DAN 2:24 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=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

OET (OET-RV) So Daniel went to Aryok, the man that the king had appointed to execute Babylon’s wise men, and told him, “Don’t hurt the wise men in Babylon. Take me in to the king and I’ll tell him the dream and its interpretation.”

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 Therefore Daniel went in to Arioch whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said thus to him, “Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon. Bring me in before the king, and I will show the king the interpretation.”

UST Then I went to Arioch, the man whom the king had appointed to execute the wise men in Babylon. I said to him, “Do not kill those wise men. Take me to the king, and I will tell him what his dream means.”

OEB No OEB DAN book available

WEBBE Therefore Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said this to him: “Don’t destroy the wise men of Babylon. Bring me in before the king, and I will show to the king the interpretation.”

WMBB (Same as above)

NET Then Daniel went in to see Arioch (whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon). He came and said to him, “Don’t destroy the wise men of Babylon! Escort me to the king, and I will disclose the interpretation to him!”

LSV Therefore Daniel has gone up to Arioch, whom the king has appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon; he has gone, and thus has said to him, “You do not destroy the wise men of Babylon, bring me up before the king, and I show the interpretation to the king.”

FBV So Daniel went to Arioch whom the king had ordered to execute the wise men of Babylon and told him, “Don't execute the wise men of Babylon! Take me to see the king and I will explain to him his dream.”

T4T Then I went to Arioch, the man whom the king had appointed to execute the wise men in Babylon. I said to him, “Do not kill those wise men. Take me to the king, and I will tell him what his dream means.”

LEB _⌊Therefore_⌋[fn] Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed[fn] to destroy the wise men of Babylon; he went and thus he said to him: “You must not destroy the wise men of Babylon; take me in before the king and I will give the explanation[fn] to the king.”

2:24 Literally “Now because this”

2:24 Aramaic “has appointed”

2:24 Or “interpretation”

BBE For this reason Daniel went to Arioch, to whom the king had given orders for the destruction of the wise men of Babylon, and said to him, Do not put to death the wise men of Babylon: take me in before the king and I will make clear to him the sense of the dream.

Moff So Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had ordered to slaughter the sages of Babylon, and said to him, “Do not slaughter the sages of Babylon; take me into the presence of the king, and I will tell the king what the dream means.”

JPS Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon; he went and said thus unto him: 'Destroy not the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will declare unto the king the interpretation.'

ASV Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon; he went and said thus unto him: Destroy not the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will show unto the king the interpretation.

DRA After this Daniel went in to Arioch, to whom the king had given orders to destroy the wise men of Babylon, and he spoke thus to him: Destroy not the wise men of Babylon: bring me in before the king, and I will tell the solution to the king.

YLT Therefore Daniel hath gone up unto Arioch, whom the king hath appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon; he hath gone, and thus hath said to him, 'The wise men of Babylon thou dost not destroy, bring me up before the king, and the interpretation to the king I do shew.'

Drby Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon; he went and said thus unto him: Destroy not the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will shew unto the king the interpretation.

RV Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon: he went and said thus unto him; Destroy not the wise men of Babylon: bring me in before the king, and I will shew unto the king the interpretation.
(Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon: he went and said thus unto him; Destroy not the wise men of Babylon: bring me in before the king, and I will show unto the king the interpretation. )

SLT For this cause Daniel went up to Arioch whom the king allotted to destroy the wise of Babel: he went and said thus to him: For the wise of Babel thou shalt not destroy: bring me up before the king, and I will show the interpretation to the king.

Wbstr Therefore Daniel went into Arioch, whom the king had ordained to destroy the wise men of Babylon: he went and said thus to him; Destroy not the wise men of Babylon: bring me in before the king, and I will show to the king the interpretation.

KJB-1769 ¶ Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had ordained to destroy the wise men of Babylon: he went and said thus unto him; Destroy not the wise men of Babylon: bring me in before the king, and I will shew unto the king the interpretation.
(¶ Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had ordained to destroy the wise men of Babylon: he went and said thus unto him; Destroy not the wise men of Babylon: bring me in before the king, and I will show unto the king the interpretation. )

KJB-1611 ¶ Therefore Daniel went in vnto Arioch whom the king had ordained to destroy the wise men of Babylon: he went and said thus vnto him, Destroy not the wise men of Babylon: bring me in before the king, and I will shew vnto the king the interpretation.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps Upon this went Daniel in vnto Arioch, whom the king had ordeined to destroy the wise men at Babylon: he went and sayde thus vnto him, Destroy not the wyse men of Babylon, but bring me before the king, and I shall shewe the king the interpretation.
(Upon this went Daniel in unto Arioch, whom the king had ordained to destroy the wise men at Babylon: he went and said thus unto him, Destroy not the wise men of Babylon, but bring me before the king, and I shall show the king the interpretation.)

