Daniel 3:2

3:2 Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent out a summons to assemble the satraps, prefects, governors, counselors, treasurers, judges, magistrates, ¹  and all the other authorities of the province to attend the dedication of the statue that he ²  had erected.

Daniel 3:26

3:26 Then Nebuchadnezzar approached the door of the furnace of blazing fire. He called out, ³  “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, servants of the most high God, come out! Come here!”

Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego emerged from the fire. ⁴ 

Daniel 5:2-3

5:2 While under the influence ⁵  of the wine, Belshazzar issued an order to bring in the gold and silver vessels – the ones that Nebuchadnezzar his father ⁶  had confiscated ⁷  from the temple in Jerusalem ⁸  – so that the king and his nobles, together with his wives and his concubines, could drink from them. ⁹  5:3 So they brought the gold and silver ¹⁰  vessels that had been confiscated from the temple, the house of God ¹¹  in Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, together with his wives and concubines, drank from them.

Daniel 5:13

5:13 So Daniel was brought in before the king. The king said to Daniel, “Are you that Daniel who is one of the captives of Judah, whom my father the king brought from Judah?

Daniel 6:16

6:16 So the king gave the order, ¹²  and Daniel was brought and thrown into a den ¹³  of lions. The king consoled ¹⁴  Daniel by saying, “Your God whom you continually serve will rescue you!”

Daniel 6:24

6:24 The king gave another order, ¹⁵  and those men who had maliciously accused ¹⁶  Daniel were brought and thrown ¹⁷  into the lions’ den – they, their children, and their wives. ¹⁸  They did not even reach the bottom of the den before the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.

Daniel 5:23

5:23 Instead, you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven. You brought before you the vessels from his temple, and you and your nobles, together with your wives and concubines, drank wine from them. You praised the gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone – gods ¹⁹  that cannot see or hear or comprehend! But you have not glorified the God who has in his control ²⁰  your very breath and all your ways!

¹ 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.

² 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 “answered and said.”

⁴ tn Aram “from the midst of the fire.” For stylistic reasons the words “the midst of” have been left untranslated.

⁵ tn Or perhaps, “when he had tasted” (cf. NASB) in the sense of officially initiating the commencement of the banquet. The translation above seems preferable, however, given the clear evidence of inebriation in the context (cf. also CEV “he got drunk and ordered”).

⁶ tn Or “ancestor”; or “predecessor” (also in vv. 11, 13, 18). The Aramaic word translated “father” can on occasion denote these other relationships.

⁷ tn Or “taken.”

⁸ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

⁹ sn Making use of sacred temple vessels for an occasion of reveling and drunkenness such as this would have been a religious affront of shocking proportions to the Jewish captives.

⁷ tc The present translation reads וְכַסְפָּא (vÿkhaspa’, “and the silver”) with Theodotion and the Vulgate. Cf. v. 2. The form was probably accidentally dropped from the Aramaic text by homoioteleuton.

⁸ tn Aram “the temple of the house of God.” The phrase seems rather awkward. The Vulgate lacks “of the house of God,” while Theodotion and the Syriac lack “the house.”

⁹ tn Aram “said.” So also in vv. 24, 25.

¹⁰ sn The den was perhaps a pit below ground level which could be safely observed from above.

¹¹ tn Aram “answered and said [to Daniel].”

¹¹ tn Aram “said.”

¹² tn Aram “had eaten the pieces of.” The Aramaic expression is ironic, in that the accusers who had figuratively “eaten the pieces of Daniel” are themselves literally devoured by the lions.

¹³ tn The Aramaic active impersonal verb is often used as a substitute for the passive.

¹⁴ tc The LXX specifies only the two overseers, together with their families, as those who were cast into the lions’ den.

¹³ tn Aram “which.”

¹⁴ tn Aram “in whose hand [are].”