DAN 5:16 Parallel Verse View

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

5:16 OSHB variant note: עלי/ך: (x-qere) ’עֲלָ֔/ךְ’: lemma_5922 n_1.1 morph_AR/Sp2ms id_27Pym עֲלָ֔/ךְ

5:16 OSHB variant note: תוכל: (x-qere) ’תִיכּ֥וּל’: lemma_3202 morph_AVqi2ms id_27nrb תִיכּ֥וּל

5:16 OSHB note: We read one or more consonants in L differently from BHS.

5:16 OSHB variant note: תוכל: (x-qere) ’תִּכ֨וּל’: lemma_3202 morph_AVqi2ms id_27Wj8 תִּכ֨וּל

5:16 OSHB variant note: ו/המונכ/א: (x-qere) ’וְ/הַֽמְנִיכָ֤/א’: lemma_c/2002 morph_AC/Ncmsd/Td id_27r2t וְ/הַֽמְנִיכָ֤/א

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 But I have heard about you, that you are able to give interpretations and solve problems. Now if you are able to read the writing and make known to me its interpretation, you will be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around your neck, and you will be the third ruler in the kingdom.”

UST Someone told me that you can tell what dreams mean and explain things that are very difficult to understand. If you can read these words and tell me what they mean, I will give you a purple robe like I wear because I am the king, and I will put a gold chain around your neck. You will become a very important official in my kingdom; there will be only two others who will be more important than you will be.”

BSB But I have heard about you, that you are able to give interpretations and solve difficult problems. Therefore, if you can read this inscription and give me its interpretation, you will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around your neck, and you will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.”

OEB No OEB DAN book available

WEBBE But I have heard of you, that you can give interpretations and dissolve doubts. Now if you can read the writing and make known to me its interpretation, you shall be clothed with purple, and have a chain of gold around your neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.”

WMBB (Same as above)

NET However, I have heard that you are able to provide interpretations and to decipher knotty problems. Now if you are able to read this writing and make known to me its interpretation, you will wear purple and have a golden collar around your neck and be third ruler in the kingdom.”

LSV and I have heard of you, that you are able to give interpretations, and to loose knots: now, behold—you are able to read the writing, and its interpretation to cause me to know—purple you put on, and a bracelet of gold [is] on your neck, and you rule third in the kingdom.”

FBV However, I'm told that you are able to give interpretations and solve difficult problems. If you can read this writing and explain it to me, you will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain placed around your neck, and you will become the third highest ruler in the kingdom.”

T4T Someone told me that you can tell what dreams mean and explain things that are very difficult to understand. If you can read these words and tell me what they mean, I will give you a purple robe like I wear because I am the king, and I will put a gold chain around your neck. You will become a very important official in my kingdom; there will be only two others who will be more important than you will be.”

LEB But I have heard concerning you that you are able _⌊to produce interpretations_⌋[fn] and to solve riddles; now if you are able to read the writing and to make known its explanation[fn] to me, you will be clothed in purple and a necklace of gold will be placed around your neck and you will rule as third in command in the kingdom.”

5:16 Literally “to interpret interpretations”

5:16 Or “interpretation”

BBE And I have had news of you, that you have the power of making things clear, and of answering hard questions: now if you are able to make out the writing and give me the sense of it, you will be clothed in purple and have a gold chain round your neck and be a ruler of high authority in the kingdom.

Moff However, I hear that you can explain things and reverse spells. Now, if you can read this writing and let me hear the meaning of it, you shall wear a purple robe and a golden chain round your neck, and you shall rank third within the realm.”

JPS But I have heard of thee, that thou canst give interpretations, and loose knots; now if thou canst read the writing, and make known to me the interpretation thereof, thou shalt be clothed with purple, and have a chain of gold about thy neck, and shalt rule as one of three in the kingdom.'

ASV But I have heard of thee, that thou canst give interpretations, and dissolve doubts: now if thou canst read the writing, and make known to me the interpretation thereof, thou shalt be clothed with purple, and have a chain of gold about thy neck, and shalt be the third ruler in the kingdom.

DRA But I have heard of thee, that thou canst interpret obscure things, and resolve difficult things: now if thou art able to read the writing, and to shew me the interpretation thereof, thou shalt be clothed with purple, and shalt have a chain of gold about thy neck, and shalt be the third prince in my kingdom.

YLT and I — I have heard of thee, that thou art able to give interpretations, and to loose knots: now, lo — thou art able to read the writing, and its interpretation to cause me to know — purple thou dost put on, and a bracelet of gold [is] on thy neck, and third in the kingdom thou dost rule.'

Drby But I have heard of thee, that thou canst give interpretations, and solve problems. Now if thou canst read the writing, and make known to me the interpretation thereof, thou shalt be clothed with purple, and have a chain of gold about thy neck, and shalt be the third ruler in the kingdom.

