Daniel 4:17

4:17 This announcement is by the decree of the sentinels;

this decision is by the pronouncement of the holy ones,

so that ¹  those who are alive may understand

that the Most High has authority over human kingdoms, ² 

and he bestows them on whomever he wishes.

He establishes over them even the lowliest of human beings.’

Daniel 4:32

4:32 You will be driven from human society, and you will live with the wild animals. You will be fed grass like oxen, and seven periods of time will pass by for you before ³  you understand that the Most High is ruler over human kingdoms and gives them to whomever he wishes.”

Daniel 4:1

4:1 (3:31) ⁴  “King Nebuchadnezzar, to all peoples, nations, and language groups that live in all the land: Peace and prosperity! ⁵ 

Daniel 2:7-8

2:7 They again replied, “Let the king inform us ⁶  of the dream; then we will disclose its ⁷  interpretation.” 2:8 The king replied, “I know for sure that you are attempting to gain time, because you see that my decision is firm.

Job 12:18

12:18 He loosens ⁸  the bonds ⁹  of kings

and binds a loincloth ¹⁰  around their waist.

Psalms 75:5-6

75:5 Do not be so certain you have won! ¹¹ 

Do not speak with your head held so high! ¹² 

75:6 For victory does not come from the east or west,

or from the wilderness. ¹³ 

Psalms 113:7-8

113:7 He raises the poor from the dirt,

and lifts up the needy from the garbage pile, ¹⁴ 

113:8 that he might seat him with princes,

with the princes of his people.

Proverbs 8:15-16

8:15 Kings reign by means of me,

and potentates ¹⁵  decree ¹⁶  righteousness;

8:16 by me princes rule,

as well as nobles and ¹⁷  all righteous judges. ¹⁸ 

Luke 1:51-52

1:51 He has demonstrated power ¹⁹  with his arm; he has scattered those whose pride wells up from the sheer arrogance ²⁰  of their hearts.

1:52 He has brought down the mighty ²¹  from their thrones, and has lifted up those of lowly position; ²² 

Acts 13:21-22

13:21 Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul son of Kish, a man from the tribe of Benjamin, who ruled ²³  forty years. 13:22 After removing him, God ²⁴  raised up ²⁵  David their king. He testified about him: ²⁶  ‘I have found David ²⁷  the son of Jesse to be a man after my heart, ²⁸  who will accomplish everything I want him to do.’ ²⁹ 

Revelation 19:16

19:16 He has a name written on his clothing and on his thigh: “King of kings and Lord of lords.”

[4:17]  ¹ tc The present translation follows an underlying reading of עַל־דִּבְרַת (’al-divrat, “so that”) rather than MT עַד־דִּבְרַת (’ad-divrat, “until”).

[4:17]  ² tn Aram “the kingdom of man”; NASB “the realm of mankind”; NCV “every kingdom on earth.”

[4:32]  ³ tn Aram “until.”

[4:1]  ⁴ sn Beginning with 4:1, the verse numbers through 4:37 in the English Bible differ from the verse numbers in the Aramaic text (BHS), with 4:1 ET = 3:31 AT, 4:2 ET = 3:32 AT, 4:3 ET = 3:33 AT, 4:4 ET = 4:1 AT, etc., through 4:37 ET = 4:34 AT. Thus Dan 3:31-33 of the Aramaic text appears as Dan 4:1-3 in the English Bible, and the corresponding verses of ch. 4 differ accordingly. In spite of the division of the Aramaic text, a good case can be made that 3:31-33 AT (= 4:1-3 ET) is actually the introduction to ch. 4.

[4:1]  ⁵ tn Aram “May your peace increase!”

[2:7]  ⁶ tn Aram “his servants.”

[2:7]  ⁷ tn Or “the.”

[12:18]  ⁸ tn The verb may be classified as a gnomic perfect, or possibly a potential perfect – “he can loosen.” The Piel means “to untie; to unbind” (Job 30:11; 38:31; 39:5).

[12:18]  ⁹ tc There is a potential textual difficulty here. The MT has מוּסַר (musar, “discipline”), which might have replaced מוֹסֵר (moser, “bond, chain”) from אָסַר (’asar, “to bind”). Or מוּסַר might be an unusual form of אָסַר (an option noted in HALOT 557 s.v. *מוֹסֵר). The line is saying that if the kings are bound, God can set them free, and in the second half, if they are free, he can bind them. Others take the view that this word “bond” refers to the power kings have over others, meaning that God can reduce kings to slavery.

