OET interlinear DAN 1:8

1:8a

But: The Hebrew conjunction that the BSB translates as But here indicates a contrast between what the king planned in 1:5a and what Daniel decided to do. However, the two verses are separated by other information. In some languages there may be a different way of contrasting ideas that are not immediately next to each other. Indicate this contrast in a way that is natural in your language.

Daniel made up his mind: The Hebrew expression that the BSB translates as made up his mind is literally “set in his heart.” This is an idiom. It means to make a firm decision. Some ways to say this in English are:

Daniel determined (REB)

Daniel made up his mind (GNT)

Daniel decided (CEV)

he would not defile himself: The Hebrew verb that the BSB translates as defile himself refers here to religious defilement. A Jewish person became defiled when he came into contact with anything impure and forbidden by the Law of Moses. A person who was defiled was considered ritually unclean. He could not worship God with the rest of the community.

Scholars are not certain why Daniel believed that eating the king’s food would defile him. Jewish laws forbade them to eat certain foods, such as the meat of pigs.For example, Leviticus 3:17; 11:1–47. See Collins, p. 142. He explains that “Daniel’s objection to the royal food is in the spirit of the biblical laws insofar as it is concerned with purity and defilement, even though it goes beyond the specific prohibitions of the Torah.” The Babylonians, however, cooked and ate such foods.For example, the Babylonians ate pork and horse meat (Baldwin, p. 83), but according to Jewish law it was taboo to eat the flesh of these animals. The Jews also required that all the blood be drained from meat (Lev. 17:10–14). However, Baldwin (p. 83) argues that there was no law against wine. Also, the Babylonians offered their food to idols. The servants probably offered the king’s food and wine to their Babylonian gods before they served it to the king.

Also, Daniel knew that if he ate the king’s food, it would imply that he agreed to obey the king and his policies. He believed that if he ate the king’s food, it would not please the one true God.

• Consider how to communicate the idea of religious impurity or defilement for your culture. In some languages it may be necessary to say something like:

  not to let himself become ritually unclean (GNT)

  to eat and drink only what God had approved for his people to eat (CEV)

Use an expression that communicates this idea in your language. Avoid expressions that people would apply only to the worship of pagan gods or spirits. You will probably need to check your translation carefully with different speakers to be sure you have communicated the correct idea.

with the king’s food or wine: This is almost the same expression that was used in 1:5a, and you should translate in a similar way here. See the notes on 1:5a. For example:

with the royal rations of food and wine (NRSV)

with the king’s food, or with the wine that he drank (ESV)

with the royal delicacies or the royal wine (NET)

1:8b

So he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself: Daniel asked Ashpenaz to excuse him from eating the king’s food and drinking the king’s wine. He said he did not want to make himself unclean by doing this. In some languages it may be natural to translate this as a separate sentence. For example:

He asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself by doing this.

So: The Hebrew conjunction that the BSB translates as So here introduces the result of 1:8a. Because Daniel had decided not to defile himself, he asked the chief official for permission not to eat the king’s food. Other ways to translate this include:

therefore (RSV)

and (NIV)

Express the connection in a natural way in your language.

he asked the chief official for permission not to defile himself: Daniel asked for permission not to do something. That is, he asked permission to avoid something. Other ways to translate this include:

He asked the chief of staff for permission not to eat these unacceptable foods (NLT)

he asked the chief official to excuse him from eating the defiling food (see REB)

he asked permission from the chief official to refrain from eating food that would make him unclean

asked: The Hebrew verb that the BSB translates as asked literally means “to seek.” Daniel was seeking permission to avoid something that he believed to be wrong or harmful.

the chief official: This expression is also used in 1:7a. See the note there. Here again it refers to Ashpenaz. In some languages it may be natural to make this explicit. Here is another way to translate this:

Ashpenaz (NCV)

not to defile himself: This is the same expression that was used in 1:8a. See the note there.

In some languages it may not be natural to repeat the expression in exactly the same way. If that is true in your language, you may be able to use a slightly different expression with the same meaning. For example:

not to make himself unclean in this way (NCV)

not to eat the food and wine served in the royal palace (CEV)