DAN 2:38 Parallel Verse View

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Text critical issues=minor/spelling Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

OET (OET-RV) Wherever people live, he’s placed you in charge of them, and he’s even put you over the animals in the countryside and the birds in the skies, so you’re the statue’s gold head.

2:38 OSHB variant note: דארין: (x-qere) ’דָֽיְרִ֣ין’: lemma_1753 morph_AVqrmpa id_27T3v דָֽיְרִ֣ין

2:38 OSHB note: Marks an anomalous form.

2:38 OSHB note: We have abandoned or added a ketib/qere relative to BHS. In doing this we agree with L against BHS.

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 and wherever the sons of men dwell, the animals of the fields and the birds of the heavens, he has given them into your hand, and he has made you rule over them all. You are the head of gold.

UST He has caused you to be the ruler over all people, and even the animals and birds are controlled by you. So the head of the statue represents you.

BSB Wherever the sons of men or beasts of the field or birds of the air dwell, He has given [them] into your hand and has made you ruler over them all. You [are] that head of gold.

OEB No OEB DAN book available

WEBBE Wherever the children of men dwell, he has given the animals of the field and the birds of the sky into your hand, and has made you rule over them all. You are the head of gold.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET Wherever human beings, wild animals, and birds of the sky live – he has given them into your power. He has given you authority over them all. You are the head of gold.

LSV and wherever sons of men are dwelling, the beast of the field, and the bird of the heavens, He has given into your hand, and has caused you to rule over them all; you [are] this head of gold.

FBV He gave you control over all peoples,[fn] as well as the wild animals and birds. He made you ruler of all of them. You are the head of gold.

2:38 Literally, “wherever the sons of man dwell.”

T4T He has caused you to be the ruler over all people, and even the animals and birds are controlled by you. So the head of the statue represents you.

LEB and also _⌊human beings wherever they dwell_⌋,[fn] the animals of the field and the birds[fn] of heaven[fn]—he has given into your hand and made you ruler over all of them—you are the head of gold.

2:38 Literally “and into all that dwell sons of humankind”

2:38 Aramaic “bird”

2:38 Or “the sky”

BBE Wherever the children of men are living; into whose hands he has given the beasts of the field and the birds of heaven, and has made you ruler over them all, you are the head of gold.

Moff and, wherever the sons of men dwell, he has put the wild animals and the birds of the air into your power, and made you rule over them all: you are the golden head.

JPS and wheresoever the children of men, the beasts of the field, and the fowls of the heaven dwell, hath He given them into thy hand, and hath made thee to rule over them all; thou art the head of gold.

ASV and wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the birds of the heavens hath he given into thy hand, and hath made thee to rule over them all: thou art the head of gold.

DRA And all places wherein the children of men, and the beasts of the field do dwell: he hath also given the birds of the air into thy hand, and hath put all things under thy power: thou therefore art the head of gold.

YLT and whithersoever sons of men are dwelling, the beast of the field, and the fowl of the heavens, He hath given into thy hand, and hath caused thee to rule over them all; thou [art] this head of gold.

Drby and wheresoever the children of men, the beasts of the field, and the fowl of the heavens dwell, he hath given them into thy hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all: thou art this head of gold.

RV and wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee to rule over them all: thou art the head of gold.
(and wherever the children of men dwell, the beasts/animals of the field and the fowls/birds of the heaven hath/has he given into thine/your hand, and hath/has made thee/you to rule over them all: thou/you art the head of gold. )

SLT And in all that the sons of men dwelt, the beasts of the open field and the birds of the heavens he gave into thine hand, and gave thee power over them all Thou this head of gold.

Wbstr And wherever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thy hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold.

KJB-1769 And wheresoever the children of men dwell, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over them all. Thou art this head of gold.
(And wherever the children of men dwell, the beasts/animals of the field and the fowls/birds of the heaven hath/has he given into thine/your hand, and hath/has made thee/you ruler over them all. Thou/You art this head of gold. )

KJB-1611 And wheresoeuer the children of men dwel, the beasts of the field, and the foules of the heauen hath he giuen into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler ouer them all: thou art this head of gold.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from capitalisation and punctuation)

Bshps And in all places whersoeuer the children of men dwell, the beastes of the fielde, and the foules of the aire hath he geuen into thy hande, and hath made thee ruler in them all: thou art this head of golde.
(And in all places wherever the children of men dwell, the beasts/animals of the field, and the fowls/birds of the air hath/has he given into thy/your hand, and hath/has made thee/you ruler in them all: thou/you art this head of gold.)

Gnva And in all places where the children of men dwell, the beasts of the fielde, and the foules of the heauen hath he giuen into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler ouer them al: thou art this heade of golde.
(And in all places where the children of men dwell, the beasts/animals of the field, and the fowls/birds of the heaven hath/has he given into thine/your hand, and hath/has made thee/you ruler over them al: thou/you art this head of gold. )

Cvdl & hath delyuered the all thinges, that are amoge ye children off men: the beastes off the felde, ad the foules vnder the heaue, and geuen the dominion ouer them all. Thou art that golde heade.
(and hath/has delivered the all things, that are among ye/you_all children off men: the beasts/animals off the field, and the fowls/birds under the heaven, and given the dominion over them all. Thou/You art that gold head.)

