The chief of the eunuchs: see verse 3 above.

Gave them names: a literal translation of this phrase sounds strange in English. Normally names are given to persons or things that do not have any. If they already have names, then we more naturally say “renamed them,” “gave them new names,” “added more names to them,” or “gave them different names.” This explains the renderings of Good News Translation and Revised English Bible. It is possible also to say “gave them Babylonian names” (as in the German common language version [Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch]). To give a new name to someone was a way of showing that the person giving the name had authority over the other person. It may be possible in some cases to state this explicitly in order to avoid misunderstanding. For example, we may say “To show that they were under his authority, the chief officer gave them new names:….”

Belteshazzar: this name that was given to Daniel should be carefully distinguished from the name of the king “Belshazzar” in chapter 5. The two names are different in the original languages but were transcribed in the same way in the Greek versions of Daniel. For purposes of instruction it will be wise to distinguish these two names, both in the way they are spelled and in the way they are pronounced. This will make it possible for Bible students to avoid confusing the two different persons.

He called …: note that this expression is repeated four times in Revised Standard Version. This does not reflect the Hebrew original and is probably unnecessary in most other languages. The original does, however, clearly show which new name corresponds to which old name. This may be lost in some languages if Good News Translation is followed too closely.

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 .