Daniel 1:4

1:4 young men in whom there was no physical defect and who were handsome, ¹  well versed in all kinds of wisdom, well educated ²  and having keen insight, ³  and who were capable ⁴  of entering the king’s royal service ⁵  – and to teach them the literature and language ⁶  of the Babylonians. ⁷ 

Daniel 10:1

An Angel Appears to Daniel

10:1 ⁸ In the third ⁹  year of King Cyrus of Persia a message was revealed to Daniel (who was also called Belteshazzar). This message was true and concerned a great war. ¹⁰  He understood the message and gained insight by the vision.

[1:4]  ¹ tn Heb “good of appearance.”

[1:4]  ² tn Heb “knowers of knowledge.”

[1:4]  ³ tn Heb “understanders of knowledge.”

[1:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “who had strength.”

[1:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “to stand in the palace of the king.” Cf. vv. 5, 19.

[1:4]  ⁶ sn The language of the Chaldeans referred to here is Akkadian, an East Semitic cuneiform language.

[1:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “Chaldeans” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV). This is an ancient name for the Babylonians.

[10:1]  ⁸ sn This chapter begins the final unit in the book of Daniel, consisting of chapters 10-12. The traditional chapter divisions to some extent obscure the relationship of these chapters.

[10:1]  ⁹ tc The LXX has “first.”

[10:1]  sn Cyrus’ third year would have been ca. 536 B.C. Daniel would have been approximately eighty-four years old at this time.

[10:1]  ¹⁰ tn The meaning of the Hebrew word צָבָא (tsava’) is uncertain in this context. The word most often refers to an army or warfare. It may also mean “hard service,” and many commentators take that to be the sense here (i.e., “the service was great”). The present translation assumes the reference to be to the spiritual conflicts described, for example, in 10:16–11:1.