I said: the Hebrew Old Testament Text Project/Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament recommended text actually says “he said,” and this would seem to refer to one of the two beings introduced in the previous verse. Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament, however, takes the third person pronoun as indefinite and proposes the translation “someone said.” The rendering of Revised Standard Version is based on the ancient Greek version, and it assumes a different underlying Hebrew text. As in 8.13-14, 16, here also Daniel listens in on a conversation between two angels, but he does not participate in it. Instead of said it will be better to use the verb “ask” in many languages, since it is a question that follows. Note that in the Hebrew the question does not follow immediately, so in some languages it will be necessary to restructure the sentence.

The man clothed in linen: we know from earlier references such as 10.5 that this is not an ordinary human being but an angel. So this should be made clear in most languages. In some cases it will be important to distinguish this, the original angel of the vision, from the two angels (“two others”) introduced in verse 5. But this may be done by retaining the detail clothed in linen found in the text.

Above the waters of the stream: chapter 10 does not mention the exact position of this angel, and the wording here is the subject of some debate. Some interpreters maintain that the vision pictures the angel as floating above the surface of the stream or possibly large figure with one foot on either side of the stream. But others take this expression to mean “further upstream” from Daniel’s position described in 10.4. This would mean that the other two angels were downstream on opposite sides of the river. This is the solution adopted by New American Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, and New Revised Standard Version, as well as Good News Translation. Other scholars, however, see this interpretation as being based on modern reasoning which is absent from the original text.

How long…?: compare 8.13 and comments.

Wonders: see 8.24 (“fearful”) and 11.36 (“astonishing things”), where another word from the same root is used with practically the same meaning. Here the term has been rendered “portents” (Revised English Bible), “astonishing things” (New International Version), and “marvels” (Moffatt).

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 .