DAN 10:20 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=none Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal (All still tentative.)

OET (OET-RV) Then he asked, “Do you know why I’ve come to you? But now I will return to fight against the protector of Persia. When I go out, the protector of Yavan (Greece) will come.

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 Then he said, “Do you know why I have come to you? But now I will return to fight against the prince of Persia. When I go out, behold, the prince of Greece will come.

UST 20-21 Then he said, “Do you know why I have come to you? It is to reveal to you what is written in the book which reveals God’s truth. But now I must return to fight against the evil spirit who rules the kingdom of Persia. After I have defeated him, the evil angel who guards Greece will appear and I must defeat him. Michael, who guards you Israelite people, will certainly help me, but there is no one else to help me.”

OEB No OEB DAN book available

WEBBE Then he said, “Do you know why I have come to you? Now I will return to fight with the prince of Persia. When I go out, behold, the prince of Greece will come.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET He said, “Do you know why I have come to you? Now I am about to return to engage in battle with the prince of Persia. When I go, the prince of Greece is coming.

LSV And he says, Have you known why I have come to you? And now I return to fight with the head of Persia; indeed, I am going forth, and behold, the head of Javan has come;

FBV “Do you know why I've come to you?” he asked. “Shortly I will have to go back and fight the prince of Persia, and after that the prince of Greece will come.

T4T 20-21 Then he said, “◄Do you know why I came to you?/I will tell you why I came to you.► [RHQ] It is to reveal to you what is written in the book which reveals/contains God’s truth. But now I must return to fight against the evil spirit who rules the kingdom of Persia. After I have defeated him, the evil angel who guards Greece will appear and I must defeat him. Michael, who guards you Israeli people, will help me, but there is no one else to help me.”

LEB Then he asked, “Do you know why I have come to you? And now I return to fight against the prince of Persia and I myself[fn] am going, and look,[fn] the prince of Javan[fn] will come.

10:20 This is an emphatic use of the first person personal pronoun

10:20 Or “listen”

10:20 That is, Greece

BBE Then he said, It is clear to you why I have come to you. And now I will give you an account of what is recorded in the true writings:

Moff Then he asked, “Do you know why I have come to you? Soon I must return to confront the guardian angel of Persia, and, when I am done with that contest, the guardian angel of Greece shall attack me;

JPS Then said he: Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia; and when I go forth, lo, the prince of Greece shall come.

ASV Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I am come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I go forth, lo, the prince of Greece shall come.

DRA And he said: Dost thou know wherefore I am come to thee? and now I will return, to fight against the prince of the Persians. When I went forth, there appeared the prince of the Greeks coming.

YLT And he saith, Hast thou known why I have come unto thee? and now I turn back to fight with the head of Persia; yea, I am going forth, and lo, the head of Javan hath come;

Drby And he said, Knowest thou wherefore I am come unto thee? And now I return to fight with the prince of Persia; and when I go forth, behold, the prince of Greece shall come.

RV Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I am come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I go forth, lo, the prince of Greece shall come.
(Then said he, Knowest/Know thou/you wherefore I am come unto thee/you? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I go forth, lo, the prince of Greece shall come. )

SLT And he will say, Knewest thou wherefore I came to thee? and now I will turn back to war with the chief of Persia: and I shall go forth, and behold, the chief of Grecia coming.

Wbstr Then said he, Knowest thou for what cause I come to thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come.

KJB-1769 Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come.
(Then said he, Knowest/Know thou/you wherefore I come unto thee/you? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come. )

KJB-1611 Then said hee, Knowest thou wherefore I come vnto thee? and now will I returne to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, loe, the prince of Grecia shall come.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above)

Bshps Thus saide he: Knowest thou wherefore I am come vnto thee? now wyll I returne to fight with the prince of the Perses: assoone as I go foorth, lo, the prince of Greke lande shall come.
(Thus said he: Knowest/Know thou/you wherefore I am come unto thee/you? now will I return to fight with the prince of the Perses: as soon as I go forth, lo, the prince of Greek land shall come.)

Gnva Then saide he, Knowest thou wherefore I am come vnto thee? but nowe will I returne to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, loe, the prince of Grecia shall come.
(Then said he, Knowest/Know thou/you wherefore I am come unto thee/you? but now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come. )

Cvdl The sayde he: knowest thou wherfore I am come vnto ye? now wil I go agayne to fight with the prynce of the Perses. As soone as I go forth, lo, the prynce of Grekelonde shal come.
(The said he: knowest/know thou/you wherefore I am come unto ye/you_all? now will I go again to fight with the prince of the Perses. As soon as I go forth, lo, the prince of Greeklonde shall come.)

