Daniel 9:1

Daniel Prays for His People

9:1 In the first year of Darius ¹  son of Ahasuerus, ²  who was of Median descent and who had been ³  appointed king over the Babylonian ⁴  empire –

Daniel 11:1-45

11:1 And in the first year of Darius the Mede, I ⁵  stood to strengthen him and to provide protection for him.) 11:2 Now I will tell you the truth.

The Angel Gives a Message to Daniel

“Three ⁶  more kings will arise for Persia. Then a fourth ⁷  king will be unusually rich, ⁸  more so than all who preceded him. When he has amassed power through his riches, he will stir up everyone against ⁹  the kingdom of Greece. 11:3 Then a powerful king ¹⁰  will arise, exercising great authority and doing as he pleases. 11:4 Shortly after his rise to power, ¹¹  his kingdom will be broken up and distributed toward the four winds of the sky ¹²  – but not to his posterity or with the authority he exercised, for his kingdom will be uprooted and distributed to others besides these.

11:5 “Then the king of the south ¹³  and one of his subordinates ¹⁴  will grow strong. His subordinate ¹⁵  will resist ¹⁶  him and will rule a kingdom greater than his. ¹⁷  11:6 After some years have passed, they ¹⁸  will form an alliance. Then the daughter ¹⁹  of the king of the south will come to the king of the north to make an agreement, but she will not retain her power, ²⁰  nor will he continue ²¹  in his strength. ²²  She, together with the one who brought her, her child, ²³  and her benefactor will all be delivered over at that time. ²⁴ 

11:7 “There will arise in his ²⁵  place one from her family line ²⁶  who will come against their army and will enter the stronghold of the king of the north and will move against them successfully. ²⁷  11:8 He will also take their gods into captivity to Egypt, along with their cast images and prized utensils of silver and gold. Then he will withdraw for some years from ²⁸  the king of the north. 11:9 Then the king of the north ²⁹  will advance against the empire of the king of the south, but will withdraw to his own land. 11:10 His sons ³⁰  will wage war, mustering a large army which will advance like an overflowing river and carrying the battle all the way to the enemy’s ³¹  fortress. ³² 

11:11 “Then the king of the south ³³  will be enraged and will march out to fight against the king of the north, who will also muster a large army, but that army will be delivered into his hand. 11:12 When the army is taken away, the king of the south will become arrogant. ³⁴  He will be responsible for the death ³⁵  of thousands and thousands of people, ³⁶  but he will not continue to prevail. 11:13 For the king of the north will again muster an army, one larger than before. At the end of some years he will advance with a huge army and enormous supplies.

11:14 “In those times many will oppose ³⁷  the king of the south. ³⁸  Those who are violent ³⁹  among your own people will rise up in confirmation of ⁴⁰  the vision, but they will falter. 11:15 Then the king of the north will advance and will build siege mounds and capture a well-fortified city. ⁴¹  The forces of the south will not prevail, not even his finest contingents. ⁴²  They will have no strength to prevail. 11:16 The one advancing against him will do as he pleases, and no one will be able to stand before him. He will prevail in the beautiful land, and its annihilation will be within his power. ⁴³  11:17 His intention ⁴⁴  will be to come with the strength of his entire kingdom, and he will form alliances. ⁴⁵  He will give the king of the south ⁴⁶  a daughter ⁴⁷  in marriage in order to destroy the kingdom, but it will not turn out to his advantage. 11:18 Then he will turn his attention ⁴⁸  to the coastal regions and will capture many of them. But a commander ⁴⁹  will bring his shameful conduct to a halt; in addition, ⁵⁰  he will make him pay for his shameful conduct. ⁵¹  11:19 He will then turn his attention to the fortresses of his own land, but he will stumble and fall, not to be found again. 11:20 There will arise after him ⁵²  one ⁵³  who will send out an exactor ⁵⁴  of tribute to enhance the splendor of the kingdom, but after a few days he will be destroyed, ⁵⁵  though not in anger or battle.

