Open Bible Data Home About News OET Key
OET OET-RV OET-LV ULT UST BSB MSB BLB AICNT OEB WEBBE WMBB NET LSV FBV TCNT T4T LEB BBE Moff JPS Wymth ASV DRA YLT Drby RV SLT Wbstr KJB-1769 KJB-1611 Bshps Gnva Cvdl TNT Wycl SR-GNT UHB BrLXX BrTr Related Topics Parallel Interlinear Reference Dictionary Search
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 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 8 V1 V3 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V9 V10 V11 V12 V13 V14 V15 V16 V17 V18 V19 V20 V21 V22 V23 V24 V25 V26 V27
OET (OET-LV) And_I_saw in_vision and_he/it_was when_saw_I and_I was_in_Shūshan the_citadel which is_in_Elam the_province and_I_saw in_vision and_I I_was at the_canal_of ʼŪlay.
OET (OET-RV) In the vision, I saw that I was at the fortress in Shusan (often called Susa, in Eylam province), beside the Ulai Canal.
At this point in the narrative, the author of the book of Daniel again began to write in the Hebrew language. He described another vision, this one occurring during the third year of Belshazzar’s reign over Babylon. In this vision Daniel was by the bank of a canal near the city of Susa. He saw a very powerful ram with two horns that charged in all directions. Next he saw a goat with one large horn between its eyes. The goat attacked and defeated the ram and grew very powerful. Its large horn broke and four prominent horns grew in its place. From one of those four horns grew a small horn. That little horn grew as high as the stars, as high as the army of heaven, and as high as the commander of the army. When it was at its highest, it stopped the daily sacrifices and desecrated the temple.
The angel Gabriel came to Daniel and explained the meaning of what he had seen. The ram and the goat represented kings and their kingdoms. The little horn represented a particularly wicked king. That king would even defy God, but in the end that wicked king would be destroyed.
Some versions have two headings within this section. For example:
NET Daniel Has a Vision of a Goat and a Ram (8:1)
An Angel Interprets Daniel’s Vision (8:15)
NRSV Vision of a Ram and a Goat (8:1)
Gabriel Interprets the Vision (8:15)
GNT Daniel’s Vision of a Ram and a Goat
The Angel Gabriel Explains the Vision (8:15)
BFrCL88 Second vision: the Ram and the Goat (8:1)
Interpretation of the second vision (8:15)
GeCL97 A second vision: The battle between the Ram and the Goat (8:1)
The meaning of the vision of the ram and the goat (8:15)
There are a number of similarities between chapter eight and chapter seven. For example, both chapters use symbolic language to describe kingdoms, and both use the symbol of a horn to refer to particular rulers of those kingdoms. In spite of these similarities, it is important to understand that the symbols in the two chapters do not necessarily refer to the same things. For example, while there are similarities between the two little horns, there are also important differences. The Notes will explain some of these differences. The Notes will also suggest ways to translate these symbols.
As noted above, the chapter is divided into two parts, one that describes the vision and one that gives the interpretation of the vision. Both parts lead to a climax. In the first part the horn grew until it became so great that it succeeded in everything it did (8:12). A similar sequence of events occurs in the second part of the vision. Gabriel described the growth of the horn and its climactic success (8:24–26). At the end of the chapter, Gabriel announced that God would destroy the horn (8:25).
The vision includes a number of images that may seem obscure and confusing. It is usually best to translate these images in a literal way. Even Daniel did not understand the full meaning of what he saw.
This paragraph gives the setting of this new vision.
And in the vision I saw myself in the citadel of Susa, in the province of Elam.
As I was watching/having the vision, I saw that I was in the walled city of Susa, which is in the province of Elam.
In this vision I suddenly found myself in the fortified city of Susa, in Elam province.