RV But I have heard of thee, that thou canst give interpretations, and dissolve doubts: now if thou canst read the writing, and make known to me the interpretation thereof, thou shalt be clothed with purple, and have a chain of gold about thy neck, and shalt be the third ruler in the kingdom.
(But I have heard of thee/you, that thou/you canst give interpretations, and dissolve doubts: now if thou/you canst read the writing, and make known to me the interpretation thereof, thou/you shalt/shall be clothed with purple, and have a chain of gold about thy/your neck, and shalt/shall be the third ruler in the kingdom. )

SLT And I heard concerning thee, that thou wilt be able to interpret interpretations, and solve knotty questions: now if thou shalt be able to read the writing, and to make known to me its interpretation, thou shalt be clothed in purple, and a necklace of gold upon thy neck, and thou shalt rule the third in the kingdom.

Wbstr And I have heard of thee, that thou canst make interpretations, and dissolve doubts: now if thou canst read the writing, and make known to me the interpretation of it, thou shalt be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about thy neck, and shalt be the third ruler in the kingdom.

KJB-1769 And I have heard of thee, that thou canst make interpretations, and dissolve doubts: now if thou canst read the writing, and make known to me the interpretation thereof, thou shalt be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about thy neck, and shalt be the third ruler in the kingdom.[fn]
(And I have heard of thee/you, that thou/you canst make interpretations, and dissolve doubts: now if thou/you canst read the writing, and make known to me the interpretation thereof, thou/you shalt/shall be clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about thy/your neck, and shalt/shall be the third ruler in the kingdom. )

5.16 make interpretations: Chaldee, interpret, etc

KJB-1611 [fn]And I haue heard of thee, that thou canst make interpretations, and dissolue doubts: now if thou canst read the writing, and make knowen to mee the interpretation thereof, thou shalt be clothed with scarlet, & haue a chaine of gold about thy necke, and shalt bee the third ruler in the kingdome.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from marking of added words (and possibly capitalisation and punctuation and footnotes))

5:16 Calde. interprete.

Bshps Then hearde I of thee that thou couldest shewe interpretations, and dissolue doubtes: nowe if thou canst reade his writing, & shew me the meaning therof, thou shalt be clothed with purple, and haue a cheyne of gold about thy necke, & be the thirde ruler in the kingdome.
(Then heard I of thee/you that thou/you couldst show interpretations, and dissolve doubtes: now if thou/you canst read his writing, and show me the meaning thereof, thou/you shalt/shall be clothed with purple, and have a chain of gold about thy/your neck, and be the third ruler in the kingdom.)

Gnva Then heard I of thee, that thou couldest shewe interpretations, and dissolue doutes: nowe if thou canst reade the writing, and shew me the interpretation thereof, thou shalt be clothed with purple, and shalt haue a chaine of golde about thy necke, and shalt be the third ruler in the kingdome.
(Then heard I of thee/you, that thou/you couldst show interpretations, and dissolve doutes: now if thou/you canst read the writing, and show me the interpretation thereof, thou/you shalt/shall be clothed with purple, and shalt/shall have a chain of gold about thy/your neck, and shalt/shall be the third ruler in the kingdom. )

Cvdl Then herde I saye, yt thou canst expounde darcke thinges, and declare harde doutes. Well than, yf thou canst rede this writinge, and shewe me the meaninge therof: thou shalt be clothed wt purple, haue a cheyne of golde aboute thy necke, & rule the thirde parte of my kyngdome.
(Then herd/heard I say, it thou/you canst expounde dark things, and declare hard doutes. Well than, if thou/you canst read this writinge, and show me the meaninge thereof: thou/you shalt/shall be clothed with purple, have a chain of gold about thy/your neck, and rule the third part of my kingdom.)

Wycl Certis Y haue herde of thee, that thou maist interprete derk thingis, and vnbynde boundun thingis; therfor if thou maist rede the scripture, and schewe to me the interpretyng therof, thou schalt be clothid in purpur, and thou schalt haue a goldun bie aboute thi necke, and thou schalt be the thridde prince in my rewme.
(Certis I have heard of thee/you, that thou/you mayest/may interpret dark things, and unbind/untie bound things; therefore if thou/you mayest/may read the scripture, and show to me the interpreting thereof, thou/you shalt/shall be clothed in purple, and thou/you shalt/shall have a golden buy about thy/your neck, and thou/you shalt/shall be the third prince in my realm.)

Luth Von dir aber höre ich, daß du könnest die Deutung geben und das Verborgene offenbaren. Kannst du nun die Schrift lesen und mir anzeigen, was sie bedeutet, so sollst du mit Purpur gekleidet werden und güldene Ketten an deinem Halse tragen und der dritte Herr sein in meinem Königreiche.
(From you/to_you(sg) but listen I, that you(sg) can the interpretation give and the hidden_(things/ones) reveal. Can you(sg) now the writing read and to_me show/display(v), what/which they/she/them bedeutet, so should you(sg) with purple_(stuff) dressed become and golden chains at/to your necks bear/carry and the/of_the third Lord be in my kingdoms.)