11:21 “Then there will arise in his place a despicable person ⁵⁶  to whom the royal honor has not been rightfully conferred. He will come on the scene in a time of prosperity and will seize the kingdom through deceit. 11:22 Armies ⁵⁷  will be suddenly ⁵⁸  swept away in defeat ⁵⁹  before him; both they and a covenant leader ⁶⁰  will be destroyed. ⁶¹  11:23 After ⁶²  entering into an alliance with him, he will behave treacherously; he will ascend to power with only a small force. ⁶³  11:24 In a time of prosperity for the most productive areas of the province he will come and accomplish what neither his fathers nor their fathers accomplished. He will distribute loot, spoils, and property to his followers, and he will devise plans against fortified cities, but not for long. ⁶⁴  11:25 He will rouse his strength and enthusiasm ⁶⁵  against the king of the south ⁶⁶  with a large army. The king of the south will wage war with a large and very powerful army, but he will not be able to prevail because of the plans devised against him. 11:26 Those who share the king’s fine food will attempt to destroy him, and his army will be swept away; ⁶⁷  many will be killed in battle. 11:27 These two kings, their minds ⁶⁸  filled with evil intentions, will trade ⁶⁹  lies with one another at the same table. But it will not succeed, for there is still an end at the appointed time. 11:28 Then the king of the north ⁷⁰  will return to his own land with much property. His mind will be set against the holy covenant. He will take action, and then return to his own land. 11:29 At an appointed time he will again invade the south, but this latter visit will not turn out the way the former one did. 11:30 The ships of Kittim ⁷¹  will come against him, leaving him disheartened. ⁷²  He will turn back and direct his indignation against the holy covenant. He will return and honor ⁷³  those who forsake the holy covenant. 11:31 His forces ⁷⁴  will rise up and profane the fortified sanctuary, ⁷⁵  stopping the daily sacrifice. In its place they will set up ⁷⁶  the abomination that causes desolation. 11:32 Then with smooth words he will defile ⁷⁷  those who have rejected ⁷⁸  the covenant. But the people who are loyal to ⁷⁹  their God will act valiantly. ⁸⁰  11:33 These who are wise among the people will teach the masses. ⁸¹  However, they will fall ⁸²  by the sword and by the flame, ⁸³  and they will be imprisoned and plundered for some time. ⁸⁴  11:34 When they stumble, they will be granted some help. But many will unite with them deceitfully. 11:35 Even some of the wise will stumble, resulting in their refinement, purification, and cleansing until the time of the end, for it is still for the appointed time.

11:36 “Then the king ⁸⁵  will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every deity and he will utter presumptuous things against the God of gods. He will succeed until the time of ⁸⁶  wrath is completed, for what has been decreed must occur. ⁸⁷  11:37 He will not respect ⁸⁸  the gods of his fathers – not even the god loved by women. ⁸⁹  He will not respect any god; he will elevate himself above them all. 11:38 What he will honor is a god of fortresses – a god his fathers did not acknowledge he will honor with gold, silver, valuable stones, and treasured commodities. 11:39 He will attack ⁹⁰  mighty fortresses, aided by ⁹¹  a foreign deity. To those who recognize him he will grant considerable honor. He will place them in authority over many people, and he will parcel out land for a price. ⁹² 

11:40 “At the time of the end the king of the south will attack ⁹³  him. Then the king of the north will storm against him ⁹⁴  with chariots, horsemen, and a large armada of ships. ⁹⁵  He ⁹⁶  will invade lands, passing through them like an overflowing river. ⁹⁷  11:41 Then he will enter the beautiful land. ⁹⁸  Many ⁹⁹  will fall, but these will escape: ¹⁰⁰  Edom, Moab, and the Ammonite leadership. 11:42 He will extend his power ¹⁰¹  against other lands; the land of Egypt will not escape. 11:43 He will have control over the hidden stores of gold and silver, as well as all the treasures of Egypt. Libyans and Ethiopians ¹⁰²  will submit to him. ¹⁰³  11:44 But reports will trouble him from the east and north, and he will set out in a tremendous rage to destroy and wipe out many. 11:45 He will pitch his royal tents between the seas ¹⁰⁴  toward the beautiful holy mountain. But he will come to his end, with no one to help him.

