CHAPTER VI. [Syriac.]
B.C. 538
1. It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty princes, which should be over the whole kingdom;
2. And over these three presidents; of whom Daniel was first: that the princes might give accounts unto them, and the king should have no damage.
3. Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm.
B.C. 537
4. Then the presidents and princes sought to find occasion against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him.
5. Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God.
6. Then these presidents and princes assembled together to the king, and said thus unto him, King Darius, live for ever.
7. All the presidents of the kingdom, the governors, and the princes, the counsellors, and the captains, have consulted together to establish a royal statute, and to make a firm decree, that whosoever shall ask a petition of any God or man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions.
8. Now, O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it be not changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not.
9. Wherefore king Darius signed the writing and the decree.
10. Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.
11. Then these men assembled, and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God.
12. Then they came near, and spake before the king concerning the king’s decree; Hast thou not signed a decree, that every man that shall ask a petition of any God or man within thirty days, save of thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions? The king answered and said, The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not.
13. Then answered they and said before the king, That Daniel, which is of the children of the captivity of Judah, regardeth not thee, O king, nor the decree that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition three times a day.
14. Then the king, when he heard these words, was sore displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him: and he laboured till the going down of the sun to deliver him.
15. Then these men assembled unto the king, and said unto the king, Know, O king, that the law of the Medes and Persians is, That no decree nor statute which the king establisheth may be changed.
16. Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, he will deliver thee.
17. And a stone was brought, and laid upon the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his lords; that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel.
18. Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of musick brought before him: and his sleep went from him.
19. Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste unto the den of lions.
20. And when he came to the den, he cried with a lamentable voice unto Daniel: and the king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?
21. Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live for ever.
22. My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt.
23. Then was the king exceeding glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God.
Hebrews XI. 32, 33.
24. And the king commanded, and they brought those men which had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions, them, their children, and their wives; and the lions had the mastery of them, and brake all their bones in pieces or ever they came at the bottom of the den.
25. Then king Darius wrote unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you.
26. I make a decree, That in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for he is the living God, and stedfast for ever, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and his dominion shall be even unto the end.
27. He delivereth and rescueth, and he worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.
28. So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.
Here ends the historical portion of the book of Daniel.
PART II
PROPHETIC SECTION
CHAPTER VII. [Hebrew.]
B.C. 541
1. In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream, and told the sum of the matters.
2. Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea.
The known world.
3. And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.
Symbolical of Four powerful dynasties.
B.C. 490
4. The first was like a lion, and had eagle’s wings:
Medo-Persian empire.
I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked,
Persia defeated by Greece at Marathon.
and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man’s heart was given unto it.
Was transformed by Greek art and civilization.
5. And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear,
The Hellenes, or Greece and her colonies in their palmy days
and it raised up itself on one side,
faced in the direction of Persia
and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it:
3 columns of strength, viz: – Athens, Sparta and Thebes. The vision made its appearance 21 years before the Alliance was formed. The ribs therefore, had not knit in place when the heavenly visitor made known the fact of their future union. The alliance lasted 93 years, see Thucydides III. 69.
and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh
destroy hundreds of thousands in your Persian and civil wars.
6. After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard,
The Macedonian Empire
which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.
Philip king of Macedon subjugated the disunited Greek States at the battle of Chaeronea in B.C. 338, and Alexander the Great conquered a kingdom extending from Greece to India in B.C. 336.
7. After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible,
Roman Empire.
and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse
a republic, not a kingdom
from all the beasts that were before it; and it had 10 horns.
verse 24, the rulers following the Jugurthine war.
8. I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn,
the family of the Caesars
before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things
the triumvirate ended with the battle of Actium Sept. 3rd, B.C. 31. Divine honors were accorded to Augustus. He took 3 censuses of the Roman Empire and possessed the most intimate knowledge of its resources, the last inventory was found in his own handwriting. Suetonius, Aug. XVI. – Livy CXXXII.
9. I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire.
10. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.
Divine forbearance had reached its limit, the voice of the prophets went unheeded, and the desolation spoken of by Moses was about to fall on the Jews.
11. I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame.
12. As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time.
13. I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven,
“while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight,” Acts I. 9
and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
“I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.” – Acts VII. 55.
14. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.
“For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulders: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.” – Isa. IX. 6 and 7.
15. I Daniel was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my body, and the visions of my head troubled me.
16. I came near unto one of them that stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things.
17. These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth.
18. But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.
The Spiritual kingdom of the Messiah.
19. Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet;
20. And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows.
21. I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them;
Nero the descendant of Augustus began the first persecution in A.D. 65.
22. Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.
23. Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.
24. And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.
25. And he
in the person of his descendants
shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given unto his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.
