4:17 This announcement is by the decree of the sentinels;
this decision is by the pronouncement of the holy ones,
so that 4 those who are alive may understand
that the Most High has authority over human kingdoms, 5
and he bestows them on whomever he wishes.
He establishes over them even the lowliest of human beings.’
4:34 But at the end of the appointed time 8 I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up 9 toward heaven, and my sanity returned to me.
I extolled the Most High,
and I praised and glorified the one who lives forever.
For his authority is an everlasting authority,
and his kingdom extends from one generation to the next.
7:9 “While I was watching,
thrones were set up,
and the Ancient of Days 10 took his seat.
His attire was white like snow;
the hair of his head was like lamb’s 11 wool.
His throne was ablaze with fire
and its wheels were all aflame. 12
7:25 He will speak words against the Most High.
He will harass 13 the holy ones of the Most High continually.
His intention 14 will be to change times established by law. 15
They will be delivered into his hand
For a time, times, 16 and half a time.
12:1 “At that time Michael,
the great prince who watches over your people, 22
will arise. 23
There will be a time of distress
unlike any other from the nation’s beginning 24
up to that time.
But at that time your own people,
all those whose names are 25 found written in the book,
will escape.
1 tn Aram “not for any wisdom which is in me more than [in] any living man.”
2 tn Aram “they might cause the king to know.” The impersonal plural is used here to refer to the role of God’s spirit in revealing the dream and its interpretation to the king. As J. A. Montgomery says, “it appropriately here veils the mysterious agency” (Daniel [ICC], 164-65).
3 tn Aram “heart.”
4 tc The present translation follows an underlying reading of עַל־דִּבְרַת (’al-divrat, “so that”) rather than MT עַד־דִּבְרַת (’ad-divrat, “until”).
5 tn Aram “the kingdom of man”; NASB “the realm of mankind”; NCV “every kingdom on earth.”
7 tn Aram “if there may be a lengthening to your prosperity.”
10 tn Aram “until.”
13 tn Aram “days.”
14 tn Aram “lifted up my eyes.”
16 tn Or “the Ancient One” (NAB, NRSV, NLT), although the traditional expression has been retained in the present translation because it is familiar to many readers. Cf. TEV “One who had been living for ever”; CEV “the Eternal God.”
17 tn Traditionally the Aramaic word נְקֵא (nÿqe’) has been rendered “pure,” but here it more likely means “of a lamb.” Cf. the Syriac neqya’ (“a sheep, ewe”). On this word see further, M. Sokoloff, “’amar neqe’, ‘Lamb’s Wool’ (Dan 7:9),” JBL 95 (1976): 277-79.
18 tn Aram “a flaming fire.”
19 tn Aram “wear out” (so KJV, ASV, NRSV); NASB, NLT “wear down.” The word is a hapax legomenon in biblical Aramaic, but in biblical Hebrew it especially refers to wearing out such things as garments. Here it is translated “harass…continually.”
20 tn Aram “he will think.”
21 tn Aram “times and law.” The present translation is based on the understanding that the expression is a hendiadys.
22 sn Although the word times is vocalized in the MT as a plural, it probably should be regarded as a dual. The Masoretes may have been influenced here by the fact that in late Aramaic (and Syriac) the dual forms fall out of use. The meaning would thus be three and a half “times.”
22 tn Or “a treasured person”; KJV “a man greatly beloved”; NASB “man of high esteem.”
23 tn The Hebrew participle is often used, as here, to refer to the imminent future.
24 tn Heb “stand upon your standing.”
25 tn Heb “spoke this word.”
25 tn Heb “and unto a time.”
28 tn Heb “stands over the sons of your people.”
29 tn Heb “will stand up.”
30 tn Or “from the beginning of a nation.”
31 tn The words “whose names are” are added in the translation for stylistic reasons and for clarification.