Daniel 2:12

2:12 Because of this the king got furiously angry ¹  and gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.

Daniel 3:8

3:8 Now ²  at that time certain ³  Chaldeans came forward and brought malicious accusations against ⁴  the Jews.

Daniel 5:1

Belshazzar Sees Mysterious Handwriting on a Wall

5:1 King Belshazzar ⁵  prepared a great banquet ⁶  for a thousand of his nobles, and he was drinking wine in front of ⁷  them all. ⁸ 

Daniel 5:22

5:22 “But you, his son ⁹  Belshazzar, have not humbled yourself, ¹⁰  although you knew all this.

Daniel 6:9

6:9 So King Darius issued the written interdict.

[2:12]  ¹ tn Aram “was angry and very furious.” The expression is a hendiadys (two words or phrases expressing a single idea).

[3:8]  ² tc This expression is absent in Theodotion.

[3:8]  ³ tn Aram “men.”

[3:8]  ⁴ tn Aram “ate the pieces of.” This is a rather vivid idiom for slander.

[5:1]  ³ sn As is clear from the extra-biblical records, it was actually Nabonidus (ca. 556-539 B.C.) who was king of Babylon at this time. However, Nabonidus spent long periods of time at Teima, and during those times Belshazzar his son was de facto king of Babylon. This arrangement may help to explain why later in this chapter Belshazzar promises that the successful interpreter of the handwriting on the wall will be made third ruler in the kingdom. If Belshazzar was in effect second ruler in the kingdom, this would be the highest honor he could grant.

[5:1]  ⁴ sn This scene of a Babylonian banquet calls to mind a similar grandiose event recorded in Esth 1:3-8. Persian kings were also renowned in the ancient Near Eastern world for their lavish banquets.

[5:1]  ⁵ sn The king probably sat at an elevated head table.

[5:1]  ⁶ tn Aram “the thousand.”

[5:22]  ⁴ tn Or “descendant”; or “successor.”

[5:22]  ⁵ tn Aram “your heart.”