Said: literally “answering said.” See verse 5. Since what follows is a question in this case, it may be advisable to follow the model of Revised English Bible and use the verb “asked….”

Whose name was Belteshazzar: see 1.7. Since this is a second name, the translation may well add a word like “also” (compare Good News Translation and New International Version). Another possibility is to follow the Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch model by saying something like “whose Babylonian name was Belteshazzar.” Or in some cases translators may prefer to say “whose other name was Belteshazzar.”

Are you able…?: the king’s question is not simply a request for information. It is more likely an expression of serious doubt. For this reason it has been suggested that a good translation may add the word “really” (compare New Jerusalem Bible and Bible en français courant), which better expresses this element of doubt. New Jerusalem Bible has “Can you really make known…?”

The dream that I have seen and its interpretation: instead of using the nouns dream and interpretation, it will be better in some languages to change these into verbal expressions, as in Good News Translation. But it is important to maintain the two distinct ideas of (a) the content of the dream and (b) its significance.

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 .