DAN 2:46 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.)

OET (OET-RV) Then King Nevukadnetstsar fell to his knees with his face to the ground to worship Daniel, and he commanded that a burnt offering and incense be offered up to him.

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 Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face and paid homage to Daniel, and he commanded that an offering and incense be offered up to him.

UST Then King Nebuchadnezzar prostrated himself in front of me in great respect . He commanded his people that they burn incense and burn an offering of grain to honor me.

OEB No OEB DAN book available

WEBBE Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an offering and sweet odours to him.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET Then King Nebuchadnezzar bowed down with his face to the ground and paid homage to Daniel. He gave orders to offer sacrifice and incense to him.

LSV Then King Nebuchadnezzar has fallen on his face, and to Daniel he has done homage, and present, and sweet things, he has said to pour out to him.

FBV Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell down before Daniel and worshiped him, and ordered offerings of grain and incense to be made to him.

T4T Then King Nebuchadnezzar prostrated himself in front of me in great respect. He commanded his people that they burn incense and burn an offering of grain to honor me.

LEB ¶ Then the king, Nebuchadnezzar, fell on his face and he paid homage to Daniel; and he commanded them to offer a grain offering and incense offering to him.

BBE Then King Nebuchadnezzar, falling down on his face, gave worship to Daniel, and gave orders for an offering and spices to be given to him;

Moff Then king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face and bowed down to Daniel and ordered sacrifice and incense to be offered to him.

JPS Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an offering and sweet odours unto him.

ASV Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odors unto him.

DRA Then king Nabuchodonosor fell on his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer in sacrifice to him victims and incense.

YLT Then hath king Nebuchadnezzar fallen on his face, and to Daniel he hath done obeisance, and present, and sweet things, he hath said to pour out to him.

Drby Then king Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odours unto him.

RV Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odours unto him.

SLT At that time king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face and prostrated himself to Daniel, and said to pour out a gift and sweet odors to him.

Wbstr Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshiped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odors to him.

KJB-1769 ¶ Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell upon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation and sweet odours unto him.

KJB-1611 ¶ Then the King Nebuchadnezzar fell vpon his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded that they should offer an oblation, and sweet odours vnto him.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from capitalisation and punctuation)

Bshps Then the king Nabuchodonozor fell downe vpon his face, and bowed hym selfe vnto Daniel, and commaunded to ordeine rewardes and sweete odours for hym.
(Then the king Nabuchodonozor fell down upon his face, and bowed himself unto Daniel, and commanded to ordeine rewards and sweet odours for him.)

Gnva Then the King Nebuchad-nezzar fell vpon his face, and bowed himselfe vnto Daniel, and commanded that they should offer meate offrings, and sweete odours vnto him.
(Then the King Nebuchad-nezzar fell upon his face, and bowed himself unto Daniel, and commanded that they should offer meat/grain_or_gift-offerings, and sweet odours unto him. )

Cvdl Then the kynge Nabuchodonosor fell downe vpon his face, and bowed him self vnto Daniel, and commaunded that they shulde offre meatoffrynges and swete odoures vnto him.
(Then the king Nebuchadnezzar fell down upon his face, and bowed him self unto Daniel, and commanded that they should offer meat/grain_or_gift-offerings and sweet odours unto him.)

Wycl Thanne king Nabugodonosor felle doun on his face, and worschipide Danyel, and comaundide sacrifices and encense to be brouyt, that tho schulden be sacrifised to hym.
(Then king Nebuchadnezzar fell down on his face, and worshipped Daniel, and commanded sacrifices and incense to be brought, that those should be sacrificed to him.)

Luth Da fiel der König Nebukadnezar auf sein Angesicht und betete an vor dem Daniel und befahl, man sollte ihm Speisopfer und Räuchopfer tun.
(So fell the/of_the king Nebukadnezar on/in/to be face and prayed at/to before/in_front_of to_him Daniel and commanded/ordered, man should him grain/food-offering and incense_offerings do/put.)

ClVg Tunc rex Nabuchodonosor cecidit in faciem suam, et Danielem adoravit, et hostias, et incensum præcepit ut sacrificarent ei.
(Then king Nabuchodonosor fell in/into/on face his_own, and Danielem he_adored/worshipped, and sacrifices, and incense ordered as sacrificarent to_him. )

TTN Tyndale Theme Notes:

Four World Empires

Two panoramic visions in Daniel present God’s sovereignty over history. Nebuchadnezzar had the first vision (ch 2), and Daniel had another like it (ch 7). In each of these visions, four of the kingdoms of the world are presented.

