpretation.

[4:18]  ³³ 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]  ³⁴ tn Aram “of.”

[5:5]  ³⁵ tn Aram “came forth.”

[5:5]  ³⁶ sn The mention of the lampstand in this context is of interest because it suggests that the writing was in clear view.

[5:5]  ³⁷ tn While Aramaic פַּס (pas) can mean the palm of the hand, here it seems to be the back of the hand that is intended.

[7:4]  ³⁸ tn Aram “heart of a man.”

[7:4]  ³⁹ 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.

[7:6]  ⁴⁰ tn Aram “this.” So also in v. 7.

[7:6]  ⁴¹ tn Aram “and behold, another one.”

[7:6]  ⁴² tn Or “sides.”

[7:6]  ⁴³ sn If the third animal is Greece, the most likely identification of these four heads is the four-fold division of the empire of Alexander the Great following his death. See note on Dan 8:8.

[7:9]  ⁴⁴ tn Or “the Ancient One” (NAB, NRSV, NLT), although the traditional expression has been retained in the present translation because it is familiar to many readers. Cf. TEV “One who had been living for ever”; CEV “the Eternal God.”

[7:9]  ⁴⁵ tn Traditionally the Aramaic word נְקֵא (nÿqe’) has been rendered “pure,” but here it more likely means “of a lamb.” Cf. the Syriac neqya’ (“a sheep, ewe”). On this word see further, M. Sokoloff, “’amar neqe’, ‘Lamb’s Wool’ (Dan 7:9),” JBL 95 (1976): 277-79.

[7:9]  ⁴⁶ tn Aram “a flaming fire.”

[7:7]  ⁴⁷ tn The Aramaic text has also “and behold.” So also in vv. 8, 13.

[7:7]  ⁴⁸ 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]  ⁴⁹ tn The Aramaic word for “teeth” is dual rather than plural, suggesting two rows of teeth.

[5:23]  ⁵⁰ tn Aram “which.”

[5:23]  ⁵¹ tn Aram “in whose hand [are].”