Daniel 2:36

2:36 This was the dream. Now we ¹  will set forth before the king its interpretation.

Daniel 2:6-7

2:6 But if you can disclose the dream and its interpretation, you will receive from me gifts, a reward, and considerable honor. So disclose to me the dream and its interpretation!” 2:7 They again replied, “Let the king inform us ²  of the dream; then we will disclose its ³  interpretation.”

Daniel 2:5

2:5 The king replied ⁴  to the wise men, “My decision is firm. ⁵  If you do not inform me of both the dream and its interpretation, you will be dismembered ⁶  and your homes reduced to rubble!

Daniel 2:26

2:26 The king then asked Daniel (whose name was also Belteshazzar), “Are you able to make known to me the dream that I saw, as well as its interpretation?”

Daniel 4:7

4:7 When the magicians, astrologers, wise men, and diviners entered, I recounted the dream for them. But they were unable to make known its interpretation to me.

Daniel 5:8

5:8 So all the king’s wise men came in, but they were unable to read the writing or to make known its ⁷  interpretation to the king.

Daniel 5:15

5:15 Now the wise men and ⁸  astrologers were brought before me to read this writing and make known to me its interpretation. But they were unable to disclose the interpretation of the message.

Daniel 4:9

4:9 saying, “Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, in whom I know there to be a spirit of the holy gods and whom no mystery baffles, consider ⁹  my dream that I saw and set forth its interpretation!

Daniel 4:19

Daniel Interprets Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

4:19 Then Daniel (whose name is also Belteshazzar) was upset for a brief time; ¹⁰  his thoughts were alarming him. The king said, “Belteshazzar, don’t let the dream and its interpretation alarm you.” But Belteshazzar replied, “Sir, ¹¹  if only the dream were for your enemies and its interpretation applied to your adversaries!

Daniel 5:12

5:12 Thus there was found in this man Daniel, whom the king renamed Belteshazzar, an extraordinary spirit, knowledge, and skill to interpret ¹²  dreams, solve riddles, and decipher knotty problems. ¹³  Now summon ¹⁴  Daniel, and he will disclose the interpretation.”

Daniel 5:16

5:16 However, I have heard ¹⁵  that you are able to provide interpretations and to decipher knotty problems. Now if you are able to read this writing and make known to me its interpretation, you will wear purple and have a golden collar around your neck and be third ¹⁶  ruler in the kingdom.”

Daniel 5:7

5:7 The king called out loudly ¹⁷  to summon ¹⁸  the astrologers, wise men, and diviners. The king proclaimed ¹⁹  to the wise men of Babylon that anyone who could read this inscription and disclose its interpretation would be clothed in purple ²⁰  and have a golden collar ²¹  placed on his neck and be third ruler in the kingdom.

[2:36]  ¹ tn Various suggestions have been made concerning the plural “we.” It is probably the editorial plural and could be translated here as “I.”

[2:7]  ² tn Aram “his servants.”

[2:7]  ³ tn Or “the.”

[2:5]  ³ tn Aram “answered and said,” a common idiom to indicate a reply, but redundant in contemporary English.

[2:5]  ⁴ tn It seems clear from what follows that Nebuchadnezzar clearly recalls the content of the dream, although obviously he does not know what to make of it. By not divulging the dream itself to the would-be interpreters, he intends to find out whether they are simply leading him on. If they can tell him the dream’s content, which he is able to verify, he then can have confidence in their interpretation, which is what eludes him. The translation “the matter is gone from me” (cf. KJV, ASV), suggesting that the king had simply forgotten the dream, is incorrect. The Aramaic word used here (אַזְדָּא, ’azda’) is probably of Persian origin; it occurs in the OT only here and in v. 8. There are two main possibilities for the meaning of the word: “the matter is promulgated by me” (see KBL 1048 s.v.) and therefore “publicly known” (cf. NRSV; F. Rosenthal, Grammar, 62-63, §189), or “the matter is irrevocable” (cf. NAB, NIV, TEV, CEV, NLT; HALOT 1808 s.v. אזד; cf. also BDB 1079 s.v.). The present translation reflects this latter option. See further E. Vogt, Lexicon linguae aramaicae, 3.

[2:5]  ⁵ tn Aram “made limbs.” Cf. 3:29.

[5:8]  ⁴ tc Read וּפִשְׁרֵהּ (ufishreh) with the Qere rather than וּפִשְׁרָא (ufishra’) of the Kethib.

[5:15]  ⁵ tn The Aramaic text does not have “and.” The term “astrologers” is either an appositive for “wise men” (cf. KJV, NKJV, ASV, RSV, NRSV), or the construction is to be understood as asyndetic (so the translation above).

[4:9]  ⁶ tc The present translation assumes the reading חֲזִי (khazi, “consider”) rather than the MT חֶזְוֵי (khezvey, “visions”). The MT implies that the king required Daniel to disclose both the dream and its interpretation, as in chapter 2. But in the following verses Nebuchadnezzar recounts his dream, while Daniel presents only its interpretation.

[4:19]  ⁷ tn Aram “about one hour.” The expression refers idiomatically to a brief period of time of undetermined length.

[4:19]  ⁸ tn Aram “my lord.”

[5:12]  ⁸ tc The translation reads מִפְשַׁר (mifshar) rather than the MT מְפַשַּׁר (mÿfashar) and later in the verse reads וּמִשְׁרֵא (mishre’) rather than the MT וּמְשָׁרֵא (mÿshare’). The Masoretes have understood these Aramaic forms to be participles, but they are more likely to be vocalized as infinitives. As such, they have an epexegetical function in the syntax of their clause.

[5:12]  ⁹ tn Aram “to loose knots.”

[5:12]  ¹⁰ tn Aram “let [Daniel] be summoned.”

[5:16]  ⁹ tn The Aramaic text has also the words “about you.”

[5:16]  ¹⁰ tn Or perhaps “one of three rulers,” in the sense of becoming part of a triumvir. So also v. 29.

[5:7]  ¹⁰ tn Aram “in strength.”

[5:7]  ¹¹ tn Aram “cause to enter.”

[5:7]  ¹² tn Aram “answered and said.”

[5:7]  ¹³ sn Purple was a color associated with royalty in the ancient world.

[5:7]  ¹⁴ tn The term translated “golden collar” here probably refers to something more substantial than merely a gold chain (cf. NIV, NCV, NRSV, NLT) or necklace (cf. NASB).