There have always been questions about the identities of the four empires, but historically there has also been considerable consensus. Hippolytus (AD 170–236), one of the early church fathers, identified the four kingdoms as Babylonia, Media-Persia, Greece, and Rome. The church father and historian Eusebius of Caesarea (AD 260–340) initially identified the first kingdom as Assyria (which once also controlled Babylon), but he later agreed with Hippolytus, as did most of the church fathers. Later, Jerome and Augustine accepted this same understanding, and conservative interpreters largely still agree.

In antiquity and in our era, some interpreters have argued that Greece is the fourth empire, treating Media and Persia as separate kingdoms. This interpretation is due in part to denying the possibility of prediction, assuming the book was written before the Roman Empire had arisen. But Media and Persia are usually regarded as one empire, and the Median kingdom had been mostly assimilated by the Persians by the time Cyrus II conquered Babylon in 539 BC.

Rome is then seen as the fourth kingdom, but the bestial, demonic, and inhumane characteristics of the vision extend beyond the historical Rome. The visions also represent a panorama of the whole world and its governments; all will be destroyed and replaced by the Kingdom of God, the “rock . . . cut from a mountain” (2:34). The metals of the statue become progressively less valuable in chapter 2, while the animal imagery of chapter 7 becomes more menacingly fierce, violent, and inhumane. These features represent a deterioration of human civilization across the centuries, even as the Kingdom of God grows in power and stature (2:35).

Passages for Further Study

Dan 2:1-49; 7:1-28

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 2:46–2:47

The king was deeply impressed that Daniel could tell him his dream. He honored him and his friends with high positions in the government of Babylon.

2:46a

At this, King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, paid homage to Daniel,

¶ Then King Nebuchadnezzar bowed down low before Daniel with his face to the ground and honored Daniel.
¶ At this King Nebuchadnezzar bowed down low to the ground to show respect to Daniel.

At this, King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face: The Aramaic phrase that the BSB translates as fell on his face indicates that the king bowed face down to the ground in front of Daniel. This was a gesture of great respect. Make sure that your readers understand this. The king did not fall over accidentally. In some languages it may be possible to avoid this wrong meaning by saying:

King Nebuchadnezzar bowed down with his face to the ground (NET)

Then King Nebuchadnezzar bowed to the ground (GNT)

paid homage to Daniel: The Aramaic verb that the BSB translates as paid homage here indicates that Nebuchadnezzar honored Daniel as God’s representative. The same word is sometimes used of venerating a god. It describes an attitude of submission and respect to a superior being. Here is another way to translate this:

the king honored him (NCV)

2:46b

and ordered that an offering of incense be presented to him.

He commanded his servants to offer a sacrifice of grain and an offering of incense to Daniel.
He ordered his workers to offer a grain offering to Daniel and to burn sweet smelling perfume for him.

and ordered that an offering of incense be presented to him: King Nebuchadnezzar gave orders to his servants to honor Daniel as the representative of God. Other ways to translate this include:

and commanded that an offering and incense be offered up to him (RSV)

and gave orders for sacrifices and offerings to be made to Daniel (GNT)

Then he gave orders for incense to be burned and a sacrifice offered in honor of Daniel (similar to CEV)

offering: An offering is a gift that is given to a deity. This could have been a grain offering or an animal offering. It is best to leave this general, as the BSB has done. See the KBT for how to translate the term “offering.” Here is another way to translate this:

sacrifice (NET)

incense: The Aramaic word that the BSB translates as incense here probably refers to a substance that people burn in order to produce a sweet smell and please or honor a deity. If incense is not known in your culture, it may help to make this clear by following the NLT:

sweet incense (NLT)

be presented to him: The verb be presented is passive. In some languages it may be more natural to use an active verb. In those languages it may be necessary to make it explicit that Nebuchadnezzar gave this order to his servants, probably men. For example:

he commanded his people to offer sacrifices and burn sweet incense before him (NLT)

General Comment on 2:46b

In some languages it may be natural to translate the king’s command as direct speech. For example:

The king commanded, “An offering and incense are to be presented to Daniel.”

He gave this command to his servants: “Offer a sacrifice to Daniel and burn incense in his presence.”

Parallel DAN 2:46

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

Paragraph 2:46–2:47

2:46a

2:46b

General Comment on 2:46b