“Three 2 more kings will arise for Persia. Then a fourth 3 king will be unusually rich, 4 more so than all who preceded him. When he has amassed power through his riches, he will stir up everyone against 5 the kingdom of Greece.
19:9 Then 12 the angel 13 said to me, “Write the following: Blessed are those who are invited to the banquet at the wedding celebration of the Lamb!” He also said to me, “These are the true words of God.”
1 tn Heb “truth.”
2 sn Perhaps these three more kings are Cambyses (ca. 530-522
3 sn This fourth king is Xerxes I (ca. 486-465
4 tn Heb “rich with great riches.”
5 tn The text is difficult. The Hebrew has here אֶת (’et), the marker of a definite direct object. As it stands, this would suggest the meaning that “he will arouse everyone, that is, the kingdom of Greece.” The context, however, seems to suggest the idea that this Persian king will arouse in hostility against Greece the constituent elements of his own empire. This requires supplying the word “against,” which is not actually present in the Hebrew text.
6 tn Heb “and concerning the repeating of the dream to Pharaoh two times.” The Niphal infinitive here is the object of the preposition; it is followed by the subjective genitive “of the dream.”
7 tn Heb “established.”
8 tn The clause combines a participle and an infinitive construct: God “is hurrying…to do it,” meaning he is going to do it soon.
9 tn Grk “behold.”
10 sn The predicted fulfillment in the expression my words, which will be fulfilled in their time takes place in Luke 1:63-66.
11 sn Silent, unable to speak. Actually Zechariah was deaf and mute as 1:61-63 indicates, since others had to use gestures to communicate with him.
12 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.
13 tn Grk “he”; the referent (the angel) has been specified in the translation for clarity.