1:18 When the time appointed by the king arrived, 8 the overseer of the court officials brought them into Nebuchadnezzar’s presence.
11:5 “Then the king of the south 13 and one of his subordinates 14 will grow strong. His subordinate 15 will resist 16 him and will rule a kingdom greater than his. 17
1:8 But Daniel made up his mind 22 that he would not defile 23 himself with the royal delicacies or the royal wine. 24 He therefore asked the overseer of the court officials for permission not to defile himself.
12:1 “At that time Michael,
the great prince who watches over your people, 37
will arise. 38
There will be a time of distress
unlike any other from the nation’s beginning 39
up to that time.
But at that time your own people,
all those whose names are 40 found written in the book,
will escape.
1 tn The Hebrew term has a primary meaning of “skill, insight,” but here it has the connotation “cunning, treachery.” See BDB 968 s.v. שֵׂכֶל, שֶׂכֶל.
2 tn Heb “he will cause deceit to succeed by his hand.”
3 tn Heb “in his heart he will act arrogantly.”
4 tn Heb “in peace.” The Hebrew word used here is difficult. It may refer to the security felt by those who did not realize the danger of imminent attack, or it may refer to the condition of being unaware of the impending danger. The latter idea is reflected in the present translation. See further, BDB 1017 s.v. שַׁלְוָה.
5 tn Heb “with nothingness of hand.”
6 sn The question is rhetorical, intended to encourage reflection on Daniel’s part.
11 tn Heb “Then God granted Daniel loyal love and compassion before the overseer of the court officials.” The expression “loyal love and compassion” is a hendiadys; the two words combine to express one idea.
16 tn Heb “at the end of the days which the king said to bring them.”
21 sn The prince of the army may refer to God (cf. “whose sanctuary” later in the verse) or to the angel Michael (cf. 12:1).
22 tn Or perhaps “and by him,” referring to Antiochus rather than to God.
23 sn Here the sanctuary is a reference to the temple of God in Jerusalem.
26 tn Heb “to us (belongs) shame of face.”
31 sn The king of the south is Ptolemy I Soter (ca. 323-285
32 tn Heb “princes.”
33 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the subordinate prince mentioned in the previous clause) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
34 tn Heb “be strong against.”
35 tn Heb “greater than his kingdom.”
36 tn Heb “and behold.”
37 tc The Greek version of Theodotion reads “I left him [i.e., Michael] there,” and this is followed by a number of English translations (cf. NAB, NRSV, NLT).
41 tc The LXX and Vulgate lack the verb here.
42 sn The meanings of the Babylonian names are more conjectural than is the case with the Hebrew names. The probable etymologies are as follows: Belteshazzar means “protect his life,” although the MT vocalization may suggest “Belti, protect the king” (cf. Dan 4:8); Shadrach perhaps means “command of Aku”; Meshach is of uncertain meaning; Abednego means “servant of Nego.” Assigning Babylonian names to the Hebrew youths may have been an attempt to erase from their memory their Israelite heritage.
46 tn Heb “placed on his heart.”
47 tn Or “would not make himself ceremonially unclean”; TEV “become ritually unclean.”
48 tn Heb “with the delicacies of the king and with the wine of his drinking.”
51 sn Having failed to convince the overseer, Daniel sought the favor of the warden whom the overseer had appointed to care for the young men.
56 tn Heb “in your name.” Another option is to translate, “as your representatives.”
57 tn Heb “our fathers” (also in vv. 8, 16). The Hebrew term translated “father” can refer to more distant relationships such as grandfathers or ancestors.
58 tn Heb “people.”
61 tn Heb “a book of truth.” Several English versions treat this as a title of some sort (cf. NIV, NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT), although the NAB’s rendering “the truthful book” regards “truth” as an attributive adjective, as does the present translation.
62 tn The word “princes” is supplied for clarity.
63 tn The pronoun is plural in Hebrew, suggesting that Michael is the angelic prince of Daniel and his people.
66 tn Heb “The overseer of the court officials.” The subject has been specified in the translation for the sake of clarity.
67 tn Heb “assigned.” See v. 5.
68 tn Heb “Why should he see your faces thin from the young men who are according to your age?” The term translated “thin” occurs only here and in Gen 40:6, where it appears to refer to a dejected facial expression. The word is related to an Arabic root meaning “be weak.” See HALOT 277 s.v. II זעף.
69 tn The words “if that happened” are not in the Hebrew text but have been added in the translation for clarity.
70 tn Heb “my head.” Presumably this is an implicit reference to capital punishment (cf. NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT), although this is not entirely clear.
71 tn Heb “stands over the sons of your people.”
72 tn Heb “will stand up.”
73 tn Or “from the beginning of a nation.”
74 tn The words “whose names are” are added in the translation for stylistic reasons and for clarification.