2:10 The wise men replied to the king, “There is no man on earth who is able to disclose the king’s secret, 1 for no king, regardless of his position and power, has ever requested such a thing from any magician, astrologer, or wise man.
1 tn Aram “matter, thing.”
2 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 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 The proper name and title have been replaced by the relative pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.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 tn Aram “in strength.”
4 tn Aram “cause to enter.”
5 tn Aram “answered and said.”
6 sn Purple was a color associated with royalty in the ancient world.
7 tn The term translated “golden collar” here probably refers to something more substantial than merely a gold chain (cf. NIV, NCV, NRSV, NLT) or necklace (cf. NASB).
4 tn Heb “act against.”
5 tn Heb “with.”
6 tn Or perhaps “for a reward.”