DAN 2:20 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=none Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

Key: khaki:verbs.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT Daniel answered and said,
⇔ “Let the name of God be blessed forever and ever;
⇔ for wisdom and power belong to him.

UST saying,
⇔ “We should praise God forever,
⇔ because only he truly is wise and powerful.

OEB No OEB DAN book available

WEBBE Daniel answered,
⇔ “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever;
⇔ for wisdom and might are his.

WMBB (Same as above)

MSG ^(19-23)That night the answer to the mystery was given to Daniel in a vision. Daniel blessed the God of heaven, saying,
  “Blessed be the name of God,
  forever and ever.
He knows all, does all:
  He changes the seasons and guides history,
He raises up kings and also brings them down,
  he provides both intelligence and discernment,
He opens up the depths, tells secrets,
  sees in the dark—light spills out of him!
God of all my ancestors, all thanks! all praise!
  You made me wise and strong.
And now you’ve shown us what we asked for.
  You’ve solved the king’s mystery.”

NET saying,
⇔ “Let the name of God be praised forever and ever,
⇔ for wisdom and power belong to him.

LSV Daniel has answered and said, “Let the Name of God be blessed from age even to age, for wisdom and might—for they are His.

FBV “Praise the wonderful nature[fn] of God forever and ever, for he is wise and powerful.

2:20 “Wonderful nature”: literally “name,” but in Semitic thought “name” is a description of character—who the person actually is.

T4T saying,
⇔ “We should praise God [MTY] forever,
⇔ because only he truly is wise and powerful.

LEB Daniel _⌊said_⌋:[fn]
• “Let his name, the name of God,[fn] be blessed throughout the ages ,[fn]
• for the wisdom and the power are his .[fn]

2:20 Literally “answered and he said”

2:20 Aramaic “the God”

2:20 Literally “from the age unto the age”

2:20 Literally “of to him it is”

BBE And Daniel said in answer, May the name of God be praised for ever and ever: for wisdom and strength are his:

Moff Daniel said:
⇔ “Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever,
⇔ for his are wisdom and might:

JPS Daniel spoke and said: Blessed be the name of God from everlasting even unto everlasting; for wisdom and might are His;

ASV Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever; for wisdom and might are his.

DRA And speaking he said: Blessed be the name of the Lord from eternity and for evermore: for wisdom and fortitude are his.

YLT Daniel hath answered and said, 'Let the name of God be blessed from age even unto age, for wisdom and might — for they are His.

Drby Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of [fn]God for ever and ever; For wisdom and might are his.

2.20 Elohim

RV Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his:

SLT Daniel answered and said, For this the name of God being praised from forever and even to forever: for wisdom and strength are to him:

Wbstr Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his:

KJB-1769 Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his:

KJB-1611 Daniel answered and said; Blessed be the name of God for euer and euer: for wisedome and might are his:
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps Daniel also aunswered, and said: The name of God be praysed for euer & euer: for wysdome and strength are his.
(Daniel also answered, and said: The name of God be praised forever and ever: for wisdom and strength are his.)

Gnva And Daniel answered and sayde, The Name of God be praysed for euer and euer: for wisedome and strength are his,
(And Daniel answered and said, The Name of God be praised for ever and ever: for wisdom and strength are his, )

Cvdl Daniel also cryed loude, and sayde: O that the name of God might be praysed for euer and euer, for wi?dome and strength are his owne:
(Daniel also cried loud, and said: Oh that the name of God might be praised for ever and ever, for wi?dome and strength are his own:)

Wycl The name of the Lord be blessid fro the world, and til in to the world, for wisdom and strengthe ben hise;
(The name of the Lord be blessed from the world, and till in to the world, for wisdom and strength been hise;)

Luth Darüber lobte Daniel den GOtt vom Himmel, fing an und sprach: Gelobet sei der Name Gottes von Ewigkeit zu Ewigkeit; denn sein ist beides, Weisheit und Stärke!
(Darüber praised Daniel the God from_the heaven, caught at/to and spoke: Praised be the/of_the Name God’s from eternity to/for eternity; because/than be is both, wise_(people) and strength!)

