Daniel 3:9

3:9 They said ¹  to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever! ² 

Daniel 2:7

2:7 They again replied, “Let the king inform us ³  of the dream; then we will disclose its ⁴  interpretation.”

Daniel 3:16

3:16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego replied to King Nebuchadnezzar, ⁵  “We do not need to give you a reply ⁶  concerning this.

[3:9]  ¹ tn Aram “answered and said,” a common Aramaic idiom that occurs repeatedly in this chapter.

[3:9]  ² sn O king, live forever! is a comment of typical court courtesy that is not necessarily indicative of the real sentiments of the speaker. Ancient oriental court protocol could sometimes require a certain amount of hypocrisy.

[2:7]  ³ tn Aram “his servants.”

[2:7]  ⁴ tn Or “the.”

[3:16]  ⁵ tc In the MT this word is understood to begin the following address (“answered and said to the king, ‘O Nebuchadnezzar’”). However, it seems unlikely that Nebuchadnezzar’s subordinates would address the king in such a familiar way, particularly in light of the danger that they now found themselves in. The present translation implies moving the atnach from “king” to “Nebuchadnezzar.”

[3:16]  ⁶ tn Aram “to return a word to you.”