DAN 5:13 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) So Daniel was brought in to the king who said to him, “So, you’re that Daniel—one of the exiles that my father the king brought from Yehudah.

5:13 OSHB variant note: אנתה: (x-qere) ’אַנְתְּ’: lemma_607 morph_APp2ms id_27ouG אַנְתְּ

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 Daniel was brought in before the king. The king answered and said to Daniel, “You are that Daniel, one of the exiles of Judah, whom my father the king brought from Judah.

UST So they went and brought me in. The king asked me, “You must be Daniel! They told me that you are one of those who was brought here from Judah by the previous king.

OEB No OEB DAN book available

WEBBE Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king spoke and said to Daniel, “Are you that Daniel of the children of the captivity of Judah, whom the king my father brought out of Judah?

WMBB (Same as above)

NET So Daniel was brought in before the king. The king said to Daniel, “Are you that Daniel who is one of the captives of Judah, whom my father the king brought from Judah?

LSV Then Daniel has been caused to come up before the king; the king has answered and said to Daniel, “You are that Daniel who [is] of the sons of the expulsion of Judah, whom my father the king brought in out of Judah?

FBV So Daniel was brought in before the king. The king asked him, “Are you Daniel, one of the prisoners my father the king brought from Judah?

T4T So they went and brought me in. The king asked me, “You must be Daniel [RHQ]! They told me that you are one of those who was brought here from Judah by the previous king.

LEB ¶ Then Daniel was brought in before the king, and the king _⌊spoke_⌋[fn] and said to Daniel, “You are Daniel _⌊who are one of the exiles_⌋[fn] of Judah[fn] whom my _⌊predecessor_⌋,[fn] the king, brought from Judah.[fn]

5:13 Literally “answered”

5:13 Literally “who from sons of the exile”

5:13 Aramaic “Jehud”

5:13 Literally “father”

BBE Then they took Daniel in before the king; the king made answer and said to Daniel, So you are that Daniel, of the prisoners of Judah, whom my father took out of Judah.

Moff Then Daniel was brought into the king’s presence. The king said to Daniel, “So you are the Daniel belonging to the exiles of Judah whom the king my father brought from Judah?

JPS Then was Daniel brought in before the king. The king spoke and said unto Daniel: 'Art thou Daniel, who is of the children of the captivity of Judah, whom the king my father brought out of Judah?

ASV Then was Daniel brought in before the king. The king spake and said unto Daniel, Art thou that Daniel, who art of the children of the captivity of Judah, whom the king my father brought out of Judah?

DRA Then Daniel was brought in before the king. And the king spoke, and said to him: Art thou Daniel of the children of the captivity of Juda, whom my father the king brought out of Judea?

YLT Then Daniel hath been caused to come up before the king; answered hath the king, and said to Daniel, 'Thou art that Daniel who [art] of the sons of the Removed of Judah, whom the king my father brought in out of Judah?

Drby Then was Daniel brought in before the king. The king spoke and said unto Daniel, Art thou that Daniel, of the children of the captivity of Judah, whom the king my father brought out of Judah?

RV Then was Daniel brought in before the king. The king spake and said unto Daniel, Art thou that Daniel, which art of the children of the captivity of Judah, whom the king my father brought out of Judah?
(Then was Daniel brought in before the king. The king spake and said unto Daniel, Art thou/you that Daniel, which art of the children of the captivity of Yudah, whom the king my father brought out of Yudah? )

SLT At that time Daniel came in before the king. The king answered and said to Daniel, Is it thou, Daniel, which is from the sons of the captivity of Judah, whom the king my father brought from Judah?

Wbstr Then was Daniel brought in before the king. And the king spoke and said to Daniel, Art thou that Daniel, who art of the children of the captivity of Judah, whom the king my father brought out of Judea?

KJB-1769 Then was Daniel brought in before the king. And the king spake and said unto Daniel, Art thou that Daniel, which art of the children of the captivity of Judah, whom the king my father brought out of Jewry?[fn]
(Then was Daniel brought in before the king. And the king spake and said unto Daniel, Art thou/you that Daniel, which art of the children of the captivity of Yudah, whom the king my father brought out of Jewry? )

5.13 father: or, grandfather

KJB-1611 [fn]Then was Daniel brought in before the king, and the king spake and said vnto Daniel, Art thou that Daniel, which art of the children of the captiuity of Iudah, whom the king my father brought out of Iewrie?
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from marking of added words (and possibly capitalisation and punctuation and footnotes))

5:13 Or, grandfather.

