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InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT ESA WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN (JHN) MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
Dan C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12
Dan 7 V1 V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V10 V11 V12 V13 V14 V15 V16 V17 V18 V19 V20 V21 V22 V23 V24 V25 V26 V27 V28
OET (OET-LV) Seeing I_was until that thrones they_were_placed and_one_ancient_of days he_sat clothing_of_his like_snow was_white and_the_hair_of his_head like_wool was_pure throne_of_his was_flames of fire wheels_of_its were_fire burning.
OET (OET-RV) I kept looking in the vision while thrones were set up and the ancient one took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow, and his hair looked like pure wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were burning fire.
Daniel had a vision of four beasts on earth and of God on his throne in heaven. One of the heavenly beings explained to Daniel that the four beasts represented four earthly kingdoms.
Daniel’s vision continued. He saw God on his throne beginning to judge all people.
These verses resemble Hebrew poetry, with parallelism within each verse. There is an introductory formula (“as I looked”) and then three sets of doublets, parallel lines. Several English versions print these verses as poetry, and you may wish to translate them as such. For example:
9As I looked:
Thrones of judgment were set in place,
The Ancient of Days seated himself.
His clothes were white like snow,
The hair of his head, pure as wool.
Fiery his throne,
Blazing its wheels!
10A river of fire poured out,
Streaming from his presence.
A thousand thousands were serving him
there,
Tens of thousands of his servants
were standing before him.
The court sat in judgment,
And the books were opened.
As I continued to watch,
¶ While I was watching,
¶ I continued to see/watch this vision.
As I continued to watch: The Aramaic phrase that the BSB translates as As I continued to watch is more literally “I was watching/looking until .…” This phrase here indicates that Daniel was continuing to describe his vision. Indicate this continuation in a way that is natural in your language. For example:
While I was looking (GNT)
While I was watching (NJB)
I watched as (NLT)
thrones were set in place,
thrones were placed there.
They prepared/arranged great seats for judges/judging,
thrones were set in place: The Aramaic verb that the BSB translates as were set in place means “were placed.” It is a passive verb and the text does not indicate who moved the thrones. It could have been angels, or it could have been that the thrones just appeared as though God had placed them there. There are two ways to translate this clause:
Using a passive verb. For example:
thrones were put in place (NLT)
Using an active verb. For example:
they set/put thrones in place
thrones: In this context the Aramaic word for thrones refers to special seats where kings and judges sat to judge the people.
and the Ancient of Days took His seat.
The One who is ancient/old in years sat down on his throne.
and the Ancient/Eternal One/God seated himself to begin judging.
and the Ancient of Days took His seat: God himself sat down on one of the thrones. He sat down to judge. It is good to use an expression that is used for a judge sitting down in preparation for issuing his decisions.
the Ancient of Days: This is a title for God. It indicates great respect and refers to God as the one who had lived from ancient times. He had been the one God since before history began. For example:
one that was ancient of days (RSV)
One who had been living forever (GNT)
the Ancient One (NRSV)
the Eternal God (CEV)
took His seat: The Aramaic verb that the BSB translates as took His seat is literally “sat.” It indicates that God himself sat on one of the thrones. For example:
sat on his throne (NCV)
sat down on one of the thrones (GNT)
His clothing was white as snow,
His clothes were white like snow,
He was wearing robes as white as pure/fresh snow,
His clothing was white as snow: This is a comparison. The clothing of the divine Judge was white like snow is white. Indicate this comparison in a way that is natural in your language. For example:
He was wearing clothes that were white like snow
He was wearing clothes that were snowy-white
clothing: Use a general word. If it is necessary to be specific, it is good to refer to the sort of clothes a judge wears. For example:
robes
white as snow: The point of this comparison is that the clothes were pure or bright white, like snow shining in the sunshine. See how you translated this idea in Matthew 28:3 and Revelation 1:14. You may need to supply some information and say:
bright/pure white, like clean/fresh snow
In some cultures snow is unknown. In those cultures it may be necessary to say simply:
bright white
and the hair of His head was like pure wool.
and the hair on his head was as white as wool.
and his hair was as white as pure/clean wool.
