Verses 20-23 constitute the first of four brief passages that may be classified as hymns of praise. The others are found at 4.3; 4.34-35; and 6.26-27. Since these are in a rather special, poetic type of language in the original, they should be rendered as poetry insofar as this is possible and natural in the translation. Good News Translation and many other modern versions set these verses off in poetic format to highlight their special character. The same devices used in translating the Psalms and other poetic passages should also be applied to these passages.
The poem in this chapter begins with the pronouncement of a “blessing” on God (compare Psa 113.2 and Job 1.21). The sense of the poem is the acknowledgment of God’s greatness or the giving of praise and honor to him. Note that the two elements of this verse have been reordered in Good News Translation, giving the reason for the praise before actually offering praises. This should be considered in the receptor language before deciding which is most natural. Note also that Good News Translation omits the words Daniel said at the beginning of this verse because they are redundant.
Blessed be: On the verb “to bless,” see the comments in the previous verse. Here the verb is used in a passive form that will have to be made active in other languages. In many cases it will be natural to say something like “Praise be to…,” or we may be forced to say “Let people praise…” or “Let us thank….”
The name of God: the use of expressions like the name of God for God himself is a common Semitic style that keeps a certain distance between the human and the divine. This was done out of a sense of respectful submission to God. But the expression actually means simply “God” and should probably be translated this way in most languages. If there are special means of showing respect for God in the receptor language, they should be considered in this context.
For ever and ever: literally “from eternity to eternity.” Revised English Bible and New Revised Standard Version render this “from age to age.” Another possible translation might be “Let people never cease praising God…,” incorporating the idea of for ever and ever in the verb phrase “let people never cease….”
To whom belong wisdom and might: the order of this phrase may well be reversed in some languages, making wisdom and might the subject of the verb “own” or “possess,” as in “wisdom and might are owned by God…,” or “wisdom and power belong to him (God).” But it may be better to restructure the whole statement by saying something like “God is the possessor of wisdom and power. Praise him (his name) eternally.” This is essentially the same as the Good News Translation solution which is even simpler from the point of view of structure.
In verses 20-22 Daniel speaks of God in the third person singular (“he” and “him”), while in verse 23 he addresses God directly in the second person singular, “you” (“thee” and “thou” in the archaic English of the King James Version, and preserved by Revised Standard Version when God is addressed). If this grammatical change of person is not clumsy in the language, it may be retained. However, in most cases it is probably better to put everything in the second person (as in Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch) or in the third person. In most English versions the pronoun shift seems to present no particular problem.
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 .