They said: literally “They spoke and said…” (see comments on “answered and said” in 2.5).

O king, live for ever: accepted custom of the time required that any address to the king began with this formula. It is identical with that discussed under 2.4.

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 .