Wycl And he seide, Whether thou woost not, whi Y cam to thee? And now Y schal turne ayen, to fiyte ayens the prince of Perseis. For whanne Y yede out, the prince of Grekis apperide comynge.
(And he said, Whether thou/you know not, why I came to thee/you? And now I shall turn again, to fight against the prince of Perseis. For when I went out, the prince of Greeks appeared coming.)

Luth Und er sprach: Weißt du auch, warum ich zu dir kommen bin? Jetzt will ich wieder hin und mit dem Fürsten in Persienland streiten; aber wenn ich wegziehe, siehe, so wird der Fürst aus Griechenland kommen.
(And he spoke: Weißt you(sg) also, why I to/for you/to_you(sg) coming bin? Now/Currently will I again there/therefore and with to_him prince(s)/ruler(s) in Persienland argue/battle; but when I away/goneziehe, see/look, so becomes the/of_the prince/ruler out_of Griechenland coming.)

ClVg Et ait: Numquid scis quare venerim ad te? et nunc revertar ut prælier adversum principem Persarum. Cum ego egrederer, apparuit princeps Græcorum veniens.
(And he_said: Is_it scis why venerim to you(sg)? and now revertar as beforelier against prince Persarum. Since I to_go_outr, appeared prince Græcorum coming. )

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 10:20–11:1

The angelic figure told Daniel that he was fighting against the demonic powers that controlled, or wanted to control, the kingdoms of Persia and Greece.

10:20a

“Do you know why I have come to you?” he said.

¶ Then he said, “Do you understand now why I have come?
¶ So he replied, “Let me explain the reason why I have come.

“Do you know why I have come to you?” he said: The BSB places the words he said in the middle of what the man said to Daniel. This is good English style. However, in some languages, it may be necessary to place these words at the beginning of 10:20a, as in the Hebrew text. For example:

So he said, “Do you know why I have come to you?” (NIV)

Place the words he said where they would be most natural in your language.

Do you know why I have come to you?: The speaker asked a question to which he assumed the answer was “no.” In 10:21b he told why he had come, as though Daniel had said “No, I do not know.” So this is a rhetorical question that introduces the speaker’s purpose or reason for coming to Daniel. There are two ways to translate this clause:

as a rhetorical question. For example:
Do you know why I have come? (NLT)
You do not know why I have come, do you?
as an introductory statement. For example:
Let me tell you why I have come.
You do not know why I have come to you, so let me explain.

he said: The angelic figure dressed in linen responded to Daniel with a question. So in some languages it may be natural to say:

He asked me

10:20b

“I must return at once to fight against the prince of Persia,

But I have to go back to fight the Prince of Persia.
I must very soon go and fight again against the demonic/spiritual prince of the Persian Empire.

I must return at once to fight against the prince of Persia: This verse begins the explanation of why the angelic figure had come at this time. He would soon have to fight against the spiritual or demonic ruler of Persia. This would continue the fight mentioned in 10:13a–c. Here are some other ways to translate this:

Now I am about to return to engage in battle with the prince of Persia. (NET)

Now I have to go back and fight the guardian angel of Persia. (GNT)

Soon I must leave to fight against the prince/ruler of Persia

I am about to go and take up the battle against the Persian prince

10:20c

and when I have gone forth, behold, the prince of Greece will come.

After I have left that battle, the prince of Greece will come to oppose me.
And as soon as I have defeated him, the demonic/spiritual commander of Greece will engage me in battle.

and when I have gone forth, behold, the prince of Greece will come: The Hebrew verb that the BSB translates as I have gone often refers to going into battle, that is, attacking and fighting an enemy. In some languages it may be natural to avoid repetition from the previous verse part by saying:

After that the guardian angel of Greece will appear. (GNT)

and after that the spirit prince of the kingdom of Greece will come. (NLT)

In this context it is implied that the attack is successful. The prince of Persia is defeated, and then the prince of Greece comes and attacks. Some English translations make this implication clear:

when I have overcome him, the Prince of Javan will come next (NJB)

Then after I have defeated him, the guardian angel of Greece will attack me. (CEV)

the prince of Greece: The name Greece here does not refer to the modern nation state of Greece, which did not exist until modern times.Greece became an independent nation state in 1830. The Hebrew word is “Javan.” See how you spelled this in 8:21a. Here is another way to translate this:

the Prince of Javan (NJB)

Javan was the fourth son of Noah’s son Japheth, according to Genesis 10:2. According to the Jewish writer Josephus, he was the ancestor of the Greek peoples.Josephus wrote his history of the Jewish people about sixty years after the death of Jesus.

Parallel DAN 10:20

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

Paragraph 10:20–11:1

10:20a

10:20b

10:20c