Daniel 8:24

8:24 His power will be great, but it will not be by his strength alone. He will cause terrible destruction. 1  He will be successful in what he undertakes. 2  He will destroy powerful people and the people of the holy ones. 3 

1 tn Heb “extraordinarily he will destroy.”

2 tn Heb “he will succeed and act.”

3 tn See the corresponding Aramaic expression in 7:27. If the “holy ones” are angels, then this probably refers to the angels as protectors of God’s people. One could translate, “people belonging to (i.e., protected by) the holy ones.” If the “holy ones” are God’s people, then this is an appositional construction, “the people who are the holy ones.” One could translate simply “holy people.” For examples of a plural appositional genitive after “people,” see 11:15, 32. Because either interpretation is possible, the translation has deliberately preserved the ambiguity of the Hebrew grammar here.