Daniel 11:22

11:22 Armies ¹  will be suddenly ²  swept away in defeat ³  before him; both they and a covenant leader ⁴  will be destroyed. ⁵ 

Daniel 11:30-32

11:30 The ships of Kittim ⁶  will come against him, leaving him disheartened. ⁷  He will turn back and direct his indignation against the holy covenant. He will return and honor ⁸  those who forsake the holy covenant. 11:31 His forces ⁹  will rise up and profane the fortified sanctuary, ¹⁰  stopping the daily sacrifice. In its place they will set up ¹¹  the abomination that causes desolation. 11:32 Then with smooth words he will defile ¹²  those who have rejected ¹³  the covenant. But the people who are loyal to ¹⁴  their God will act valiantly. ¹⁵ 

Daniel 8:24

8:24 His power will be great, but it will not be by his strength alone. He will cause terrible destruction. ¹⁶  He will be successful in what he undertakes. ¹⁷  He will destroy powerful people and the people of the holy ones. ¹⁸ 

Acts 3:25

3:25 You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your ancestors, ¹⁹  saying to Abraham, ‘And in your descendants ²⁰  all the nations ²¹  of the earth will be blessed.’ ²² 

¹ tn Heb “arms.”

² tc The present translation reads הִשָּׁטֹף (hishatof), Niphal infinitive absolute of שָׁטַף (shataf, “to overflow”), for the MT הַשֶּׁטֶף (hashetef, “flood”).

³ tn The words “in defeat” are added in the translation for clarification.

⁴ tn Heb “a prince of the covenant.”

⁵ tn Heb “broken” or “shattered.”

⁶ sn The name Kittim has various designations in extra-biblical literature. It can refer to a location on the island of Cyprus, or more generally to the island itself, or it can be an inclusive term to refer to parts of the Mediterranean world that lay west of the Middle East (e.g., Rome). For ships of Kittim the Greek OT (LXX) has “Romans,” an interpretation followed by a few English versions (e.g., TEV). A number of times in the Dead Sea Scrolls the word is used in reference to the Romans. Other English versions are more generic: “[ships] of the western coastlands” (NIV, NLT); “from the west” (NCV, CEV).

⁷ sn This is apparently a reference to the Roman forces, led by Gaius Popilius Laenas, which confronted Antiochus when he came to Egypt and demanded that he withdraw or face the wrath of Rome. Antiochus wisely withdrew from Egypt, albeit in a state of bitter frustration.

⁸ tn Heb “show regard for.”

⁹ tn Heb “arms.”

¹⁰ tn Heb “the sanctuary, the fortress.”

¹¹ tn Heb “will give.”

¹² tn Or “corrupt.”

¹³ tn Heb “acted wickedly toward.”

¹⁴ tn Heb “know.” The term “know” sometimes means “to recognize.” In relational contexts it can have the connotation “recognize the authority of, be loyal to,” as it does here.

¹⁵ sn This is an allusion to the Maccabean revolt, which struggled to bring about Jewish independence in the second century B.C.

¹⁶ tn Heb “extraordinarily he will destroy.”

¹⁷ tn Heb “he will succeed and act.”

¹⁸ tn See the corresponding Aramaic expression in 7:27. If the “holy ones” are angels, then this probably refers to the angels as protectors of God’s people. One could translate, “people belonging to (i.e., protected by) the holy ones.” If the “holy ones” are God’s people, then this is an appositional construction, “the people who are the holy ones.” One could translate simply “holy people.” For examples of a plural appositional genitive after “people,” see 11:15, 32. Because either interpretation is possible, the translation has deliberately preserved the ambiguity of the Hebrew grammar here.

¹⁹ tn Or “forefathers”; Grk “fathers.”

²⁰ tn Or “in your offspring”; Grk “in your seed.”

²¹ tn Or “families.” The Greek word πατριά (patria) can indicate persons of succeeding generations who are related by birth (“lineage,” “family”) but it can also indicate a relatively large unit of people who make up a sociopolitical group and who share a presumed biological descent. In many contexts πατριά is very similar to ἔθνος (eqnos) and λαός (laos). In light of the context of the OT quotation, it is better to translate πατριά as “nations” here.

²² sn A quotation from Gen 22:18.