Chaldeans: compare verse 2. The translation should not give the impression that only one category of specialists mentioned in verse 2 came to speak to the king. Those addressing the king are actually spokesmen for the entire group. In some languages it may be possible, as in Good News Translation and Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch, to translate this by using the third person plural pronoun.

The words “in Aramaic” (Good News Translation) are found only in a footnote in Revised Standard Version, although they are included in parentheses in the text of New Revised Standard Version. They are also omitted by Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch and placed in the left margin by New Jerusalem Bible, because they are considered an editorial note added to the text. It is, in fact, at this point that the text of Daniel changes from Hebrew to Aramaic and continues thus to the end of chapter 7. However, it is also possible that these words were a part of the original text, because this is the beginning of a quotation from Aramaic-speaking people. Probably it is better to retain this in the translation, as has been done in New International Version, New Jerusalem Bible, and many others, as well as in Good News Translation. But in those translations where footnotes are being used, it may be advisable to explain the problem in more detail.

O king, live for ever!: the use of the vocative form O king … was the usual respectful way of addressing royalty in the Semitic languages, but this often sounds quite unnatural in translation. It is used more than twenty times in the next five chapters, and an effort should be made to find a natural equivalent in other languages. In English the most natural equivalent is probably “your majesty,” as in Good News Translation (and in most cases also in New English Bible and New Jerusalem Bible). But the receptor language may have a very different form of address to begin talking to a chief, a president, or some other very important person. Naturalness in the language should determine the form here; but it is likely that a literal rendering of “your majesty” will sound awkward.

The words live for ever are used to express the desire that the king will have a long life. While it is unnecessary to give a word-for-word translation, it is probably advisable to maintain the theme of “life” in whatever form is used. In English the most natural wording may be “Long live the king!” as in New English Bible/Revised English Bible. In other languages translators may something like “may the king remain (or continue)!” or “may the chief never die!”

Tell your servants the dream: the specialists are not asking that the king tell his dream to someone else (as his household servants, for example) but to them. Referring to themselves in the third person as servants is a way of showing respect and acknowledging their subordination to the king, as with Daniel and his companions in 1.12. But it is a mistake in most languages to translate this literally. It is usually much more natural to say simply “tell us your dream,” or perhaps retaining something of the form, “we are your servants. So tell us your dream….” In those languages distinguishing between inclusive and exclusive forms of the first person plural pronoun, the exclusive form should be used here.

These experts could not believe that the king was really demanding that they tell him the content of the dream. They understood him to be asking only for the interpretation. But the king’s response makes it clear that he was asking for both the content and the meaning.

Show the interpretation: the verb here translated show occurs at least eight times in this chapter and is used as a sort of technical term for revealing the unknown. New Revised Standard Version actually translates it using the English verb “reveal.” While the object of this verb is most often the word for “interpretation” as in this case, in verse 6 both “the dream and its interpretation” are objects. And in verse 28 the object is the word “mystery.” In some languages it will be more natural to use an expression like “cause to see the meaning….”

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 .

While this verse is a continuation of the sentence started in the previous verse, it is probably better to begin a new sentence here, as in Good News Translation.

Hand: as seen in 1.2, this word carries the idea of power or authority. According to Daniel, God had made Nebuchadnezzar the ruler of the known world. A literal translation of hand will therefore be unlikely to convey the meaning in many languages. Moffatt translates “into your power.”

Wherever they dwell: this expression emphasizes the all-inclusive scope of the king’s rule. Such a statement may fit more naturally at the end of the list that follows, rather than here at the beginning.

The sons of men: this Semitic expression refers to all of humanity, since the words “sons of…” merely indicate membership in a group (see 1.6). It is not limited either to the younger generation or to the male sex, as the word “sons” may suggest.

Beasts of the field: this refers to all the animals living on the earth, especially those wild animals that are not yet submissive to human domination as the domestic animals are. In certain languages the choice of the noun for beasts will make the words of the field unnecessary. Revised English Bible translates simply “wild animals.”

Birds of the air: this includes all birds. The words of the air will probably be unnecessary in most languages, since this is a Semiticism. The Greek version adds “and the fish of the sea,” which often follows “the birds of the air” in Scripture. But no version consulted adopts this reading.

The above list is intended to express the idea of the universal domination of the king over all creation and not merely over certain categories of beings. Translators are advised to avoid giving the impression of any restriction and should probably retain the three categories (human beings, animals, and birds).

Making you rule over them all: this should not suggest that the king is forced to rule against his will. In some languages it will be better to say “allowing you to rule over them all” or “giving you the right to rule….”

You are the head of gold: this corresponds to the first part of the dream in verse 32. To be clearly understood, it may be wise to reword this in some languages, saying “you are like the head of gold in the dream” or “that head of gold represents (or symbolizes, or stands for) you.”

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 .

Strict: the same word is translated “severe” in 2.15. In this context it indicates that the king’s order was firm and uncompromising. Many versions (New International Version, New American Bible, New Revised Standard Version, and New Jerusalem Bible) translate the word “urgent.” In some languages it may be necessary to say “the king’s command was strong.” Another possibility is “the king was very angry when he have his command” (New Century Version).

The flame of the fire: such an expression as this will be seen as redundant in some languages and should be translated simply as “flames” or “fire,” but not both.

Slew: in some cases a more general word such as “kill” will be preferred, but in others the context will require “burned up” or some other expression related to death by fire.

Since this verse begins with a kind of explanation of why the guards were burned up in the fire, it may be more natural to change the order of clauses in some languages. Another way of wording this may be something like “The guards who took the young men to the furnace were burned to death because the king had given very strict orders that the furnace be made extremely hot.” Or it may be advisable to divide the verse into two sentences, as follows: “Following the strict orders of the king, the furnace had been made as hot as possible. Therefore even the soldiers who had been ordered to throw Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego into the fire were burned up.”

