Daniel 1:9

1:9 Then God made the overseer of the court officials sympathetic to Daniel. ¹ 

Daniel 9:3

9:3 So I turned my attention ²  to the Lord God ³  to implore him by prayer and requests, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. ⁴ 

Daniel 1:17

1:17 Now as for these four young men, God endowed them with knowledge and skill in all sorts of literature and wisdom – and Daniel had insight into all kinds of visions and dreams.

Daniel 1:2

1:2 Now the Lord ⁵  delivered ⁶  King Jehoiakim of Judah into his power, ⁷  along with some of the vessels ⁸  of the temple of God. ⁹  He brought them to the land of Babylonia ¹⁰  to the temple of his god ¹¹  and put ¹²  the vessels in the treasury of his god.

Daniel 9:11

9:11 “All Israel has broken ¹³  your law and turned away by not obeying you. ¹⁴  Therefore you have poured out on us the judgment solemnly threatened ¹⁵  in the law of Moses the servant of God, for we have sinned against you. ¹⁶ 

[1:9]  ¹ 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.

[9:3]  ² tn Heb “face.”

[9:3]  ³ tn The Hebrew phrase translated “Lord God” here is אֲדֹנָי הָאֱלֹהִים (’adonay ha’elohim).

[9:3]  ⁴ sn When lamenting, ancient Israelites would fast, wear sackcloth, and put ashes on their heads to show their sorrow and contrition.

[1:2]  ³ tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[1:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “gave.”

[1:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “hand,” which is often used idiomatically for one’s power and authority. See BDB 390 s.v. יָד 2.

[1:2]  ⁶ tn Or “utensils”; or “articles.”

[1:2]  ⁷ tn Heb “house of God.”

[1:2]  ⁸ sn The land of Babylonia (Heb “the land of Shinar”) is another name for Sumer and Akkad, where Babylon was located (cf. Gen 10:10; 11:2; 14:1, 9; Josh 7:21; Isa 11:11; Zech 5:11).

[1:2]  ⁹ tn Or “gods” (NCV, NRSV, TEV; also later in this verse). The Hebrew term can be used as a numerical plural for many gods or as a plural of majesty for one particular god. Since Nebuchadnezzar was a polytheist, it is not clear if the reference here is to many gods or one particular deity. The plural of majesty, while normally used for Israel’s God, is occasionally used of foreign gods (cf. BDB 43 s.v. אֱלֹהִים 1, 2). See Judg 11:24 (of the Moabite god Chemosh); 1 Sam 5:7 (of the Philistine god Dagon); 1 Kgs 11:33 (of the Canaanite goddess Astarte, the Moabite god Chemosh, and the Ammonite god Milcom); 2 Kgs 19:37 (of the Assyrian god Nisroch). Since gods normally had their own individual temples, Dan 1:2 probably refers to a particular deity, perhaps Marduk, the supreme god of Babylon, or Marduk’s son Nabu, after whom Nebuchadnezzar was named. The name Nebuchadnezzar means “Nabu has protected the son who will inherit” (HALOT 660 s.v. נְבוּכַדְרֶאצַּר). For a discussion of how temples functioned in Babylonian religion see H. Ringgren, Religions of the Ancient Near East, 77-81.

[1:2]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “brought.” Though the Hebrew verb “brought” is repeated in this verse, the translation uses “brought…put” for stylistic variation.

[9:11]  ⁴ tn Or “transgressed.” The Hebrew verb has the primary sense of crossing a boundary, in this case, God’s law.

[9:11]  ⁵ tn Heb “by not paying attention to your voice.”

[9:11]  ⁶ tn Heb “the curse and the oath which is written.” The term “curse” refers here to the judgments threatened in the Mosaic law (see Deut 28) for rebellion. The expression “the curse and the oath” is probably a hendiadys (cf. Num 5:21; Neh 10:29) referring to the fact that the covenant with its threatened judgments was ratified by solemn oath and made legally binding upon the covenant community.

[9:11]  ⁷ tn Heb “him.”