Daniel 7:13-14

7:13 I was watching in the night visions,

“And with ¹  the clouds of the sky ² 

one like a son of man ³  was approaching.

He went up to the Ancient of Days

and was escorted ⁴  before him.

7:14 To him was given ruling authority, honor, and sovereignty.

All peoples, nations, and language groups were serving ⁵  him.

His authority is eternal and will not pass away. ⁶ 

His kingdom will not be destroyed. ⁷ 

Daniel 7:23-28

7:23 “This is what he told me: ⁸ 

‘The fourth beast means that there will be a fourth kingdom on earth

that will differ from all the other kingdoms.

It will devour all the earth

and will trample and crush it.

7:24 The ten horns

mean that ten kings will arise from that kingdom.

Another king will arise after them,

but he will be different from the earlier ones.

He will humiliate ⁹  three kings.

7:25 He will speak words against the Most High.

He will harass ¹⁰  the holy ones of the Most High continually.

His intention ¹¹  will be to change times established by law. ¹² 

They will be delivered into his hand

For a time, times, ¹³  and half a time.

7:26 But the court will convene, ¹⁴  and his ruling authority will be removed –

destroyed and abolished forever!

7:27 Then the kingdom, authority,

and greatness of the kingdoms under all of heaven

will be delivered to the people of the holy ones ¹⁵  of the Most High.

His kingdom is an eternal kingdom;

all authorities will serve him and obey him.’

7:28 “This is the conclusion of the matter. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts troubled me greatly, and the color drained from my face. ¹⁶  But I kept the matter to myself.” ¹⁷ 

[7:13]  ¹ tc The LXX has ἐπί (epi, “upon”) here (cf. Matt 24:30; 26:64). Theodotion has μετά (meta, “with”) here (cf. Mark 14:62; Rev 1:7).

[7:13]  ² tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.

[7:13]  ³ sn This text is probably the main OT background for Jesus’ use of the term “son of man.” In both Jewish and Christian circles the reference in the book of Daniel has traditionally been understood to refer to an individual, usually in a messianic sense. Many modern scholars, however, understand the reference to have a corporate identity. In this view, the “son of man” is to be equated with the “holy ones” (vv. 18, 21, 22, 25) or the “people of the holy ones” (v. 27) and understood as a reference to the Jewish people. Others understand Daniel’s reference to be to the angel Michael.

[7:13]  ⁴ tn Aram “they brought him near.”

[7:14]  ⁵ tn Some take “serving” here in the sense of “worshiping.”

[7:14]  ⁶ tn Aram “is an eternal authority which will not pass away.”

[7:14]  ⁷ tn Aram “is one which will not be destroyed.”

[7:23]  ⁹ tn Aram “thus he said.”

[7:24]  ¹³ tn Or “subjugate”; KJV, NASB, NIV “subdue”; ASV, NRSV “put down.”

[7:25]  ¹⁷ tn Aram “wear out” (so KJV, ASV, NRSV); NASB, NLT “wear down.” The word is a hapax legomenon in biblical Aramaic, but in biblical Hebrew it especially refers to wearing out such things as garments. Here it is translated “harass…continually.”

[7:25]  ¹⁸ tn Aram “he will think.”

[7:25]  ¹⁹ tn Aram “times and law.” The present translation is based on the understanding that the expression is a hendiadys.

[7:25]  ²⁰ sn Although the word times is vocalized in the MT as a plural, it probably should be regarded as a dual. The Masoretes may have been influenced here by the fact that in late Aramaic (and Syriac) the dual forms fall out of use. The meaning would thus be three and a half “times.”

[7:26]  ²¹ tn Aram “judgment will sit” (KJV similar).

[7:27]  ²⁵ tn If the “holy ones” are angels, then this probably refers to the angels as protectors of God’s people. If the “holy ones” are God’s people, then this is an appositional construction, “the people who are the holy ones.” See 8:24 for the corresponding Hebrew phrase and the note there.

[7:28]  ²⁹ tn Aram “my brightness was changing on me.”

[7:28]  ³⁰ tn Aram “in my heart.”