Daniel 8:4

8:4 I saw that the ram was butting westward, northward, and southward. No animal ¹  was able to stand before it, and there was none who could deliver from its power. ²  It did as it pleased and acted arrogantly. ³ 

Daniel 8:7

8:7 I saw it approaching the ram. It went into a fit of rage against the ram ⁴  and struck it ⁵  and broke off its two horns. The ram had no ability to resist it. ⁶  The goat hurled the ram ⁷  to the ground and trampled it. No one could deliver the ram from its power. ⁸ 

Daniel 9:25

9:25 So know and understand:

From the issuing of the command ⁹  to restore and rebuild

Jerusalem ¹⁰  until an anointed one, a prince arrives, ¹¹ 

there will be a period of seven weeks ¹²  and sixty-two weeks.

It will again be built, ¹³  with plaza and moat,

but in distressful times.

[8:4]  ¹ tn Or “beast” (NAB).

[8:4]  ² tn Heb “hand.” So also in v. 7.

[8:4]  ³ tn In the Hiphil the Hebrew verb גָּדַל (gadal, “to make great; to magnify”) can have either a positive or a negative sense. For the former, used especially of God, see Ps 126:2, 3; Joel 2:21. In this chapter (8:4, 8, 11, 25) the word has a pejorative sense, describing the self-glorification of this king. The sense seems to be that of vainly assuming one’s own superiority through deliberate hubris.

[8:7]  ⁴ tn Heb “him.”

[8:7]  ⁵ tn Heb “the ram.”

[8:7]  ⁶ tn Heb “stand before him.”

[8:7]  ⁷ tn Heb “he hurled him.” The referents of both pronouns (the male goat and the ram) have been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:7]  ⁸ sn The goat of Daniel’s vision represents Greece; the large horn represents Alexander the Great. The ram stands for Media-Persia. Alexander’s rapid conquest of the Persians involved three battles of major significance which he won against overwhelming odds: Granicus (334 B.C.), Isus (333 B.C.), and Gaugemela (331 B.C.).

[9:25]  ⁹ tn Or “decree” (NASB, NIV); or “word” (NAB, NRSV).

[9:25]  ¹⁰ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[9:25]  ¹¹ tn The word “arrives” is added in the translation for clarification.

[9:25]  ¹² tn Heb “sevens” (also later in this line and in v. 26).

[9:25]  sn The accents in the MT indicate disjunction at this point, which would make it difficult, if not impossible, to identify the “anointed one/prince” of this verse as messianic. The reference in v. 26 to the sixty-two weeks as a unit favors the MT accentuation, not the traditional translation. If one follows the MT accentuation, one may translate “From the going forth of the message to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until an anointed one, a prince arrives, there will be a period of seven weeks. During a period of sixty-two weeks it will again be built, with plaza and moat, but in distressful times.” The present translation follows a traditional reading of the passage that deviates from the MT accentuation.

[9:25]  ¹³ tn Heb “it will return and be built.” The expression is a verbal hendiadys.