Daniel 8:4

8:4 I saw that the ram was butting westward, northward, and southward. No animal ¹  was able to stand before it, and there was none who could deliver from its power. ²  It did as it pleased and acted arrogantly. ³ 

Daniel 8:24

8:24 His power will be great, but it will not be by his strength alone. He will cause terrible destruction. ⁴  He will be successful in what he undertakes. ⁵  He will destroy powerful people and the people of the holy ones. ⁶ 

Daniel 8:27

8:27 I, Daniel, was exhausted ⁷  and sick for days. Then I got up and again carried out the king’s business. But I was astonished at the vision, and there was no one to explain it.

Daniel 11:27

11:27 These two kings, their minds ⁸  filled with evil intentions, will trade ⁹  lies with one another at the same table. But it will not succeed, for there is still an end at the appointed time.

¹ tn Or “beast” (NAB).

² tn Heb “hand.” So also in v. 7.

³ tn In the Hiphil the Hebrew verb גָּדַל (gadal, “to make great; to magnify”) can have either a positive or a negative sense. For the former, used especially of God, see Ps 126:2, 3; Joel 2:21. In this chapter (8:4, 8, 11, 25) the word has a pejorative sense, describing the self-glorification of this king. The sense seems to be that of vainly assuming one’s own superiority through deliberate hubris.

⁴ tn Heb “extraordinarily he will destroy.”

⁵ tn Heb “he will succeed and act.”

⁶ 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.

⁷ tn The Hebrew word here is נִהְיֵיתִי (nihyetiy). Its meaning is not entirely clear. Hebrew הָיָה (hayah) normally has meanings such as “to be” or “become.” Here, however, it describes Daniel’s emotional and physical response to the enigmatic vision that he has seen. It is parallel to the following verb, which refers to illness, and seems to refer to a state of utter exhaustion due to the amazing things that Daniel has just seen. The LXX lacks the word. On the meaning of the word see further, BDB 227-28 s.v. הָיָה Niph.2; DCH 2:540 s.v. היה I Ni.3.

¹⁰ tn Heb “heart.” So also in v. 28.

¹¹ tn Heb “speak.”