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 3:2

3:2 Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent out a summons to assemble the satraps, prefects, governors, counselors, treasurers, judges, magistrates, ⁵  and all the other authorities of the province to attend the dedication of the statue that he ⁶  had erected.

Daniel 3:29

3:29 I hereby decree ⁷  that any people, nation, or language group that blasphemes ⁸  the god of Shadrach, Meshach, or Abednego will be dismembered and his home reduced to rubble! For there exists no other god who can deliver in this way.”

Daniel 8:25

8:25 By his treachery ⁹  he will succeed through deceit. ¹⁰  He will have an arrogant attitude, ¹¹  and he will destroy many who are unaware of his schemes. ¹²  He will rise up against the Prince of princes, yet he will be broken apart – but not by human agency. ¹³ 

Daniel 9:24

9:24 “Seventy weeks ¹⁴  have been determined

concerning your people and your holy city

to put an end to ¹⁵  rebellion,

to bring sin ¹⁶  to completion, ¹⁷ 

to atone for iniquity,

to bring in perpetual ¹⁸  righteousness,

to seal up ¹⁹  the prophetic vision, ²⁰ 

and to anoint a most holy place. ²¹ 

Daniel 11:25

11:25 He will rouse his strength and enthusiasm ²²  against the king of the south ²³  with a large army. The king of the south will wage war with a large and very powerful army, but he will not be able to prevail because of the plans devised against him.

[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.

[3:2]  ⁵ sn The specific duties of the seven types of officials listed here (cf. vv. 3, 27) are unclear. The Aramaic words that are used are transliterations of Akkadian or Persian technical terms whose exact meanings are uncertain. The translations given here follow suggestions set forth in BDB.

[3:2]  ⁶ tn Aram “Nebuchadnezzar the king.” The proper name and title have been replaced by the relative pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[3:29]  ⁷ tn Aram “from me is placed an edict.”

[3:29]  ⁸ tn Aram “speaks negligence.”

[8:25]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew term has a primary meaning of “skill, insight,” but here it has the connotation “cunning, treachery.” See BDB 968 s.v. שֵׂכֶל, שֶׂכֶל.

[8:25]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “he will cause deceit to succeed by his hand.”

[8:25]  ¹¹ tn Heb “in his heart he will act arrogantly.”

[8:25]  ¹² tn Heb “in peace.” The Hebrew word used here is difficult. It may refer to the security felt by those who did not realize the danger of imminent attack, or it may refer to the condition of being unaware of the impending danger. The latter idea is reflected in the present translation. See further, BDB 1017 s.v. שַׁלְוָה.

[8:25]  ¹³ tn Heb “with nothingness of hand.”

[9:24]  ¹⁴ 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]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ tc The present translation reads the Qere (singular), rather than the Kethib (plural).

[9:24]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ tn Or “everlasting.”

[9:24]  ¹⁹ 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]  ²⁰ tn Heb “vision and prophecy.” The expression is a hendiadys.

[9:24]  ²¹ 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.

[11:25]  ²² tn Heb “heart.”

[11:25]  ²³ sn This king of the south was Ptolemy Philometer (ca. 181-145 B.C.).