4:3 “How great are his signs!
How mighty are his wonders!
His kingdom will last forever, 1
and his authority continues from one generation to the next.”
4:34 But at the end of the appointed time 2 I, Nebuchadnezzar, looked up 3 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.
“For he is the living God;
he endures forever.
His kingdom will not be destroyed;
his authority is forever. 4
“And with 5 the clouds of the sky 6
one like a son of man 7 was approaching.
He went up to the Ancient of Days
and was escorted 8 before him.
7:14 To him was given ruling authority, honor, and sovereignty.
All peoples, nations, and language groups were serving 9 him.
His authority is eternal and will not pass away. 10
His kingdom will not be destroyed. 11
145:13 Your kingdom is an eternal kingdom, 12
and your dominion endures through all generations.
4:7 I will transform the lame into the nucleus of a new nation, 13
and those far off 14 into a mighty nation.
The Lord will reign over them on Mount Zion,
from that day forward and forevermore.” 15
12:34 Then the crowd responded, 22 “We have heard from the law that the Christ 23 will remain forever. 24 How 25 can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?”
11:15 Then 26 the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven saying:
“The kingdom of the world
has become the kingdom of our Lord
and of his Christ, 27
and he will reign for ever and ever.”
1 tn Aram “his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.”
2 tn Aram “days.”
3 tn Aram “lifted up my eyes.”
4 tn Aram “until the end.”
5 tc The LXX has ἐπί (epi, “upon”) here (cf. Matt 24:30; 26:64). Theodotion has μετά (meta, “with”) here (cf. Mark 14:62; Rev 1:7).
6 tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.
7 sn This text is probably the main OT background for Jesus’ use of the term “son of man.” In both Jewish and Christian circles the reference in the book of Daniel has traditionally been understood to refer to an individual, usually in a messianic sense. Many modern scholars, however, understand the reference to have a corporate identity. In this view, the “son of man” is to be equated with the “holy ones” (vv. 18, 21, 22, 25) or the “people of the holy ones” (v. 27) and understood as a reference to the Jewish people. Others understand Daniel’s reference to be to the angel Michael.
8 tn Aram “they brought him near.”
9 tn Some take “serving” here in the sense of “worshiping.”
10 tn Aram “is an eternal authority which will not pass away.”
11 tn Aram “is one which will not be destroyed.”
12 tn Heb “a kingdom of all ages.”
13 tn Heb “make the lame into a remnant.”
14 tn The precise meaning of this difficult form is uncertain. The present translation assumes the form is a Niphal participle of an otherwise unattested denominative verb הָלָא (hala’, “to be far off”; see BDB 229 s.v.), but attractive emendations include הַנַּחֲלָה (hannakhalah, “the sick one[s]”) from חָלָה (khalah) and הַנִּלְאָה (hannil’ah, “the weary one[s]”) from לָאָה (la’ah).
15 tn Heb “from now until forever.”
16 tn Grk “this one.”
17 sn Compare the description of Jesus as great here with 1:15, “great before the Lord.” Jesus is greater than John, since he is Messiah compared to a prophet. Great is stated absolutely without qualification to make the point.
18 sn The expression Most High is a way to refer to God without naming him. Such avoiding of direct reference to God was common in 1st century Judaism out of reverence for the divine name.
19 tn Or “ancestor.”
20 tn Grk “And he.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. A new sentence is begun here in the translation because of the length of the sentence in Greek.
21 tn Or “over Israel.”
22 tn Grk “Then the crowd answered him.”
23 tn Or “the Messiah” (Both Greek “Christ” and Hebrew and Aramaic “Messiah” mean “one who has been anointed”).
24 tn Probably an allusion to Ps 89:35-37. It is difficult to pinpoint the passage in the Mosaic law to which the crowd refers. The ones most often suggested are Ps 89:36-37, Ps 110:4, Isa 9:7, Ezek 37:25, and Dan 7:14. None of these passages are in the Pentateuch per se, but “law” could in common usage refer to the entire OT (compare Jesus’ use in John 10:34). Of the passages mentioned, Ps 89:36-37 is the most likely candidate. This verse speaks of David’s “seed” remaining forever. Later in the same psalm, v. 51 speaks of the “anointed” (Messiah), and the psalm was interpreted messianically in both the NT (Acts 13:22, Rev 1:5, 3:14) and in the rabbinic literature (Genesis Rabbah 97).
25 tn Grk “And how”; the conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has been left untranslated here for improved English style.
26 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.
27 tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”