Daniel 1:1-21

Daniel Finds Favor in Babylon

1:1 In the third ¹⁰⁵  year of the reign of King Jehoiakim of Judah, King Nebuchadnezzar ¹⁰⁶  of Babylon advanced against Jerusalem ¹⁰⁷  and laid it under siege. ¹⁰⁸  1:2 Now the Lord ¹⁰⁹  delivered ¹¹⁰  King Jehoiakim of Judah into his power, ¹¹¹  along with some of the vessels ¹¹²  of the temple of God. ¹¹³  He brought them to the land of Babylonia ¹¹⁴  to the temple of his god ¹¹⁵  and put ¹¹⁶  the vessels in the treasury of his god.

1:3 The king commanded ¹¹⁷  Ashpenaz, ¹¹⁸  who was in charge of his court officials, ¹¹⁹  to choose ¹²⁰  some of the Israelites who were of royal and noble descent ¹²¹  – 1:4 young men in whom there was no physical defect and who were handsome, ¹²²  well versed in all kinds of wisdom, well educated ¹²³  and having keen insight, ¹²⁴  and who were capable ¹²⁵  of entering the king’s royal service ¹²⁶  – and to teach them the literature and language ¹²⁷  of the Babylonians. ¹²⁸  1:5 So the king assigned them a daily ration ¹²⁹  from his royal delicacies ¹³⁰  and from the wine he himself drank. They were to be trained ¹³¹  for the next three years. At the end of that time they were to enter the king’s service. ¹³²  1:6 As it turned out, ¹³³  among these young men ¹³⁴  were some from Judah: ¹³⁵  Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. ¹³⁶  1:7 But the overseer of the court officials renamed them. He gave ¹³⁷  Daniel the name Belteshazzar, Hananiah he named Shadrach, Mishael he named Meshach, and Azariah he named Abednego. ¹³⁸ 

1:8 But Daniel made up his mind ¹³⁹  that he would not defile ¹⁴⁰  himself with the royal delicacies or the royal wine. ¹⁴¹  He therefore asked the overseer of the court officials for permission not to defile himself. 1:9 Then God made the overseer of the court officials sympathetic to Daniel. ¹⁴²  1:10 But he ¹⁴³  responded to Daniel, “I fear my master the king. He is the one who has decided ¹⁴⁴  your food and drink. What would happen if he saw that you looked malnourished in comparison to the other young men your age? ¹⁴⁵  If that happened, ¹⁴⁶  you would endanger my life ¹⁴⁷  with the king!” 1:11 Daniel then spoke to the warden ¹⁴⁸  whom the overseer of the court officials had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: 1:12 “Please test your servants for ten days by providing us with some vegetables to eat and water to drink. 1:13 Then compare our appearance ¹⁴⁹  with that of ¹⁵⁰  the young men who are eating the royal delicacies; ¹⁵¹  deal with us ¹⁵²  in light of what you see.” 1:14 So the warden ¹⁵³  agreed to their proposal ¹⁵⁴  and tested them for ten ¹⁵⁵  days.

1:15 At the end of the ten days their appearance was better and their bodies were healthier ¹⁵⁶  than all the young men who had been eating the royal delicacies. 1:16 So the warden removed the delicacies and the wine ¹⁵⁷  from their diet ¹⁵⁸  and gave them a diet of vegetables instead. 1:17 Now as for these four young men, God endowed them with knowledge and skill in all sorts of literature and wisdom – and Daniel had insight into all kinds of visions and dreams.

1:18 When the time appointed by the king arrived, ¹⁵⁹  the overseer of the court officials brought them into Nebuchadnezzar’s presence. 1:19 When the king spoke with them, he did not find among the entire group ¹⁶⁰  anyone like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, or Azariah. So they entered the king’s service. ¹⁶¹  1:20 In every matter of wisdom and ¹⁶²  insight the king asked them about, he found them to be ten times ¹⁶³  better than any of the magicians and astrologers that were in his entire empire. 1:21 Now Daniel lived on until the first ¹⁶⁴  year of Cyrus the king.

