DAN 10:13 Parallel Verse View

Note: This view shows ‘verses’ which are not natural language units and hence sometimes only part of a sentence will be visible—click on any Bible version abbreviation down the left-hand side to see the verse in more of its context. Normally the OET discourages the reading of individual ‘verses’, but this view is only designed as a tool for doing comparisons of different translations—the older translations are further down the page (so you can read up from the bottom to trace the English translation history). The OET segments on this page are still very early looks into the unfinished texts of the Open English Translation of the Bible—please double-check these texts in advance before using in public.

Text critical issues=small word differences Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

Key: khaki:verbs.
Note: Automatic aligning of the OET-RV to the LV is done by some temporary software, hence the OET-RV alignments are incomplete (and may occasionally be wrong).

ULT But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days. Then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia. [fn]

Instead of kings of Persia, some ancient copies have prince of the kings of Persia.

UST The evil spirit who rules the kingdom of Persia resisted me for 21 days, but Michael, who is one of God’s chief angels, came to help me. I left him there in Persia to resist that evil spirit who rules there.

OEB No OEB DAN book available

WEBBE But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; but, behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me because I remained there with the kings of Persia.

WMBB (Same as above)

MSG ^(12-14)“‘Relax, Daniel,’ he continued, ‘don’t be afraid. From the moment you decided to humble yourself to receive understanding, your prayer was heard, and I set out to come to you. But I was waylaid by the angel-prince of the kingdom of Persia and was delayed for a good three weeks. But then Michael, one of the chief angel-princes, intervened to help me. I left him there with the prince of the kingdom of Persia. And now I’m here to help you understand what will eventually happen to your people. The vision has to do with what’s ahead.’

NET However, the prince of the kingdom of Persia was opposing me for twenty-one days. But Michael, one of the leading princes, came to help me, because I was left there with the kings of Persia.

LSV And the head of the kingdom of Persia is standing in opposition in front of me [for] twenty-one days, and behold, Michael, first of the chief heads, has come to help me, and I have remained there near the kings of Persia;

FBV But the prince of the kingdom of Persia[fn] opposed me for twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was being detained there by the kings of Persia.

10:13 “Prince of the kingdom of Persia”: in the context likely a supernatural being, one opposed to those serving God.

T4T The evil spirit who rules the kingdom of Persia resisted/hindered me for 21 days, but Michael, who is one of God’s chief angels, came to help me. I left him there in Persia to resist that evil spirit who rules there.

LEB But the prince of the kingdom of Persia stood _⌊before me_⌋[fn] for twenty-one days. And look,[fn] Michael, one of the chief princes, came to assist me, and I left him there beside the king of the Persians.

10:13 Literally “to front of me”

10:13 Or “finally”

BBE But the angel of the kingdom of Persia put himself against me for twenty-one days; but Michael, one of the chief angels, came to my help; and when I came he was still there with the angel of the kings of Persia.

Moff (The guardian angel of the realm of Persia thwarted me for twenty-one days, but Michael one of the archangels came to my aid, and I have left him to deal single-handed with the guardian angel of the Persian kings.)

JPS But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days; but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I was left over there beside the kings of Persia.

ASV But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days; but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me: and I remained there with the kings of Persia.

DRA But the prince of the kingdom of the Persians resisted me one and twenty days: and behold Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, and I remained there by the king of the Persians.

YLT 'And the head of the kingdom of Persia is standing over-against me twenty and one days, and lo, Michael, first of the chief heads, hath come in to help me, and I have remained there near the kings of Persia;

Drby But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.

RV But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days; but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me: and I remained there with the kings of Persia.

SLT And the chief of the kingdom of Persia stood against me twenty and one days: and behold, Michael, one of the first chiefs, came, to help me; and I was left there near the kings of Persia.

Wbstr But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.

KJB-1769 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.[fn]

10.13 chief: or, first

KJB-1611 [fn]But the prince of the kingdome of Persia withstood mee one and twentie dayes: but loe, Michael one of the chiefe Princes came to helpe mee, and I remained there with the Kings of Persia.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from capitalisation and punctuation and footnotes)

10:13 Or, the first.

Bshps But the prince of the kingdome of Persia withstoode me one and twentie dayes: but lo, Michael one of the chiefe princes came to helpe me, & I remained there by the kinges of Persia.
(But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstoode me one and twenty days: but lo, Michael one of the chief princes came to help me, and I remained there by the kings of Persia.)

Gnva But the prince of the kingdome of Persia withstoode me one and twentie dayes: but loe, Michael one of the chiefe princes, came to helpe me, and I remained there by the Kings of Persia.
(But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstoode me one and twenty days: but lo, Michael one of the chief princes, came to help me, and I remained there by the Kings of Persia. )

Cvdl had not the prynce ouer the kingdome of the, Perses wt stonde me xxj. dayes. But lo, Michael one of the chefe prynces, came to helpe me, him haue I left by the kinge of Persia,
(had not the prince over the kingdom of them, Perses with stand me xxj. days. But lo, Michael one of the chief princes, came to help me, him have I left by the king of Persia,)

Wycl Forsothe the prince of the rewme of Perseis ayenstood me oon and twenti daies, and lo! Myyhel, oon of the firste princes, cam in to myn help, and Y dwellide stille there bisidis the kyng of Perseis.
(For_certain/Truly the prince of the realm of Perseis againstood me one and twenty days, and lo! Myyhel, one of the first princes, came in to mine help, and I dwelled/dwelt still there besides the king of Perseis.)

