Daniel 8:23-24

8:23 Toward the end of their rule, when rebellious acts ¹  are complete, a rash ²  and deceitful ³  king will arise. ⁴  8:24 His power will be great, but it will not be by his strength alone. He will cause terrible destruction. ⁵  He will be successful in what he undertakes. ⁶  He will destroy powerful people and the people of the holy ones. ⁷ 

Daniel 7:8

7:8 “As I was contemplating the horns, another horn – a small one – came up between them, and three of the former horns were torn out by the roots to make room for it. ⁸  This horn had eyes resembling human eyes and a mouth speaking arrogant ⁹  things.

Daniel 7:20-26

7:20 I also wanted to know ¹⁰  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 ¹¹  and a mouth speaking arrogant things, whose appearance was more formidable than the others. ¹²  7:21 While I was watching, that horn began to wage war against the holy ones and was defeating ¹³  them, 7:22 until the Ancient of Days arrived and judgment was rendered ¹⁴  in favor of the holy ones of the Most High. Then the time came for the holy ones to take possession of the kingdom.

7:23 “This is what he told me: ¹⁵ 

‘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 ¹⁶  three kings.

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

He will harass ¹⁷  the holy ones of the Most High continually.

His intention ¹⁸  will be to change times established by law. ¹⁹ 

They will be delivered into his hand

For a time, times, ²⁰  and half a time.

7:26 But the court will convene, ²¹  and his ruling authority will be removed –

destroyed and abolished forever!

Daniel 11:21

11:21 “Then there will arise in his place a despicable person ²²  to whom the royal honor has not been rightfully conferred. He will come on the scene in a time of prosperity and will seize the kingdom through deceit.

Daniel 11:25-45

11:25 He will rouse his strength and enthusiasm ²³  against the king of the south ²⁴  with a large army. The king of the south will wage war with a large and very powerful army, but he will not be able to prevail because of the plans devised against him. 11:26 Those who share the king’s fine food will attempt to destroy him, and his army will be swept away; ²⁵  many will be killed in battle. 11:27 These two kings, their minds ²⁶  filled with evil intentions, will trade ²⁷  lies with one another at the same table. But it will not succeed, for there is still an end at the appointed time. 11:28 Then the king of the north ²⁸  will return to his own land with much property. His mind will be set against the holy covenant. He will take action, and then return to his own land. 11:29 At an appointed time he will again invade the south, but this latter visit will not turn out the way the former one did. 11:30 The ships of Kittim ²⁹  will come against him, leaving him disheartened. ³⁰  He will turn back and direct his indignation against the holy covenant. He will return and honor ³¹  those who forsake the holy covenant. 11:31 His forces ³²  will rise up and profane the fortified sanctuary, ³³  stopping the daily sacrifice. In its place they will set up ³⁴  the abomination that causes desolation. 11:32 Then with smooth words he will defile ³⁵  those who have rejected ³⁶  the covenant. But the people who are loyal to ³⁷  their God will act valiantly. ³⁸  11:33 These who are wise among the people will teach the masses. ³⁹  However, they will fall ⁴⁰  by the sword and by the flame, ⁴¹  and they will be imprisoned and plundered for some time. ⁴²  11:34 When they stumble, they will be granted some help. But many will unite with them deceitfully. 11:35 Even some of the wise will stumble, resulting in their refinement, purification, and cleansing until the time of the end, for it is still for the appointed time.