[9:1]  ¹ sn The identity of this Darius is a major problem in correlating the biblical material with the extra-biblical records of this period. Most modern scholars treat the reference as a mistaken allusion to Darius Hystaspes (ca. 522-486 B.C.). Others have maintained instead that this name is a reference to the Persian governor Gubaru. Still others understand the reference to be to the Persian king Cyrus (cf. 6:28, where the vav (ו) may be understood as vav explicativum, meaning “even”). Under either of these latter two interpretations, the first year of Darius would have been ca. 538 B.C. Daniel would have been approximately eighty-two years old at this time.

[9:1]  ² tc The LXX reads “Xerxes.” This is the reading used by some English versions (e.g., NIV, NCV, TEV, CEV). Most other English versions retain the Hebrew name “Ahasuerus.”

[9:1]  ³ tc The present translation follows the MT in reading a Hophal (i.e., passive). Theodotion, the Syriac, and the Vulgate all presuppose the Hiphil (i.e., active). Even though this is the only occurrence of the Hophal of this verb in the Bible, there is no need to emend the vocalization to the Hiphil.

[9:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans.”

[11:1]  ⁵ sn The antecedent of the pronoun “I” is the angel, not Daniel. The traditional chapter division at this point, and the presence of a chronological note in the verse similar to ones used elsewhere in the book to position Daniel’s activities in relation to imperial affairs, sometimes lead to confusion on this matter.

[11:2]  ⁹ sn Perhaps these three more kings are Cambyses (ca. 530-522 B.C.), Pseudo-Smerdis (ca. 522 B.C.), and Darius I Hystaspes (ca. 522-486 B.C.).

[11:2]  ¹⁰ sn This fourth king is Xerxes I (ca. 486-465 B.C.). The following reference to one of his chiefs apparently has in view Seleucus Nicator.

[11:2]  ¹¹ tn Heb “rich with great riches.”

[11:2]  ¹² tn The text is difficult. The Hebrew has here אֶת (’et), the marker of a definite direct object. As it stands, this would suggest the meaning that “he will arouse everyone, that is, the kingdom of Greece.” The context, however, seems to suggest the idea that this Persian king will arouse in hostility against Greece the constituent elements of his own empire. This requires supplying the word “against,” which is not actually present in the Hebrew text.

[11:3]  ¹³ sn The powerful king mentioned here is Alexander the Great (ca. 336-323 B.C.).

[11:4]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and when he stands.”

[11:4]  ¹⁸ tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.

[11:5]  ²¹ sn The king of the south is Ptolemy I Soter (ca. 323-285 B.C.). The following reference to one of his subordinates apparently has in view Seleucus I Nicator (ca. 311-280 B.C.). Throughout the remainder of chap. 11 the expressions “king of the south” and “king of the north” repeatedly occur. It is clear, however, that these terms are being used generically to describe the Ptolemaic king (i.e., “of the south”) or the Seleucid king (i.e., “of the north”) who happens to be in power at any particular time. The specific identity of these kings can be established more or less successfully by a comparison of this chapter with the available extra-biblical records that discuss the history of the intertestamental period. In the following notes the generally accepted identifications are briefly mentioned.

[11:5]  ²² tn Heb “princes.”

[11:5]  ²³ tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the subordinate prince mentioned in the previous clause) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:5]  ²⁴ tn Heb “be strong against.”

[11:5]  ²⁵ tn Heb “greater than his kingdom.”

[11:6]  ²⁵ sn Here they refers to Ptolemy II Philadelphus (ca. 285-246 B.C.) and Antiochus II Theos (ca. 262-246 B.C.).

[11:6]  ²⁶ sn The daughter refers to Berenice, who was given in marriage to Antiochus II Theos.

[11:6]  ²⁷ tn Heb “the strength of the arm.”

[11:6]  ²⁸ tn Heb “stand.” So also in vv. 7, 8, 11, 13.

[11:6]  ²⁹ tn Heb “and his arm.” Some understand this to refer to the descendants of the king of the north.

[11:6]  ³⁰ tc The present translation reads יַלְדָּה (yaldah, “her child”) rather than the MT יֹלְדָהּ (yolÿdah, “the one who begot her”). Cf. Theodotion, the Syriac, and the Vulgate.

[11:6]  ³¹ sn Antiochus II eventually divorced Berenice and remarried his former wife Laodice, who then poisoned her husband, had Berenice put to death, and installed her own son, Seleucus II Callinicus (ca. 246-227 B.C.), as the Seleucid king.

