DAN 5:17 Parallel Verse View

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Text critical issues=none Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

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 answered and said before the king, “Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your rewards to another. Nevertheless, I will read the writing to the king and make known to him the interpretation.

UST I replied to the king, “I do not want your gifts; keep them, or give them to someone else. But I will read for you the writing on the wall, and I will tell you what it means.

OEB No OEB DAN book available

WEBBE Then Daniel answered before the king, “Let your gifts be to yourself, and give your rewards to another. Nevertheless, I will read the writing to the king, and make known to him the interpretation.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET But Daniel replied to the king, “Keep your gifts, and give your rewards to someone else! However, I will read the writing for the king and make known its interpretation.

LSV Then Daniel has answered and said before the king, “Your gifts be to yourself, and give your fee to another; nevertheless, the writing I read to the king, and the interpretation I cause him to know;

FBV Daniel answered the king, “Keep your gifts and give your rewards to another. Even so I will read the writing to Your Majesty and explain to you what it means.

T4T I replied, “I do not want your gifts; keep them, or give them to someone else. But I will read for you the writing on the wall, and I will tell you what it means.

LEB Then Daniel answered and said before the king, “Let your gifts be for yourself or your rewards give to another; nevertheless, I will read the writing to the king and I will make known to him the explanation.[fn]

5:17 Or “interpretation”

BBE Then Daniel made answer and said to the king, Keep your offerings for yourself, and give your rewards to another; but I, after reading the writing to the king, will give him the sense of it.

Moff Then Daniel made answer to the king: “Keep your gifts for yourself, and give your rewards to someone else! However, I will read the writing to the king and let him hear the meaning of it.

JPS Then Daniel answered and said before the king: 'Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another; nevertheless I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation.

ASV Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another; nevertheless I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation.

DRA To which Daniel made answer, and said before the king: Thy rewards be to thyself, and the gifts of thy house give to another: but the writing I will read to thee, O king, and shew thee the interpretation thereof.

YLT Then hath Daniel answered and said before the king, 'Thy gifts be to thyself, and thy fee to another give; nevertheless, the writing I do read to the king, and the interpretation I cause him to know;

Drby Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another; yet will I read the writing to the king, and make known to him the interpretation.

RV Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another; nevertheless I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation.
(Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let thy/your gifts be to thyself/yourself, and give thy/your rewards to another; nevertheless I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation. )

SLT At that time Daniel answered and said before the king, Thy gifts to be to thyself, and give thy presents to another; but I will read the writing to the king, and make known to him the interpretation.

Wbstr Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another; yet I will read the writing to the king, and make known to him the interpretation.

KJB-1769 ¶ Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let thy gifts be to thyself, and give thy rewards to another; yet I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation.[fn]
(¶ Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let thy/your gifts be to thyself/yourself, and give thy/your rewards to another; yet I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to him the interpretation. )

5.17 rewards: or, fee

KJB-1611 ¶ Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let thy gifts be to thy selfe, and giue thy rewards to an other, yet I will reade the writing vnto the king, and make knowen to him the interpretation.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from punctuation)

Bshps Then Daniel aunswered, and sayd before the king, As for thy rewardes, kepe them to thy selfe, and geue thy giftes to another: yet I wil reade the writing vnto the king, and shewe him the interpretation.
(Then Daniel answered, and said before the king, As for thy/your rewardes, keep them to thyself/yourself, and give thy/your gifts to another: yet I will read the writing unto the king, and show him the interpretation.)

Gnva Then Daniel answered, and sayd before the King, Keepe thy rewards to thy selfe, and giue thy giftes to another: yet I will reade the writing vnto the King, and shew him the interpretation.
(Then Daniel answered, and said before the King, Keep thy/your rewards to thyself/yourself, and give thy/your gifts to another: yet I will read the writing unto the King, and show him the interpretation. )

Cvdl Daniel answered, and sayde before ye kynge: As for thy rewardes, kepe them to thy self, or geue yi rych giftes to another: yet not thelesse, I wil rede the wrytynge vnto ye kinge, and shewe him the interpretacion
(Daniel answered, and said before ye/you_all king: As for thy/your rewardes, keep them to thy/your self, or give ye/you_all rych gifts to another: yet not thelesse, I will read the writing unto ye/you_all king, and show him the interpretation)

Wycl To whiche thingis Danyel answeride, and seide bifore the kyng, Thi yiftis be to thee, and yyue thou to another man the yiftis of thin hous; forsothe, kyng, Y schal rede the scripture to thee, and Y schal schewe to thee the interpretyng therof.
(To which things Daniel answered, and said before the king, Thy/Your gifts be to thee/you, and give thou/you to another man the gifts of thin house; for_certain/truly, king, I shall read the scripture to thee/you, and I shall show to thee/you the interpreting thereof.)

Luth Da fing Daniel an und redete vor dem Könige: Behalte deine Gaben selbst und gib dein Geschenk einem andern; ich will dennoch die Schrift dem Könige lesen und anzeigen, was sie bedeute.
(So caught Daniel at/to and talked before/in_front_of to_him king(s): Behalte your gifts himself/itself and give your(s) gift on change/modify; I will nonetheless the writing to_him king(s) read and show/display(v), what/which they/she/them bedeute.)

