“Three 1 more kings will arise for Persia. Then a fourth 2 king will be unusually rich, 3 more so than all who preceded him. When he has amassed power through his riches, he will stir up everyone against 4 the kingdom of Greece.
1 sn Perhaps these three more kings are Cambyses (ca. 530-522
2 sn This fourth king is Xerxes I (ca. 486-465
3 tn Heb “rich with great riches.”
4 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.