10Although Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he continued to go to his house, which had windows in its upper room open toward Jerusalem, and to get down on his knees three times a day to pray to his God and praise him, just as he had done previously.
The name that is transliterated as “Jerusalem” in English is signed in French Sign Language with a sign that depicts worshiping at the Western Wall in Jerusalem:
While a similar sign is also used in British Sign Language, another, more neutral sign that combines the sign “J” and the signs for “place” is used as well. (Source: Anna Smith)
“Jerusalem” in British Sign Language (source: Christian BSL, used with permission)
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)
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 )
“beg” or “ask,” (full expression: “ask with one’s heart coming out,” which leaves out selfish praying, for asking with the heart out leaves no place for self to hide) (Tzotzil)
“raise up one’s words to God” (implying an element of worship, as well as communication) (Miskito, Lacandon) (source of this and all above: Bratcher / Nida)
“speak to God” (Shilluk) (source: Nida 1964, p. 237)
“talk together with Great Above One (=God)” (Mairasi) (source: Enggavoter, 2004)
“beg” (waan) (Ik). Terrill Schrock (in Wycliffe Bible Translators 2016, p. 93) explains (click or tap here to read more):
What do begging and praying have to do with each other? Do you beg when you pray? Do I?
“The Ik word for ‘visitor’ is waanam, which means ‘begging person.’ Do you beg when you go visiting? The Ik do. Maybe you don’t beg, but maybe when you visit someone, you are looking for something. Maybe it’s just a listening ear.
When the Ik hear that [my wife] Amber and I are planning trip to this or that place for a certain amount of time, the letters and lists start coming. As the days dwindle before our departure, the little stack of guests grows. ‘Please, sir, remember me for the allowing: shoes, jacket (rainproof), watch, box, trousers, pens, and money for the children. Thank you, sir, for your assistance.’
“A few people come by just to greet us or spend bit of time with us. Another precious few will occasionally confide in us about their problems without asking for anything more than a listening ear. I love that.
“The other day I was in our spare bedroom praying my list of requests to God — a nice list covering most areas of my life, certainly all the points of anxiety. Then it hit me: Does God want my list, or does he want my relationship?
“I decided to try something. Instead of reading off my list of requests to God, I just talk to him about my issues without any expectation of how he should respond. I make it more about our relationship than my list, because if our personhood is like God’s personhood, then maybe God prefers our confidence and time to our lists, letters, and enumerations.”
In Luang it is translated with different shades of meaning (click or tap here to read more):
For Acts 1:14, 20:36, 21:5: kola ttieru-yawur nehla — “hold the waist and hug the neck.” (“This is the more general term for prayer and often refers to worship in prayer as opposed to petition. The Luang people spend the majority of their prayers worshiping rather than petitioning, which explains why this term often is used generically for prayer.”)
For Acts 28:9: sumbiani — “pray.” (“This term is also used generically for ‘prayer’. When praying is referred to several times in close proximity, it serves as a variation for kola ttieru-yawur nehla, in keeping with Luang discourse style. It is also used when a prayer is made up of many requests.”)
For Acts 8:15, 12:5: polu-waka — “call-ask.” (“This is a term for petition that is used especially when the need is very intense.”)
Source: Kathy Taber in Notes on Translation 1/1999, p. 9-16.
Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Daniel 6:10:
Kupsabiny: “When Daniel learned that the law had been signed, he went to his room upstairs. That room had windows facing Jerusalem. Daniel knelt next to those open windows and prayed the same way he always did. He worshiped God three times every day giving him thanks.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
Newari: “Knowing that the decree had been signed, Daniel went home. The window of the upstairs room of his house looked toward Jerusalem. Then, as he had always done before, looking out that window he knelt down three times a day before God, gave thanks and prayed.” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
Hiligaynon: “When- Daniel -knew that the king had-signed, he went-home. In the upstairs room of the house of Daniel, there (were) windows facing Jerusalem. There he kneeled, prayed and thank to his God three times a day, according to his custom.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
English: “But when I found out that the king had written and signed that law, I went home. I knelt down in my upstairs room and prayed. I looked toward Jerusalem, and the windows were open with the result that everyone could see me while I was praying. I prayed three times each day, just as I always did, thanking God.” (Source: Translation for Translators)
When Daniel knew: the word translated When in Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation may be better rendered as in New American Bible and Anchor Bible, “Even after.” New Revised Standard Version renders it “Although.” If this example is followed, then the verb “to know” is logical; but if the translator follows the majority in translating When, then the subsequent verb is better rendered “learned” (New Jerusalem Bible, New English Bible/Revised English Bible) or “heard” (New Jerusalem Bible and New American Bible), or possibly “found out.”
That the document had been signed: the passive will have to be translated “that the king had signed the document” in many languages.
Went to his house: the verb here literally means “entered.” But since Daniel had surely come from his house before the event described here, some languages will require “went back to his house” or “returned home.”
Upper chamber: the idea of an upstairs room such as this may be difficult to communicate in some cultures. In those areas of the world where such multistory construction is traditionally unknown, unconventional expressions have developed. Some examples are “room on top of a room” or “room on top of the house.”
Open toward Jerusalem: the Aramaic verb does not necessarily mean that the windows were actually open when Daniel arrived at the house, but rather that when they were opened it was possible to look out in the direction of Jerusalem. New Jerusalem Bible captures the idea well with “windows made facing Jerusalem.” Compare also New Jerusalem Bible “faced toward Jerusalem” and New English Bible “looking toward Jerusalem.” But it is clear that later, when Daniel was praying, the windows were open, because his enemies could observe him praying. It is important that translators show clearly that Daniel got down upon his knees so that there is obvious physical evidence of his praying that could be observed by others. Certain languages may possibly say something like “assumed the position of prayer.”
Prayed and gave thanks before his God: while neither of the two verbs used here is identical to what is forbidden in verse 8, it is clear that this is taken as a violation of the order. The first word comes from a root meaning to “bow,” and the second conveys the idea of offering praise.
As he had done previously: the Revised Standard Version wording may seem to indicate something that Daniel had done only once or relatively infrequently in the past, but this is not the meaning. It was his usual custom to pray three times a day in this position. Some may wish to say something like “as was his custom” (Revised English Bible) or “as he had the habit of doing.” And in other languages the form of the verb will convey the habitual 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 .
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