[11:7]  ²⁹ sn The reference is to the king of Egypt.

[11:7]  ³⁰ tn Heb “the stock of her roots.”

[11:7]  ³¹ tn Heb “will deal with them and prevail.”

[11:8]  ³³ tn The Hebrew preposition מִן (min) is used here with the verb עָמַד (’amad, “to stand”). It probably has a sense of separation (“stand away from”), although it may also be understood in an adversative sense (“stand against”).

[11:9]  ³⁷ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king of the north) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:10]  ⁴¹ sn The sons of Seleucus II Callinicus were Seleucus III Ceraunus (ca. 227-223 B.C.) and Antiochus III the Great (ca. 223-187 B.C.).

[11:10]  ⁴² tn Heb “his”; the referent (the enemy of the king of the north) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:10]  ⁴³ tn Heb “and he will certainly come and overflow and cross over and return and be aroused unto a fortress.” The translation has attempted to simplify the syntax of this difficult sequence.

[11:11]  ⁴⁵ sn This king of the south refers to Ptolemy IV Philopator (ca. 221-204 B.C.).

[11:12]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “his heart will be lifted up.” The referent (the king of the south) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:12]  ⁵⁰ tn Heb “cause to fall.”

[11:12]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “of myriads.”

[11:14]  ⁵³ tn Heb “stand against.”

[11:14]  ⁵⁴ sn This was Ptolemy V Epiphanes (ca. 203-181 B.C.).

[11:14]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “sons of violence.” “Son(s) is sometimes used idiomatically in Hebrew to indicate that someone is characterized by a certain quality. So the expression “sons of violence” means that these individuals will be characterized by violent deeds.

[11:14]  ⁵⁶ tn Heb “to cause to stand.”

[11:15]  ⁵⁷ sn This well-fortified city is apparently Sidon. Its capture from the Ptolemies by Antiochus the Great was a strategic victory for the Seleucid kingdom.

[11:15]  ⁵⁸ tn Or “choice troops” (BDB 104 s.v. מִבְחָר), or “elite troops” (HALOT 542 s.v. מִבְחָר).

[11:16]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “hand.”

[11:17]  ⁶⁵ tn Heb “and he will set his face.” Cf. vv. 18, 19.

[11:17]  ⁶⁶ tc The present translation reads מֵישָׁרִים (mesharim, “alliances”) for the MT וִישָׁרִים (viysharim, “uprightness”).

[11:17]  ⁶⁷ tn Heb “him”; the referent (the king of the south) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:17]  ⁶⁸ tn Heb “the daughter of the women.”

[11:18]  ⁶⁹ tn Heb “his face.” See v. 19 as well.

[11:18]  ⁷⁰ sn The commander is probably the Roman commander, Lucius Cornelius Scipio.

[11:18]  ⁷¹ tn The Hebrew here is difficult in that the negative בִּלְתִּי (biltiy, “not”) is used in an unusual way. The sense is not entirely clear.

[11:18]  ⁷² tn Heb “his shameful conduct he will return to him.”

[11:20]  ⁷³ tn Heb “on his place.”

[11:20]  ⁷⁴ sn The one who will send out an exactor of tribute was Seleucus IV Philopator (ca. 187-176 B.C.).

[11:20]  ⁷⁵ sn Perhaps this exactor of tribute was Heliodorus (cf. 2 Maccabees 3).

[11:20]  ⁷⁶ tn Heb “broken” or “shattered.”

[11:21]  ⁷⁷ sn This despicable person to whom the royal honor has not been rightfully conferred is Antiochus IV Epiphanes (ca. 175-164 B.C.).

[11:22]  ⁸¹ tn Heb “arms.”

[11:22]  ⁸² tc The present translation reads הִשָּׁטֹף (hishatof), Niphal infinitive absolute of שָׁטַף (shataf, “to overflow”), for the MT הַשֶּׁטֶף (hashetef, “flood”).

[11:22]  ⁸³ tn The words “in defeat” are added in the translation for clarification.

[11:22]  ⁸⁴ tn Heb “a prince of the covenant.”

