4:17 This announcement is by the decree of the sentinels;
this decision is by the pronouncement of the holy ones,
so that 11 those who are alive may understand
that the Most High has authority over human kingdoms, 12
and he bestows them on whomever he wishes.
He establishes over them even the lowliest of human beings.’
4:18 “This is the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, saw. Now you, Belteshazzar, declare its 13 interpretation, for none of the wise men in 14 my kingdom are able to make known to me the interpretation. But you can do so, for a spirit of the holy gods is in you.”
9:25 So know and understand:
From the issuing of the command 23 to restore and rebuild
Jerusalem 24 until an anointed one, a prince arrives, 25
there will be a period of seven weeks 26 and sixty-two weeks.
It will again be built, 27 with plaza and moat,
but in distressful times.
“Three 32 more kings will arise for Persia. Then a fourth 33 king will be unusually rich, 34 more so than all who preceded him. When he has amassed power through his riches, he will stir up everyone against 35 the kingdom of Greece.
1 tn Heb “a thing of a day in its day.”
2 tn Heb “from the delicacies of the king.”
3 tn Or “educated.” See HALOT 179 s.v. I גדל.
4 tn Heb “stand before the king.”
5 tn Aram “one is your law,” i.e., only one thing is applicable to you.
6 tn Aram “a lying and corrupt word.”
7 tn Aram “I will know.”
8 tc The LXX lacks “and toes.”
9 tn Aram “potter’s clay.”
10 tn Aram “clay of clay” (also in v. 43).
11 tc The present translation follows an underlying reading of עַל־דִּבְרַת (’al-divrat, “so that”) rather than MT עַד־דִּבְרַת (’ad-divrat, “until”).
12 tn Aram “the kingdom of man”; NASB “the realm of mankind”; NCV “every kingdom on earth.”
13 tc The present translation reads פִּשְׁרֵהּ (pishreh, “its interpretation”) with the Qere and many medieval Hebrew
14 tn Aram “of.”
15 tn Or perhaps, “when he had tasted” (cf. NASB) in the sense of officially initiating the commencement of the banquet. The translation above seems preferable, however, given the clear evidence of inebriation in the context (cf. also CEV “he got drunk and ordered”).
16 tn Or “ancestor”; or “predecessor” (also in vv. 11, 13, 18). The Aramaic word translated “father” can on occasion denote these other relationships.
17 tn Or “taken.”
18 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
19 sn Making use of sacred temple vessels for an occasion of reveling and drunkenness such as this would have been a religious affront of shocking proportions to the Jewish captives.
20 tn Heb “we have not pacified the face of.”
21 tn Or “by gaining insight.”
22 tn Heb “by your truth.” The Hebrew term does not refer here to abstract truth, however, but to the reliable moral guidance found in the covenant law. See vv 10-11.
23 tn Or “decree” (NASB, NIV); or “word” (NAB, NRSV).
24 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
25 tn The word “arrives” is added in the translation for clarification.
26 tn Heb “sevens” (also later in this line and in v. 26).
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.
27 tn Heb “it will return and be built.” The expression is a verbal hendiadys.
28 tn Or “a treasured person”; KJV “a man greatly beloved”; NASB “man of high esteem.”
29 tn The Hebrew participle is often used, as here, to refer to the imminent future.
30 tn Heb “stand upon your standing.”
31 tn Heb “spoke this word.”
32 sn Perhaps these three more kings are Cambyses (ca. 530-522
33 sn This fourth king is Xerxes I (ca. 486-465
34 tn Heb “rich with great riches.”
35 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.