Daniel 1:4

1:4 young men in whom there was no physical defect and who were handsome, ¹  well versed in all kinds of wisdom, well educated ²  and having keen insight, ³  and who were capable ⁴  of entering the king’s royal service ⁵  – and to teach them the literature and language ⁶  of the Babylonians. ⁷ 

Daniel 8:5

8:5 While I was contemplating all this, ⁸  a male goat ⁹  was coming from the west over the surface of all the land ¹⁰  without touching the ground. This goat had a conspicuous horn ¹¹  between its eyes.

Daniel 9:2

9:2 in the first year of his reign ¹²  I, Daniel, came to understand from the sacred books ¹³  that, according to the word of the LORD ¹⁴  disclosed to the prophet Jeremiah, the years for the fulfilling of the desolation of Jerusalem ¹⁵  were seventy in number.

Daniel 10:1

An Angel Appears to Daniel

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.

Daniel 10:11-12

10:11 He said to me, “Daniel, you are of great value. ¹⁹  Understand the words that I am about to ²⁰  speak to you. So stand up, ²¹  for I have now been sent to you.” When he said this ²²  to me, I stood up shaking. 10:12 Then he said to me, “Don’t be afraid, Daniel, for from the very first day you applied your mind ²³  to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard. I have come in response to your words.

[1:4]  ¹ tn Heb “good of appearance.”

[1:4]  ² tn Heb “knowers of knowledge.”

[1:4]  ³ tn Heb “understanders of knowledge.”

[1:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “who had strength.”

[1:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “to stand in the palace of the king.” Cf. vv. 5, 19.

[1:4]  ⁶ sn The language of the Chaldeans referred to here is Akkadian, an East Semitic cuneiform language.

[1:4]  ⁷ tn Heb “Chaldeans” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV). This is an ancient name for the Babylonians.

[8:5]  ⁸ tn The words “all this” are added in the translation for stylistic reasons and for clarification.

[8:5]  ⁹ tn Heb “and behold, a he-goat of the goats.”

[8:5]  ¹⁰ tn Or “of the whole earth” (NAB, ASV, NASB, NRSV).

[8:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “a horn of vision” [or “conspicuousness”], i.e., “a conspicuous horn,” one easily seen.

[9:2]  ¹⁵ tc This phrase, repeated from v. 1, is absent in Theodotion.

[9:2]  ¹⁶ tn The Hebrew text has “books”; the word “sacred” has been added in the translation to clarify that it is Scriptures that are referred to.

[9:2]  ¹⁷ sn The tetragrammaton (the four Hebrew letters which constitute the divine Name, YHWH) appears eight times in this chapter, and nowhere else in the book of Daniel.

[9:2]  ¹⁸ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[10:1]  ²² 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.

[10:1]  ²³ tc The LXX has “first.”

[10:1]  ²⁴ 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.

[10:11]  ²⁹ tn Or “a treasured person”; KJV “a man greatly beloved”; NASB “man of high esteem.”

[10:11]  ³⁰ tn The Hebrew participle is often used, as here, to refer to the imminent future.

[10:11]  ³¹ tn Heb “stand upon your standing.”

[10:11]  ³² tn Heb “spoke this word.”

[10:12]  ³⁶ tn Heb “gave your heart.”