4:36 At that time my sanity returned to me. I was restored 1 to the honor of my kingdom, and my splendor returned to me. My ministers and my nobles were seeking me out, and I was reinstated 2 over my kingdom. I became even greater than before.
“Three 7 more kings will arise for Persia. Then a fourth 8 king will be unusually rich, 9 more so than all who preceded him. When he has amassed power through his riches, he will stir up everyone against 10 the kingdom of Greece.
1 tc The translation reads הַדְרֵת (hadret, “I returned”) rather than the MT הַדְרִי (hadri, “my honor”); cf. Theodotion.
2 tc The translation reads הָתְקְנֵת (hotqÿnet, “I was established”) rather than the MT הָתְקְנַת (hotqÿnat, “it was established”). As it stands, the MT makes no sense here.
3 tn Aram “prays a prayer.”
4 tn The words “I also wanted to know” are added in the translation for stylistic reasons.
5 tc The conjunction in the MT before “eyes” is odd. The ancient versions do not seem to presuppose it.
6 tn Aram “greater than its companions.”
7 sn Perhaps these three more kings are Cambyses (ca. 530-522
8 sn This fourth king is Xerxes I (ca. 486-465
9 tn Heb “rich with great riches.”
10 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.