The first sentence of this verse in Aramaic is incomplete. Many English versions complete the sense with words similar to well and good, as in Revised Standard Version, or some other phrase meaning “it will be all right for you,” or perhaps even “you will not be punished.” But these are not a part of the original. Two important commentaries in English provide another way of handling this problem. The translation in Anchor Bible has “I hope that now, when you hear…, you will fall down and worship the image I have made.” And Lacocque suggests that it be put in the form of a question: “Are you now ready, at the moment you hear…, to prostrate yourselves and worship the statue I have made?” A similar solution has been adopted by Bible en français courant, but breaking the long discourse down into two separate sentences, the second of which is a question: “You will again hear the trumpet … music. Are you now ready to bow down to worship the statue that I made?”

Horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe: see verses 5 and 7.

If you do not worship: in many languages “the statue,” or the pronoun “it” referring to the statue, will have to be added after the verb worship. But in other cases this may be translated more meaningfully as “if you refuse, ….” Or it may be possible to combine these two suggestions, as in New Jerusalem Bible: “if you refuse to worship it….”

You shall … be cast: again the passive verb form will have to be translated actively in many languages. See verse 6 above.

Burning fiery furnace: see also verse 6.

Who is the god that will deliver you…?: a rhetorical question such as this has the same value as a negative affirmation meaning “there is no god that is able to save you.” It may be translated this way in languages where the rhetorical question may be misunderstood or is felt to be unnatural in this context. Moffatt frames the rhetorical question in a different way that may be a good model for some languages: “Where is the god that can save you from my power?”

Out of my hands: a literal translation may be misleading in some cases. New English Bible/Revised English Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, New Jerusalem Bible, and others have “from my power,” which accurately translates the meaning of the phrase.

Quoted with permission from Péter-Contesse, René & Ellington, John. A Handbook on Daniel. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1994. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .