Therefore: the corresponding Aramaic word originally meant “Because of all that,” indicating a cause and effect relationship. But the expression came to be used more loosely and in a general sense. New Jerusalem Bible, New English Bible, and An American Translation use the English word “Accordingly.” New American Bible, New International Version, and Moffatt translate “So.”

Signed: the Aramaic verb here (and in verse 8) may mean “sign” or possibly more generally “write” (see “inscribed” in 5.24-25). Here and in the previous verse, the more restricted sense “to sign” is more appropriate, since it is difficult to imagine the king himself actually writing the decree.

The document and interdict: note that once again the two nouns refer to one directive. If there is a danger that readers will misunderstand two terms joined by the conjunction “and” as referring to two different things, then these two terms should be translated by a single word, as in Good News Translation and Revised English Bible.

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 .