[11:22]  ⁸⁵ tn Heb “broken” or “shattered.”

[11:23]  ⁸⁵ tn The preposition מִן (min) is probably temporal here (so BDB 583 s.v. 7.c; cf. KJV, NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV), although it could also be understood here as indicating means (so J. Goldingay, Daniel [WBC], 279, n. 23a; cf. TEV, NLT).

[11:23]  ⁸⁶ tn Heb “nation.”

[11:24]  ⁸⁹ tn Heb “and unto a time.”

[11:25]  ⁹³ tn Heb “heart.”

[11:25]  ⁹⁴ sn This king of the south was Ptolemy Philometer (ca. 181-145 B.C.).

[11:26]  ⁹⁷ tc The present translation reads יִשָׁטֵף (yishatef, passive) rather than the MT יִשְׁטוֹף (yishtof, active).

[11:27]  ¹⁰¹ tn Heb “heart.” So also in v. 28.

[11:27]  ¹⁰² tn Heb “speak.”

[11:28]  ¹⁰⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king of the north) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:30]  ¹⁰⁹ sn The name Kittim has various designations in extra-biblical literature. It can refer to a location on the island of Cyprus, or more generally to the island itself, or it can be an inclusive term to refer to parts of the Mediterranean world that lay west of the Middle East (e.g., Rome). For ships of Kittim the Greek OT (LXX) has “Romans,” an interpretation followed by a few English versions (e.g., TEV). A number of times in the Dead Sea Scrolls the word is used in reference to the Romans. Other English versions are more generic: “[ships] of the western coastlands” (NIV, NLT); “from the west” (NCV, CEV).

[11:30]  ¹¹⁰ sn This is apparently a reference to the Roman forces, led by Gaius Popilius Laenas, which confronted Antiochus when he came to Egypt and demanded that he withdraw or face the wrath of Rome. Antiochus wisely withdrew from Egypt, albeit in a state of bitter frustration.

[11:30]  ¹¹¹ tn Heb “show regard for.”

[11:31]  ¹¹³ tn Heb “arms.”

[11:31]  ¹¹⁴ tn Heb “the sanctuary, the fortress.”

[11:31]  ¹¹⁵ tn Heb “will give.”

[11:32]  ¹¹⁷ tn Or “corrupt.”

[11:32]  ¹¹⁸ tn Heb “acted wickedly toward.”

[11:32]  ¹¹⁹ tn Heb “know.” The term “know” sometimes means “to recognize.” In relational contexts it can have the connotation “recognize the authority of, be loyal to,” as it does here.

[11:32]  ¹²⁰ sn This is an allusion to the Maccabean revolt, which struggled to bring about Jewish independence in the second century B.C.

[11:33]  ¹²¹ tn Heb “the many.”

[11:33]  ¹²² tn Heb “stumble.”

[11:33]  ¹²³ tn Or “by burning.”

[11:33]  ¹²⁴ tn Heb “days.”

[11:36]  ¹²⁵ sn The identity of this king is problematic. If vv. 36-45 continue the description of Antiochus Epiphanes, the account must be viewed as erroneous, since the details do not match what is known of Antiochus’ latter days. Most modern scholars take this view, concluding that this section was written just shortly before the death of Antiochus and that the writer erred on several key points as he tried to predict what would follow the events of his own day. Conservative scholars, however, usually understand the reference to shift at this point to an eschatological figure, viz., the Antichrist. The chronological gap that this would presuppose to be in the narrative is not necessarily a problem, since by all accounts there are many chronological gaps throughout the chapter, as the historical figures intended by such expressions as “king of the north” and “king of the south” repeatedly shift.

[11:36]  ¹²⁶ tn The words “the time of” are added in the translation for clarification.

[11:36]  ¹²⁷ tn Heb “has been done.” The Hebrew verb used here is the perfect of certitude, emphasizing the certainty of fulfillment.

[11:37]  ¹²⁹ tn Heb “consider.”

[11:37]  ¹³⁰ tn Heb “[the one] desired by women.” The referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:39]  ¹³³ tn Heb “act against.”

[11:39]  ¹³⁴ tn Heb “with.”

