Daniel 2:4

2:4 The wise men replied to the king: [What follows is in Aramaic ¹ ] “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will disclose its ²  interpretation.”

Daniel 2:12

2:12 Because of this the king got furiously angry ³  and gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.

Daniel 2:9

2:9 If you don’t inform me of the dream, there is only one thing that is going to happen to you. ⁴  For you have agreed among yourselves to report to me something false and deceitful ⁵  until such time as things might change. So tell me the dream, and I will have confidence ⁶  that you can disclose its interpretation.”

Daniel 3:24

God Delivers His Servants

3:24 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was startled and quickly got up. He said to his ministers, “Wasn’t it three men that we tied up and threw ⁷  into ⁸  the fire?” They replied to the king, “For sure, O king.”

Daniel 4:19

Daniel Interprets Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

4:19 Then Daniel (whose name is also Belteshazzar) was upset for a brief time; ⁹  his thoughts were alarming him. The king said, “Belteshazzar, don’t let the dream and its interpretation alarm you.” But Belteshazzar replied, “Sir, ¹⁰  if only the dream were for your enemies and its interpretation applied to your adversaries!

Daniel 6:16

6:16 So the king gave the order, ¹¹  and Daniel was brought and thrown into a den ¹²  of lions. The king consoled ¹³  Daniel by saying, “Your God whom you continually serve will rescue you!”

¹ sn Contrary to common belief, the point here is not that the wise men (Chaldeans) replied to the king in the Aramaic language, or that this language was uniquely the language of the Chaldeans. It was this view that led in the past to Aramaic being referred to as “Chaldee.” Aramaic was used as a lingua franca during this period; its origins and usage were not restricted to the Babylonians. Rather, this phrase is better understood as an editorial note (cf. NAB) marking the fact that from 2:4b through 7:28 the language of the book shifts from Hebrew to Aramaic. In 8:1, and for the remainder of the book, the language returns to Hebrew. Various views have been advanced to account for this change of language, most of which are unconvincing. Most likely the change in language is a reflection of stages in the transmission history of the book of Daniel.

² tn Or “the.”

³ tn Aram “was angry and very furious.” The expression is a hendiadys (two words or phrases expressing a single idea).

⁵ tn Aram “one is your law,” i.e., only one thing is applicable to you.

⁶ tn Aram “a lying and corrupt word.”

⁷ tn Aram “I will know.”

⁷ tn Aram “we threw…bound.”

⁸ tn Aram “into the midst of.”

⁹ tn Aram “about one hour.” The expression refers idiomatically to a brief period of time of undetermined length.

¹⁰ tn Aram “my lord.”

¹¹ tn Aram “said.” So also in vv. 24, 25.

¹² sn The den was perhaps a pit below ground level which could be safely observed from above.

¹³ tn Aram “answered and said [to Daniel].”