Daniel 3:30

3:30 Then Nebuchadnezzar ¹  promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.

Daniel 2:48

2:48 Then the king elevated Daniel to high position and bestowed on him many marvelous gifts. He granted him authority over the entire province of Babylon and made him the main prefect over all the wise men of Babylon.

Daniel 1:1

Daniel Finds Favor in Babylon

1:1 In the third ²  year of the reign of King Jehoiakim of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar ³  of Babylon advanced against Jerusalem ⁴  and laid it under siege. ⁵ 

Daniel 2:12

2:12 Because of this the king got furiously angry ⁶  and gave orders to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.

Daniel 4:29

4:29 After twelve months, he happened to be walking around on the battlements ⁷  of the royal palace of Babylon.

Daniel 4:6

4:6 So I issued an order ⁸  for all the wise men of Babylon to be brought ⁹  before me so that they could make known to me the interpretation of the dream.

Daniel 2:24

2:24 Then Daniel went in to see ¹⁰  Arioch (whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon). He came ¹¹  and said to him, “Don’t destroy the wise men of Babylon! Escort me ¹²  to the king, and I will disclose the interpretation to him!” ¹³ 

Daniel 2:14

2:14 Then Daniel spoke with prudent counsel ¹⁴  to Arioch, who was in charge of the king’s executioners and who had gone out to execute the wise men of Babylon.

Daniel 2:18

2:18 He asked them to pray for mercy from the God of heaven concerning this mystery so that he ¹⁵  and his friends would not be destroyed along with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

Daniel 2:49--3:1

2:49 And at Daniel’s request, the king ¹⁶  appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego over the administration of the province of Babylon. Daniel himself served in the king’s court. ¹⁷ 

Daniel’s Friends Are Tested

3:1 ¹⁸ King Nebuchadnezzar had a golden ¹⁹  statue made. ²⁰  It was ninety feet ²¹  tall and nine feet ²²  wide. He erected it on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.

Daniel 4:30

4:30 The king uttered these words: “Is this not the great Babylon that I have built for a royal residence ²³  by my own mighty strength ²⁴  and for my majestic honor?”

Daniel 7:1

Daniel has a Vision of Four Animals Coming up from the Sea

7:1 In the first ²⁵  year of King Belshazzar of Babylon, Daniel had ²⁶  a dream filled with visions ²⁷  while he was lying on his bed. Then he wrote down the dream in summary fashion. ²⁸ 

Daniel 3:12

3:12 But there are Jewish men whom you appointed over the administration of the province of Babylon – Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego – and these men ²⁹  have not shown proper respect to you, O king. They don’t serve your gods and they don’t pay homage to the golden statue that you have erected.”

Daniel 5:7

5:7 The king called out loudly ³⁰  to summon ³¹  the astrologers, wise men, and diviners. The king proclaimed ³²  to the wise men of Babylon that anyone who could read this inscription and disclose its interpretation would be clothed in purple ³³  and have a golden collar ³⁴  placed on his neck and be third ruler in the kingdom.

Daniel 1:3

1:3 The king commanded ³⁵  Ashpenaz, ³⁶  who was in charge of his court officials, ³⁷  to choose ³⁸  some of the Israelites who were of royal and noble descent ³⁹  –

Daniel 2:38

2:38 Wherever human beings, ⁴⁰  wild animals, ⁴¹  and birds of the sky live – he has given them into your power. ⁴²  He has given you authority over them all. You are the head of gold.

Daniel 1:2

1:2 Now the Lord ⁴³  delivered ⁴⁴  King Jehoiakim of Judah into his power, ⁴⁵  along with some of the vessels ⁴⁶  of the temple of God. ⁴⁷  He brought them to the land of Babylonia ⁴⁸  to the temple of his god ⁴⁹  and put ⁵⁰  the vessels in the treasury of his god.

Daniel 5:11

5:11 There is a man in your kingdom who has within him a spirit of the holy gods. In the days of your father, he proved to have ⁵¹  insight, discernment, and wisdom like that ⁵²  of the gods. ⁵³  King Nebuchadnezzar your father appointed him chief of the magicians, astrologers, wise men, and diviners. ⁵⁴ 

[3:30]  ¹ tn Aram “and the king.” The proper name has been supplied in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[1:1]  ² sn The third year of the reign of Jehoiakim would be ca. 605 B.C. At this time Daniel would have been a teenager. The reference to Jehoiakim’s third year poses a serious crux interpretum, since elsewhere these events are linked to his fourth year (Jer 25:1; cf. 2 Kgs 24:1; 2 Chr 36:5-8). Apparently Daniel is following an accession year chronology, whereby the first partial year of a king’s reign was reckoned as the accession year rather than as the first year of his reign. Jeremiah, on the other hand, is following a nonaccession year chronology, whereby the accession year is reckoned as the first year of the king’s reign. In that case, the conflict is only superficial. Most modern scholars, however, have concluded that Daniel is historically inaccurate here.

[1:1]  ³ sn King Nebuchadnezzar ruled Babylon from ca. 605-562 B.C.

[1:1]  ⁴ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:1]  ⁵ sn This attack culminated in the first of three major deportations of Jews to Babylon. The second one occurred in 597 B.C. and included among many other Jewish captives the prophet Ezekiel. The third deportation occurred in 586 B.C., at which time the temple and the city of Jerusalem were thoroughly destroyed.

[2:12]  ³ tn Aram “was angry and very furious.” The expression is a hendiadys (two words or phrases expressing a single idea).