11:36 “Then the king ⁴³  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 ⁴⁴  wrath is completed, for what has been decreed must occur. ⁴⁵  11:37 He will not respect ⁴⁶  the gods of his fathers – not even the god loved by women. ⁴⁷  He will not respect any god; he will elevate himself above them all. 11:38 What he will honor is a god of fortresses – a god his fathers did not acknowledge he will honor with gold, silver, valuable stones, and treasured commodities. 11:39 He will attack ⁴⁸  mighty fortresses, aided by ⁴⁹  a foreign deity. To those who recognize him he will grant considerable honor. He will place them in authority over many people, and he will parcel out land for a price. ⁵⁰ 

11:40 “At the time of the end the king of the south will attack ⁵¹  him. Then the king of the north will storm against him ⁵²  with chariots, horsemen, and a large armada of ships. ⁵³  He ⁵⁴  will invade lands, passing through them like an overflowing river. ⁵⁵  11:41 Then he will enter the beautiful land. ⁵⁶  Many ⁵⁷  will fall, but these will escape: ⁵⁸  Edom, Moab, and the Ammonite leadership. 11:42 He will extend his power ⁵⁹  against other lands; the land of Egypt will not escape. 11:43 He will have control over the hidden stores of gold and silver, as well as all the treasures of Egypt. Libyans and Ethiopians ⁶⁰  will submit to him. ⁶¹  11:44 But reports will trouble him from the east and north, and he will set out in a tremendous rage to destroy and wipe out many. 11:45 He will pitch his royal tents between the seas ⁶²  toward the beautiful holy mountain. But he will come to his end, with no one to help him.

[8:23]  ¹ tc The present translation reads הַפְּשָׁעִים (happÿsha’im, “rebellious acts”) for the MT הַפֹּשְׁעִים (happoshÿ’im, “rebels”). While the MT is understandable (cf. NIV, “when rebels have become completely wicked”), the filling up of transgressions is a familiar OT expression (cf. Gen 15:16) and fits this context well. Cf. the LXX, Theodotion, the Vulgate, and the Syriac.

[8:23]  ² tn Heb “strong of face.”

[8:23]  ³ tn Heb “understanding riddles.” Possible meanings include “double-dealing” (BDB 295 s.v. חִידָה; cf. TEV, CEV) and “with a good knowledge of intrigue” (HALOT 309 s.v. חִידָה; cf. NAB, NASB, NIV, NRSV, NLT).

[8:23]  ⁴ tn Heb “stand” or “stand up.”

[8:24]  ⁵ tn Heb “extraordinarily he will destroy.”

[8:24]  ⁶ tn Heb “he will succeed and act.”

[8:24]  ⁷ tn See the corresponding Aramaic expression in 7:27. If the “holy ones” are angels, then this probably refers to the angels as protectors of God’s people. One could translate, “people belonging to (i.e., protected by) the holy ones.” If the “holy ones” are God’s people, then this is an appositional construction, “the people who are the holy ones.” One could translate simply “holy people.” For examples of a plural appositional genitive after “people,” see 11:15, 32. Because either interpretation is possible, the translation has deliberately preserved the ambiguity of the Hebrew grammar here.

[7:8]  ⁸ tn Aram “were uprooted from before it.”

[7:8]  ⁹ tn Aram “great.” So also in vv. 11, 20.

[7:20]  ¹⁰ tn The words “I also wanted to know” are added in the translation for stylistic reasons.

[7:20]  ¹¹ tc The conjunction in the MT before “eyes” is odd. The ancient versions do not seem to presuppose it.

[7:20]  ¹² tn Aram “greater than its companions.”

[7:21]  ¹³ tn Aram “prevailing against” (KJV and ASV both similar); NASB “overpowering them”; TEV “conquered them.”

[7:22]  ¹⁴ tc In the LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate the verb is active, understanding “judgment” to be the object rather than the subject of the verb (i.e., “the Ancient of Days rendered judgment”). This presupposes a different vocalization of the verb ( יְהַב [yÿhav] rather than the MT יְהִב [yÿhiv]).

[7:23]  ¹⁵ tn Aram “thus he said.”

[7:24]  ¹⁶ 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).

[11:21]  ²² sn This despicable person to whom the royal honor has not been rightfully conferred is Antiochus IV Epiphanes (ca. 175-164 B.C.).

[11:25]  ²³ tn Heb “heart.”

[11:25]  ²⁴ sn This king of the south was Ptolemy Philometer (ca. 181-145 B.C.).

