Test: the force of the imperative is softened in Hebrew by the addition of a particle, so that the resulting form is not a command but more of a polite request. This particle is used especially when an inferior is speaking to a superior person. In order to avoid giving the impression that Daniel and his friends gave an order to the guard, it may be well to insert the word “please” (see New Revised Standard Version) or something similar (as in New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, and Anchor Bible). Moffatt attempts to convey the same idea with “I pray you.”

Your servants: Daniel and his companions refer to themselves indirectly as “your servants” in order to acknowledge their subordination to the guard. This is a common way of showing respect in Hebrew, but for the sake of clarity in most languages, it is usually required that a word-for-word rendering be avoided here. Otherwise the reader may understand that the guard is being asked to put some others to the test rather than Daniel and those with him. This would, of course, misrepresent the meaning of the text. The most natural rendering will probably be the pronoun meaning “us.” In those languages having inclusive and exclusive forms of the first person plural pronouns, the “us” in this verse, as well as “our” in verse 13, will clearly be exclusive, since the hearer is not included.

For ten days: this is a relatively short time, but a period of ten days for spiritual testing is a common theme in this type of literature (compare Rev 2.10).

Let us be given: even in languages where passive forms exist, this may not be the most natural way of saying what Daniel and his companions intended. In most cases the more direct wording, “give us…” (Good News Translation, New English Bible/Revised English Bible, New International Version, New American Bible), will be best. But in some languages it is possible to say “Let us have…” (Moffatt) “Let them give us…” (King James Version) or “Please give us….” This should not be understood as a request for permission, but a polite appeal for a particular type of food that would not normally have been given.

Vegetables: this may be a very difficult concept to translate in some languages. The Hebrew word so translated comes from a very similar word that means “sowing” or “a thing sown” and is closely related to the word for “seed.” It may be necessary to say something like “plants” or “planted things.” The whole point of the request is to avoid having to eat meat and drink wine. For this reason it will be important in many languages to add the word “only,” as in New Jerusalem Bible or Bible en français courant: “let them give us only vegetables to eat and water to drink.”

The relationship of the two verb phrases in this verse may be made clearer in some languages by using a structure similar to that of Anchor Bible‘s rendering: “Please test us, your servants, for ten days by giving us only vegetables to eat and water to drink,” or simply “Please test us for ten days….”

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 .