Daniel 7:25

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

He will harass ¹  the holy ones of the Most High continually.

His intention ²  will be to change times established by law. ³ 

They will be delivered into his hand

For a time, times, ⁴  and half a time.

Daniel 8:25

8:25 By his treachery ⁵  he will succeed through deceit. ⁶  He will have an arrogant attitude, ⁷  and he will destroy many who are unaware of his schemes. ⁸  He will rise up against the Prince of princes, yet he will be broken apart – but not by human agency. ⁹ 

[7:25]  ¹ 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]  ² tn Aram “he will think.”

[7:25]  ³ tn Aram “times and law.” The present translation is based on the understanding that the expression is a hendiadys.

[7:25]  ⁴ 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.”

[8:25]  ⁵ tn The Hebrew term has a primary meaning of “skill, insight,” but here it has the connotation “cunning, treachery.” See BDB 968 s.v. שֵׂכֶל, שֶׂכֶל.

[8:25]  ⁶ tn Heb “he will cause deceit to succeed by his hand.”

[8:25]  ⁷ tn Heb “in his heart he will act arrogantly.”

[8:25]  ⁸ tn Heb “in peace.” The Hebrew word used here is difficult. It may refer to the security felt by those who did not realize the danger of imminent attack, or it may refer to the condition of being unaware of the impending danger. The latter idea is reflected in the present translation. See further, BDB 1017 s.v. שַׁלְוָה.

[8:25]  ⁹ tn Heb “with nothingness of hand.”