Bshps Then was Daniel brought before the king: so the king spake vnto Daniel, and sayde, Art thou that Daniel, whiche art of the children of the captiuitie of Iuda, whom my father the king brought out of Iurie?
(Then was Daniel brought before the king: so the king spake unto Daniel, and said, Art thou/you that Daniel, which art of the children of the captivity of Yuda, whom my father the king brought out of Yury/Yudea?)

Gnva Then was Daniel brought before the King, and the King spake and sayd vnto Daniel, Art thou that Daniel, which art of the children of the captiuitie of Iudah, whom my father the King brought out of Iewrie?
(Then was Daniel brought before the King, and the King spake and said unto Daniel, Art thou/you that Daniel, which art of the children of the captivity of Yudah, whom my father the King brought out of Yewry? )

Cvdl Then was Daniel brought before the kinge. So the kynge spake vnto Daniel, and sayde: Art thou that Daniel, one off the presoners of Iuda, whom my father the kynge brought out of Iewry?
(Then was Daniel brought before the king. So the king spake unto Daniel, and said: Art thou/you that Daniel, one off the prisoners of Yuda, whom my father the king brought out of Yewry?)

Wycl Art thou Danyel, of the sones of caitifte of Juda, whom my fader, the kyng, brouyte fro Judee?
(Art thou/you Daniel, of the sons of captivity of Yuda, whom my fader, the king, brought from Yudea?)

Luth Da ward Daniel hinauf vor den König gebracht. Und der König sprach zu Daniel: Bist du der Daniel, der Gefangenen einer aus Juda, die der König, mein Vater, aus Juda hergebracht hat?
(So what/which Daniel up before/in_front_of the king brought. And the/of_the king spoke to/for Daniel: Bist you(sg) the/of_the Daniel, the/of_the prisoners/captives one/a out_of Yuda, the the/of_the king, my father, out_of Yuda traditional has?)

ClVg Igitur introductus est Daniel coram rege: ad quem præfatus rex ait: Tu es Daniel de filiis captivitatis Judæ, quem adduxit pater meus rex de Judæa?
(Therefore introductus it_is Daniel before king: to which beforefatus king he_said: You(sg) you_are Daniel from/about to_the_children captivity Yudah, which he_brought father mine king from/about Yudea? )

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 5:1–31: God judged King Belshazzar

The author continued to write in the Aramaic language. He wrote about how King Belshazzar gave a big banquet and made use of the sacred treasures from the Jerusalem temple. Belshazzar saw a hand writing a mysterious message on the wall. Only Daniel was able to explain the message, that God was about to punish Belshazzar. That same night an army of Medes and Persians conquered the city and killed Belshazzar.

English versions give different headings to Daniel 5. These include:

The Handwriting on the Wall (GW)

The Writing on the Wall (NIV)

King Belshazzar’s Banquet (CEV)

In some languages it may be more natural to write the heading in the form of a clause. For example, you could say:

King Belshazzar saw a hand write on the wall.

King Belshazzar had/gave a banquet/feast.

Some versions give headings to the subsections of Daniel 5. For example, the NLT has two headings:

The Writing on the Wall (5:1)

Daniel explains the writing (5:13)

The NRSV has three headings:

Belshazzar’s Feast (5:1)

The Writing on the Wall (5:5)

The Writing on the Wall Interpreted (5:13)

You should decide the number of headings that is best in your translation. The purpose of headings is to help readers to follow the events of the story. Headings also help the reader understand the relationships between the different parts of the story. You should try not to have more headings than necessary.

Historical Background:

Nabonidus was the king of Babylon from 556 to 539 B.C. Historical records indicate that he married Nitocris, the daughter of Nebuchadnezzar, and that Belshazzar was their oldest son.See the ancient Greek historian Herodotus and the Nabonidus Chronicles. While Nabonidus was absent from Babylon during the last ten years of his reign, Belshazzar acted as king in his place.

Daniel 5 describes the last night of the Babylonian empire. From other historic sources we know that Cyrus, the king of Persia, attacked the Babylonian army during the 7th month of the year 539 B.C. On the 15th day of that month, they attacked the town of Sippar and King Nabonidus fled. The next day Cyrus’ army entered the city of Babylon without any battle and killed its ruler, Belshazzar. Daniel 5 describes what Belshazzar was doing on the last day of the Babylonian empire.

Paragraph 5:13–16

The king summoned Daniel and asked him to interpret the writing on the wall. Some versions have a new heading at this verse.The NLT has: “Daniel Explains the Writing.” The NRSV has: “The Writing on the Wall Interpreted.” The GNT has: “Daniel Explains the Writing.”

