SYRIAC sĭr’ ĭ ăk. The KJV rendering of אֲרָמִי, H811, in Daniel 2:4. The ASV has “Syrian,” and in the margin “Or, ‘in Aramaic.’” The RSV omits the word, but has in a footnote: “Heb. adds in Aramaic.” Elsewhere in the OT the same Heb. word is tr. SYRIAN in the KJV, and ARAMAIC in the RSV (2 Kings 18:26; Ezra 4:7; Isa 36:11). Syriac or Aramaic was the principal tongue of the whole Near E, and the official language of the Pers. empire. After the return from the Captivity, it took the place of Heb. as the spoken lang. of the Jews in Pal. Ezra 4:8-6:18; 7:12-26; Jeremiah 10:11; and Daniel 2:4b-7:28 are written in Aram.