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!” ¹ 

Daniel 3:27-28

3:27 Once the satraps, prefects, governors, and ministers of the king had gathered around, they saw that those men were physically ²  unharmed by the fire. ³  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!

3:28 Nebuchadnezzar exclaimed, ⁴  “Praised be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent forth his angel ⁵  and has rescued his servants who trusted in him, ignoring ⁶  the edict of the king and giving up their bodies rather than ⁷  serve or pay homage to any god other than their God!

Daniel 3:1

Daniel’s Friends Are Tested

3:1 ⁸ King Nebuchadnezzar had a golden ⁹  statue made. ¹⁰  It was ninety feet ¹¹  tall and nine feet ¹²  wide. He erected it on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.

Daniel 5:20

5:20 And when his mind ¹³  became arrogant ¹⁴  and his spirit filled with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne and his honor was removed from him.

Daniel 5:2

5:2 While under the influence ¹⁵  of the wine, Belshazzar issued an order to bring in the gold and silver vessels – the ones that Nebuchadnezzar his father ¹⁶  had confiscated ¹⁷  from the temple in Jerusalem ¹⁸  – so that the king and his nobles, together with his wives and his concubines, could drink from them. ¹⁹ 

Daniel 1:20

1:20 In every matter of wisdom and ²⁰  insight the king asked them about, he found them to be ten times ²¹  better than any of the magicians and astrologers that were in his entire empire.

Mazmur 37:40

37:40 The Lord helps them and rescues them;

he rescues them from evil men and delivers them, ²² 

for they seek his protection.

Mazmur 118:8-9

118:8 It is better to take shelter ²³  in the Lord

than to trust in people.

118:9 It is better to take shelter in the Lord

than to trust in princes.

Mazmur 146:3-6

146:3 Do not trust in princes,

or in human beings, who cannot deliver! ²⁴ 

146:4 Their life’s breath departs, they return to the ground;

on that day their plans die. ²⁵ 

146:5 How blessed is the one whose helper is the God of Jacob,

whose hope is in the Lord his God,

146:6 the one who made heaven and earth,

the sea, and all that is in them,

who remains forever faithful, ²⁶ 

Amsal 18:10

18:10 The name of the Lord ²⁷  is like ²⁸  a strong tower; ²⁹ 

the righteous person runs ³⁰  to it and is set safely on high. ³¹ 

Yesaya 26:3

26:3 You keep completely safe the people who maintain their faith,

for they trust in you. ³² 

Markus 9:23

9:23 Then Jesus said to him, “‘If you are able?’ ³³  All things are possible for the one who believes.”

Ibrani 11:33

11:33 Through faith they conquered kingdoms, administered justice, ³⁴  gained what was promised, ³⁵  shut the mouths of lions,

[3:25]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Aram “in their bodies.”

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

[3:28]  ⁴ tn Aram “answered and said.”

[3:28]  ⁵ sn The king identifies the “son of the gods” (v. 25) as an angel. Comparable Hebrew expressions are used elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible for the members of God’s angelic assembly (see Gen 6:2, 4; Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7; Pss 29:1; 89:6). An angel later comes to rescue Daniel from the lions (Dan 6:22).

[3:28]  ⁶ tn Aram “they changed” or “violated.”

[3:28]  ⁷ tn Aram “so that they might not.”

[3:1]  ⁸ 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]  ⁹ 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]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² 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.

[5:20]  ¹³ tn Aram “heart.”

[5:20]  ¹⁴ sn The point of describing Nebuchadnezzar as arrogant is that he had usurped divine prerogatives, and because of his immense arrogance God had dealt decisively with him.

[5:2]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ tn Or “taken.”

[5:2]  ¹⁸ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[5:2]  ¹⁹ 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.

[1:20]  ²⁰ tc The MT lacks the conjunction, reading the first word in the phrase as a construct (“wisdom of insight”). While this reading is not impossible, it seems better to follow Theodotion, the Syriac, the Vulgate, and the Sahidic Coptic, all of which have the conjunction.

[1:20]  ²¹ tn Heb “hands.”

[37:40]  ²² tn The prefixed verbal forms with vav (ו) consecutive carry on the generalizing tone of the preceding verse.

[118:8]  ²³ tn “Taking shelter” in the Lord is an idiom for seeking his protection. Seeking his protection presupposes and even demonstrates the subject’s loyalty to the Lord. In the psalms those who “take shelter” in the Lord are contrasted with the wicked and equated with those who love, fear, and serve the Lord (Pss 5:11-12; 31:17-20; 34:21-22).

