This chapter begins in the style of a royal proclamation, in which the name of the king is cited first and is followed by a description of the persons the proclamation is addressed to. In many languages it may be more natural to change the order or to add the information that what follows (verses 1b-18) is indeed a proclamation from the king. Good News Translation does this by saying “sent the following message….” In other languages the translator may begin with “This is a proclamation (or an announcement) from Nebuchadnezzar, the king…” or “What follows is an order from King Nebuchadnezzar….”

Peoples, nations, and languages: as in 3.4, 7, 29, this list is intended to cover all political, ethnic, and linguistic groupings, in order to show that the whole world is included. The words in all the earth may be an exaggeration, but it is true that Nebuchadnezzar reigned over most of the world he and his contemporaries knew about.

Peace be multiplied to you!: the formula using the word Peace is similar to what is usually found in ancient letters and decrees. The Good News Translation rendering “Greetings” seems a bit weak and perhaps a bit too modern. There may be a wide variety of ways of wishing people prosperity in other languages, but here the well-wishing is especially emphasized by the use of the word be multiplied. Some possible English models are: New English Bible “May all prosperity be yours!” Revised English Bible “May your prosperity increase!” New International Version “May you prosper greatly!” New Jerusalem Bible “May you prosper more and more”; New Jerusalem Bible “May your well-being abound”; New Revised Standard Version “May you have abundant prosperity!” and Bible en français courant “I wish you perfect peace!”

Quoted with permission from Péter-Contesse, René & Ellington, John. A Handbook on Daniel. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1994. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .