And now: this transition is frequently used at the opening of a new thought or a new section. Here it marks the beginning of Daniel’s supplication, or appeal for mercy, following his confession in verses 5-14. In some languages a paragraph break may serve to communicate the same meaning. An identical transition is used at the beginning of verse 17, but in that case it seems to mark a less prominent transition.

Who didst bring thy people out of the land of Egypt: this is a reminder of the single most dramatic evidence of God’s mercy to the people of Israel. A new act of deliverance would not only free the Jews again, but would also be a vindication of God’s own reputation (see verse 19).

With a mighty hand: as seen elsewhere in Daniel and other books of the Old Testament, the hand stands for power, and it is often better translated in this way. Compare 2.38 and 3.15.

Hast made thee a name: that is, God gained a good reputation among people. New Jerusalem Bible has “winning fame for Yourself.” Another way of stating this is “you made your name known to many peoples.”

As at this day: the idea here is that, even up to the time that the writer penned these words, people remembered and spoke of God’s intervention. Good News Translation attempts to convey this by concluding the sentence with “is still remembered.” Revised English Bible has “winning for yourself a name that lives on to this day.”

Sinned … done wickedly: the two verbs (the same as the first and third in the list found in verse 5 above) are not intended to describe two different actions. Rather they are expressions more or less the same in meaning and describing essentially the same event. In many languages it may be more natural to begin the last sentence of this verse with a contrastive conjunction like “but.” The first part of the verse speaks of people remembering the powerful display of God’s deliverance from Egypt, while commission of sin in the second part surely stands in contrast with such remembrance.

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 .