Gnva Therefore Daniel went vnto Arioch, whome the King had ordeyned to destroy the wise men of Babel: he went and sayde thus vnto him, Destroy not the wise men of Babel, but bring me before the King, and I will declare vnto the King the interpretation.
(Therefore Daniel went unto Arioch, whom the King had ordained to destroy the wise men of Babel: he went and said thus unto him, Destroy not the wise men of Babel, but bring me before the King, and I will declare unto the King the interpretation. )

Cvdl Vpon this wente Daniel in vnto Arioch, whom the kinge had ordened to destroye the wyse at Babilon: he wente vnto him, and sayde: destroye not soch as are wyse in Babilon, but bringe me in vnto the kynge, and I shal shewe the kynge the interpretacion.
(Upon this went Daniel in unto Arioch, whom the king had ordained to destroy the wise at Babylon: he went unto him, and said: destroy not such as are wise in Babylon, but bring me in unto the king, and I shall show the king the interpretation.)

Wycl Aftir these thingis Danyel entride to Ariok, whom the kyng hadde ordeyned, that he schulde leese the wise men of Babiloyne, and thus he spak to hym, Leese thou not the wise men of Babiloyne; leede thou me in bifor the siyt of the kyng, and Y schal telle the soilyng to the kyng.
(After these things Daniel entered to Ariok, whom the king had ordained, that he should lose the wise men of Babylon, and thus he spake to him, Leese thou/you not the wise men of Babylon; lead thou/you me in before the sight of the king, and I shall tell the soiling to the king.)

Luth Da ging Daniel hinauf zu Arioch, der vom Könige Befehl hatte, die Weisen zu Babel umzubringen, und sprach zu ihm also: Du sollst die Weisen zu Babel nicht umbringen, sondern führe mich hinauf zum Könige, ich will dem Könige die Deutung sagen.
(So went Daniel up to/for Arioch, the/of_the from_the king(s) command(n) had, the ways/manners to/for Babel to_kill, and spoke to/for him also: You(sg) should the ways/manners to/for Babel not murder/kill, rather lead me up for_the king(s), I will to_him king(s) the interpretation say.)

ClVg Post hæc Daniel ingressus ad Arioch, quem constituerat rex ut perderet sapientes Babylonis, sic ei locutus est: Sapientes Babylonis ne perdas: introduc me in conspectu regis, et solutionem regi narrabo.
(After these_things Daniel entering to Arioch, which constituerat king as to_loset wise_people Babylonis, so to_him spoke it_is: Sapientes Babylonis not perdas: introduce me in/into/on in_sight king, and solutionem to_rule narrabo. )

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 2:24–25

In this paragraph there is a change of setting. Daniel went to Arioch and told him that he could interpret the king’s dream. Arioch took him to the king.

2:24a

Therefore Daniel went to Arioch,

¶ So Daniel went to speak to Arioch,
¶ And Daniel returned to speak to Arioch.

Therefore: The Aramaic phrase that the BSB translates as Therefore here introduces a result. Because God revealed the dream to Daniel (2:19–23), Daniel went immediately to Arioch and asked him if he could speak to the king. Introduce what Daniel did as in a way that is natural in your language. For example:

So (GNT)

Daniel went to Arioch: The Aramaic verb literally means “went in,” as in 2:16. Daniel entered the room where Arioch was in order to talk to him. Other ways to translate this include:

Daniel went in to see Arioch (NLT)

Daniel went to meet with Arioch

Arioch: The author first referred to Arioch in 2:14a. Spell his name here as you did there.