[4:29]  ⁴ tn The word “battlements” is not in the Hebrew text, but is supplied from context. Many English versions supply “roof” here (e.g., NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV); cf. NLT “on the flat roof.”

[4:6]  ⁵ tn Aram “from me there was placed a decree.”

[4:6]  ⁶ tn The Aramaic infinitive here is active.

[2:24]  ⁶ tc The MT has עַל עַל (’al ’al, “he entered upon”). Several medieval Hebrew MSS lack the verb, although this may be due to haplography.

[2:24]  ⁷ tc The LXX and Vulgate, along with one medieval Hebrew MS, lack this verb.

[2:24]  ⁸ tn Aram “cause me to enter.” So also in v. 25.

[2:24]  ⁹ tn Aram “the king.”

[2:14]  ⁷ tn Aram “returned prudence and counsel.” The expression is a hendiadys.

[2:18]  ⁸ tn Aram “Daniel.” The proper name is redundant here in English, and has not been included in the translation.

[2:49]  ⁹ tn Aram “and Daniel sought from the king and he appointed.”

[2:49]  ¹⁰ tn Aram “was at the gate of the king.”

[3:1]  ¹⁰ sn The LXX introduces this chapter with the following chronological note: “in the eighteenth year of.” Such a date would place these events at about the time of the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. (cf. 2 Kgs 25:8). However, there seems to be no real basis for associating the events of Daniel 3 with this date.

[3:1]  ¹¹ sn There is no need to think of Nebuchadnezzar’s image as being solid gold. No doubt the sense is that it was overlaid with gold (cf. Isa 40:19; Jer 10:3-4), with the result that it presented a dazzling self-compliment to the greatness of Nebuchadnezzar’s achievements.

[3:1]  ¹² sn According to a number of patristic authors, the image represented a deification of Nebuchadnezzar himself. This is not clear from the biblical text, however.

[3:1]  ¹³ tn Aram “sixty cubits.” Assuming a length of 18 inches for the standard cubit, the image would be 90 feet (27.4 m) high.

[3:1]  ¹⁴ tn Aram “six cubits.” Assuming a length of 18 inches for the standard cubit, the image would be 9 feet (2.74 m) wide.

[4:30]  ¹¹ tn Aram “house.”

[4:30]  ¹² tn Aram “by the might of my strength.”

[7:1]  ¹² sn The first year of Belshazzar’s reign would have been ca. 553 B.C. Daniel would have been approximately 67 years old at the time of this vision.

[7:1]  ¹³ tn Aram “saw.”

[7:1]  ¹⁴ tn Aram “and visions of his head.” The Aramaic is difficult here. Some scholars add a verb thought to be missing (e.g., “the visions of his head [were alarming him]”), but there is no external evidence to support such a decision and the awkwardness of the text at this point may be original.

[7:1]  ¹⁵ tn Aram “head of words.” The phrase is absent in Theodotion. Cf. NIV “the substance of his dream.”

[3:12]  ¹³ sn Daniel’s absence from this scene has sparked the imagination of commentators, some of whom have suggested that perhaps he was unable to attend the dedication due to sickness or due to being away on business. Hippolytus supposed that Daniel may have been watching from a distance.

[5:7]  ¹⁴ tn Aram “in strength.”

[5:7]  ¹⁵ tn Aram “cause to enter.”

[5:7]  ¹⁶ tn Aram “answered and said.”

[5:7]  ¹⁷ sn Purple was a color associated with royalty in the ancient world.

[5:7]  ¹⁸ 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).

[1:3]  ¹⁵ tn Or “gave orders to.” Heb “said to.”

[1:3]  ¹⁶ sn It is possible that the word Ashpenaz is not a proper name at all, but a general term for “innkeeper.” See J. J. Collins, Daniel (Hermeneia), 127, n. 9. However, the ancient versions understand the term to be a name, and the present translation (along with most English versions) understands the word in this way.

[1:3]  ¹⁷ sn The word court official (Hebrew saris) need not mean “eunuch” in a technical sense (see Gen 37:36, where the term refers to Potiphar, who had a wife), although in the case of the book of Daniel there was in Jewish literature a common tradition to that effect. On the OT usage of this word see HALOT 769-70 s.v. סָרֹיס.

[1:3]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “bring.”

[1:3]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “and from the seed of royalty and from the nobles.”

[2:38]  ¹⁶ tn Aram “the sons of man.”

[2:38]  ¹⁷ tn Aram “the beasts of the field.”

[2:38]  ¹⁸ tn Aram “hand.”

[1:2]  ¹⁷ tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[1:2]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “gave.”

[1:2]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “hand,” which is often used idiomatically for one’s power and authority. See BDB 390 s.v. יָד 2.

[1:2]  ²⁰ tn Or “utensils”; or “articles.”

[1:2]  ²¹ tn Heb “house of God.”

[1:2]  ²² 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]  ²³ 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]  ²⁴ tn Heb “brought.” Though the Hebrew verb “brought” is repeated in this verse, the translation uses “brought…put” for stylistic variation.

[5:11]  ¹⁸ tn Aram “[there were] discovered to be in him.”

[5:11]  ¹⁹ tn Aram “wisdom like the wisdom.” This would be redundant in terms of English style.

[5:11]  ²⁰ tc Theodotion lacks the phrase “and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods.”

[5:11]  ²¹ tc The MT includes a redundant reference to “your father the king” at the end of v. 11. None of the attempts to explain this phrase as original are very convincing. The present translation deletes the phrase, following Theodotion and the Syriac.