Daniel 7:4

7:4 “The first one was like a lion with eagles’ wings. As I watched, its wings were pulled off and it was lifted up from the ground. It was made to stand on two feet like a human being, and a human mind ¹  was given to it. ² 

Daniel 7:6

7:6 “After these things, ³  as I was watching, another beast ⁴  like a leopard appeared, with four bird-like wings on its back. ⁵  This beast had four heads, ⁶  and ruling authority was given to it.

Daniel 7:11-12

7:11 “Then I kept on watching because of the arrogant words of the horn that was speaking. I was watching ⁷  until the beast was killed and its body destroyed and thrown into ⁸  the flaming fire. 7:12 As for the rest of the beasts, their ruling authority had already been removed, though they were permitted to go on living ⁹  for a time and a season.

Daniel 7:18

7:18 The holy ones ¹⁰  of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will take possession of the kingdom forever and ever.’

Daniel 7:22

7:22 until the Ancient of Days arrived and judgment was rendered ¹¹  in favor of the holy ones of the Most High. Then the time came for the holy ones to take possession of the kingdom.

Daniel 7:25-27

7:25 He will speak words against the Most High.

He will harass ¹²  the holy ones of the Most High continually.

His intention ¹³  will be to change times established by law. ¹⁴ 

They will be delivered into his hand

For a time, times, ¹⁵  and half a time.

7:26 But the court will convene, ¹⁶  and his ruling authority will be removed –

destroyed and abolished forever!

7:27 Then the kingdom, authority,

and greatness of the kingdoms under all of heaven

will be delivered to the people of the holy ones ¹⁷  of the Most High.

His kingdom is an eternal kingdom;

all authorities will serve him and obey him.’

[7:4]  ¹ tn Aram “heart of a man.”

[7:4]  ² sn The identity of the first animal, derived from v. 17 and the parallels in chap. 2, is Babylon. The reference to the plucking of its wings is probably a reference to the time of Nebuchadnezzar’s insanity (cf. chap. 4). The latter part of v. 4 then describes the restoration of Nebuchadnezzar. The other animals have traditionally been understood to represent respectively Media-Persia, Greece, and Rome, although most of modern scholarship identifies them as Media, Persia, and Greece. For a biblical parallel to the mention of lion, bear, and leopard together, see Hos 13:7-8.

[7:6]  ³ tn Aram “this.” So also in v. 7.

[7:6]  ⁴ tn Aram “and behold, another one.”

[7:6]  ⁵ tn Or “sides.”

[7:6]  ⁶ sn If the third animal is Greece, the most likely identification of these four heads is the four-fold division of the empire of Alexander the Great following his death. See note on Dan 8:8.

[7:11]  ⁷ tc The LXX and Theodotion lack the words “I was watching” here. It is possible that these words in the MT are a dittography from the first part of the verse.

[7:11]  ⁸ tn Aram “and given over to” (so NRSV).

[7:12]  ⁹ tn Aram “a prolonging of life was granted to them.”

[7:18]  ¹⁰ sn The expression holy ones is either a reference to angels or to human beings devoted to God.

[7:22]  ¹¹ tc In the LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate the verb is active, understanding “judgment” to be the object rather than the subject of the verb (i.e., “the Ancient of Days rendered judgment”). This presupposes a different vocalization of the verb ( יְהַב [yÿhav] rather than the MT יְהִב [yÿhiv]).

[7:25]  ¹² tn Aram “wear out” (so KJV, ASV, NRSV); NASB, NLT “wear down.” The word is a hapax legomenon in biblical Aramaic, but in biblical Hebrew it especially refers to wearing out such things as garments. Here it is translated “harass…continually.”

[7:25]  ¹³ tn Aram “he will think.”

[7:25]  ¹⁴ tn Aram “times and law.” The present translation is based on the understanding that the expression is a hendiadys.

[7:25]  ¹⁵ sn Although the word times is vocalized in the MT as a plural, it probably should be regarded as a dual. The Masoretes may have been influenced here by the fact that in late Aramaic (and Syriac) the dual forms fall out of use. The meaning would thus be three and a half “times.”

[7:26]  ¹⁶ tn Aram “judgment will sit” (KJV similar).

[7:27]  ¹⁷ tn If the “holy ones” are angels, then this probably refers to the angels as protectors of God’s people. If the “holy ones” are God’s people, then this is an appositional construction, “the people who are the holy ones.” See 8:24 for the corresponding Hebrew phrase and the note there.