Daniel 3:8-9

3:8 Now ¹  at that time certain ²  Chaldeans came forward and brought malicious accusations against ³  the Jews. 3:9 They said ⁴  to King Nebuchadnezzar, “O king, live forever! ⁵ 

[3:8]  ¹ tc This expression is absent in Theodotion.

[3:8]  ² tn Aram “men.”

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

[3:9]  ⁴ tn Aram “answered and said,” a common Aramaic idiom that occurs repeatedly in this chapter.

[3:9]  ⁵ sn O king, live forever! is a comment of typical court courtesy that is not necessarily indicative of the real sentiments of the speaker. Ancient oriental court protocol could sometimes require a certain amount of hypocrisy.