Those who eat his rich food: the focus of this expression is not so much on the fact of eating at the king’s table as on the intimacy that the sharing of food represents. On the word for rich food, see 1.5. Anchor Bible has rendered the expression “members of his court,” which is very similar in meaning to Good News Translation.

Shall be his undoing: the idiomatic English of Revised Standard Version does not reflect the original. The rendering of New American Bible is much more literal: “shall seek to destroy him.”

Shall be swept away: literally “his army shall overflow,” as in King James Version and New American Standard Bible. (The same verb is seen in 9.26 as well as verses 10 and 22 in this chapter.) Such an expression in its active form normally conveys the idea of a victorious army. But this does not fit the literary context here, which speaks of treason and the death of many soldiers, neither does it fit what we know of the historical context. Hebrew Old Testament Text Project/Critique Textuelle de l’Ancien Testament propose that the traditional Hebrew text with the active verb form be retained; but the majority of modern translations and commentators follow the text of the ancient Syriac and Latin versions, which have the verb in the passive form, “will be overflowed.” The passive idea of “being defeated” may be rendered by an impersonal third person plural subject “they” or by some other passive-avoiding construction.

Many shall fall down slain: in this context this can only mean “many soldiers will die.” But an idiomatic way of saying “die” is appropriate here if one can be found.

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 .