Sent to assemble: New English Bible supplies the missing piece of information: “sent out a summons to assemble.” Another possibility is “sent messengers out to order … to come together.” In some languages it will be simpler and more natural to say “called together,” or there may be a special word for “summoned.”
As has already been noted, the writer of this book is especially fond of lists. The list of officials found here is repeated word for word in verse 3, but at the end of the chapter (verse 27), it is limited to the first three officials, with the addition of a fourth group called “the king’s counselors.” In this verse the fact that the conjunction and is used only before the third term seems to set apart the first two kinds of officials as being of higher rank than the others. The translation should therefore probably be worded in such a way as to separate out the two main groups or categories. This can be done by naming the first two kinds of officials and then saying something like “there were also…” or “he also called…,” and then listing the others.
The satraps, the prefects, and the governors: while the exact meaning of the terms is debatable, it seems that these three are given in descending order of importance. The satraps were in charge of the main divisions of the empire; the prefects were high officials responsible directly to the satraps; and the governors were heads of the subdivisions within the main divisions. Translators should think of the very highest officials under the president himself and use the terms for these officials in the order of their influence or political importance.
Counselors … treasurers … justices … magistrates: the meaning of these four terms for the lesser officials is less certain. If it is impossible to find four different terms, the number can be reduced. However, if it can be avoided, it is probably not advisable to adopt the solution of Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, where the entire list is summed up in one term; this would remove an element that is characteristic of the Book of Daniel. In the second group of officials, translators may consider the local equivalents for “elders,” “keepers of the treasury (or money),” “judges,” “subchiefs,” and “police officers.”
And all the officials: this phrase is not to be seen as an eighth category, but rather it serves as a summary of what goes before. Instead of the conjunction and, some have proposed something like “in short, all the officials…,” or “that is to say…,” or “that means….”
Dedication: this word comes from a root that means “begin” or “initiate.” The actual word is the same as used in the English name for the present day Jewish Festival of Dedication, or “Hanukkah,” which celebrates the reestablishment of Temple worship after the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes. In addition to the occurrences here and in the following verse, it also appears in the Aramaic portion of Ezra (6.16, 17), and the corresponding Hebrew term is found eight times (in Num 7.84; Neh 12.27; 2 Chr 7.9, for example). It is mentioned in the New Testament in John 10.22. In some languages it may be best translated “the celebration to begin the worship (of the image).”
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 .