The mystery was revealed: on the word for mystery, see the verse above. Also, the passive form was revealed will have to be made active in some cases. Since the context clearly shows that it was God who revealed the meaning of the dream, it will be possible to translate “Then God revealed (or uncovered, or made known) the mystery to Daniel….”

A vision of the night: some translations give the impression that this was a mere dream (see Bible en français courant), but the Aramaic word is different from the one for “dream” in verses 4 and 5. Most modern English versions retain the word vision and so apparently maintain the distinction between a simple dream and a special revelation from God. In this context the words of the night seem to mean “that very night.” Good News Translation makes this clear with “that same night.”

Blessed: the Aramaic verb so translated may be used either of a superior to an inferior or of an inferior towards his superior. But the meaning is quite different in these two cases. When God or a superior person “blesses” someone, the meaning is that he “does good to,” “grants his favor to,” or “confers benefit on” the person. But if a person of lesser status is said in Aramaic or Hebrew to “bless” a king or to “bless” God, the meaning is rather to “honor,” “give praise to,” or “acknowledge the greatness of” the superior person. In this case Daniel is said to have blessed the God of heaven. So the meaning is clearly “praised” (New International Version as well as Good News Translation). In certain languages it may be necessary to resort to an expression like “say good things about the God of heaven” or “tell how good the God of heaven is.”

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 .