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 11:36

11:36 “Then the king ⁹  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 ¹⁰  wrath is completed, for what has been decreed must occur. ¹¹ 

[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.”

[11:36]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn The words “the time of” are added in the translation for clarification.

[11:36]  ⁹ tn Heb “has been done.” The Hebrew verb used here is the perfect of certitude, emphasizing the certainty of fulfillment.