Daniel 4:17

4:17 This announcement is by the decree of the sentinels;

this decision is by the pronouncement of the holy ones,

so that ¹  those who are alive may understand

that the Most High has authority over human kingdoms, ² 

and he bestows them on whomever he wishes.

He establishes over them even the lowliest of human beings.’

Daniel 4:25

4:25 You will be driven ³  from human society, ⁴  and you will live ⁵  with the wild animals. You will be fed ⁶  grass like oxen, ⁷  and you will become damp with the dew of the sky. Seven periods of time will pass by for you, before ⁸  you understand that the Most High is ruler over human kingdoms and gives them to whomever he wishes.

Daniel 4:32

4:32 You will be driven from human society, and you will live with the wild animals. You will be fed grass like oxen, and seven periods of time will pass by for you before ⁹  you understand that the Most High is ruler over human kingdoms and gives them to whomever he wishes.”

Daniel 5:21

5:21 He was driven from human society, his mind ¹⁰  was changed to that of an animal, he lived ¹¹  with the wild donkeys, he was fed grass like oxen, and his body became damp with the dew of the sky, until he came to understand that the most high God rules over human kingdoms, and he appoints over them whomever he wishes.

Daniel 9:2

9:2 in the first year of his reign ¹²  I, Daniel, came to understand from the sacred books ¹³  that, according to the word of the LORD ¹⁴  disclosed to the prophet Jeremiah, the years for the fulfilling of the desolation of Jerusalem ¹⁵  were seventy in number.

Daniel 9:25

9:25 So know and understand:

From the issuing of the command ¹⁶  to restore and rebuild

Jerusalem ¹⁷  until an anointed one, a prince arrives, ¹⁸ 

there will be a period of seven weeks ¹⁹  and sixty-two weeks.

It will again be built, ²⁰  with plaza and moat,

but in distressful times.

Daniel 10:11-12

10:11 He said to me, “Daniel, you are of great value. ²¹  Understand the words that I am about to ²²  speak to you. So stand up, ²³  for I have now been sent to you.” When he said this ²⁴  to me, I stood up shaking. 10:12 Then he said to me, “Don’t be afraid, Daniel, for from the very first day you applied your mind ²⁵  to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard. I have come in response to your words.

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¹ tc The present translation follows an underlying reading of עַל־דִּבְרַת (’al-divrat, “so that”) rather than MT עַד־דִּבְרַת (’ad-divrat, “until”).

² tn Aram “the kingdom of man”; NASB “the realm of mankind”; NCV “every kingdom on earth.”

³ tn The Aramaic indefinite active plural is used here like the English passive. So also in v. 28, 29,32.

⁴ tn Aram “from mankind.” So also in v. 32.

⁵ tn Aram “your dwelling will be.” So also in v. 32.

⁶ tn Or perhaps “be made to eat.”

⁷ sn Nebuchadnezzar’s insanity has features that are associated with the mental disorder known as boanthropy, in which the person so afflicted imagines himself to be an ox or a similar animal and behaves accordingly.

⁸ tn Aram “until.”

⁹ tn Aram “until.”

¹⁰ tn Aram “heart.”

¹¹ tn Aram “his dwelling.”

¹² tc This phrase, repeated from v. 1, is absent in Theodotion.

¹³ tn The Hebrew text has “books”; the word “sacred” has been added in the translation to clarify that it is Scriptures that are referred to.

¹⁴ sn The tetragrammaton (the four Hebrew letters which constitute the divine Name, YHWH) appears eight times in this chapter, and nowhere else in the book of Daniel.

¹⁵ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

¹⁶ tn Or “decree” (NASB, NIV); or “word” (NAB, NRSV).

¹⁷ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

¹⁸ tn The word “arrives” is added in the translation for clarification.

¹⁹ 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.

²⁰ tn Heb “it will return and be built.” The expression is a verbal hendiadys.

²¹ tn Or “a treasured person”; KJV “a man greatly beloved”; NASB “man of high esteem.”

²² tn The Hebrew participle is often used, as here, to refer to the imminent future.

²³ tn Heb “stand upon your standing.”

²⁴ tn Heb “spoke this word.”

²⁵ tn Heb “gave your heart.”