Daniel 3:17

3:17 If ¹  our God whom we are serving exists, ²  he is able to rescue us from the furnace of blazing fire, and he will rescue us, O king, from your power as well.

Daniel 4:31

4:31 While these words were still on the king’s lips, ³  a voice came down from heaven: “It is hereby announced to you, ⁴  King Nebuchadnezzar, that your kingdom has been removed from you!

Daniel 5:20

5:20 And when his mind ⁵  became arrogant ⁶  and his spirit filled with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne and his honor was removed from him.

Daniel 7:16

7:16 I approached one of those standing nearby and asked him about the meaning ⁷  of all this. So he spoke with me and revealed ⁸  to me the interpretation of the vision: ⁹ 

Daniel 7:24

7:24 The ten horns

mean that ten kings will arise from that kingdom.

Another king will arise after them,

but he will be different from the earlier ones.

He will humiliate ¹⁰  three kings.

Daniel 2:16

2:16 So Daniel went in and ¹¹  requested the king to grant him time, that he might disclose the interpretation to the king.

Daniel 2:33

2:33 Its legs were of iron; its feet were partly of iron and partly of clay. ¹² 

Daniel 5:24

5:24 Therefore the palm of a hand was sent from him, and this writing was inscribed.

Daniel 7:17

7:17 ‘These large beasts, which are four in number, represent four kings who will arise from the earth.

¹ tc The ancient versions typically avoid the conditional element of v. 17.

² tn The Aramaic expression used here is very difficult to interpret. The question concerns the meaning and syntax of אִיתַי (’itay, “is” or “exist”). There are several possibilities. (1) Some interpreters take this word closely with the participle later in the verse יָכִל (yakhil, “able”), understanding the two words to form a periphrastic construction (“if our God is…able”; cf. H. Bauer and P. Leander, Grammatik des Biblisch-Aramäischen, 365, §111b). But the separation of the two elements from one another is not an argument in favor of this understanding. (2) Other interpreters take the first part of v. 17 to mean “If it is so, then our God will deliver us” (cf. KJV, ASV, RSV, NASB). However, the normal sense of ’itay is existence; on this point see F. Rosenthal, Grammar, 45, §95. The present translation maintains the sense of existence for the verb (“If our God…exists”), even though the statement is admittedly difficult to understand in this light. The statement may be an implicit reference back to Nebuchadnezzar’s comment in v. 15, which denies the existence of a god capable of delivering from the king’s power.

³ tn Aram “in the mouth of the king.”

⁴ tn Aram “to you they say.”

⁵ tn Aram “heart.”

⁶ sn The point of describing Nebuchadnezzar as arrogant is that he had usurped divine prerogatives, and because of his immense arrogance God had dealt decisively with him.

⁷ tn Aram “what is certain.”

⁸ tn Aram “and made known.”

⁹ tn Aram “matter,” but the matter at hand is of course the vision.

⁹ tn Or “subjugate”; KJV, NASB, NIV “subdue”; ASV, NRSV “put down.”

¹¹ tc Theodotion and the Syriac lack the words “went in and.”

¹³ sn Clay refers to baked clay, which – though hard – was also fragile. Cf. the reference in v. 41 to “wet clay.”