2:12 Because of this the king got furiously angry 3 and gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.
2:24 Then Daniel went in to see 4 Arioch (whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon). He came 5 and said to him, “Don’t destroy the wise men of Babylon! Escort me 6 to the king, and I will disclose the interpretation to him!” 7
2:14 Then Daniel spoke with prudent counsel 8 to Arioch, who was in charge of the king’s executioners and who had gone out to execute the wise men of Babylon.
2:21 He changes times and seasons,
deposing some kings
and establishing others. 10
He gives wisdom to the wise;
he imparts knowledge to those with understanding; 11
5:8 So all the king’s wise men came in, but they were unable to read the writing or to make known its 14 interpretation to the king.
4:18 “This is the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, saw. Now you, Belteshazzar, declare its 16 interpretation, for none of the wise men in 17 my kingdom are able to make known to me the interpretation. But you can do so, for a spirit of the holy gods is in you.”
1 tn The Aramaic participle is used here to express the imminent future.
2 tn The impersonal active plural (“they sought”) of the Aramaic verb could also be translated as an English passive: “Daniel and his friends were sought” (cf. NAB).
3 tn Aram “was angry and very furious.” The expression is a hendiadys (two words or phrases expressing a single idea).
5 tc The MT has עַל עַל (’al ’al, “he entered upon”). Several medieval Hebrew
6 tc The LXX and Vulgate, along with one medieval Hebrew
7 tn Aram “cause me to enter.” So also in v. 25.
8 tn Aram “the king.”
7 tn Aram “returned prudence and counsel.” The expression is a hendiadys.
9 tn Aram “Daniel.” The proper name is redundant here in English, and has not been included in the translation.
11 tn Aram “kings.”
12 tn Aram “the knowers of understanding.”
13 tn Aram “from me there was placed a decree.”
14 tn The Aramaic infinitive here is active.
15 tc Read וּפִשְׁרֵהּ (ufishreh) with the Qere rather than וּפִשְׁרָא (ufishra’) of the Kethib.
17 tn The Aramaic text does not have “and.” The term “astrologers” is either an appositive for “wise men” (cf. KJV, NKJV, ASV, RSV, NRSV), or the construction is to be understood as asyndetic (so the translation above).
19 tc The present translation reads פִּשְׁרֵהּ (pishreh, “its interpretation”) with the Qere and many medieval Hebrew
20 tn Aram “of.”
21 tn Aram “in strength.”
22 tn Aram “cause to enter.”
23 tn Aram “answered and said.”
24 sn Purple was a color associated with royalty in the ancient world.
25 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).