Luth Aber der Fürst des Königreichs in Persienland hat mir einundzwanzig Tage widerstanden; und siehe, Michael, der vornehmsten Fürsten einer, kam mir zu Hilfe; da behielt ich den Sieg bei den Königen in Persien.
(But the/of_the prince/ruler the kingdom in Persienland has to_me einundzwanzig days againststanden; and see/look, Michael, the/of_the most_distinguishedn prince(s)/ruler(s) one/a, came to_me to/for help(n); there behielt I the victory at/in the kings in Persien.)

ClVg Princeps autem regni Persarum restitit mihi viginti et uno diebus: et ecce Michaël, unus de principibus primis, venit in adjutorium meum, et ego remansi ibi juxta regem Persarum.
(Prince however of_the_kingdom Persarum restitit to_me twenty and one days: and behold Michaël, one from/about princes/leaders first, he_came in/into/on help mine, and I I_remained there next_to the_king Persarum. )

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 10:1–12:13: Daniel saw a vision of an angelic man and the end of the age

In this long final vision, Daniel was told of events leading up to the end of the age.

Paragraph 10:12–14

The man in the vision encouraged Daniel not to be afraid. He told him that God had heard his prayers. He himself had come to help Daniel understand what would happen to his people in the future.

10:13a

However, the prince of the kingdom of Persia opposed me for twenty-one days.

The spirit/demon ruler of the kingdom of Persia opposed me for twenty-one days.
The powerful/evil one who is over the kingdom of Persia fought/struggled with me for three weeks.

However, the prince of the kingdom of Persia opposed me for twenty-one days: The phrase the prince of the kingdom of Persia appears to refer to an evil supernatural being with power or influence over Persia. Some scholars suggest that this was a fallen angel, that is, a demon.See Steinmann, page 492. It is best not to indicate exactly who or what this being was. Avoid using an expression that implies that this was Cyrus (10:1a). Here are some other ways to translate this:

The commander of the Persian kingdom opposed me for 21 days. (GW)

But for twenty-one days the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia blocked my way. (NLT)

10:13b

Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me,

Then Michael, who is one of the most powerful princes/rulers, came to help me.
But then the archangel Michael came to assist me. He is one of the chief commanders of the angels in heaven.

Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me: This is the first mention of the archangel Michael in the Hebrew Bible. See how you spelled this name in Jude 9 and Revelation 12:7. Here are some other ways to translate this clause:

But Michael, one of the leading princes, came to help me (NET)

Then Michael, one of the archangels, came to help me (NLT)

Then Michael, one of the most important angels, came to help me (NCV)

one of the chief princes: The Hebrew word that the BSB translates as princes is the plural form of the word “prince” in 10:13a. However, here it refers to supernatural beings who support the cause of God and righteousness. So it may be necessary to translate it differently. God’s chief angels are traditionally called “archangels,” and this is how some versions translate this word here:

one of the archangels (NLT)

10:13c

for I had been left there with the kings of Persia.

For I had been left with the ruling powers of Persia.
I had been/remained struggling with the spirit rulers of Persia.

for I had been left there: There is a textual problem here. Some scholars and translations have followed the Greek translation of Theodotion rather that the Hebrew. They think that it makes more sense in the context. The two options are:

The Hebrew text that we have today (the Masoretic Text or MT), which says, “and I was left there.” This is followed by several English translations. For example:
for I was left there (ESV) (BSB, NIV, GW, NET, KJV, NASB, ESV, REB, NCV, GNT)
The old Greek translation, which says “and I left him there.” This is followed by several other English translations. For example:
so I left him there (RSV) (RSV/NRSV, NLT, NJB)

It is recommended that you follow option (1) and the Masoretic Text.See Lucas, page 259, and Goldingay, page 276, but compare Collins page 362 footnote 32. This probably means that the man wearing linen had been alone struggling with the demonic spiritual rulers of Persia.

with the kings of Persia: There is a textual problem here:

The following versions follow the Hebrew text and say “with the kings of Persia.” For example:
confronting the kings of Persia (NJB) (BSB, GW, NET, KJV, NASB, ESV, CEV, NJB)
The following versions say “with the king of Persia,” using a singular form: (NIV, RSV/NRSV, NLT, REB, NCV)

It is recommended that you follow the Hebrew text and use the plural form. This could refer to the demonic spiritual rulers of the pagan Persian Empire, those who tried to influence its human rulers and leaders. The NET is used as the source line in the Display.

Parallel DAN 10:13

Section 10:1–12:13: Daniel saw a vision of an angelic man and the end of the age

Paragraph 10:12–14

10:13a

10:13b

10:13c