ClVg et locutus ait: Sit nomen Domini benedictum a sæculo et usque in sæculum: quia sapientia et fortitudo ejus sunt.
(and spoke he_said: Let_it_be name Master blessed from forever and until in/into/on forever: because wisdom and strength his are. )

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 2:1–49: Daniel explained the king’s dream

These Notes interpret Daniel 2:1–49 as a complete narrative unit. However, in some languages it may be helpful to divide this chapter into more than one section and to give each section a separate heading. For example:

The BSB has four sections.
1. Nebuchadnezzar’s Troubling Dream (2:1–13)
2. The Dream Revealed to Daniel (2:14–23)
3. Daniel Interprets the Dream (2:24–45)
4. Nebuchadnezzar Promotes Daniel (2:46–49)
The GNT has three sections:

(a) Nebuchadnezzar’s dream (2:1–13)

(b) God shows Daniel what the dream means (2:14–23)

This section tells how Nebuchadnezzar had a disturbing dream. He asked his advisers to tell him what he had dreamed and its meaning. They were unable to do so, and the king threatened them with death. But God revealed the meaning of the dream to Daniel. Daniel then told the king what he had dreamed and what it meant. The king honored Daniel and Daniel’s God.

The climax of this narrative occurs in 2:47. There the king declared that the God whom Daniel worshiped was the greatest of all gods.

Special Translation Problems:

1. Lists: The author of the book of Daniel liked to use lists (2:2, 10). However, the author did not intend for these lists to be complete or exact. The lists usually provide examples of the types of people or things that belong in a certain group or category. The Notes will suggest options on how to translate these lists.

2. Synonyms: The text often uses different terms for similar ideas. For example, there are several verbs that mean “to reveal” or “to make known.” There are three different Aramaic verbs in 2:40 that mean “crush, break to pieces.” In some languages it may be difficult or confusing to use several different words for similar ideas. The Notes will suggest how you might translate these similar words and terms.

3. Poetry: You will need to think carefully about how you will translate the poetic section in this chapter (2:20–23). Authors of Hebrew poetry usually wrote using matching pairs of lines. The relationship between these parallel lines differs. Sometimes the second line repeats the information in the first line using different words. Sometimes the second line contrasts with the first line. Hebrew poetry also has word plays, figurative speech, and alliteration. It may not always be easy to translate these literary features into your language. The Notes will suggest ways of translating the different features of Hebrew poetry. For more information about how to translate Hebrew poetry, see the Bible Translation Handbook of the Psalms. The poetry in 2:20–23 is a song of praise or thanksgiving. If your language has a special poetic form that fits this song, you can use it here.

4. Ambiguity: In the section where Daniel interpreted the last part of the king’s dream, there are a number of ambiguous references. For example, in 2:44a Daniel referred to “those kings” without identifying who those kings were. In 2:44b Daniel spoke of “all these kingdoms.” The ambiguity may be deliberate, since the dream itself is a mystery. It will be important not to over-interpret these passages by assuming a particular historical context. The Notes will suggest several options for how to translate these verses.

5. Repetition: Daniel interpreted the meaning of the first three kingdoms in a very brief way. He used many more words to describe the fourth kingdom (2:36–45). In this section he also repeated much of what was described before. In this way, Daniel emphasized the fourth kingdom as the most important. Some of the repetition in this section emphasizes specific ideas. Sometimes the repetition has another function. You will need to evaluate if this kind of repetition is natural in your language. If not, you will need to find another way to emphasize these ideas.

Paragraph 2:19–23

God revealed to Daniel what the king had dreamed and what the dream meant. Daniel expressed his thanks to God.

The author has recorded Daniel’s prayer of thanks in poetic form. Some translations (for example, the NJB) indicate this by the way they print the lines. You may have a special way of writing poetic speech in your language. If so, you may use it here.

In his prayer of thanks, Daniel first refers to God in the third person (using the pronouns “he/him”). Then in 2:23 he switches to the second person (that is, using the pronoun “you”). In some languages this change may be unnatural. See the General Comment on 2:20–22.

