dancing, shaking, trembling

The interconfessional Chichewa translation (publ. 1999) uses the ideophone njenjenje (“shake-shake”) to emphasize movements like trembling, dancing, or shaking in these verses. (Source: Wendland 1998, p. 105)

Ideophones are a class of sound symbolic words expressing human sensation that are used as literary devices in many African languages. (Source: Philip Noss)

Daniel

The term that is transliterated as “Daniel” in English means “judge of God (i.e., one who delivers judgment in the name of God,” “my judge is God.” (Source: Cornwall / Smith 1997 )

In American Sign Language it is translated with the sign for the letter D and for “lion,” referring to the story in Daniel 6. (Source: Ruth Anna Spooner, Ron Lawer)


“Daniel” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor

In Hungarian Sign Language it is translated with a sign that refers to Daniel being cast into the lions’ den. (Source: Jenjelvi Biblia and HSL Bible Translation Group)


“Daniel” in Hungarian Sign Language (source )

In Swiss-German Sign Language it is translated with the sign for “prayer” that illustrates Daniel’s close relationship with God.


“Daniel” in Swiss-German Sign Language, source: DSGS-Lexikon biblischer Begriffe , © CGG Schweiz

For more information on translations of proper names with sign language see Sign Language Bible Translations Have Something to Say to Hearing Christians .

The following is a stained glass window depicting Daniel by Endre Odon Hevezi and Gyula Bajo from 1965 for the Debre Libanos Monastery, Oromia, Ethiopia:

Photo by Timothy A. Gonsalves, hosted by Wikimedia Commons under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license

Stained glass is not just highly decorative, it’s a medium which has been used to express important religious messages for centuries. Literacy was not widespread in the medieval and Renaissance periods and the Church used stained glass and other artworks to teach the central beliefs of Christianity. In Gothic churches, the windows were filled with extensive narrative scenes in stained glass — like huge and colorful picture storybooks — in which worshipers could ‘read’ the stories of Christ and the saints and learn what was required for their religious salvation. (Source: Victoria and Albert Museum )

See also Daniel.

Learn more on Bible Odyssey: Daniel in the Lions’ Den and Daniel .

complete verse (Daniel 10:11)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Daniel 10:11:

  • Kupsabiny: “Then that person said to me, ‘God loves you, Daniel. I have been sent to you so, stand up and listen attentively to what I am going to say to you.’ After he had spoken to me, I stood up while trembling.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “The angel said to me, "O Daniel, you are very precious to God, stand up and listen well to what I am about to tell you. For I have been sent here to you." When he had said this, I stood up, trembling.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “He said, ‘Daniel God loves you (sing.), [You (sing.)] stand-up and listen well/[lit. good] to what I will-say to you (sing.), for I was-sent here by God to you (sing.).’ When he said that, I stood-up shaking/trembling.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “The man said to me, ‘Daniel, God loves you very much. Stand up and listen to what I am going to say to you, because God sent me to you.’ When he said that, I stood up, but I was still trembling.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Daniel 10:11

He said to me: since the subject pronoun refers to the angel, it may be better in some languages to say this clearly, using a noun as in Good News Translation.

Man greatly beloved: this is very similar to the expression found in 9.23, but here the noun man is added. The meaning is that Daniel is a person considered very precious in God’s sight. The passive idea can mean loved by other people or loved by God, but in this context the latter is clearly much more likely. Good News Translation expresses it in an active way, and this will serve as a good model for many other languages.

The order of the commands has been changed in Good News Translation, and this also may be a good model in other languages. It is more natural that a person would be required to stand upright in order to be able to listen attentively (give heed to the words). Daniel’s attention is to be focused on what follows. For this reason Good News Translation says clearly “what I am going to say.”

Trembling: the root of this word is not the same as the one translated similarly and discussed under the previous verse. Nevertheless, if the idea of “trembling” is introduced earlier, then it may be more natural to say “still trembling” here, as 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 .