[12:18]  ¹⁰ tn Some commentators want to change אֵזוֹר (’ezor, “girdle”) to אֵסוּר (’esur, “bond”) because binding the loins with a girdle was an expression for strength. But H. H. Rowley notes that binding the king’s loins this way would mean so that he would do servitude, menial tasks. Such a reference would certainly indicate troubled times.

[75:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “do not lift up on high your horn.”

[75:5]  ¹² tn Heb “[do not] speak with unrestrained neck.” The negative particle is understood in this line by ellipsis (note the preceding line).

[75:6]  ¹³ tn Heb “for not from the east or from the west, and not from the wilderness of the mountains.” If one follows this reading the sentence is elliptical. One must supply “does help come,” or some comparable statement. However, it is possible to take הָרִים (harim) as a Hiphil infinitive from רוּם (rum), the same verb used in vv. 4-5 of “lifting up” a horn. In this case one may translate the form as “victory.” In this case the point is that victory does not come from alliances with other nations.

[113:7]  ¹⁴ sn The language of v. 7 is almost identical to that of 1 Sam 2:8.

[8:15]  ¹⁵ tn The verb רָזַן (razan) means “to be weighty; to be judicious; to be commanding.” It only occurs in the Qal active participle in the plural as a substantive, meaning “potentates; rulers” (e.g., Ps 1:1-3). Cf. KJV, ASV “princes”; NAB “lawgivers.”

[8:15]  ¹⁶ sn This verb יְחֹקְקוּ (yÿkhoqqu) is related to the noun חֹק (khoq), which is a “statute; decree.” The verb is defined as “to cut in; to inscribe; to decree” (BDB 349 s.v. חָקַק). The point the verse is making is that when these potentates decree righteousness, it is by wisdom. History records all too often that these rulers acted as fools and opposed righteousness (cf. Ps 2:1-3). But people in power need wisdom to govern the earth (e.g., Isa 11:1-4 which predicts how Messiah will use wisdom to do this very thing). The point is underscored with the paronomasia in v. 15 with “kings” and “will reign” from the same root, and then in v. 16 with both “princes” and “rule” being cognate. The repetition of sounds and meanings strengthens the statements.

[8:16]  ¹⁷ tn The term “and” does not appear in the Hebrew text, but is supplied in the translation for the sake of smoothness and readability.

[8:16]  ¹⁸ tc Many of the MT mss read “sovereigns [princes], all the judges of the earth.” The LXX has “sovereigns…rule the earth.” But the MT manuscript in the text has “judges of righteousness.” C. H. Toy suggests that the Hebrew here has assimilated Psalm 148:11 in its construction (Proverbs [ICC], 167). The expression “judges of the earth” is what one would expect, but the more difficult and unexpected reading, the one scribes might change, would be “judges of righteousness.” If that reading stands, then it would probably be interpreted as using an attributive genitive.

[1:51]  ¹⁹ tn Or “shown strength,” “performed powerful deeds.” The verbs here switch to aorist tense through 1:55. This is how God will act in general for his people as they look to his ultimate deliverance.

[1:51]  ²⁰ tn Grk “in the imaginations of their hearts.” The psalm rebukes the arrogance of the proud, who think that power is their sovereign right. Here διανοίᾳ (dianoia) can be understood as a dative of sphere or reference/respect.

[1:52]  ²¹ tn Or “rulers.”

[1:52]  ²² tn Or “those of humble position”

[13:21]  ²³ tn The words “who ruled” are not in the Greek text, but are implied. They have been supplied as a clarification for the English reader. See Josephus, Ant. 6.14.9 (6.378).

[13:22]  ²⁴ tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:22]  ²⁵ sn The expression raised up refers here to making someone king. There is a wordplay here: “raising up” refers to bringing someone onto the scene of history, but it echoes with the parallel to Jesus’ resurrection.

[13:22]  ²⁶ tn Grk “about whom.” The relative pronoun (“whom”) was replaced by the pronoun “him” and a new sentence was begun in the translation at this point to improve the English style, due to the length of the sentence in Greek. The verb εἶπεν (eipen) has not been translated (literally “he said testifying”) because it is redundant when combined with the participle μαρτυρήσας (marturhsa", “testifying”). Instead the construction of verb plus participle has been translated as a single English verb (“testified”).

[13:22]  ²⁷ sn A quotation from Ps 89:20.

[13:22]  ²⁸ sn A quotation from 1 Sam 13:14.

[13:22]  ²⁹ tn Or “who will perform all my will,” “who will carry out all my wishes.”