5:13a

So Daniel was brought before the king,

¶ So someone/they brought/led Daniel to the king.
¶ So the king sent his servants to bring Daniel to him. When he arrived,

So: The Aramaic connector that the BSB translates as So and the RSV as “Then” here introduces a new stage in the action. The king did summon Daniel, and he arrived. Introduce this next event in the story in a way that is natural in your language. In some languages it may be natural to supply the implied information that the king did as the queen suggested. For example:

So that is what the king did.

So the king summoned Daniel

Daniel was brought before the king: Daniel entered the king’s presence. In the Aramaic text, as in the BSB this is a passive clause. In some languages it may be more natural to use an active verb and supply a subject. For example:

they brought Daniel to the king (NCV)

the king’s servants brought Daniel to the king

a messenger ordered Daniel to come to the king, and he came

before the king: This expression describes a situation where a person of lower status comes to a person of higher status or authority. Some English versions have:

into the king’s presence (NJB)

into the royal presence (REB)

Translate this idea in a way that is natural in your language.

5:13b

who asked him, “Are you Daniel,

Then the king said to Daniel, “So are you that/the Daniel
the king declared, “So you are Daniel, are you?

who asked him: The Aramaic expression that the BSB translates as asked is literally “answering and saying.” This expression implies that the king was about to say something new or important. Try to show this in a way that is natural in your language. For example, you may be able to communicate the same idea with one verb:

The king declared to Daniel

The king addressed Daniel (NJPS)

If you translate the quotation that follows as a question, it may be natural to say:

the king asked him

Are you Daniel…?: Scholars have punctuated this clause in two ways:

as a question. The king was asking Daniel for confirmation of his identity. For example:
Is your name Daniel….? (NCV) (BSB, NIV, NJB, GW, NLT, GNT, NCV, KJV, NASB, NET)
as a statement. For example:
So you are Daniel (NRSV) (RSV/NRSV, CEV, ESV)

The function of this speech is to confirm and emphasize Daniel’s identity. The king already expected to see Daniel and had received information about him. Consider how it is natural in your language for a person of authority, such as a judge, to receive confirmation of the identity of an inferior. Translate this using the form that is most natural in your language, either as a statement or as a question, real or rhetorical. The king was expressing surprise, curiosity, and perhaps even disdain.

5:13c

one of the exiles my father the king brought from Judah?

who is one of the Jewish exiles whom my father King Nebuchadnezzar brought as captives from the land of Judah?
I have heard that you are one of those men whom my royal predecessor caused/forced to come here from their own country, Judah.

one of the exiles my father the king brought from Judah: The Aramaic text is more literally “one of the sons of the exile of Judah whom my father the king brought from Judah.” The BSB and several other modern translations have chosen not to repeat the place name Judah. The king probably repeated this name to emphasize Daniel’s low status. The king wanted to make Daniel seem foreign, unimportant. Try to reflect this emphasis in your translation. For example:

one of those Jewish exiles/deportees whom my father the king brought into the country

one of the exiles: An “exile” is a person whom others have forced to leave his country. The Babylonian army under Nebuchadnezzar had taken many young Jewish men away from their homeland. See 1:1–5. Daniel was among these young men. The Babylonian soldiers had brought him to Babylon to serve the Babylonian empire and king. See the Notes at 2:25b. Here are some other ways to translate this phrase:

one of the Jewish exiles (GNT)

one of those men whom our^(excl) army captured

one of the captives (GW)

my father the king brought from Judah: King Nebuchadnezzar’s army had conquered Judah and forced many Jewish youths to leave their homes and come to Babylonia. See the Notes at 1:3b. The king himself had not personally brought the exiles to Babylon. He had ordered his soldiers to bring them. In some languages it may be necessary to supply this implied information. For example:

the king ordered his soldiers to bring

whom his soldiers brought back from Judah

whom the king deported from Judah

The king deliberately focused on Daniel’s inferior status as an exile from Judah. This was in contrast to the status of King Nebuchadnezzar, whom he called his father.

my father the king: The actual relationship between Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar is uncertain. It is possible that Belshazzar’s mother was Nebuchadnezzar’s daughter. The Aramaic word that the BSB translates as father may also mean “grandfather, ancestor, founder, predecessor.” See the Notes at 5:11b–c. Translate this here as you did there. For example:

my predecessor, King Nebuchadnezzar (NLT)

If the word for father in your language can also mean “ancestor” or “predecessor” you can translate literally here. It may help to add a footnote that explains the possible meanings of “father” in Aramaic.

from Judah: See the Notes on Judah in 1:1a. This name here refers to the kingdom of Judah. Judah was the homeland of Daniel and the other exiles.

Parallel DAN 5:13

Section 5:1–31: God judged King Belshazzar

Paragraph 5:13–16

5:13a

5:13b

5:13c