4:19 Then Daniel (whose name is also Belteshazzar) was upset for a brief time; 3 his thoughts were alarming him. The king said, “Belteshazzar, don’t let the dream and its interpretation alarm you.” But Belteshazzar replied, “Sir, 4 if only the dream were for your enemies and its interpretation applied to your adversaries!
5:10 Due to the noise 5 caused by the king and his nobles, the queen mother 6 then entered the banquet room. She 7 said, “O king, live forever! Don’t be alarmed! Don’t be shaken!
6:6 So these supervisors and satraps came by collusion 8 to the king and said 9 to him, “O King Darius, live forever!
6:21 Then Daniel spoke to 10 the king, “O king, live forever!
6:1 It seemed like a good idea to Darius 11 to appoint over the kingdom 120 satraps 12 who would be in charge of the entire kingdom.
10:1 13 In the third 14 year of King Cyrus of Persia a message was revealed to Daniel (who was also called Belteshazzar). This message was true and concerned a great war. 15 He understood the message and gained insight by the vision.
10:1 16 In the third 17 year of King Cyrus of Persia a message was revealed to Daniel (who was also called Belteshazzar). This message was true and concerned a great war. 18 He understood the message and gained insight by the vision.
1:1 In the third 19 year of the reign of King Jehoiakim of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar 20 of Babylon advanced against Jerusalem 21 and laid it under siege. 22
1:1 In the third 23 year of the reign of King Jehoiakim of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar 24 of Babylon advanced against Jerusalem 25 and laid it under siege. 26
2:3 I replied to the king, “O king, live forever! Why would I not appear dejected when the city with the graves of my ancestors 27 lies desolate and its gates destroyed 28 by fire?”
1 tn Aram “answered and said,” a common Aramaic idiom that occurs repeatedly in this chapter.
2 sn O king, live forever! is a comment of typical court courtesy that is not necessarily indicative of the real sentiments of the speaker. Ancient oriental court protocol could sometimes require a certain amount of hypocrisy.
3 tn Aram “about one hour.” The expression refers idiomatically to a brief period of time of undetermined length.
4 tn Aram “my lord.”
5 tn Aram “words of the king.”
6 tn Aram “the queen” (so NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV). In the following discourse this woman is able to recall things about Daniel that go back to the days of Nebuchadnezzar, things that Belshazzar does not seem to recollect. It is likely that she was the wife not of Belshazzar but of Nabonidus or perhaps even Nebuchadnezzar. In that case, “queen” here means “queen mother” (cf. NCV “the king’s mother”).
7 tn Aram “The queen.” The translation has used the pronoun “she” instead because repetition of the noun here would be redundant in terms of English style.
8 tn The Aramaic verb רְגַשׁ (rÿgash) occurs three times in this chapter (vv. 7, 12, 16). Its meaning is widely disputed by commentators, and the versions vary considerably in how they render the word. The suggestion that it means “to come thronging” (BDB 1112 s.v.; cf. NAB) seems inappropriate, since it is unlikely that subordinates would enter a royal court in such a reckless fashion. The ancient versions struggled with the word and are not in agreement in their understanding of its meaning. In this chapter the word apparently means to act in agreement with other parties in the pursuit of a duplicitous goal, namely the entrapment of Daniel. Cf. NIV, NCV “went as a group”; NRSV “conspired and came to the king.”
9 tn Aram “thus they were saying.”
10 tn Aram “with.”
11 tn Aram “It was pleasing before Darius.”
12 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.
13 sn This chapter begins the final unit in the book of Daniel, consisting of chapters 10-12. The traditional chapter divisions to some extent obscure the relationship of these chapters.
14 tc The LXX has “first.”
15 tn The meaning of the Hebrew word צָבָא (tsava’) is uncertain in this context. The word most often refers to an army or warfare. It may also mean “hard service,” and many commentators take that to be the sense here (i.e., “the service was great”). The present translation assumes the reference to be to the spiritual conflicts described, for example, in 10:16–11:1.
16 sn This chapter begins the final unit in the book of Daniel, consisting of chapters 10-12. The traditional chapter divisions to some extent obscure the relationship of these chapters.
17 tc The LXX has “first.”
18 tn The meaning of the Hebrew word צָבָא (tsava’) is uncertain in this context. The word most often refers to an army or warfare. It may also mean “hard service,” and many commentators take that to be the sense here (i.e., “the service was great”). The present translation assumes the reference to be to the spiritual conflicts described, for example, in 10:16–11:1.
19 sn The third year of the reign of Jehoiakim would be ca. 605
20 sn King Nebuchadnezzar ruled Babylon from ca. 605-562
21 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
22 sn This attack culminated in the first of three major deportations of Jews to Babylon. The second one occurred in 597
23 sn The third year of the reign of Jehoiakim would be ca. 605
24 sn King Nebuchadnezzar ruled Babylon from ca. 605-562
25 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
26 sn This attack culminated in the first of three major deportations of Jews to Babylon. The second one occurred in 597
27 tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 5).
28 tn Heb “devoured” or “eaten” (so also in Neh 2:13).
29 tn Grk “were shouting, saying.” The participle λέγοντας (legontas) is redundant here in contemporary English and has not been translated.
30 tn The expression ῾Ωσαννά (Jwsanna, literally in Hebrew, “O Lord, save”) in the quotation from Ps 118:25-26 was probably by this time a familiar liturgical expression of praise, on the order of “Hail to the king,” although both the underlying Aramaic and Hebrew expressions meant “O Lord, save us.” In words familiar to every Jew, the author is indicating that at this point every messianic expectation is now at the point of realization. It is clear from the words of the psalm shouted by the crowd that Jesus is being proclaimed as messianic king. See E. Lohse, TDNT 9:682-84.
31 sn A quotation from Ps 118:25-26.
32 tn The expression ῾Ωσαννά (Jwsanna, literally in Hebrew, “O Lord, save”) in the quotation from Ps 118:25-26 was probably by this time a familiar liturgical expression of praise, on the order of “Hail to the king,” although both the underlying Aramaic and Hebrew expressions meant “O Lord, save us.” The introductory ὡσαννά is followed by the words of Ps 118:25, εὐλογημένος ὁ ἐρχόμενος ἐν ὀνόματι κυρίου (euloghmeno" Jo ercomeno" en onomati kuriou), although in the Fourth Gospel the author adds for good measure καὶ ὁ βασιλεὺς τοῦ ᾿Ισραήλ (kai Jo basileu" tou Israhl). In words familiar to every Jew, the author is indicating that at this point every messianic expectation is now at the point of realization. It is clear from the words of the psalm shouted by the crowd that Jesus is being proclaimed as messianic king. See E. Lohse, TDNT 9:682-84.
33 sn A quotation from Ps 118:25-26.