Revelation 13:12-13

13:12 He ¹  exercised all the ruling authority ²  of the first beast on his behalf, ³  and made the earth and those who inhabit it worship the first beast, the one whose lethal wound had been healed. 13:13 He ⁴  performed momentous signs, even making fire come down from heaven in front of people ⁵ 

Revelation 13:15

13:15 The second beast ⁶  was empowered ⁷  to give life ⁸  to the image of the first beast ⁹  so that it could speak, and could cause all those who did not worship the image of the beast to be killed.

Daniel 11:36-37

11:36 “Then the king ¹⁰  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 ¹¹  wrath is completed, for what has been decreed must occur. ¹²  11:37 He will not respect ¹³  the gods of his fathers – not even the god loved by women. ¹⁴  He will not respect any god; he will elevate himself above them all.

Daniel 11:2

11:2 Now I will tell you the truth.

The Angel Gives a Message to Daniel

“Three ¹⁵  more kings will arise for Persia. Then a fourth ¹⁶  king will be unusually rich, ¹⁷  more so than all who preceded him. When he has amassed power through his riches, he will stir up everyone against ¹⁸  the kingdom of Greece.

Daniel 2:4

2:4 The wise men replied to the king: [What follows is in Aramaic ¹⁹ ] “O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will disclose its ²⁰  interpretation.”

[13:12]  ¹ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[13:12]  ² tn For the translation “ruling authority” for ἐξουσία (exousia) see L&N 37.35.

[13:12]  ³ tn For this meaning see BDAG 342 s.v. ἐνώπιον 4.b, “by the authority of, on behalf of Rv 13:12, 14; 19:20.”

[13:13]  ⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

[13:13]  ⁵ tn This is a generic use of ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo"), referring to both men and women.

[13:15]  ⁶ tn Grk “it”; the referent (the second beast) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[13:15]  ⁷ tn Grk “it was given [permitted] to it [the second beast].”

[13:15]  ⁸ tn Grk “breath,” but in context the point is that the image of the first beast is made to come to life and speak.

[13:15]  ⁹ tn Grk “of the beast”; the word “first” has been supplied to specify the referent.

[11:36]  ¹⁰ 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]  ¹¹ tn The words “the time of” are added in the translation for clarification.

[11:36]  ¹² tn Heb “has been done.” The Hebrew verb used here is the perfect of certitude, emphasizing the certainty of fulfillment.

[11:37]  ¹³ tn Heb “consider.”

[11:37]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “[the one] desired by women.” The referent has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[11:2]  ¹⁵ 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]  ¹⁶ 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]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “rich with great riches.”

[11:2]  ¹⁸ 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.

[2:4]  ¹⁹ sn Contrary to common belief, the point here is not that the wise men (Chaldeans) replied to the king in the Aramaic language, or that this language was uniquely the language of the Chaldeans. It was this view that led in the past to Aramaic being referred to as “Chaldee.” Aramaic was used as a lingua franca during this period; its origins and usage were not restricted to the Babylonians. Rather, this phrase is better understood as an editorial note (cf. NAB) marking the fact that from 2:4b through 7:28 the language of the book shifts from Hebrew to Aramaic. In 8:1, and for the remainder of the book, the language returns to Hebrew. Various views have been advanced to account for this change of language, most of which are unconvincing. Most likely the change in language is a reflection of stages in the transmission history of the book of Daniel.

[2:4]  ²⁰ tn Or “the.”