2:24b

whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon,

the official who had orders from the king to kill the Babylonian advisers/sages.
This Arioch was the captain/commander to whom the king had given the responsibility of putting to death the experts of Babylon.

whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon: This is background information. The author is reminding his readers of what he told them in 2:14, that Arioch was the commander of the men who were going to kill the royal advisers. In some languages it may be natural to imply that Arioch was not going to kill all the wise men personally. For example:

whom the king had made responsible for putting the Babylonian sages to death (NJB)

whom the king had commanded to oversee/organize the execution of the wise men of Babylon

who had been given the responsibility of having the Babylonian wise men executed

whom the king had appointed: The Aramaic expression that the BSB translates as whom the king had appointed indicates that the king had given Arioch a certain task or responsibility. Some ways to say this in English are:

whom the king had ordered (NLT)

the officer put in charge

to whom the king had entrusted the task

to destroy the wise men of Babylon: The Aramaic verb that the BSB translates as destroy means “execute, kill.” See the Notes at 2:12b and 2:18b. Other ways to translate this include:

putting the Babylonian sages to death (NJB)

that the wise men of Babylon be executed

of the executionThe Message

wise men: The Aramaic word that the BSB translates as wise men refers to the king’s experts and advisors. See the Notes at 2:12b, where the same word is used. Other ways to say this include:

royal advisers (GNT)

wise advisers (GW)

sages (NJB)

Babylon: See the Notes at 2:12b. You will want to translate in the same way here.

General Comment on 2:24a–b

In some languages it may be natural to reorder 2:24a–b, translating the background information first. For example:

^24bArioch was the man whom the king had appointed to execute the wise men of Babylon. ^24aSo Daniel went to him

^24bThe officer/commander charged/entrusted with the execution of the Babylonian wise men was Arioch, ^24aso Daniel went to him

2:24c

and said to him, “Do not execute the wise men of Babylon!

Daniel said, “Sir, do not execute^(sing) the wise men of Babylon!
“Please spare^(sing) the wise men of Babylon,” Daniel said.
“Halt/Stop^(sing) these executions!” Daniel exclaimed.

and said to him: This phrase introduces what Daniel said to Arioch. In some languages it may be natural to begin a new sentence. For example:

Daniel told him (GW)

The Aramaic text introduces Daniel’s words with the phrase “he went/came and said thus to him.” Introduce what Daniel said to Arioch in a way that is natural in your language. The idea that Daniel went to Arioch was already stated in 2:24a, so the BSB leaves it implicit here. But some English translations translate it explicitly. For example:

He came and said to him (NET)

He approached him and said (REB)

Do not execute the wise men of Babylon!: The verb phrase Do not execute is in the form of a command. However, Daniel was not in a position to command Arioch. He was advising Arioch that he should not kill the wise men or that it was not necessary to do so. He was speaking politely but urgently. Indicate this in a way that is natural in your language.

Since Arioch was in charge of the guards who were to do the actual executions, in some languages it may be necessary to say:

Do not have the Babylonian wise men killed/executed.

Do not order the wise men of Babylon to be killed.

In some languages it may be more natural to express this idea with a positive verb. For example:

Let the wise men of Babylon live.

Spare the lives of the Babylonian wise men.

the wise men of Babylon were just mentioned in 2:24b. So in some languages it may be natural to leave this phrase implied or abbreviate the reference. For example:

Let the wise men live!

Call off the execution!The Message

2:24d

Bring me before the king, and I will give him the interpretation.”

If you^(sing) take me to the king, I will interpret the dream for him.”
“Let^(sing) me come with you^(sing) to the king, for I can let him know what his dream means.”
“I can tell the king the meaning of his dream. So bring/lead^(sing) me to him!”

Bring me before the king: Daniel needed someone in authority to accompany him and ask permission for him to speak to the king. Use the verb that is most natural in your language. It may be natural to imply that the king had higher status or authority than Daniel. For example:

Take me to the king (NIV)

Present me to/before the king

Take me into the king’s presence (NASB)

and I will give him the interpretation: The Aramaic phrase that the BSB translates as give him the interpretation is literally “declare the interpretation.” Daniel would tell the king what his dream meant. Some other ways to say this are:

and I will show the king the interpretation (RSV)

and I will tell him what his dream means (GNT)

and I will tell him the meaning of his dream (NLT)

General Comment on 2:24c–e

In some languages it may be more natural to translate these verse parts as indirect speech. For example:

Daniel asked Arioch not to kill the wise men but to take him to the king so that he could interpret the king’s dream for him.

Parallel DAN 2:24