[11:26]  ²⁵ tc The present translation reads יִשָׁטֵף (yishatef, passive) rather than the MT יִשְׁטוֹף (yishtof, active).

[11:27]  ²⁶ tn Heb “heart.” So also in v. 28.

[11:27]  ²⁷ tn Heb “speak.”

[11:28]  ²⁸ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king of the north) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:30]  ²⁹ sn The name Kittim has various designations in extra-biblical literature. It can refer to a location on the island of Cyprus, or more generally to the island itself, or it can be an inclusive term to refer to parts of the Mediterranean world that lay west of the Middle East (e.g., Rome). For ships of Kittim the Greek OT (LXX) has “Romans,” an interpretation followed by a few English versions (e.g., TEV). A number of times in the Dead Sea Scrolls the word is used in reference to the Romans. Other English versions are more generic: “[ships] of the western coastlands” (NIV, NLT); “from the west” (NCV, CEV).

[11:30]  ³⁰ sn This is apparently a reference to the Roman forces, led by Gaius Popilius Laenas, which confronted Antiochus when he came to Egypt and demanded that he withdraw or face the wrath of Rome. Antiochus wisely withdrew from Egypt, albeit in a state of bitter frustration.

[11:30]  ³¹ tn Heb “show regard for.”

[11:31]  ³² tn Heb “arms.”

[11:31]  ³³ tn Heb “the sanctuary, the fortress.”

[11:31]  ³⁴ tn Heb “will give.”

[11:32]  ³⁵ tn Or “corrupt.”

[11:32]  ³⁶ tn Heb “acted wickedly toward.”

[11:32]  ³⁷ tn Heb “know.” The term “know” sometimes means “to recognize.” In relational contexts it can have the connotation “recognize the authority of, be loyal to,” as it does here.

[11:32]  ³⁸ sn This is an allusion to the Maccabean revolt, which struggled to bring about Jewish independence in the second century B.C.

[11:33]  ³⁹ tn Heb “the many.”

[11:33]  ⁴⁰ tn Heb “stumble.”

[11:33]  ⁴¹ tn Or “by burning.”

[11:33]  ⁴² tn Heb “days.”

[11:36]  ⁴³ 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]  ⁴⁴ tn The words “the time of” are added in the translation for clarification.

[11:36]  ⁴⁵ tn Heb “has been done.” The Hebrew verb used here is the perfect of certitude, emphasizing the certainty of fulfillment.

[11:37]  ⁴⁶ tn Heb “consider.”

[11:37]  ⁴⁷ tn Heb “[the one] desired by women.” The referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:39]  ⁴⁸ tn Heb “act against.”

[11:39]  ⁴⁹ tn Heb “with.”

[11:39]  ⁵⁰ tn Or perhaps “for a reward.”

[11:40]  ⁵¹ tn Heb “engage in thrusting.”

[11:40]  ⁵² tn The referent of the pronoun is most likely the king of the south, in which case the text describes the king of the north countering the attack of the king of the south.

[11:40]  ⁵³ tn Heb “many ships.”

[11:40]  ⁵⁴ tn This most likely refers to the king of the north who, in response to the aggression of the king of the south, launches an invasion of the southern regions.

[11:40]  ⁵⁵ tn Heb “and will overflow and pass over.”

[11:41]  ⁵⁶ sn The beautiful land is a cryptic reference to the land of Israel.

[11:41]  ⁵⁷ tn This can be understood as “many people” (cf. NRSV) or “many countries” (cf. NASB, NIV, NLT).

[11:41]  ⁵⁸ tn Heb “be delivered from his hand.”

[11:42]  ⁵⁹ tn Heb “hand.”

[11:43]  ⁶⁰ tn Or “Nubians” (NIV, NCV); Heb “Cushites.”

[11:43]  ⁶¹ tn Heb “Libyans and Cushites [will be] at his footsteps.”

[11:45]  ⁶² sn Presumably seas refers to the Mediterranean Sea and the Dead Sea.