Daniel 11:16

11:16 The one advancing against him will do as he pleases, and no one will be able to stand before him. He will prevail in the beautiful land, and its annihilation will be within his power. ¹ 

Daniel 11:36

11:36 “Then the king ²  will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every deity and he will utter presumptuous things against the God of gods. He will succeed until the time of ³  wrath is completed, for what has been decreed must occur. ⁴ 

Daniel 4:35

4:35 All the inhabitants of the earth are regarded as nothing. ⁵ 

He does as he wishes with the army of heaven

and with those who inhabit the earth.

No one slaps ⁶  his hand

and says to him, ‘What have you done?’

Daniel 5:19

5:19 Due to the greatness that he bestowed on him, all peoples, nations, and language groups were trembling with fear ⁷  before him. He killed whom he wished, he spared ⁸  whom he wished, he exalted whom he wished, and he brought low whom he wished.

Daniel 8:4-14

8:4 I saw that the ram was butting westward, northward, and southward. No animal ⁹  was able to stand before it, and there was none who could deliver from its power. ¹⁰  It did as it pleased and acted arrogantly. ¹¹ 

8:5 While I was contemplating all this, ¹²  a male goat ¹³  was coming from the west over the surface of all the land ¹⁴  without touching the ground. This goat had a conspicuous horn ¹⁵  between its eyes. 8:6 It came to the two-horned ram that I had seen standing beside the canal and rushed against it with raging strength. ¹⁶  8:7 I saw it approaching the ram. It went into a fit of rage against the ram ¹⁷  and struck it ¹⁸  and broke off its two horns. The ram had no ability to resist it. ¹⁹  The goat hurled the ram ²⁰  to the ground and trampled it. No one could deliver the ram from its power. ²¹  8:8 The male goat acted even more arrogantly. But no sooner had the large horn become strong than it was broken, and there arose four conspicuous horns ²²  in its place, ²³  extending toward the four winds of the sky. ²⁴ 

8:9 From one of them came a small horn. ²⁵  But it grew to be very big, toward the south and the east and toward the beautiful land. ²⁶  8:10 It grew so big it reached the army ²⁷  of heaven, and it brought about the fall of some of the army and some of the stars ²⁸  to the ground, where it trampled them. 8:11 It also acted arrogantly against the Prince of the army, ²⁹  from whom ³⁰  the daily sacrifice was removed and whose sanctuary ³¹  was thrown down. 8:12 The army was given over, ³²  along with the daily sacrifice, in the course of his sinful rebellion. ³³  It hurled ³⁴  truth ³⁵  to the ground and enjoyed success. ³⁶ 

8:13 Then I heard a holy one ³⁷  speaking. Another holy one said to the one who was speaking, “To what period of time does the vision pertain – this vision concerning the daily sacrifice and the destructive act of rebellion and the giving over of both the sanctuary and army to be trampled?” 8:14 He said to me, “To 2,300 evenings and mornings; ³⁸  then the sanctuary will be put right again.” ³⁹ 

Ephesians 1:11

1:11 In Christ ⁴⁰  we too have been claimed as God’s own possession, ⁴¹  since we were predestined according to the one purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will

Hebrews 2:4

2:4 while God confirmed their witness ⁴²  with signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed ⁴³  according to his will.

James 1:18

1:18 By his sovereign plan he gave us birth ⁴⁴  through the message of truth, that we would be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.

[11:16]  ¹ tn Heb “hand.”

[11:36]  ² sn The identity of this king is problematic. If vv. 36-45 continue the description of Antiochus Epiphanes, the account must be viewed as erroneous, since the details do not match what is known of Antiochus’ latter days. Most modern scholars take this view, concluding that this section was written just shortly before the death of Antiochus and that the writer erred on several key points as he tried to predict what would follow the events of his own day. Conservative scholars, however, usually understand the reference to shift at this point to an eschatological figure, viz., the Antichrist. The chronological gap that this would presuppose to be in the narrative is not necessarily a problem, since by all accounts there are many chronological gaps throughout the chapter, as the historical figures intended by such expressions as “king of the north” and “king of the south” repeatedly shift.

[11:36]  ³ tn The words “the time of” are added in the translation for clarification.

[11:36]  ⁴ tn Heb “has been done.” The Hebrew verb used here is the perfect of certitude, emphasizing the certainty of fulfillment.

[4:35]  ⁵ tc The present translation reads כְּלָא (kÿla’), with many medieval Hebrew MSS, rather than כְּלָה (kÿlah) of BHS.

[4:35]  ⁶ tn Aram “strikes against.”

[5:19]  ⁷ tn Aram “were trembling and fearing.” This can be treated as a hendiadys, “were trembling with fear.”

[5:19]  ⁸ tn Aram “let live.” This Aramaic form is the aphel participle of חַיָה(khayah, “to live”). Theodotion and the Vulgate mistakenly take the form to be from מְחָא (mÿkha’, “to smite”).

[8:4]  ⁹ tn Or “beast” (NAB).

[8:4]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “hand.” So also in v. 7.

[8:4]  ¹¹ 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.

[8:5]  ¹² tn The words “all this” are added in the translation for stylistic reasons and for clarification.

[8:5]  ¹³ tn Heb “and behold, a he-goat of the goats.”

[8:5]  ¹⁴ tn Or “of the whole earth” (NAB, ASV, NASB, NRSV).

[8:5]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “a horn of vision” [or “conspicuousness”], i.e., “a conspicuous horn,” one easily seen.