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 .

Since this is again a kind of summary or conclusion, a paragraph break is made in Good News Translation and a number of other English versions. Such a break is also recommended to translators.

O king: see verse 22.

A decree: see verse 17.

The Most High: see comments on this term in verse 17.

My lord the king: as in 1.10, it may be more natural to translate this whole expression by a simple pronoun, as is done in 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 .

He gave him: in some cases it may be important to translate the pronoun he by the noun “God” to avoid possible confusion in the mind of the reader.

Peoples, nations, and languages: see 3.4, 7; 4.1.

Trembled and feared: these two terms are very similar in meaning and may have to be translated by a single verb in some languages.

Whom he would he slew: the New Revised Standard Version gives the same information in more common English word order and vocabulary: “He killed those he wanted to kill.”

Whom he would he kept alive: both the Revised Standard Version and the Good News Translation rendering “if he wanted to keep someone alive, he did” sounds as if the king may have been a great physician with exceptional healing powers, but this is not the meaning of the text. So this meaning should be avoided. It will be much better to say “allow to live” instead of “keep alive.” Another possibility is “spared whom he pleased” (New Jerusalem Bible).

Raised up … put down: the translation of these terms should not give the impression of physical lifting up and its opposite. Very often in Scripture these words are used in a figurative sense to speak of promotion and demotion, or of distinction and dishonor. This meaning is conveyed here by Good News Translation, “honored or disgraced.” New English Bible has “promoted … and … degraded,” and New American Bible reads “exalted or humbled.”

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 name Daniel occurs three different times in the first half of this verse. Such repetition may be awkward in many languages and can be reduced as in Good News Translation.

Cried out … and said: the use of both of these verbs may be redundant in certain languages, and the verbs can be reduced so that the first one is used exclusively: “shouted” or “called out.”

In a tone of anguish: some ancient translations have “in a loud voice.” But most follow the idea of anguish or sorrow: “anxiously” (New English Bible/Revised English Bible and New Revised Standard Version as well as Good News Translation), “in a sorrowful voice” (An American Translation), “in a mournful voice” (New Jerusalem Bible). One Aramaic lexicon says that the word means “sad.” It is clear in any case that the king was very distressed over the situation of Daniel.

The living God: this expression is used frequently in the New Testament (Matt 26.63; John 6.69; Heb 9.14, for example) and elsewhere in the Old Testament (Deut 5.26; Josh 3.10; 1 Sam 17.26). But in some languages this poses serious problems, since the descriptive term living is considered unnecessarily redundant.

Serve continually …: see verse 16, where the same terms are used, except for from the lions.

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 .

Ten kings shall arise: on the verb arise see verse 17 and comments. It will be essential in most languages to indicate clearly whether these ten kings are seen as ruling at the same time or as coming in succession one after the other. Bible en français courant translates “will succeed each other.” Another possible model is “ten kings will rule over that empire one after the other.”

And: the connection between the reign of the ten kings and the eleventh should be more clearly established. This may be done by shifting the words after them forward to the beginning of the sentence about the eleventh king. Or the sentence can be started with “then.”

Another: it will be important in the translation to make it clear that this is another king. And some may even prefer to say “an eleventh king,” as in Bible en français courant.

Shall put down three kings: it should also be made clear that the three kings referred to here are three of the ten kings mentioned earlier. So this should probably be translated “shall put down three of them” or “shall defeat three of those kings.”

Historically this text may be applied quite well to Antiochus IV Epiphanes (175-164 B.C.), who followed a succession of rulers of the Seleucid dynasty and took control only after doing away with several rivals for royal power. This information may be put in a footnote, but it should not be included in the text of the apocalyptic vision.

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 first year of Darius: literally “in the year one of Darius.” It is understood that this is talking about the first year of the reign of Darius. Since this information is repeated at the beginning of verse 2, it may be left out in one of the two places. Good News Translation elects to omit it here and also slightly restructures the remaining elements. This may be a suitable model for other languages to follow.

According to some commentators the king already named in 5.31 and in chapter 6 is here distinguished from Darius Hystaspes, who began to rule in 522 B.C. and is mentioned in Ezra 4.24. Others point out that Darius may be an old Iranian title rather than a proper name. But the translator is required to translate the text as it stands.

Ahasuerus: this is the Hebrew equivalent of the better known Greek name “Xerxes.” The Greek form of the name is used in several modern translations including Good News Translation, New International Version, An American Translation, and Moffatt, as well as in the ancient Greek version. New Jerusalem Bible, however, has “Artaxerxes.” It is recommended that translators use the Greek form “Xerxes” as the basis for transliteration into other languages, since it is better known by people who have studied this history of the area.

Secular history indicates that King Xerxes of Persia was the son of Darius I of Persia. This has given rise to much speculation about the precise identification of the person referred to here. But translators need not try to solve all these problems of identification.

By birth a Mede: literally “of the race of the Medes.” These words stress the ethnic background of the Darius under discussion. And in most languages there should be little difficulty in finding a natural equivalent.

Became king: literally “was made king” as in New Jerusalem Bible. Revised English Bible has “was appointed ruler.” Because this is the only case in biblical Hebrew where this particular verb form is used, some scholars have felt that the text must be corrected to say became king, as in Revised Standard Version and most other versions. The essential meaning of the two forms is, however, the same. And in languages where the passive is impossible, translators will have to say “became king” in any case. Most translators should not worry about this slight difference.

The realm of the Chaldeans: as in 1.4; 3.8; 5.30, the term Chaldeans refers to the better-known “Babylonians” and should be so translated.

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 .