the hair of His head was like pure wool: The Aramaic text is more literally “was pure like wool.” The color of the hair is compared to that of wool. Wool is not normally or naturally a bright white, so it may be natural to say:
the hair of his head was like clean/pure wool
the hair of his head as pure as wool (NJB)
the hair of His head: In some languages it may be natural to simply say:
his hair
His throne was flaming with fire,
The throne on which he sat was blazing with fire,
His great seat was burning brightly,
His throne was flaming with fire: The Aramaic text says, “his throne was flames of fire.” The throne appeared to consist of burning flames. Here are some other ways to translate this:
His throne was fiery flames (RSV)
His throne was ablaze with fire (NET)
Fiery was his throne!
and its wheels were all ablaze.
and the wheels on it were flaming/burning.
and it was set on blazing wheels.
and its wheels were all ablaze: The throne had wheels, and these also were burning like fire. Here are some other ways to translate this:
and its wheels were burning fire (GW)
and the wheels of his throne were blazing with fire (NCV)
Burning/Blazing were its wheels!
Daniel 7:9g indicates that this throne had wheels. This has not been mentioned before and may require some explanation or introduction. This may involve combining the two clauses. For example:
7f-gHis throne was a blazing fire with fiery wheels (CEV)
7f-gHis throne, mounted on fiery wheels, was blazing with fire. (GNT)
7f-gHe sat on a fiery throne with wheels of blazing fire. (NLT)
Note 1 topic: writing-poetry
עַ֣ד דִּ֤י כָרְסָוָן֙ רְמִ֔יו וְעַתִּ֥יק יוֹמִ֖ין יְתִ֑ב
until that/who thrones set_in_place and_[one],ancient_of days took_~_seat
This is poetic language. If your language has a way to indicate poetry, you could use it here.
Note 2 topic: figures-of-speech / activepassive
כָרְסָוָן֙ רְמִ֔יו
thrones set_in_place
The expression were set is a passive verbal form. If it would be unnatural to use that form, you could express the idea in active form or in another way that is natural in your language. Alternate translation: [someone set up thrones]
Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom
וְעַתִּ֥יק יוֹמִ֖ין
and_[one],ancient_of days
Daniel is using the Ancient of Days as a common expression of the culture to mean “the one who has always existed,” that is, God. If this phrase does not have that meaning for your readers, you could use a comparable expression from your language that does have that meaning, or you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [and the eternal God]
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / simile
לְבוּשֵׁ֣הּ כִּתְלַ֣ג חִוָּ֗ר
clothing_of,his like,snow white
The point of this comparison is that just as snow is bright white, so was His clothing. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make this point explicitly. Alternate translation: [His clothing was gleaming, bright white]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / simile
וּשְׂעַ֤ר רֵאשֵׁהּ֙ כַּעֲמַ֣ר נְקֵ֔א
and,the_hair_of of,his_head like,wool pure
The point of this comparison is that just as pure wool is white, so was the hair of his head. If it would be helpful in your language, you could make this point explicitly. Alternate translation: [and the hair of his head was white, like pure wool]
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / metaphor
כָּרְסְיֵהּ֙ שְׁבִיבִ֣ין דִּי נ֔וּר
throne_of,his flames that/who fire
Here Daniel is speaking as if this throne were flames of fire. Your language may have a comparable expression that you can use in your translation, or you could state the meaning plainly. Alternate translation: [His throne appeared to be on fire]
Note 7 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit
נ֔וּר גַּלְגִּלּ֖וֹהִי נ֥וּר דָּלִֽק
fire wheels_of,its fire burning
The implication is that the mention of its wheels pictures this throne as a chariot. You could include this information if that would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: [fire; it was like a chariot, and its wheels were burning fire]
OET (OET-LV) Seeing I_was until that thrones they_were_placed and_one_ancient_of days he_sat clothing_of_his like_snow was_white and_the_hair_of his_head like_wool was_pure throne_of_his was_flames of fire wheels_of_its were_fire burning.
OET (OET-RV) I kept looking in the vision while thrones were set up and the ancient one took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow, and his hair looked like pure wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were burning fire.
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The Hebrew text, lemmas, and morphology are all thanks to the OSHB and some of the glosses are from Macula Hebrew.
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