6:1 It seemed like a good idea to Darius 5 to appoint over the kingdom 120 satraps 6 who would be in charge of the entire kingdom.
1:8 But Daniel made up his mind 9 that he would not defile 10 himself with the royal delicacies or the royal wine. 11 He therefore asked the overseer of the court officials for permission not to defile himself. 1:9 Then God made the overseer of the court officials sympathetic to Daniel. 12 1:10 But he 13 responded to Daniel, “I fear my master the king. He is the one who has decided 14 your food and drink. What would happen if he saw that you looked malnourished in comparison to the other young men your age? 15 If that happened, 16 you would endanger my life 17 with the king!” 1:11 Daniel then spoke to the warden 18 whom the overseer of the court officials had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah:
3:8 Then Haman said to King Ahasuerus, “There is a particular people 19 that is dispersed and spread among the inhabitants 20 throughout all the provinces of your kingdom whose laws differ from those of all other peoples. Furthermore, they do not observe the king’s laws. It is not appropriate for the king to provide a haven for them. 21
27:4 Wrath is cruel and anger is overwhelming, 22
but who can stand before jealousy? 23
4:4 Then I considered 24 all the skillful work 25 that is done:
Surely it is nothing more than 26 competition 27 between one person and another. 28
This also is profitless – like 29 chasing the wind.
1 tn Aram “and Daniel sought from the king and he appointed.”
2 tn Aram “was at the gate of the king.”
3 tn Aram “from the sons of the captivity [of].”
4 tn Aram “prays his prayer.”
5 tn Aram “It was pleasing before Darius.”
6 tn This is a technical term for an official placed in charge of a region of the empire (cf. KJV, NLT “prince[s]”; NCV, TEV “governors”). These satraps were answerable to a supervisor, who in turn answered to Darius.
7 tc The LXX and Vulgate lack the verb here.
8 sn The meanings of the Babylonian names are more conjectural than is the case with the Hebrew names. The probable etymologies are as follows: Belteshazzar means “protect his life,” although the MT vocalization may suggest “Belti, protect the king” (cf. Dan 4:8); Shadrach perhaps means “command of Aku”; Meshach is of uncertain meaning; Abednego means “servant of Nego.” Assigning Babylonian names to the Hebrew youths may have been an attempt to erase from their memory their Israelite heritage.
9 tn Heb “placed on his heart.”
10 tn Or “would not make himself ceremonially unclean”; TEV “become ritually unclean.”
11 tn Heb “with the delicacies of the king and with the wine of his drinking.”
12 tn Heb “Then God granted Daniel loyal love and compassion before the overseer of the court officials.” The expression “loyal love and compassion” is a hendiadys; the two words combine to express one idea.
13 tn Heb “The overseer of the court officials.” The subject has been specified in the translation for the sake of clarity.
14 tn Heb “assigned.” See v. 5.
15 tn Heb “Why should he see your faces thin from the young men who are according to your age?” The term translated “thin” occurs only here and in Gen 40:6, where it appears to refer to a dejected facial expression. The word is related to an Arabic root meaning “be weak.” See HALOT 277 s.v. II זעף.
16 tn The words “if that happened” are not in the Hebrew text but have been added in the translation for clarity.
17 tn Heb “my head.” Presumably this is an implicit reference to capital punishment (cf. NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT), although this is not entirely clear.
18 sn Having failed to convince the overseer, Daniel sought the favor of the warden whom the overseer had appointed to care for the young men.
19 tn Heb “one people.” Note the subtle absence at this point of a specific mention of the Jewish people by name.
20 tn Heb “peoples” (so NASB, NIV); NAB “nations”
21 tn Heb “to cause them to rest”; NASB “to let them remain”; NAB, NIV, NRSV “to tolerate them.”
22 tn Heb “fierceness of wrath and outpouring [= flood] of anger.” A number of English versions use “flood” here (e.g., NASB, NCV, NLT).
23 tn The Hebrew term translated “jealousy” here probably has the negative sense of “envy” rather than the positive sense of “zeal.” It is a raging emotion (like “anger” and “wrath,” this word has nuances of heat, intensity) that defies reason at times and can be destructive like a consuming fire (e.g., 6:32-35; Song 8:6-7). The rhetorical question is intended to affirm that no one can survive a jealous rage. (Whether one is the subject who is jealous or the object of the jealousy of someone else is not so clear.)
24 tn Heb “saw.”
25 tn Heb “all the toil and all the skill.” This Hebrew clause (אֶת־כָּל־עָמָל וְאֵת כָּל־כִּשְׁרוֹן, ’et-kol-’amal vÿ’et kol-kishron) is a nominal hendiadys (a figurative expression in which two independent phrases are used to connote the same thing). The second functions adverbially, modifying the first, which retains its full nominal function: “all the skillful work.”
26 tn The phrase “nothing more than” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.
27 tn The noun קִנְאַה (qin’ah, “competition”) has a wide range of meanings: “zeal; jealousy; envy; rivalry; competition; suffering; animosity; anger; wrath” (HALOT 1110 s.v.; BDB 888 s.v.). Here, as in 9:6, it denotes “rivalry” (BDB 888 s.v. 1) or “competitive spirit” (HALOT 1110 s.v. 1.b). The LXX rendered it ζῆλος (zhlos, “envy; jealousy”). The English versions reflect this broad range: “rivalry” (NEB, NAB, NASB), “envy” (KJV, ASV, RSV, NRSV, MLB, NIV, NJPS), and “jealousy” (Moffatt).
28 tn Heb “a man and his neighbor.”
29 tn The word “like” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for clarity.