Wycl and he yaf in thin hond alle thingis, in whiche the sones of men, and the beestis of the feeld, and the briddis of the eir dwellen, and ordeynede alle thingis vndur thi lordschip; therfor thou art the goldun heed.
(and he gave in thin hand all things, in which the sons of men, and the beasts/animals of the field, and the birds of the heir dwellen, and ordained all things under thy/your lordship; therefore thou/you art the golden heed.)

Luth und alles da Leute wohnen, dazu die Tiere auf dem Felde und die Vögel unter dem Himmel in deine Hände gegeben und dir über alles Gewalt verliehen hat. Du bist das güldene Haupt.
(and all/everything there people/folk live/reside, to_that/in_addition the animals on/in/to to_him field and the birds under to_him heaven in your hands given and you/to_you(sg) above all/everything violence verliehen has. You(sg) are the golden head.)

ClVg et omnia, in quibus habitant filii hominum, et bestiæ agri: volucres quoque cæli dedit in manu tua, et sub ditione tua universa constituit: tu es ergo caput aureum.
(and everything, in/into/on to_whom they_live children of_men, and beasts/animals fields: birds too heavens he_gave in/into/on by_hand your, and under ditione your universe established: you(sg) you_are therefore the_head golden. )

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 2:36–2:38

In this paragraph Daniel began to interpret the king’s dream.

2:38a

Wherever the sons of men or beasts of the field or birds of the air dwell, He has given them into your hand

God has made you^(sing) the ruler over all people, all the animals and all the birds, wherever they live.
God/He has given you^(sing) power over people, animals, and birds, everywhere on earth.

Wherever the sons of men or beasts of the field or birds of the air dwell: The Aramaic phrase Wherever…dwell has been interpreted in two ways:

It refers to the sons of men, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the air. For example:
human beings, wild animals, birds of the air, wherever they live (NJB) (BSB, RSV, GW, NJPS, NJB, NIV, NET, NCV)
It refers only to the sons of men. For example:
human beings, wherever they live, the wild animals of the field, and the birds of the air (NRSV) (NRSV, REB, NASB, GNT, NLT, KJV)

Both interpretations are possible and are strongly supported. Either is acceptable. Interpretation (1) is supported by several commentators and the BSB and is therefore followed in these notes. Other ways to translate this include:

Wherever people, wild animals, and birds live (NCV)

people, wild animals, and birds, wherever they live (GW)

the sons of men: This phrase refers to people in general, both men and women.

beasts of the field: The Aramaic phrase that the BSB translates literally as beasts of the field means “wild animals.” Here is another way to translate this:

wild beasts (NJPS)

However, Daniel did not mean that the king only ruled over the wild animals, not domesticated animals. If readers interpret this phrase in that way, it would be better to translate this term in a more general way. For example:

animals (GNT)

birds of the air: In many languages the phrase of the air or “in the sky” is unnecessary. It may wrongly suggest that birds such as chickens (that do not generally fly) are not included. If that is true in your language, you may use a simple expression. For example:

birds (GNT)

He has given them into your hand: This reference to the hand of Nebuchadnezzar is figurative language that indicates that God had given him power over all people and animals. As king, Nebuchadnezzar had power to decide who should live and who should die. In many languages it may be natural to state the meaning directly. For example:

He has given you control over people, wild animals, and birds, wherever they live. (GW)

He has made you ruler of all the inhabited earth and ruler over all the animals and birds. (GNT)

General Comment on 2:38a

The BSB follows the phrase order of the Aramaic in 2:38a. Use the order that is most natural in your language. For example:

^38ahuman beings, wild animals, birds of the air, wherever they live, he has entrusted to your rule (NJB)

^38aand into whose hand he has given, wherever they dwell, the children of man, the beasts of the field, and the birds of the heavens (ESV)

^38ain your hands he has placed all mankind and the beasts of the field and the birds in the sky. Wherever they live, (NIV)

Note that the NIV connects the phrase “Wherever they live” with 2:38b. These Notes recommend that you connect it with 2:38a, as in all the other examples shown.

2:38b

and has made you ruler over them all.

God has appointed you^(sing) the ruler over all of them.
He has caused you^(sing) to rule over all living creatures.

and has made you ruler over them all: This expression repeats some information from 2:38a. It repeats the information, “He has given them into your hand.” It functions as a summary statement. God was the one who had permitted the king to rule over all people, animals, and birds. Other ways to translate this include:

making you king of them all (NJB)

making you rule over them all (NRSV)

In some languages it may be natural to translate this summary statement as a separate sentence. For example:

He has made you ruler of them all. (GW)

He has given you authority over them all. (NET)

General Comment on 2:38a–b

Daniel 2:38b repeats information from 2:38a. In some languages it may be more natural to combine these two parts. For example:

^38a-bWherever people, wild animals, and birds live, God made you ruler over them. (NCV)

^38a-bGod has allowed you to rule over all people, animals, and birds, wherever they live.

2:38c

You are that head of gold.

You^(sing) are the head of gold on the statue.
And so the golden head of the statue represents you^(sing) and your kingdom.

You are that head of gold: This clause is the climax of 2:36–38. Daniel declared that the head of gold in the dream represented King Nebuchadnezzar. He spoke of the king himself, rather than his kingdom, Babylonia. In this context the king represents his kingdom. Some possible ways to translate this in English are:

you are the head of gold on that statue (NCV)

So then, the head of gold in your dream—it is you!

That head of gold symbolizes you and your kingdom