Chaldeans: see verses 2, 4, and 5.

Not a man on earth: the experts in the occult were convinced that there was no person in the world that could do what the king was asking. The use of the word man is not intended to refer only to males. For this reason many versions say “no one” or “no person.” This response, however, does seem to suggest that there may be celestial beings that would be able to do so (compare verse 11 below), and so the sense may be “no human being.”

Meet the king’s demand: literally “tell the king’s matter.” The English idiom of Revised Standard Version may be more naturally rendered “do what the king asks” (New International Version and the New Century Version [New Century Version]). Again the king is referred to indirectly in keeping with proper court behavior. But in most languages this will come out differently: “what you are asking, sir” or “what your majesty commands.” The most natural equivalent should be sought in the receptor language rather than simply repeating the form of either Revised Standard Version or Good News Translation.

No great and powerful king has asked such a thing: the idea here is that no king, regardless of how powerful and great he may be, has ever made such an impossible request. Compare the Good News Translation rendering above. Apparently, in the minds of these “wise men,” only a very powerful king could make such a request.

Magician or enchanter or Chaldean: here the text has only three of the four terms found in verse 2. The word for “sorcerer” should therefore be omitted here. Of course, if they were combined in verse 2, there will be no way to make this distinction here.

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 .