ClVg Ad quæ respondens Daniel, ait coram rege: Munera tua sint tibi, et dona domus tuæ alteri da: scripturam autem legam tibi, rex, et interpretationem ejus ostendam tibi.
(To which responding Daniel, he_said before king: Munera your let_them_be to_you, and gifts home yours to_another da: scripturam however legam to_you, king, and interpretation his I_will_show to_you. )

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 5:17

This verse introduces a new speaker, Daniel. Daniel declared that he could read and interpret the writing on the wall.

5:17a

In response, Daniel said to the king, “You may keep your gifts for yourself

¶ Then Daniel told the king, “Please just keep^(sing) the/your gifts
¶ Then Daniel declared, “I do not want to accept these gifts.

In response: The Aramaic connector that the BSB translates as In response here introduces a new stage in the narrative. Introduce this next event, Daniel’s response to the king, in a way that is natural in your language. Here is another way to translate this:

Then (NIV)

Daniel said to the king: The Aramaic expression that the BSB translates as said is literally “answering and saying.” In this context, this expression implies that Daniel was about to announce something new and important. In your translation, try to indicate that Daniel was about to say something important. For example:

Daniel declared

Daniel gave his answer to the king

to the king: In Aramaic this expression is more literally “before the king” and implies that Daniel was speaking to someone who had a higher status than he did. Here is another way to translate this:

in the presence of the king (NRSV)

You may keep your gifts for yourself: Daniel spoke directly to the king. He told the king to keep his gifts. He did not want them. In some languages, people might consider it impolite to talk to a king in this way. It is good to translate this in a way that is direct but not rude. For example:

It is good/fine for you to keep your gifts

I do not look for gifts from you (REB)

Please keep those gifts for yourself.

In some languages it may be natural to make it explicit that Daniel did not want the king’s gifts. You may need to supply something like this:

Do not give those gifts to me. Keep them.

5:17b

and give your rewards to someone else.

or give^(sing) them to someone else.
You^(sing) can give your rewards to someone else.

and give your rewards to someone else: There are two ways to interpret the function of this clause:

It suggests an alternative to the previous clause. If the king did not want to keep the fine clothes and gold chain, he could give them to someone else. In this interpretation, the words “gifts” (5:17a) and rewards are synonyms. For example:
or give them to someone else (GNT) (GNT, NRSV, NCV, CEV, NLT, REB, probably GW)
It refers to a second action that the king should take. In this interpretation, there is a distinction between the “gifts” and the rewards. The king should keep the gifts but give the rewards to someone else. For example:
and give your rewards to others (NJB) (BSB, RSV, NIV, NJB, NJPS, NET, ESV)

It is recommended that you follow interpretation (1). See the Note below on your rewards. The NRSV is therefore used as the source line in the Display.

Daniel continued to speak plainly and directly. He made it clear that he did not want the king to pay or reward him for interpreting the writing. Some other ways to translate this include:

You can give your rewards to someone else. I do not want them.

Let someone else have/receive them.

Another man can have them.

your rewards: The Aramaic word that the BSB translates as rewards is a rare word.The form is odd, neḇazbbeyaṯaḵ which may come from nebizbat beyṯaḵ “the gift of your house.” Theodotion, the Vulgate, and the Syriac interpret it this way. See Goldingay, p. 102. The Aramaic word is nebizbah. See HALOT, 1924–25. It is only here and in 2:6. In both places, it is used together with the word “gifts.” This suggests that they are close in meaning. Together the two words emphasize the number and quality of gifts. Several English versions use a pronoun here to make it clear that the word rewards is referring back to the word “gifts” in the previous verse part. For example:

them (NLT)

5:17c

Nevertheless, I will read the inscription for the king and interpret it for him.

However, I will read the writing for you^(sing) the king, and I will tell you its meaning.
But I will read aloud the words on the wall, my king, and interpret them for you^(sing).

Nevertheless: The Aramaic connector that the BSB translates as Nevertheless in this context introduces a contrast. Daniel said he would interpret the writing even though he would not accept the king’s gifts. Translate in a way that most naturally shows the contrast. For example:

but (NLT)

I will read the inscription for the king: See the Notes at 5:7c. Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

I will read the writing for the king

I will read the script for you

for the king: Daniel spoke to the king in the third person. This was a polite way of speaking to someone who had a high status and greater authority. This way of speaking created distance between the speaker and listener. If this kind of speech is not natural in your language, you can translate using the second person. For example:

I will read this writing for you (GW)

I will read this to you, my king.

and: The Aramaic connector that the BSB translates as and here introduces the second thing that Daniel said he would do. In some languages it may be natural to start a new sentence here and translate this connector as:

I will also

interpret it for him: See the Notes at 5:7c. Daniel was able and willing to explain the writing to the king. He continued to speak respectfully to the king, indicating his respect by using the third person. See the Notes above. If this kind of speech is not natural in your language, you may be able to translate using a polite second person pronoun. For example:

tell you^(plur) what it means

General Comment on 5:17

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