Said: literally “answered saying.” In many languages it may be better to use the verb “asked,” since a question follows.

The king’s captain: the meaning is the same as “the captain of the king’s guard” in the previous verse, and this may therefore be considered redundant in some languages.

Why…?: the original uses direct discourse here, but in some languages indirect discourse may be preferred in this context (see Good News Translation). Translators must use whichever model is best suited to their own language.

So severe: or “so brutal,” “so harsh,” “so cruel.” If direct discourse is being used, the question may be rephrased: “What is the reason for such a harsh order from the king.”

Made the matter known to Daniel: there are probably a number of different ways of expressing the idea here; for example, “told Daniel what it was all about,” or “explained the whole affair,” or simply “explained everything” (New 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 .

Gave Daniel high honors: literally “made Daniel great.” But the Aramaic verb denotes a position of honor rather than of political power. The question of political power is dealt with later in the verse.

Many great gifts: the use of the two adjectives suggests respectively the quantity and the quality of the presents given.

Made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon: literally “caused him to rule….” While the original has only one verb here, it is applied to two distinct positions. Daniel is firstly made ruler over the province of Babylon, and he is also made chief prefect, or superintendent, over the entire group of royal advisors. The term used here should fit the term that occurs in 3.2; see comments there.

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 has seemed good to me: or “It pleases me.” Moffatt perhaps captures the flavor a bit better with “It is my royal pleasure….” Another way of saying this in some languages may be “I thought it would be a good idea to describe….” Note that New Revised Standard Version has modified the word order by placing this part at the end of the verse: “… I am pleased to recount.”

Signs and wonders: although two different Aramaic words are used here, there was probably no thought of two separate and distinct kinds of happenings. The two terms may be adequately translated as “wonderful miracles” (Anchor Bible) or “miraculous signs.” In many languages it is not unnatural to use two different terms to speak of a single kind of event. An additional reason for translating by two distinct terms is the fact that the same two terms are used again in the poetic setting of the following verse as seemingly separate items. The corresponding Hebrew phrase containing two words can be found in Exo 7.3; Deut 4.34; 6.22; and Isa 8.18 (“signs and portents”). And a similar pair of words is found frequently in the New Testament (Mark 13.22 and John 4.48, for example).

Most High God: see 3.26.

Has wrought toward me: the English of Revised Standard Version is archaic and the Good News Translation rendering “has shown me” may be subject to misunderstanding. The verb here seems to speak of things actually done and not just shown to Nebuchadnezzar. Anchor Bible renders this expression “has performed in my regard,” which is quite similar to New International Version “has performed for me.” New Revised Standard Version gives a revision of Revised Standard Version: “has worked for me.”

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 .

I, Nebuchadnezzar: the text now returns to the first person account of the king, as in verses 4-18.

At the end of the days: this phrase indicates that the time mentioned in verses 16, 23, 25, and 32 had come to an end. A literal translation of days may in many cases give the wrong idea of the length of time involved. Moffatt has “When the time was over,” and Revised English Bible “At the end of the appointed time.” But it is probably better in many languages to translate “When the seven years had passed,” as in Good News Translation.

Lifted my eyes to heaven: that is, toward God in heaven. The translation does not necessarily have to use the name of God here, but it should certainly not limit itself to indicating a simple gesture of looking up at the sky. It should suggest a change in the attitude of the king toward God.

My reason returned to me: since it may not be natural to make reason the subject of a verb like returned, translators may consider “I returned to my right mind” (New English Bible), “I was restored to my right mind” (Revised English Bible), or something similar. Languages usually have a variety of ways of speaking of sanity and insanity. Translators should look for the most natural equivalent to speak of a return to sanity.

In this verse the pagan king breaks forth in another hymn of praise to the God of Daniel (compare 4.1-3). It will be important for translators to render what follows as poetry, if this is can be done in their language. There is, however, some disagreement with regard to the precise place where the actual hymn begins. Most versions, however, take the first half of this verse as a kind of introductory statement and consider the hymn as starting with the words his dominion ….

Blessed the Most High: on this name for God, see 3.26 and 4.2. In many languages the verb “to bless” is not appropriate in this context, since blessing is something that can only be done by a superior to an inferior. The meaning here is quite similar to praised and honored in the next phrase but may also be rendered “thanked” as in Bible en français courant. The cumulative effect of using a number of different words having approximately the same meaning is important. So different terms should be found if at all possible.

The parallelism of the last part of this verse (“dominion” = “kingdom” and “everlasting” = “from generation to generation”) recalls the very similar wording in verse 3.