[11:39]  ¹³⁵ tn Or perhaps “for a reward.”

[11:40]  ¹³⁷ tn Heb “engage in thrusting.”

[11:40]  ¹³⁸ tn The referent of the pronoun is most likely the king of the south, in which case the text describes the king of the north countering the attack of the king of the south.

[11:40]  ¹³⁹ tn Heb “many ships.”

[11:40]  ¹⁴⁰ tn This most likely refers to the king of the north who, in response to the aggression of the king of the south, launches an invasion of the southern regions.

[11:40]  ¹⁴¹ tn Heb “and will overflow and pass over.”

[11:41]  ¹⁴¹ sn The beautiful land is a cryptic reference to the land of Israel.

[11:41]  ¹⁴² tn This can be understood as “many people” (cf. NRSV) or “many countries” (cf. NASB, NIV, NLT).

[11:41]  ¹⁴³ tn Heb “be delivered from his hand.”

[11:42]  ¹⁴⁵ tn Heb “hand.”

[11:43]  ¹⁴⁹ tn Or “Nubians” (NIV, NCV); Heb “Cushites.”

[11:43]  ¹⁵⁰ tn Heb “Libyans and Cushites [will be] at his footsteps.”

[11:45]  ¹⁵³ sn Presumably seas refers to the Mediterranean Sea and the Dead Sea.

[1:1]  ¹⁵⁷ 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]  ¹⁵⁸ sn King Nebuchadnezzar ruled Babylon from ca. 605-562 B.C.

[1:1]  ¹⁵⁹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[1:1]  ¹⁶⁰ 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.

[1:2]  ¹⁶¹ tn The Hebrew term translated “Lord” here is אֲדֹנָי (’adonay).

[1:2]  ¹⁶² tn Heb “gave.”

[1:2]  ¹⁶³ tn Heb “hand,” which is often used idiomatically for one’s power and authority. See BDB 390 s.v. יָד 2.

[1:2]  ¹⁶⁴ tn Or “utensils”; or “articles.”

[1:2]  ¹⁶⁵ tn Heb “house of God.”

[1:2]  ¹⁶⁶ 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]  ¹⁶⁷ 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]  ¹⁶⁸ tn Heb “brought.” Though the Hebrew verb “brought” is repeated in this verse, the translation uses “brought…put” for stylistic variation.

[1:3]  ¹⁶⁵ tn Or “gave orders to.” Heb “said to.”

[1:3]  ¹⁶⁶ 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]  ¹⁶⁷ 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]  ¹⁶⁸ tn Heb “bring.”

[1:3]  ¹⁶⁹ tn Heb “and from the seed of royalty and from the nobles.”

[1:4]  ¹⁶⁹ tn Heb “good of appearance.”

[1:4]  ¹⁷⁰ tn Heb “knowers of knowledge.”

[1:4]  ¹⁷¹ tn Heb “understanders of knowledge.”

[1:4]  ¹⁷² tn Heb “who had strength.”

[1:4]  ¹⁷³ tn Heb “to stand in the palace of the king.” Cf. vv. 5, 19.

[1:4]  ¹⁷⁴ sn The language of the Chaldeans referred to here is Akkadian, an East Semitic cuneiform language.

[1:4]  ¹⁷⁵ tn Heb “Chaldeans” (so KJV, NAB, NASB, NRSV). This is an ancient name for the Babylonians.

[1:5]  ¹⁷³ tn Heb “a thing of a day in its day.”

[1:5]  ¹⁷⁴ tn Heb “from the delicacies of the king.”

[1:5]  ¹⁷⁵ tn Or “educated.” See HALOT 179 s.v. I גדל.

[1:5]  ¹⁷⁶ tn Heb “stand before the king.”

[1:6]  ¹⁷⁷ tn Heb “and it happened that.”

[1:6]  ¹⁷⁸ tn Heb “among them”; the referent (the young men taken captive from Judah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:6]  ¹⁷⁹ tn Heb “the sons of Judah.”

[1:6]  ¹⁸⁰ sn The names reflect a Jewish heritage. In Hebrew Daniel means “God is my judge”; Hananiah means “the Lord is gracious”; Mishael means “who is what God is?”; Azariah means “the Lord has helped.”

