7:1 In the first 1 year of King Belshazzar of Babylon, Daniel had 2 a dream filled with visions 3 while he was lying on his bed. Then he wrote down the dream in summary fashion. 4
7:15 “As for me, Daniel, my spirit was distressed, 6 and the visions of my mind 7 were alarming me.
While I was watching,
there was a tree in the middle of the land. 9
It was enormously tall. 10
4:13 While I was watching in my mind’s visions 11 on my bed,
a holy sentinel 12 came down from heaven.
7:6 “After these things, 21 as I was watching, another beast 22 like a leopard appeared, with four bird-like wings on its back. 23 This beast had four heads, 24 and ruling authority was given to it.
7:9 “While I was watching,
thrones were set up,
and the Ancient of Days 25 took his seat.
His attire was white like snow;
the hair of his head was like lamb’s 26 wool.
His throne was ablaze with fire
and its wheels were all aflame. 27
1 sn The first year of Belshazzar’s reign would have been ca. 553
2 tn Aram “saw.”
3 tn Aram “and visions of his head.” The Aramaic is difficult here. Some scholars add a verb thought to be missing (e.g., “the visions of his head [were alarming him]”), but there is no external evidence to support such a decision and the awkwardness of the text at this point may be original.
4 tn Aram “head of words.” The phrase is absent in Theodotion. Cf. NIV “the substance of his dream.”
5 tn Aram “and it.”
9 tn The Aramaic text includes the phrase “in its sheath,” apparently viewing the body as a container or receptacle for the spirit somewhat like a sheath or scabbard is for a knife or a sword (cf. NAB “within its sheath of flesh”). For this phrase the LXX and Vulgate have “in these things.”
10 tn Aram “head.”
13 tc The LXX lacks the first two words (Aram “the visions of my head”) of the Aramaic text.
14 tn Instead of “in the middle of the land,” some English versions render this phrase “a tree at the center of the earth” (NRSV); NAB, CEV “of the world”; NLT “in the middle of the earth.” The Hebrew phrase can have either meaning.
15 tn Aram “its height was great.”
17 tn Aram “the visions of my head.”
18 tn Aram “a watcher and a holy one.” The expression is a hendiadys; so also in v. 23. This “watcher” is apparently an angel. The Greek OT (LXX) in fact has ἄγγελος (angelo", “angel”) here. Theodotion simply transliterates the Aramaic word (’ir). The term is sometimes rendered “sentinel” (NAB) or “messenger” (NIV, NLT).
21 tn Aram “a revealer of mysteries.” The phrase serves as a quasi-title for God in Daniel.
22 tn Aram “in the latter days.”
23 tn Aram “your dream and the visions of your head upon your bed.”
25 tn Aram “the sons of man.”
26 tn Aram “the beasts of the field.”
27 tn Aram “hand.”
29 tn Aram “in their bodies.”
30 tn Aram “the fire did not have power.”
33 tn Aram “this.” So also in v. 7.
34 tn Aram “and behold, another one.”
35 tn Or “sides.”
36 sn If the third animal is Greece, the most likely identification of these four heads is the four-fold division of the empire of Alexander the Great following his death. See note on Dan 8:8.
37 tn Or “the Ancient One” (NAB, NRSV, NLT), although the traditional expression has been retained in the present translation because it is familiar to many readers. Cf. TEV “One who had been living for ever”; CEV “the Eternal God.”
38 tn Traditionally the Aramaic word נְקֵא (nÿqe’) has been rendered “pure,” but here it more likely means “of a lamb.” Cf. the Syriac neqya’ (“a sheep, ewe”). On this word see further, M. Sokoloff, “’amar neqe’, ‘Lamb’s Wool’ (Dan 7:9),” JBL 95 (1976): 277-79.
39 tn Aram “a flaming fire.”
41 tn The words “I also wanted to know” are added in the translation for stylistic reasons.
42 tc The conjunction in the MT before “eyes” is odd. The ancient versions do not seem to presuppose it.
43 tn Aram “greater than its companions.”