11He said to me, “Daniel, greatly beloved, pay attention to the words that I am going to speak to you. Stand on your feet, for I have now been sent to you.” So while he was speaking this word to me, I stood up trembling.
The interconfessional Chichewa translation (publ. 1999) uses the ideophone njenjenje (“shake-shake”) to emphasize movements like trembling, dancing, or shaking in these verses. (Source: Wendland 1998, p. 105)
Philip Noss (in The Bible Translator 1976, p. 100ff. ) explains the function of an ideophone: “The ideophone may be identified with onomatopoeia and other sound words frequently seen in French and English comic strips, but in [many] African languages it comprises a class of words with a very wide range of meaning and usage. They may function verbally, substantively, or in a modifying role similar to adverbs and adjectives. They describe anything that may be experienced: action, sound, color, quality, smell, or emotion. In oral literature they are used not only with great frequency but also with great creativity.”
The term that is transliterated as “Daniel” in English is translated in American Sign Language with the sign for the letter D and for “lion,” referring to the story in Daniel 6. (Source: RuthAnna Spooner, Ron Lawer)
“Daniel” in American Sign Language, source: Deaf Harbor
In Swiss-German Sign Language it is translated with the sign for “prayer” that illustrates Daniel’s close relationship with God.
Orthodox Icons are not drawings or creations of imagination. They are in fact writings of things not of this world. Icons can represent our Lord Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, and the Saints. They can also represent the Holy Trinity, Angels, the Heavenly hosts, and even events. Orthodox icons, unlike Western pictures, change the perspective and form of the image so that it is not naturalistic. This is done so that we can look beyond appearances of the world, and instead look to the spiritual truth of the holy person or event. (Source )
He said to me: since the subject pronoun refers to the angel, it may be better in some languages to say this clearly, using a noun as in Good News Translation.
Man greatly beloved: this is very similar to the expression found in 9.23, but here the noun man is added. The meaning is that Daniel is a person considered very precious in God’s sight. The passive idea can mean loved by other people or loved by God, but in this context the latter is clearly much more likely. Good News Translation expresses it in an active way, and this will serve as a good model for many other languages.
The order of the commands has been changed in Good News Translation, and this also may be a good model in other languages. It is more natural that a person would be required to stand upright in order to be able to listen attentively (give heed to the words). Daniel’s attention is to be focused on what follows. For this reason Good News Translation says clearly “what I am going to say.”
Trembling: the root of this word is not the same as the one translated similarly and discussed under the previous verse. Nevertheless, if the idea of “trembling” is introduced earlier, then it may be more natural to say “still trembling” here, as in Good News Translation.
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 .
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