4:33 Now in that very moment 4 this pronouncement about 5 Nebuchadnezzar came true. 6 He was driven from human society, he ate grass like oxen, and his body became damp with the dew of the sky, until his hair became long like an eagle’s feathers, and his nails like a bird’s claws. 7
9:25 So know and understand:
From the issuing of the command 10 to restore and rebuild
Jerusalem 11 until an anointed one, a prince arrives, 12
there will be a period of seven weeks 13 and sixty-two weeks.
It will again be built, 14 with plaza and moat,
but in distressful times.
9:26 Now after the sixty-two weeks,
an anointed one will be cut off and have nothing. 15
As for the city and the sanctuary,
the people of the coming prince will destroy 16 them.
But his end will come speedily 17 like a flood. 18
Until the end of the war that has been decreed
there will be destruction.
9:27 He will confirm a covenant with many for one week. 19
But in the middle of that week
he will bring sacrifices and offerings to a halt.
On the wing 20 of abominations will come 21 one who destroys,
until the decreed end is poured out on the one who destroys.”
11:36 “Then the king 22 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 23 wrath is completed, for what has been decreed must occur. 24
1 tn Aram “one is your law,” i.e., only one thing is applicable to you.
2 tn Aram “a lying and corrupt word.”
3 tn Aram “I will know.”
4 tn Aram “hour.”
5 tn Or “on.”
6 tn Aram “was fulfilled.”
7 tn The words “feathers” and “claws” are not present in the Aramaic text, but have been added in the translation for clarity.
8 tn Aram “heart.”
9 tn Aram “his dwelling.”
10 tn Or “decree” (NASB, NIV); or “word” (NAB, NRSV).
11 map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.
12 tn The word “arrives” is added in the translation for clarification.
13 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.
14 tn Heb “it will return and be built.” The expression is a verbal hendiadys.
15 sn The expression have nothing is difficult. Presumably it refers to an absence of support or assistance for the anointed one at the time of his “cutting off.” The KJV rendering “but not for himself,” apparently suggesting a vicarious death, cannot be defended.
16 tc Some witnesses (e.g., the Syriac) understand a passive verb and the preposition עִם (’im, “with) rather than the noun עַם (’am, “people”), thus reading “the city and the sanctuary will be destroyed with the coming prince.”
17 tn The words “will come speedily” are not in the Hebrew text but have been added in the translation for clarity.
18 sn Flood here is a metaphor for sudden destruction.
19 tn Heb “one seven” (also later in this line).
20 tn The referent of the Hebrew word כְּנַף (kÿnaf, “wing”) is unclear here. The LXX and Theodotion have “the temple.” Some English versions (e.g., NAB, NIV) take this to mean “a wing of the temple,” but this is not clear.
21 tn The Hebrew text does not have this verb, but it has been supplied in the translation for clarity.
22 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.
23 tn The words “the time of” are added in the translation for clarification.
24 tn Heb “has been done.” The Hebrew verb used here is the perfect of certitude, emphasizing the certainty of fulfillment.