[146:3]  ²⁴ tn Heb “in a son of man, to whom there is no deliverance.”

[146:4]  ²⁵ tn Heb “his spirit goes out, it returns to his ground; in that day his plans die.” The singular refers to the representative man mentioned in v. 3b.

[146:6]  ²⁶ tn Heb “the one who guards faithfulness forever.”

[18:10]  ²⁷ sn The “name of the Lord” is a metonymy of subject. The “name” here signifies not the personal name “Yahweh,” for that would be redundant in the expression “the name of Yahweh,” but the attributes of the Lord (cf. Exod 34:5-7) – here his power to protect.

[18:10]  ²⁸ tn The comparative “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is implied by the metaphor; it is supplied for the sake of clarity.

[18:10]  ²⁹ tn Heb “a tower of strength,” with “strength” regarded as attributive by most English versions. The metaphor “strong tower” indicates that God is a secure refuge. The figure is qualified in the second colon.

[18:10]  ³⁰ sn The metaphor of “running” to the Lord refers to a whole-hearted and unwavering trust in God’s protection (e.g., Isa 40:31).

[18:10]  ³¹ tn Heb “is high” or “is inaccessible.” This military-type expression stresses the effect of the trust – security, being out of danger (see HALOT 1305 s.v. שׂגב). Other scriptures will supply the ways that God actually protects people who trust him.

[26:3]  ³² tn Heb “[one of] firm purpose you will keep [in] peace, peace, for in you he possesses trust.” The Hebrew term יֵצֶר (yetser) refers to what one devises in the mind; סָמוּךְ (samukh) probably functions here like an attributive adjective and carries the nuance “firm.” So the phrase literally means, “a firm purpose,” but as the object of the verb “keep, guard,” it must stand by metonymy for the one(s) who possess a firm purpose. In this context the “righteous nation” (v. 2) is probably in view and the “firm purpose” refers to their unwavering faith in God’s vindication (see 25:9). In this context שָׁלוֹם (shalom, “peace”), which is repeated for emphasis, likely refers to national security, not emotional or psychological composure (see vv. 1-2). The passive participle בָּטוּחַ (batuakh) expresses a state that results from the subject’s action.

[9:23]  ³³ tc Most mss (A C³ Ψ 33 Ï) have τὸ εἰ δύνασαι πιστεῦσαι (to ei dunasai pisteusai, “if you are able to believe”), instead of τὸ εἰ δύνῃ (to ei dunh, “if you are able”; supported by א B C* L N* Δ Ë¹ 579 892 pc). Others have εἰ δύνῃ (or δυνάσαι) πιστεῦσαι (“if you are able to believe”; so D K Θ Ë¹³ 28 565 al), while still others have τοῦτο εἰ δύνῃ (touto ei dunh, “if you can [do] this”; so [Ì⁴⁵] W). The reading that best explains the rise of the others is τὸ εἰ δύνῃ. The neuter article indicates that the Lord is now quoting the boy’s father who, in v. 22, says εἴ τι δύνῃ (ei ti dunh, “if you are able to do anything”). The article is thus used anaphorically (see ExSyn 238). However, scribes could easily have overlooked this idiom and would consequently read τὸ εἰ δύνῃ as the protasis of a conditional clause of the Lord’s statement. As such, it would almost demand the infinitive πιστεῦσαι, producing the reading τὸ εἰ δύνασαι πιστεῦσαι (“if you are able to believe, all things are possible…”). But the article here seems to be meaningless, prompting other scribes to modify the text still further. Some dropped the nonsensical article, while others turned it into the demonstrative τοῦτο and dropped the infinitive. It is clear that scribes had difficulty with the original wording here, and made adjustments in various directions. What might not be so clear is the exact genealogy of the descent of all the readings. However, τὸ εἰ δύνῃ is both a hard saying, best explains the rise of the other readings, and is supported by the best witnesses. It thus rightly deserves to be considered authentic.

[11:33]  ³⁴ tn This probably refers to the righteous rule of David and others. But it could be more general and mean “did what was righteous.”

[11:33]  ³⁵ tn Grk “obtained promises,” referring to the things God promised, not to the pledges themselves.

[11:33]  sn Gained what was promised. They saw some of God’s promises fulfilled, even though the central promise remained unfulfilled until Christ came (cf. vv. 39-40).