Daniel 4:4

Nebuchadnezzar Dreams of a Tree Chopped Down

4:4 (4:1) ¹  I, Nebuchadnezzar, was relaxing in my home, ²  living luxuriously ³  in my palace.

Daniel 7:15

An Angel Interprets Daniel’s Vision

7:15 “As for me, Daniel, my spirit was distressed, ⁴  and the visions of my mind ⁵  were alarming me.

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 4:30

4:30 The king uttered these words: “Is this not the great Babylon that I have built for a royal residence ⁶  by my own mighty strength ⁷  and for my majestic honor?”

Daniel 7:28

7:28 “This is the conclusion of the matter. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts troubled me greatly, and the color drained from my face. ⁸  But I kept the matter to myself.” ⁹ 

[4:4]  ¹ sn This verse marks the beginning of chap. 4 in the Aramaic text of Daniel (see the note on 4:1). The Greek OT (LXX) has the following addition: “In the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign he said.” This date would suggest a link to the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. In general, the LXX of chapters 4-6 is very different from the MT, so much so that the following notes will call attention only to selected readings. In Daniel 4 the LXX lacks sizable portions of material in the MT (e.g., vv. 3-6, 31-32), includes sizable portions of material not in the MT (e.g., v. 14a, parts of vv. 16, 28), has a different order of some material (e.g., v. 8 after v. 9), and in some instances is vastly different from the MT (e.g., vv. 30, 34). Whether these differences are due to an excessively paraphrastic translation technique adopted for these chapters in the LXX, or are due to differences in the underlying Vorlage of the LXX, is a disputed matter. The latter seems more likely. There is a growing trend in modern scholarship to take the LXX of chapters 4-6 much more seriously than was the case in most earlier text-critical studies that considered this issue.

[4:4]  ² tn Aram “my house.”

[4:4]  ³ tn Aram “happy.”

[7:15]  ⁴ tn The Aramaic text includes the phrase “in its sheath,” apparently viewing the body as a container or receptacle for the spirit somewhat like a sheath or scabbard is for a knife or a sword (cf. NAB “within its sheath of flesh”). For this phrase the LXX and Vulgate have “in these things.”

[7:15]  ⁵ tn Aram “head.”

[4:30]  ⁷ tn Aram “house.”

[4:30]  ⁸ tn Aram “by the might of my strength.”

[7:28]  ¹⁰ tn Aram “my brightness was changing on me.”

[7:28]  ¹¹ tn Aram “in my heart.”