Daniel 8:24-25

8:24 His power will be great, but it will not be by his strength alone. He will cause terrible destruction. ¹  He will be successful in what he undertakes. ²  He will destroy powerful people and the people of the holy ones. ³  8:25 By his treachery ⁴  he will succeed through deceit. ⁵  He will have an arrogant attitude, ⁶  and he will destroy many who are unaware of his schemes. ⁷  He will rise up against the Prince of princes, yet he will be broken apart – but not by human agency. ⁸ 

Daniel 11:28

11:28 Then the king of the north ⁹  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.

Daniel 11:30

11:30 The ships of Kittim ¹⁰  will come against him, leaving him disheartened. ¹¹  He will turn back and direct his indignation against the holy covenant. He will return and honor ¹²  those who forsake the holy covenant.

Daniel 11:33-36

11:33 These who are wise among the people will teach the masses. ¹³  However, they will fall ¹⁴  by the sword and by the flame, ¹⁵  and they will be imprisoned and plundered for some time. ¹⁶  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 ¹⁷  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 ¹⁸  wrath is completed, for what has been decreed must occur. ¹⁹ 

Isaiah 14:13

14:13 You said to yourself, ²⁰ 

“I will climb up to the sky.

Above the stars of El ²¹ 

I will set up my throne.

I will rule on the mountain of assembly

on the remote slopes of Zaphon. ²² 

Revelation 12:4

12:4 Now ²³  the dragon’s ²⁴  tail swept away a third of the stars in heaven and hurled them to the earth. Then ²⁵  the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child as soon as it was born.

[8:24]  ¹ tn Heb “extraordinarily he will destroy.”

[8:24]  ² tn Heb “he will succeed and act.”

[8:24]  ³ 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.

[8:25]  ⁴ tn The Hebrew term has a primary meaning of “skill, insight,” but here it has the connotation “cunning, treachery.” See BDB 968 s.v. שֵׂכֶל, שֶׂכֶל.

[8:25]  ⁵ tn Heb “he will cause deceit to succeed by his hand.”

[8:25]  ⁶ tn Heb “in his heart he will act arrogantly.”

[8:25]  ⁷ tn Heb “in peace.” The Hebrew word used here is difficult. It may refer to the security felt by those who did not realize the danger of imminent attack, or it may refer to the condition of being unaware of the impending danger. The latter idea is reflected in the present translation. See further, BDB 1017 s.v. שַׁלְוָה.

[8:25]  ⁸ tn Heb “with nothingness of hand.”

[11:28]  ⁹ tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king of the north) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:30]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ 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]  ¹² tn Heb “show regard for.”

[11:33]  ¹³ tn Heb “the many.”

[11:33]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “stumble.”

[11:33]  ¹⁵ tn Or “by burning.”

[11:33]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “days.”

[11:36]  ¹⁷ 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]  ¹⁸ tn The words “the time of” are added in the translation for clarification.

[11:36]  ¹⁹ tn Heb “has been done.” The Hebrew verb used here is the perfect of certitude, emphasizing the certainty of fulfillment.

[14:13]  ²⁰ tn Heb “you, you said in your heart.”

[14:13]  ²¹ sn In Canaanite mythology the stars of El were astral deities under the authority of the high god El.

[14:13]  ²² sn Zaphon, the Canaanite version of Olympus, was the “mountain of assembly” where the gods met.

[12:4]  ²³ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “now” to indicate that this remark is virtually parenthetical.

[12:4]  ²⁴ tn Grk “its”; the referent (the dragon) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[12:4]  ²⁵ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the vision.