In the vision I was within the walls of Susa city in Elam province,
And in the vision I saw myself in the citadel of Susa: The Hebrew expression that the BSB translates as in the vision I saw myself in the citadel of Susa is more literally “and I saw in the vision and it happened as I was looking I was in Susa the citadel.” This complex introduction to the vision narrative emphasizes its importance. Many English translations simplify this introduction. For example:
In this vision I saw myself in Susa, the citadel (NET)
In the vision I was at the fortress of Susa (NLT)
You should introduce what Daniel saw in his vision in a way that is natural in your language. Try to use a style that indicates the importance of what is to come, the dream narrative.
I saw myself: Daniel indicated that he himself was present in the vision. There are different ways to translate this idea. For example:
I suddenly found myself (GNT)
I was (NLT)
I knew/believed myself to be
in the citadel of Susa: This is more literally “I was in Susa the citadel.” This probably indicates that Susa itself was a citadel, a fortified city.See the footnote in the NET. Here is another way to translate this:
the walled city of Susa (GNT)
Susa: The Hebrew spelling of this word is “Shushan,” as in the KJV. Susa is the Greek form of the name. Either spelling is acceptable. You may wish to spell this the same way as it is spelled in the national language.
in the province of Elam: Susa was the capital of the province called Elam. This was in the southwest part of what is now Iran.See Genesis 10:22, where Elam is listed as one of the sons of Shem. There are different ways to translate this. For example:
in Elam province
in the district of Elam
which is located in the province of Elam (NET)
province: The Hebrew word that the BSB translates as province refers to a large unit of government. Other ways to translate it include:
district
area (NCV)
I saw in the vision that I was beside the Ulai Canal.
I saw that I was by the Ulai canal.
I was conscious/aware that I was next to the Ulai river.
standing on the bank of the waterway called the Ulai.
In the Hebrew text this verse part begins with the common Hebrew conjunction that is often translated as “and.” In this context it introduces a more exact explanation of where Daniel was.
I saw in the vision that I was beside the Ulai Canal: The Hebrew words that the BSB literally translates as I saw in the vision repeat information from 8:2a. This repetition may not be natural in some languages, and some ancient and modern versions omit it. However it is present in the MT. The repetition emphasizes that Daniel was not physically present by the canal, but only in his dream. Repeat as much information as necessary to make that clear. For example:
and I saw in the vision, and I was at the river Ulai (RSV)
I was standing by the Ulai River (GNT)
I was beside the Ulai Canal: Daniel sensed himself to be by the Ulai Canal. He was not actually there, physically. In his dream he was aware that he was looking at events as though he were there. Here are some other ways to translate this:
I saw myself at the Ulai Canal (NET)
I was standing by the Ulai Canal. (NCV)
the Ulai Canal: The Hebrew word that the BSB translates as Canal here refers to an artificial or manmade stream.The NJB has “gate,” but this is based on some ancient translations (LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate) rather than the Hebrew. This canal flowed near the north of the city of Susa. Use the word that is appropriate in your language. The fact that this was an artificial waterway is not in focus, so in some languages it may be most natural to follow the RSV and say:
river (RSV)
הַבִּירָ֔ה
the,citadel
A citadel was a walled city that was guarded and protected.
Note 1 topic: translate-names
בְּשׁוּשַׁ֣ן & בְּעֵילָ֣ם & אוּבַ֥ל אוּלָֽי
[was]_in,Susa & [is]_in,Elam & canal_of ʼŪlay
Susa, Elam, and the Ulai Canal are names of places.
אוּבַ֥ל
canal_of
A canal is a narrow man-made waterway.
8:2 Susa, located in the lowlands southwest of the Zagros Mountains, was one of Persia’s capital cities (cp. Ezra 4:9; Neh 1:1; Esth 1:2). It was a fortified capital whose architecture was decorated with glazed griffins, winged bulls, and lions.
• The Ulai River was probably a man-made canal.
OET (OET-LV) And_I_saw in_vision and_he/it_was when_saw_I and_I was_in_Shūshan the_citadel which is_in_Elam the_province and_I_saw in_vision and_I I_was at the_canal_of ʼŪlay.
OET (OET-RV) In the vision, I saw that I was at the fortress in Shusan (often called Susa, in Eylam province), beside the Ulai Canal.
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.