[8:6]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “the wrath of its strength.”

[8:7]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “him.”

[8:7]  ¹⁸ tn Heb “the ram.”

[8:7]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “stand before him.”

[8:7]  ²⁰ tn Heb “he hurled him.” The referents of both pronouns (the male goat and the ram) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:7]  ²¹ sn The goat of Daniel’s vision represents Greece; the large horn represents Alexander the Great. The ram stands for Media-Persia. Alexander’s rapid conquest of the Persians involved three battles of major significance which he won against overwhelming odds: Granicus (334 B.C.), Isus (333 B.C.), and Gaugemela (331 B.C.).

[8:8]  ²² tn The word “horns” is not in the Hebrew text, but is implied.

[8:8]  ²³ sn The four conspicuous horns refer to Alexander’s successors. After his death, Alexander’s empire was divided up among four of his generals: Cassander, who took Macedonia and Greece; Lysimachus, who took Thrace and parts of Asia Minor; Seleucus, who took Syria and territory to its east; and Ptolemy, who took control of Egypt.

[8:8]  ²⁴ tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.

[8:9]  ²⁵ sn This small horn is Antiochus IV Epiphanes, who controlled the Seleucid kingdom from ca. 175-164 B.C. Antiochus was extremely hostile toward the Jews and persecuted them mercilessly.

[8:9]  ²⁶ sn The expression the beautiful land (Heb. הַצֶּבִי [hatsÿvi] = “the beauty”) is a cryptic reference to the land of Israel. Cf. 11:16, 41, where it is preceded by the word אֶרֶץ (’erets, “land”).

[8:10]  ²⁷ tn Traditionally, “host.” The term refers to God’s heavenly angelic assembly, which he sometimes leads into battle as an army.

[8:10]  ²⁸ sn In prescientific Israelite thinking the stars were associated with the angelic members of God’s heavenly assembly. See Judg 5:20; Job 38:7; Isa 40:26. In west Semitic mythology the stars were members of the high god’s divine assembly (see Isa 14:13).

[8:11]  ²⁹ sn The prince of the army may refer to God (cf. “whose sanctuary” later in the verse) or to the angel Michael (cf. 12:1).

[8:11]  ³⁰ tn Or perhaps “and by him,” referring to Antiochus rather than to God.

[8:11]  ³¹ sn Here the sanctuary is a reference to the temple of God in Jerusalem.

[8:12]  ³² tc The present translation reads וּצְבָאָהּ נִתַּן (utsÿva’ah nittan) for the MT וְצָבָא תִּנָּתֵן (vÿtsava’ tinnaten). The context suggests a perfect rather than an imperfect verb.

[8:12]  ³³ tn Heb “in (the course of) rebellion.” The meaning of the phrase is difficult to determine. It could mean “due to rebellion,” referring to the failures of the Jews, but this is not likely since it is not a point made elsewhere in the book. The phrase more probably refers to the rebellion against God and the atrocities against the Jews epitomized by Antiochus.

[8:12]  ³⁴ tc Two medieval Hebrew MSS and the LXX have a passive verb here: “truth was hurled to the ground” (cf. NIV, NCV, TEV).

[8:12]  ³⁵ sn Truth here probably refers to the Torah. According to 1 Macc 1:56, Antiochus initiated destruction of the sacred books of the Jews.

[8:12]  ³⁶ tn Heb “it acted and prospered.”

[8:13]  ³⁷ sn The holy one referred to here is presumably an angel. Cf. 4:13[10], 23 [20].

[8:14]  ³⁸ sn The language of evenings and mornings is reminiscent of the creation account in Genesis 1. Since “evening and morning” is the equivalent of a day, the reference here would be to 2,300 days. However, some interpreters understand the reference to be to the evening sacrifice and the morning sacrifice, in which case the reference would be to only 1,150 days. Either way, the event that marked the commencement of this period is unclear. The event that marked the conclusion of the period is the rededication of the temple in Jerusalem following the atrocious and sacrilegious acts that Antiochus implemented. This took place on December 25, 165 B.C. The Jewish celebration of Hanukkah each year commemorates this victory.

[8:14]  ³⁹ tn Heb “will be vindicated” or “will be justified.” This is the only occurrence of this verb in the Niphal in the OT. English versions interpret it as “cleansed” (KJV, ASV), “restored” (NASB, TEV, NLT), or “reconsecrated” (NIV).

[1:11]  ⁴⁰ tn Grk “in whom,” as a continuation of the previous verse.

[1:11]  ⁴¹ tn Grk “we were appointed by lot.” The notion of the verb κληρόω (klhrow) in the OT was to “appoint a portion by lot” (the more frequent cognate verb κληρονομέω [klhronomew] meant “obtain a portion by lot”). In the passive, as here, the idea is that “we were appointed [as a portion] by lot” (BDAG 548 s.v. κληρόω 1). The words “God’s own” have been supplied in the translation to clarify this sense of the verb. An alternative interpretation is that believers receive a portion as an inheritance: “In Christ we too have been appointed a portion of the inheritance.” See H. W. Hoehner, Ephesians, 226-27, for discussion on this interpretive issue.

[2:4]  ⁴² tn Grk “God bearing witness together” (the phrase “with them” is implied).

[2:4]  ⁴³ tn Grk “and distributions of the Holy Spirit.”

[1:18]  ⁴⁴ tn Grk “Having willed, he gave us birth.”