At the end of the time: the translation should make it clear that this refers not to the period of ten days mentioned in verses 12, 14, and 15, but rather to the period of three years fixed by King Nebuchadnezzar in verse 5. So it may be advisable to make this clear, as is done in Good News Translation.

That they should be brought in: the third person plural pronoun, they, is at best ambiguous. It may refer to the four young men on whom the story has focused from verse 6 to this point; or it may refer to all the young men selected earlier in the story (verses 3-5). But here it refers to the whole group, as is made clear in verse 19. For this reason some translators may want to follow the Good News Translation model in saying “all the young men.”

The chief of the eunuchs: see verses 3, 7, 8, 9.

Brought them in: Good News Translation avoids the repetition of this phrase, and this may be advisable in many other languages.

Before Nebuchadnezzar: if the name of the king is mentioned at the beginning of the verse with regard to the time period, then it will probably be a bit strange to use it again here. In that case translators are advised to say simply “the king.”

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 .