Daniel 7:23

7:23 “This is what he told me: ¹ 

‘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.

Daniel 10:4

10:4 On the twenty-fourth day of the first month ²  I was beside the great river, the Tigris. ³ 

Daniel 2:40

2:40 Then there will be a fourth kingdom, one strong like iron. Just like iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything, and as iron breaks in pieces ⁴  all of these metals, ⁵  so it will break in pieces and crush the others. ⁶ 

Daniel 3:25

3:25 He answered, “But I see four men, untied and walking around in the midst of the fire! No harm has come to them! And the appearance of the fourth is like that of a god!” ⁷ 

Daniel 7:7

7:7 “After these things, as I was watching in the night visions ⁸  a fourth beast appeared – one dreadful, terrible, and very strong. ⁹  It had two large rows ¹⁰  of iron teeth. It devoured and crushed, and anything that was left it trampled with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that came before it, and it had ten horns.

Daniel 7:19

7:19 “Then I wanted to know the meaning ¹¹  of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others. It was very dreadful, with two rows of iron teeth and bronze claws, and it devoured, crushed, and trampled anything that was left with its feet.

Daniel 11:2

11:2 Now I will tell you the truth.

The Angel Gives a Message to Daniel

“Three ¹²  more kings will arise for Persia. Then a fourth ¹³  king will be unusually rich, ¹⁴  more so than all who preceded him. When he has amassed power through his riches, he will stir up everyone against ¹⁵  the kingdom of Greece.

Daniel 7:11

7:11 “Then I kept on watching because of the arrogant words of the horn that was speaking. I was watching ¹⁶  until the beast was killed and its body destroyed and thrown into ¹⁷  the flaming fire.

Daniel 7:20

7:20 I also wanted to know ¹⁸  the meaning of the ten horns on its head, and of that other horn which came up and before which three others fell. This was the horn that had eyes ¹⁹  and a mouth speaking arrogant things, whose appearance was more formidable than the others. ²⁰ 

[7:23]  ¹ tn Aram “thus he said.”

[10:4]  ² sn The first month would be the month of Nisan, during which Passover was observed.

[10:4]  ³ tn The Hebrew text has חִדָּקֶל (hiddaqel). “Tigris” appears here in the LXX, since it is the Greek name for this river. Elsewhere in the OT “the great river” refers to the Euphrates (e.g., Gen 15:18; Josh 1:4), leading some interpreters to think that a mistake is involved in using the expression to refer to the Tigris. But it is doubtful that the expression had such a fixed and limited usage. The Syriac, however, does render the word here by “Euphrates” (Syr. perat) in keeping with biblical usage elsewhere.

[2:40]  ³ tc Theodotion and the Vulgate lack the phrase “and as iron breaks in pieces.”

[2:40]  ⁴ tn The Aramaic text does not have this word, but it has been added in the translation for clarity.

[2:40]  ⁵ tn The words “the others” are supplied from the context.

[3:25]  ⁴ sn The phrase like that of a god is in Aramaic “like that of a son of the gods.” Many patristic writers understood this phrase in a christological sense (i.e., “the Son of God”). But it should be remembered that these are words spoken by a pagan who is seeking to explain things from his own polytheistic frame of reference; for him the phrase “like a son of the gods” is equivalent to “like a divine being.”

[7:7]  ⁵ tn The Aramaic text has also “and behold.” So also in vv. 8, 13.

[7:7]  ⁶ sn The fourth animal differs from the others in that it is nondescript. Apparently it was so fearsome that Daniel could find nothing with which to compare it. Attempts to identify this animal as an elephant or other known creature are conjectural.

[7:7]  ⁷ tn The Aramaic word for “teeth” is dual rather than plural, suggesting two rows of teeth.

[7:19]  ⁶ tn Aram “to make certain.”

[11:2]  ⁷ sn Perhaps these three more kings are Cambyses (ca. 530-522 B.C.), Pseudo-Smerdis (ca. 522 B.C.), and Darius I Hystaspes (ca. 522-486 B.C.).

[11:2]  ⁸ sn This fourth king is Xerxes I (ca. 486-465 B.C.). The following reference to one of his chiefs apparently has in view Seleucus Nicator.

[11:2]  ⁹ tn Heb “rich with great riches.”

[11:2]  ¹⁰ 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.

[7:11]  ⁸ tc The LXX and Theodotion lack the words “I was watching” here. It is possible that these words in the MT are a dittography from the first part of the verse.

[7:11]  ⁹ tn Aram “and given over to” (so NRSV).

[7:20]  ⁹ tn The words “I also wanted to know” are added in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[7:20]  ¹⁰ tc The conjunction in the MT before “eyes” is odd. The ancient versions do not seem to presuppose it.

[7:20]  ¹¹ tn Aram “greater than its companions.”