O king: see 2.4.

Let my counsel be acceptable to you: the translation should make it clear that the advice being talked about is found in the words that follow. In some cases this can be made clear by the use of a colon to introduce the actual advice. In others it will be better to say “please comply with this (following) advice,” “I beg you to accept what I am about to say,” or simply “take my advice” (New American Bible and Anchor Bible).

Break off your sins by practicing righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the oppressed: once again the parallel structure of the original is driving at a single point. The verb break off carries over to the second part, where your iniquities is parallel to your sins in the first part. It may be difficult to find two different words for sins and iniquities that are natural in some languages. Also, practicing righteousness and showing mercy are roughly equivalent, although the addition of to the oppressed is an important new element. Where the resources of the language permit, these items should be distinguished. It will be noted that a Good News Translation footnote indicates that this whole phrase may possibly be translated “Make up for your sins by doing what is right and by being merciful to the poor,” or as New Revised Standard Version has it, “atone for your sins with righteousness.” But this interpretation is not recommended. Also the translation of the oppressed by “the poor” in Good News Translation is not recommended, since it will very likely carry different connotations.

Perhaps: the Aramaic text is not as strongly affirmative as the Good News Translation rendering would suggest; and the element of doubt conveyed by this particle should be retained in translation. Revised English Bible begins a new sentence for the last part of this verse: “It may be that you will enjoy long contentment.”

A lengthening of your tranquility: the word translated tranquility has a somewhat broader meaning. It is perhaps more accurately rendered “prosperity” (New Revised Standard Version, New American Bible, and Moffatt, as well as Good News Translation).

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 .

Presidents: it will be advisable in many languages to begin a new sentence here in order to simplify the structure and make the meaning clearer. The one hundred and twenty satraps, or “governors” (Good News Translation), were in turn managed or presided over by three higher officers, one of whom was Daniel. The equivalent for the word presidents may not be suitable in many languages, because it would be unthinkable that there could be more than one president in the country. This term has been translated “chief ministers” by Revised English Bible. These three, in turn, were answerable to the king. Another way of wording this is “He also appointed three higher officials to watch over the work of these governors … and Daniel was one of these three,” placing the statement about Daniel at the very end of the verse.

Suffer no loss: the idea here is that the three overseers would guarantee the supervision of the king’s affairs so that he would not have to worry. In some languages it may be possible to say something similar to the New Jerusalem Bible rendering, “in order that the king not be troubled.” Revised English Bible, however, translates “so that the king’s interests might not suffer.”

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 .

After this I looked: a literal rendering of these words may give the reader the impression that Daniel had not been looking previously. But the sense is rather “After seeing that I looked again” or “While I was still looking.” New Revised Standard Version has “As I watched,” while Revised English Bible has “As I gazed.”

And lo: this is the same particle that is translated “behold” in verses 2 and 5. It will be necessary to leave it untranslated in some languages. But where a language has a similar particle for directing the attention of the hearer, it may be used here.

Like a leopard: the precise identification of this animal is uncertain. The experts are not in complete agreement as to whether this refers to a leopard or to a panther. Most English versions have “leopard,” but since this is a comparison in a vision, the precise identification of “panther” or “leopard” is probably of no great importance.

With four wings of a bird on its back: translators should be careful not to give the impression of four little bird wings resting unattached on the back of the animal. The intention of the writer was clearly that they were attached to and a part of the body of the animal, as was the case with the lion in verse 4. In the same way, the four heads should be understood as being firmly connected to the body of the beast.

Dominion was given to it: again, the passive form will have to be translated actively in many languages. This seems to be parallel in meaning to the expressions “standing like a man” in verse 4. The upright position is symbolic of power and dominion. But in this case the symbolism appears to be replaced by nonfigurative language. Dominion means the power or authority to rule over or impose its will on others; New International Version has “authority to rule,” and Revised English Bible “sovereign power.”

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 .