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 .

Then: see comments on this same transition word in verse 13. Here Good News Translation translates “Immediately.”

Commanded …: since many languages will require an object following this verb, it will be good to follow the model of Good News Translation and clearly say “his servants.”

Was clothed: if “servants” have been clearly mentioned as the object of the previous verb, the pronoun “they” can be used as the subject of this one and will refer back to the servants: “and they dressed Daniel…”; or in other cases the Good News Translation use of the infinitive may be a good model.

Purple, a chain of gold: see verses 7 and 16.

Proclamation was made: the implied agent of this action is clearly King Belshazzar. Where necessary this may be made explicit. Since the king has already been mentioned by name in the verse, a simple pronoun, or possibly “the king” (without the proper name), will be adequate in most languages.

The discrepancy between Daniel’s statement that he would not accept the rewards (verse 17) and his eventual acceptance of them can probably be explained by the insistence of King Belshazzar. But this should not concern the translator.

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 .

Daniel said: literally, “answered and said.” This begins the direct quotation from Daniel in the original. However, if first person pronouns have been used from the beginning of this chapter, as in Good News Translation, these words will be redundant and should be omitted. On the other hand, if it is natural to do so, the form of the original may be followed, retaining the third person up to this point.

Behold: this particle is frequently used where visions are involved. See comments on 2.31; 4.10, 13.

The four winds of heaven: a literal rendering of this expression will probably be unnatural in most languages. The figure four is a reference to the cardinal points of a compass: north, south, east, and west. In some cases the number four will be meaningless or will distract from the real meaning. In those cases it may be better to speak of “all directions” as in Good News Translation.

Stirring up: other versions use verbs like “churning up” or “agitated.” In some languages it will be more natural to use a causative form of a verb meaning “to mix up.” New Century Version offers another possible model using a separate sentence: “these winds made the sea very rough.”

The great sea: while the expression “Great Sea” is sometimes used in the Old Testament to refer to the Mediterranean (see, for example, Num 34.6), this is not the case here. The definite article may therefore be misleading. Probably no particular body of water is intended, since this is a vision. It is more likely a reference to the ocean that covered the earth at the time of creation. What is important in translation is to convey the notion of the vastness of this sea.

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: that is, the goat. In some languages the noun may have to be used instead of the pronoun.

With the two horns: since this information has already been given in verse 3, it can be omitted here (as in Good News Translation). However, unless it is really unnatural to repeat the information, it may be a good idea to retain it to emphasize the symbolic importance of the two horns.

River: or better “canal,” if the translator’s language has such a word. See comments on verse 2.

In his mighty wrath: some other renderings are “with impetuous force” (New English Bible/Revised English Bible), “in the full force of its fury” (New Jerusalem Bible), “with savage force” (New American 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 .

All Israel: that is, all the people of Israel.

Turned aside: see verse 5. The verb is used here in parallel with transgressed (violated or broken).

Thy law: the use of the singular to refer to the whole range of God’s commands may be natural in some languages, but in others the plural form will be required.

Obey thy voice: see verse 10 on the expression as a whole. And note the comment in the previous verses on the pronoun usage and on the terms “listen” and “obey.”

The curse and oath: this is another case of the figure of speech where two Hebrew nouns joined by “and” are used to convey a single idea. It has been rendered “the sworn malediction” (New American Bible, Anchor Bible), “the curse embodied in the oath” (An American Translation), and “the curse … which was solemnly threatened” (Moffatt). Since the terms curse and oath are singular in the Hebrew, the Good News Translation plural “curses” may be seen as a translation of both. Many languages will not have two different terms to use here that have approximately the same meaning. On the curses referred to, see Deut 27.14-26 and 28.15-68.

Which are written in the law of Moses: since the passive form may be troublesome to some translators, this may be rendered “which the Law of Moses talks about,” “which the Law of Moses describes,” or possibly even “which we can read in the Law of Moses.”

The servant of God: or “your servant, O God,” which will probably be more natural in the context of this prayer. Compare verse 6, where the prophets are also specifically described as God’s servants.

Have been poured out upon us: this is obviously figurative language. The image of pouring curses may not be at all natural in many languages. In English it has been rendered “rained down on us” (Revised English Bible) and “vented on us” (Moffatt), but these are still figurative and may not be helpful in other languages. In some cases translators may prefer to say “caused to fall on us” or simply “made happen to us.”

The whole second sentence of this verse can possibly be restructured as follows: “So because of our disobedience, you have caused us to receive the curses that are described in the Law of Moses, your servant.”

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 .