This formula summarizes that which has gone before. It starts with the Medo-Persian kingdom of Cyrus, established in the year B.C. 558, as typified by the lion in verse four, and reaches over to the year A.D. 39 when the Gentiles were admitted to Messiah’s kingdom as promised in verse 18. For full explanation see Note B.
26. But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end.
27. And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.
28. Hitherto is the end of the matter. As for me Daniel, my cogitations much troubled me, and my countenance changed in me: but I kept the matter in my heart.
CHAPTER VIII. [Hebrew.]
B.C. 539-8
1. In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision appeared unto me, even unto me Daniel, after that which appeared unto me at the first.
2. And I saw in a vision; and it came to pass, when I saw, that I was at Shushan in the palace, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in a vision, and I was by the river of Ulai.
3. Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns: and the two horns were high;
the Medo-Persian Empire
but one
Persia
was higher than the other, and the higher came up last.
4. I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward;
The Medo-Persian Empire embraced all the civilized nations of Asia
so that no beast might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he
Cyrus, and his descendants and next of kin
did according to his will, and became great.
5. And as I was considering, behold a he-goat
The Hellenes (Greece and her colonies)
came from the West on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground; and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes.
6. And he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing before the river and ran unto him in the fury of his power
Battles of Marathon B.C. 490, Salamis and Plataea B.C. 480 and 479.
7. And I saw him
Alexander the Great, after Greece was conquered by the Macedonians B.C. 334
come close unto the ram
Battles of Granicus and Issus.
and he was moved with choler against him, and smote the ram, and brake his two horns, and there was no power in the ram to stand before him;
Alexander was greatly pleased when shown this prophecy – Josephus 11. 8. 5.
but he cast him down to the ground and stamped upon him, and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand.
B.C. 331 Alexander defeated the Persians on the plain of Babylon. He then pushed on to India and conquered the Punjaub, land of the five rivers.
8. Therefore the he-goat waxed very great:
Alexander the Great also conquered Egypt, Palestine, Phœnicia and Tyre. He built Alexandria and ruled from Greece to the Ganges.
and when he was strong, the great horn was broken;
Alexander died in India of intemperance and left no successor.
and for it came up four notable ones toward the 4 winds of heaven.
Alexander’s kingdom fell to his 4 generals:
Antigonus took Persia,
Seleucus took Syria,
Ptolemy took Egypt,
Cassander took Macedon.
9. And out of one of them
Seleucus
came forth a little horn
kingdom of the Seleucidæ
which waxed exceeding great, toward the south
Egypt
and toward the east
between the Hellespont and the Indus
and toward the pleasant land.
Palestine.
10. And it waxed great
under Antiochus III, the Great
even to the host of heaven;
the Jewish nation
and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground,
Judah and Benjamin
and stamped upon them.
11. Yea it
under king Antiochus Epiphanes
magnified itself, even to the Prince of the host;
Judah, and the capital city Jerusalem
and it took away from him the continual burnt offering, and the place of his Sanctuary was cast down.
R.V.
12. And the host was given over to it together with the continual burnt offering through transgression;
Antiochus also set up heathen altars in every village and town, on which the Jews were obliged to sacrifice swine’s flesh daily
and it cast down the truth to the ground, and it did its pleasure and prospered.
R.V.
13. Then I heard one saint speaking and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake: —
“How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice and the transgression of desolation, to give both the Sanctuary and the host
the National government
to be trodden under foot?”
14. And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.
The period amounted to 308 yrs. 6 mos. 21 days and extended from Oct. 14th B.C. 450 to May 4th B.C. 141, at which time the TEMPLE was CLEANSED by Simon Maccabeus. For a full explanation see Notes C. and D.
15. And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, and sought for the meaning, then, behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man.
16. And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision.
17. So he came near where I stood: and when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face: but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man: for at the time of the end shall be the vision.
18. Now as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep on my face toward the ground: but he touched me, and set me upright.
19. And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end shall be.
20. The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia.
21. And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king.
Alexander the Great who united Greece and Macedon (verse 8).
22. Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power.
23. And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full,
the Jewish people
a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences shall stand up.
Antiochus III, the Great, who subjected Judea and greatly oppressed the Jewish people. His times were noted for corruption and crime.
24. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.
25. And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes;
the Roman Empire had no kings and therefore its rulers were spoken of as Princes. It was a favorite term for a king to designate himself as “King of Kings.” The same thought could be expressed as regards the Romans, by the words “Prince of Princes”
but he shall be broken without hand.
Antiochus died from intemperance.
26. And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true: wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for many days.
27. And I Daniel fainted, and was sick certain days; afterward I rose up, and did the king’s business; and I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it.