3:28 Nebuchadnezzar exclaimed, 1 “Praised be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent forth his angel 2 and has rescued his servants who trusted in him, ignoring 3 the edict of the king and giving up their bodies rather than 4 serve or pay homage to any god other than their God!
4:19 Then Daniel (whose name is also Belteshazzar) was upset for a brief time; 5 his thoughts were alarming him. The king said, “Belteshazzar, don’t let the dream and its interpretation alarm you.” But Belteshazzar replied, “Sir, 6 if only the dream were for your enemies and its interpretation applied to your adversaries!
4:35 All the inhabitants of the earth are regarded as nothing. 7
He does as he wishes with the army of heaven
and with those who inhabit the earth.
No one slaps 8 his hand
and says to him, ‘What have you done?’
6:10 When Daniel realized 10 that a written decree had been issued, he entered his home, where the windows 11 in his upper room opened toward Jerusalem. 12 Three 13 times daily he was 14 kneeling 15 and offering prayers and thanks to his God just as he had been accustomed to do previously.
1 tn Aram “answered and said.”
2 sn The king identifies the “son of the gods” (v. 25) as an angel. Comparable Hebrew expressions are used elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible for the members of God’s angelic assembly (see Gen 6:2, 4; Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7; Pss 29:1; 89:6). An angel later comes to rescue Daniel from the lions (Dan 6:22).
3 tn Aram “they changed” or “violated.”
4 tn Aram “so that they might not.”
5 tn Aram “about one hour.” The expression refers idiomatically to a brief period of time of undetermined length.
6 tn Aram “my lord.”
9 tc The present translation reads כְּלָא (kÿla’), with many medieval Hebrew
10 tn Aram “strikes against.”
13 tn Aram “prays a prayer.”
17 tn Aram “knew.”
18 sn In later rabbinic thought this verse was sometimes cited as a proof text for the notion that one should pray only in a house with windows. See b. Berakhot 34b.
19 map For the location of Jerusalem see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
20 sn This is apparently the only specific mention in the OT of prayer being regularly offered three times a day. The practice was probably not unique to Daniel, however.
21 tc Read with several medieval Hebrew
22 tn Aram “kneeling on his knees” (so NASB).
21 sn This well-fortified city is apparently Sidon. Its capture from the Ptolemies by Antiochus the Great was a strategic victory for the Seleucid kingdom.
22 tn Or “choice troops” (BDB 104 s.v. מִבְחָר), or “elite troops” (HALOT 542 s.v. מִבְחָר).
25 sn The name Kittim has various designations in extra-biblical literature. It can refer to a location on the island of Cyprus, or more generally to the island itself, or it can be an inclusive term to refer to parts of the Mediterranean world that lay west of the Middle East (e.g., Rome). For ships of Kittim the Greek OT (LXX) has “Romans,” an interpretation followed by a few English versions (e.g., TEV). A number of times in the Dead Sea Scrolls the word is used in reference to the Romans. Other English versions are more generic: “[ships] of the western coastlands” (NIV, NLT); “from the west” (NCV, CEV).
26 sn This is apparently a reference to the Roman forces, led by Gaius Popilius Laenas, which confronted Antiochus when he came to Egypt and demanded that he withdraw or face the wrath of Rome. Antiochus wisely withdrew from Egypt, albeit in a state of bitter frustration.
27 tn Heb “show regard for.”