It grew great: this is the same verb as at the beginning of the previous verse, but there is no qualifying adverb here. The idea is that it grew so powerful that it was able to attack even to the host of heaven. For the translator the identification of the host of heaven presents serious problems. The answer to this question will determine the rendering of the rest of this verse. Many versions equate it with the stars that are mentioned immediately following. The host of the stars are introduced by a simple coordinating conjunction and therefore seem to be in apposition with the host of heaven. This will yield a translation like that of Good News Translation, “… the army of heaven, the stars themselves.” On the other hand New American Bible translates in such a way as to indicate two separate and distinct groups: “Its power extended to the host of heaven, so that it cast down to earth some of the host and some of the stars”; it then indicates in a footnote that the host of heaven “ordinarily meaning the stars, here refers to the people of God; cf 12,3.” The same kind of solution is adopted by Bible en français courant. Whichever solution is chosen, the translator must not say more than is necessary in the rendering given, and an explanatory note can give more ample information.

Cast down: see verse 7 above.

Trampled: other possible translations of this verb are “walked on” (New Century Version), or “stamped on” (Revised English Bible), or “crushed under foot.”

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 .

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 .

He: it will be better in many languages to translate the pronoun as “The king” or “The king himself,” making the subject of the verb clear.

Seduce: this verb may be translated literally “make hypocrites of” (see New Jerusalem Bible footnote). The idea is one of winning them over to the evil side. Some other renderings are “pervert” (Moffatt), “corrupt” (An American Translation), “make … apostatize” (New American Bible).

With flattery: literally “with smoothness (or slipperiness).” Compare verse 21.

Those who violate the covenant: this expression represents a Hebrew participle used to describe people who act with treachery, and the noun for covenant or agreement. It has to do with those who do not honor their own word and do not respect agreements. In this case it refers to Jewish people who no longer honored the agreement of their people with God.

The people who know their God: this is in contrast with the previously mentioned group, who have abandoned their relationship with God. The verb know emphasizes not merely an intellectual knowledge of a subject, but an intimate personal and positive relationship. In some languages translators may wish to say “those who are close to their God,” “those who remain loyal to their God” (New American Bible), or “the people devoted to their God” (New Jerusalem Bible).

Stand firm and take action: the first verb speaks of someone maintaining a position, while the second focuses on active resistance. The action is taken by New English Bible and Good News Translation to mean “fighting back.” New International Version translates the two verbs together: “will firmly resist him.”

Antiochus IV knew how to use promises and threats at the same time. He mercilessly persecuted those who remained faithful to the religion of their ancestors, and he promised rewards to those who would renounce it.

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 .

The chief of the eunuchs: see verse 3 above.

Gave them names: a literal translation of this phrase sounds strange in English. Normally names are given to persons or things that do not have any. If they already have names, then we more naturally say “renamed them,” “gave them new names,” “added more names to them,” or “gave them different names.” This explains the renderings of Good News Translation and Revised English Bible. It is possible also to say “gave them Babylonian names” (as in the German common language version [Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch]). To give a new name to someone was a way of showing that the person giving the name had authority over the other person. It may be possible in some cases to state this explicitly in order to avoid misunderstanding. For example, we may say “To show that they were under his authority, the chief officer gave them new names:….”

Belteshazzar: this name that was given to Daniel should be carefully distinguished from the name of the king “Belshazzar” in chapter 5. The two names are different in the original languages but were transcribed in the same way in the Greek versions of Daniel. For purposes of instruction it will be wise to distinguish these two names, both in the way they are spelled and in the way they are pronounced. This will make it possible for Bible students to avoid confusing the two different persons.

He called …: note that this expression is repeated four times in Revised Standard Version. This does not reflect the Hebrew original and is probably unnecessary in most other languages. The original does, however, clearly show which new name corresponds to which old name. This may be lost in some languages if Good News Translation is followed too closely.

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 .