[1:7]  ¹⁸¹ tc The LXX and Vulgate lack the verb here.

[1:7]  ¹⁸² sn The meanings of the Babylonian names are more conjectural than is the case with the Hebrew names. The probable etymologies are as follows: Belteshazzar means “protect his life,” although the MT vocalization may suggest “Belti, protect the king” (cf. Dan 4:8); Shadrach perhaps means “command of Aku”; Meshach is of uncertain meaning; Abednego means “servant of Nego.” Assigning Babylonian names to the Hebrew youths may have been an attempt to erase from their memory their Israelite heritage.

[1:8]  ¹⁸⁵ tn Heb “placed on his heart.”

[1:8]  ¹⁸⁶ tn Or “would not make himself ceremonially unclean”; TEV “become ritually unclean.”

[1:8]  ¹⁸⁷ tn Heb “with the delicacies of the king and with the wine of his drinking.”

[1:9]  ¹⁸⁹ tn Heb “Then God granted Daniel loyal love and compassion before the overseer of the court officials.” The expression “loyal love and compassion” is a hendiadys; the two words combine to express one idea.

[1:10]  ¹⁹³ tn Heb “The overseer of the court officials.” The subject has been specified in the translation for the sake of clarity.

[1:10]  ¹⁹⁴ tn Heb “assigned.” See v. 5.

[1:10]  ¹⁹⁵ tn Heb “Why should he see your faces thin from the young men who are according to your age?” The term translated “thin” occurs only here and in Gen 40:6, where it appears to refer to a dejected facial expression. The word is related to an Arabic root meaning “be weak.” See HALOT 277 s.v. II זעף.

[1:10]  ¹⁹⁶ tn The words “if that happened” are not in the Hebrew text but have been added in the translation for clarity.

[1:10]  ¹⁹⁷ tn Heb “my head.” Presumably this is an implicit reference to capital punishment (cf. NCV, TEV, CEV, NLT), although this is not entirely clear.

[1:11]  ¹⁹⁷ sn Having failed to convince the overseer, Daniel sought the favor of the warden whom the overseer had appointed to care for the young men.

[1:13]  ²⁰¹ tn Heb “let our appearance be seen before you.”

[1:13]  ²⁰² tn Heb “the appearance of.”

[1:13]  ²⁰³ tn Heb “delicacies of the king.” So also in v. 15.

[1:13]  ²⁰⁴ tn Heb “your servants.”

[1:14]  ²⁰⁵ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the warden mentioned in v. 11) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[1:14]  ²⁰⁶ tn Heb “listened to them with regard to this matter.”

[1:14]  ²⁰⁷ sn The number ten is sometimes used in the OT as an ideal number of completeness. Cf. v. 20; Zech 8:23; Rev 2:10.

[1:15]  ²⁰⁹ tn Heb “fat of flesh”; KJV, ASV “fatter in flesh”; NASB, NRSV “fatter” (although this is no longer a sign of health in Western culture).

[1:16]  ²¹³ tn Heb “the wine of their drinking.”

[1:16]  ²¹⁴ tn The words “from their diet” are not in the Hebrew text but have been added in the translation for clarity.

[1:18]  ²¹⁷ tn Heb “at the end of the days which the king said to bring them.”

[1:19]  ²²¹ tn Heb “from all of them.”

[1:19]  ²²² tn Heb “stood before the king.”

[1:20]  ²²⁵ tc The MT lacks the conjunction, reading the first word in the phrase as a construct (“wisdom of insight”). While this reading is not impossible, it seems better to follow Theodotion, the Syriac, the Vulgate, and the Sahidic Coptic, all of which have the conjunction.

[1:20]  ²²⁶ tn Heb “hands.”

[1:21]  ²²⁹ sn The Persian king Cyrus’ first year in control of Babylon was 539 B.C. Daniel actually lived beyond the first year of Cyrus, as is clear from 10:1. The purpose of the statement in 1:21 is merely to say that Daniel’s life spanned the entire period of the neo-Babylonian empire. His life span also included the early years of the Persian control of Babylon. However, by that time his age was quite advanced; he probably died sometime in the 530’s B.C.