ClVg Porro ego audivi de te, quod possis obscura interpretari, et ligata dissolvere: si ergo vales scripturam legere, et interpretationem ejus indicare mihi, purpura vestieris, et torquem auream circa collum tuum habebis, et tertius in regno meo princeps eris.
(Further I I_heard from/about you(sg), that you_can dark interpretari, and tieta dissolvere: when/but_if therefore vales scripturam lawfullyre, and interpretation his to_indicidate to_me, purple vestieris, and torquem golden around/about neck/spout your(sg) you_will_have, and third in/into/on kingdom mine prince you_will_be. )

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.”

5:16a

But I have heard about you, that you are able to give interpretations and solve difficult problems.

However, I have heard that you^(sing) can interpret things/messages and solve problems.
But someone has told me that you^(sing) can explain mysteries and that you can solve problems.

But: The Aramaic connector that the BSB translates as But here introduces a contrast with 5:15c. The king’s experts were not able to interpret the writing on the wall, but the king had heard that Daniel had the ability to do this. Here is another way to translate this:

Now (NIV)

Translate the contrast in a way that is natural in your language.

I have heard about you: See the Notes at 5:12a. In some languages it may be more natural to say who told the king this information. For example:

The queen has told me:

Someone has told me:

you are able to give interpretations: The Aramaic expression that the BSB translates as to give interpretations is literally “to interpret interpretations.” Other ways English versions say this are:

You can interpret such things (GW)

You are able to explain what things mean (NCV)

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

and solve difficult problems: The Aramaic phrase is literally “loosen knots.” This is the second thing that the king had heard that Daniel was able to do. In some languages it may be natural to make this explicit and translate this as a separate clause:

I have also heard that you can solve difficult problems

A similar phrase occurs at 5:12b-c. See how you translated it there. For example:

untangle problems (GW)

unravel problems (REB)

explain mysteries (GNT)

The author may have intentionally used this phrase in a humorous way, as a joke or pun. In 5:6 the king was so alarmed that the “knots” of his hips were “loosened.” Here the king says that he has heard that Daniel can “loosen knots.” In some languages, you may be able to translate literally and maintain the pun. If that is unnatural, translate the meaning in a more direct way.

5:16b

Therefore, if you can read this inscription and give me its interpretation,

Now if you^(sing) can read the writing and interpret what it means,
So if you^(sing) can now read the words and explain to me what it means,

Therefore: The BSB translates the Aramaic conjunction that connects this verse part to the previous verse part as Therefore because, in this context, it introduces what the king planned to do in light of what he had heard. Other ways to translate it include:

Now then (CEV)

So then

if you can read this inscription and give me its interpretation: This is a conditional clause with two parts. The king wanted Daniel to read aloud to him the writing on the wall and to explain its meaning. See the Notes at 5:12c, 5:15a.

if you can read this inscription: See the Notes at 5:7c; 5:15b.

and give me its interpretation: See the Notes at 5:7c; 5:15b. You can also say:

and tell me its meaning (GW)

and explain it to me (NCV)

5:16c

you will be clothed in purple

you^(sing) will be given purple robes to wear
I will give you^(sing) royal purple clothes to wear.
you^(sing) will receive magnificent purple robes.

you will be clothed in purple: See the Notes at 5:7d. This is a passive clause. It indicates that the king would reward Daniel by giving him expensive beautiful clothes. If it is more natural in your language to use an active verb, you can say:

They will clothe you in purple robes.

I will give you purple clothes to wear.

My servants will give you purple clothes to wear.

In some languages it may be necessary to make it explicit that purple clothes were beautiful and expensive clothes such as a king would wear. For example:

You will wear royal purple robes (CEV)

I will give you purple clothes fit for a king (NCV)

They will clothe you in magnificent robes.

5:16d

and have a gold chain placed around your neck,

and have a gold chain placed around your neck,
I will give you^(sing) a gold chain to wear around your neck.
You^(sing) will also receive the honor of wearing a gold necklace.

and have a gold chain placed around your neck: See the Notes at 5:7e. This is the second part of the reward. It is also a passive clause. If it is more natural in your language to use an active verb, you can say:

You will…have a gold chain around your neck. (CEV)

I will place a gold chain around your neck.

They/Someone will put a gold chain around your neck.

5:16e

and you will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom.”

And I will make you^(sing) the third highest ruler in the/my kingdom.”
I will appoint you^(sing) as the third most powerful ruler in Babylon.”

and you will be made the third highest ruler in the kingdom: This is the third part of the reward. See the Notes at 5:7f, and translate it here as you did there. This is also a passive clause. If it is more natural in your language to use an active verb, you can say:

I will appoint you as the third highest ruler in the kingdom

General Comment on 5:16c–e

In some languages it is more natural to change the order of these clauses. For example:

^eI will appoint you as the third most powerful man in my kingdom. ^cI will give you royal purple robes to wear ^dand a gold chain around your neck.

you will become the third most powerful man in my kingdom. You will wear royal purple robes and have a gold chain around your neck. (CEV)

Parallel DAN 5:16