Let his mind be changed: literally the text speaks of the “heart” being changed (compare King James Version). But the “heart” here is to be understood as the seat of the intelligence. Therefore the translation mind is justified in English. In other languages, however, it may be perfectly acceptable to retain “heart” in this context, or to use some other organ thought of as being the seat of intelligence. This, of course, is not to be understood as a “heart transplant” or a “brain transplant” in which the king literally receives the organ of an animal. Rather, he will act as if he is being driven by the mind of an animal.

Let seven times pass over him: the oldest and most common interpretation of the seven times is that seven years is intended. The use of the word for “time” as “year” is peculiar to Daniel (compare 4.23, 25, 32; 7.25; 12.7), but it is well established. So it is probably best in most languages to translate “years” here. Note also that Good News Translation has restructured this verse and placed the time element at the beginning of the sentence.

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 .