2:20a

and declared: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,

saying, “May the name of God receive praise/glory for all time and eternity!
This is what he said: “May everyone/people praise God throughout all ages!
He said, “Let us^(excl) praise you^(sing) forever!

and declared: The Aramaic phrase which the BSB translates as and declared is literally, “Daniel answered and said” (as in the KJV). See the Notes at 2:5a and 2:10a. This introduces the content of Daniel’s prayer of thanks, what he said when he “blessed” God (see 2:19b). Versions such as the GNT and CEV leave these words untranslated and implied by the context. Introduce Daniel’s prayer in a way that is natural in your language. For example:

saying,

This was his prayer:

in these words

Blessed be the name of God forever and ever: Daniel called for God to receive praises throughout eternity. See how you translated the similar expressions in Job 1:21 and Psalm 113:2. Daniel was honoring and thanking God for revealing to him the king’s dream. He did not mention himself, but his call for God to receive praise functions as praise. He declared God to be worthy of praise.

Blessed be: See the Notes at 2:19b. The Aramaic verb is passive. If it is more natural to use an active form, you can say:

May people praise…

Everyone should praise…

Let usWhether an inclusive or an exclusive pronoun is used may depend on how God is addressed in this prayer. If you translate “the name of God” using a second-person pronoun (“you”), an exclusive pronoun will be necessary here. praise…

the name of God: Daniel used the phrase the name of God to refer to God himself. This was a common Hebrew idiom.It was also a respectful way that Jewish people referred to God’s personal name Yahweh. Daniel may have used this expression in order to avoid saying God’s name in a careless or offensive way. See the discussion by Goldingay (p. 46). See Deuteronomy 12:5; Psalm 97:12, 115:1, 138:2. Because it is a well-known idiom from the Bible, many English versions translate the phrase literally. In some languages, however, it may be unnatural and even confusing to translate the idiom literally. If that is true in your language, you may translate the meaning directly. For example:

Praise God forever and ever (NCV)

Let us^(incl) thank/bless God at all times

In some languages it is unnatural or confusing to address a prayer to God in the third person. See the General Comment on 2:20–22. If it is natural to use the second person here, you may be able to say:

Our God, your name will be praised forever and forever. (CEV)

Blessed/Praised for all eternity are you, O God!

forever and ever: The Aramaic expression that the BSB translates as forever and ever refers to limitless time, both past and future. Other ways to translate it include:

from age to age (NRSV)

throughout time and eternity

let/may…never stop

2:20b

for wisdom and power belong to Him.

Wisdom and power belong to him.
God is the source of all wisdom and power.
You^(sing) know everything and you^(sing) are the most powerful.

for wisdom and power belong to Him: This part of the verse gives the basis for Daniel’s call to praise God: God was wise and powerful. The Aramaic text introduces this verse part with a conjunction that the BSB translates as for. Some versions have not explicitly translated it, but you may do so if it is natural in your language. For example:

for to him belong wisdom and power (REB)

since wisdom and power are his alone (NJB)

In some languages a person cannot own abstract qualities like wisdom and power. If this is true in your language, you may translate the meaning directly, using adjectives or verbs. For example:

because he is wise and powerful (GW)

You are all-powerful and you know everything. (CEV)

wisdom: Daniel was referring to the understanding and insight that God has and can give a person. See the Notes at 1:4b and 1:17a.

power: In this context, the Aramaic word that the BSB translates as power refers to the ability to do great things. Daniel was thinking not only of God’s power to reveal dreams, but also of his power over the events of history and over creation.

General Comment on 2:20a–b

2:20b gives the reason why people are to praise God forever (2:20a). In some languages it may be natural to reverse the order of these two verse parts. For example:

^20cGod is wise and powerful!

^20bPraise him forever and ever. (GNT)

In other languages it may be natural to follow a verb like “blessed” with a direct quotation, stating the content of the praise. For example:

^20bLet us bless the name of God for ever and ever,

^20csaying, “God is wise and powerful!….”

Parallel DAN 2:20

Section 2:1–49: Daniel explained the king’s dream

Paragraph 2:19–23

2:20a

2:20b

General Comment on 2:20a–b