Daniel 5:4

5:4 As they drank wine, they praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.

Daniel 3:18

3:18 But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we don’t serve your gods, and we will not pay homage to the golden statue that you have erected.”

Daniel 5:29

5:29 Then, on Belshazzar’s orders, ¹  Daniel was clothed in purple, a golden collar was placed around his neck, and he was proclaimed third ruler in the kingdom.

Daniel 2:38

2:38 Wherever human beings, ²  wild animals, ³  and birds of the sky live – he has given them into your power. ⁴  He has given you authority over them all. You are the head of gold.

Daniel 3:5

3:5 When you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, ⁵  trigon, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music, you must ⁶  bow down and pay homage to the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has erected.

Daniel 3:7

3:7 Therefore when they all ⁷  heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, trigon, harp, pipes, ⁸  and all kinds of music, all the peoples, nations, and language groups began bowing down and paying homage to the golden statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had erected.

Daniel 3:10

3:10 You have issued an edict, O king, that everyone must bow down and pay homage to the golden statue when they hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, trigon, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music.

Daniel 3:14

3:14 Nebuchadnezzar said to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you don’t serve my gods and that you don’t pay homage to the golden statue that I erected?

Daniel 5:2-3

5:2 While under the influence ⁹  of the wine, Belshazzar issued an order to bring in the gold and silver vessels – the ones that Nebuchadnezzar his father ¹⁰  had confiscated ¹¹  from the temple in Jerusalem ¹²  – so that the king and his nobles, together with his wives and his concubines, could drink from them. ¹³  5:3 So they brought the gold and silver ¹⁴  vessels that had been confiscated from the temple, the house of God ¹⁵  in Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, together with his wives and concubines, drank from them.

Daniel 5:16

5:16 However, I have heard ¹⁶  that you are able to provide interpretations and to decipher knotty problems. Now if you are able to read this writing and make known to me its interpretation, you will wear purple and have a golden collar around your neck and be third ¹⁷  ruler in the kingdom.”

Daniel 3:12

3:12 But there are Jewish men whom you appointed over the administration of the province of Babylon – Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego – and these men ¹⁸  have not shown proper respect to you, O king. They don’t serve your gods and they don’t pay homage to the golden statue that you have erected.”

Daniel 5:7

5:7 The king called out loudly ¹⁹  to summon ²⁰  the astrologers, wise men, and diviners. The king proclaimed ²¹  to the wise men of Babylon that anyone who could read this inscription and disclose its interpretation would be clothed in purple ²²  and have a golden collar ²³  placed on his neck and be third ruler in the kingdom.

¹ tn Aram “Belshazzar spoke.”

¹ tn Aram “the sons of man.”

² tn Aram “the beasts of the field.”

³ tn Aram “hand.”

¹ sn The word zither (Aramaic קִיתָרוֹס [qitaros]), and the words for harp (Aramaic פְּסַנְתֵּרִין [pÿsanterin]) and pipes (Aramaic סוּמְפֹּנְיָה [sumponÿyah]), are of Greek derivation. Though much has been made of this in terms of suggesting a date in the Hellenistic period for the writing of the book, it is not surprising that a few Greek cultural terms, all of them the names of musical instruments, should appear in this book. As a number of scholars have pointed out, the bigger surprise (if, in fact, the book is to be dated to the Hellenistic period) may be that there are so few Greek loanwords in Daniel.

² tn The imperfect Aramaic verbs have here an injunctive nuance.

¹ tn Aram “all the peoples.”

² tc Though not in the Aramaic text of BHS, this word appears in many medieval Hebrew MSS, some LXX MSS, and Vulgate. Cf. vv. 5, 10, 15.

¹ 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”).

² tn Or “ancestor”; or “predecessor” (also in vv. 11, 13, 18). The Aramaic word translated “father” can on occasion denote these other relationships.

³ tn Or “taken.”

⁴ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

⁵ 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.

¹ 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.

² 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.”

¹ tn The Aramaic text has also the words “about you.”

² tn Or perhaps “one of three rulers,” in the sense of becoming part of a triumvir. So also v. 29.

¹ sn Daniel’s absence from this scene has sparked the imagination of commentators, some of whom have suggested that perhaps he was unable to attend the dedication due to sickness or due to being away on business. Hippolytus supposed that Daniel may have been watching from a distance.

¹ tn Aram “in strength.”

² tn Aram “cause to enter.”

³ tn Aram “answered and said.”

⁴ sn Purple was a color associated with royalty in the ancient world.

⁵ tn The term translated “golden collar” here probably refers to something more substantial than merely a gold chain (cf. NIV, NCV, NRSV, NLT) or necklace (cf. NASB).