DAN 8:4 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.)

Key: khaki:verbs, red:negative.
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 I saw the ram charging westward, and northward, and southward; no animal could stand before him. There was no one to rescue out of his hand. He did as he pleased and magnified himself.

UST The ram butted away with its horns everything that was west and everything that was north and everything that was south of it. There were no other animals that were able to oppose it, and none that could rescue other animals from its power. The ram did whatever it wanted to do and became very powerful.

OEB No OEB DAN book available

WEBBE I saw the ram pushing westward, northward, and southward. No animals could stand before him. There wasn’t any who could deliver out of his hand, but he did according to his will, and magnified himself.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET I saw that the ram was butting westward, northward, and southward. No animal was able to stand before it, and there was none who could deliver from its power. It did as it pleased and acted arrogantly.

LSV I have seen the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward, and no living creatures stand before it, and there is none delivering out of its hand, and it has done according to its pleasure, and has exerted itself.

FBV I watched the ram charging west, north, and south. No animal could stand up to it—nor was there any chance of rescue from its power. It did whatever it wanted[fn] and grew powerful.

8:4 Compare 11:3, 11:16, 11:36

T4T The ram butted/knocked away with its horns everything that was west and everything that was north and everything that was south of it. There were no other animals that were able to oppose it, and none that could rescue/save other animals from its power. The ram did whatever it wanted to do and became very powerful.

LEB I saw the ram charging westward and northward and southward, and _⌊none of the beasts stood before it_⌋,[fn] and there was no rescuing from _⌊its power_⌋,[fn] and it did _⌊what it wanted_⌋[fn] and it became strong.[fn]

8:4 Literally “all the beasts not they withstood to the face of him”

8:4 Literally “its hand”

8:4 Literally “according to its will”

8:4 Or “it/he magnified itself/himself”

BBE I saw the sheep pushing to the west and to the north and to the south; and no beasts were able to keep their place before him, and no one was able to get people out of his power; but he did whatever his pleasure was and made himself great.

Moff I saw the ram butting westward, northward, and southward; no animal could hold its own against him, and none could be rescued from him; he did as he pleased, and he magnified himself.

JPS I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; and no beasts could stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and magnified himself.

ASV I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; and no beasts could stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and magnified himself.

DRA I saw the ram pushing with his horns against the west, and against the north, and against the south: and no beasts could withstand him, nor be delivered out of his hand: and he did according to his own will, and became great.

YLT I have seen the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward, and no living creatures do stand before it, and there is none delivering out of its hand, and it hath done according to its pleasure, and hath exerted itself.

Drby I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward, and no beast could stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; and he did according to his will, and became great.

RV I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; and no beasts could stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and magnified himself.
(I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; and no beasts/animals could stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and magnified himself. )

SLT And I saw the ram pushing the sea, and north and south; and all the beasts will not stand before him, and none delivering from his hand; and he did according to his will, and increased.

Wbstr I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; so that no beasts might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and became great.

KJB-1769 I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; so that no beasts might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and became great.
(I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; so that no beasts/animals might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and became great. )

KJB-1611 I saw the ramme pushing Westward, & Northward, and Southward: so that no beasts might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliuer out of his hand, but he did according to his will, and became great.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from capitalisation and punctuation)

Bshps I saw that this ramme pushed with his hornes against the west, against the north, and against the south: so that no beastes might stand before him, nor defend them from his power, but he did as him listed, and became great.
(I saw that this ram pushed with his horns against the west, against the north, and against the south: so that no beasts/animals might stand before him, nor defend them from his power, but he did as him listed, and became great.)

Gnva I sawe the ramme pusshing against ye West, and against the North, and against the South: so that no beastes might stande before him, nor could deliuer out of his hand, but he did what he listed, and became great.
(I saw the ram pusshing against ye/you_all West, and against the North, and against the South: so that no beasts/animals might stand before him, nor could deliver out of his hand, but he did what he listed, and became great. )

Cvdl I sawe that this ramme pu?hed with his hornes, agaynst the west, agaynst the north, and agaynst the south: so that no beestes might stonde before him, ner defende them from his power: but he dyd as him listed, and waxed greatly.
(I saw that this ram pu?hed with his horns, against the west, against the north, and against the south: so that no beasts/animals might stand before him, nor defend them from his power: but he did as him listed, and waxed/grew greatly.)

Wycl Aftirward Y siy the ram wyndewynge with hornes ayens the eest, and ayens the west, and ayens the north, and ayens the south; and alle beestis myyten not ayenstonde it, nether be delyuered fro the hondis of it. And it dide bi his wille, and was magnefied.
(Afterward I saw the ram wyndewing with horns against the east, and against the west, and against the north, and against the south; and all beasts/animals might not stand_against it, neither be delivered from the hands of it. And it did by his will, and was magnified.)

Luth Ich sah, daß der Widder mit den Hörnern stieß gegen Abend, gegen Mitternacht und gegen Mittag, und kein Tier konnte vor ihm bestehen noch von seiner Hand errettet werden, sondern er tat, was er wollte, und ward groß.
(I saw, that the/of_the ram(n) with the horns encountered to/against evening/night, to/against midnight and to/against midday, and no/not animal could before/in_front_of him consist still from his hand saved/rescued become, rather he did, what/which he wanted, and what/which large.)

ClVg vidi arietem cornibus ventilantem contra occidentem, et contra aquilonem, et contra meridiem, et omnes bestiæ non poterant resistere ei, neque liberari de manu ejus: fecitque secundum voluntatem suam, et magnificatus est.
(I_saw ram(n) horns ventilantem on_the_contrary west, and on_the_contrary the_north, and on_the_contrary south, and everyone beasts/animals not/no they_could to_resist to_him, nor liberari from/about by_hand his: and_did after/second will his_own, and magnificatus it_is. )

SOTN SIL Open Translator’s Notes:

Section 8:1–27 Daniel had a dream about a ram and a goat

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.

Paragraph 8:3–4

In his vision, Daniel first saw a powerful ram with two horns.

8:4a

I saw the ram charging toward the west and the north and the south.

I saw the ram charging westward, northward, and southward.
I watched/observed the ram as it ran to attack the lands in the west, the north, and the south.
The ram was butting everything out of its way in the west, the north, and the south.

I saw the ram charging toward the west and the north and the south: The Hebrew word that the BSB translates as charging here indicates that the ram pushed or thrust with its horns as it attacked other animals. The object of the verb charging is left implicit, but is implied by the following verse part, “No animal could stand against him” (8:4b). Use a verb that describes the way an animal such as a goat pushes with its horns. For example:

The ram butted everything out of his way to the west, to the north, and to the south. (NLT)

I saw the ram: The idea that Daniel was watching the ram is implied from the context and the introductory sentence in 8:3a. In your translation, it is possible to leave this implied (as the NLT has done) or to say:

As I was watching, the ram…

I saw that the ram was… (NET)

8:4b

No animal could stand against him,

No other animal could resist/oppose/stop it/him
None of the other animals could defend themselves,
All the other beasts were helpless to protect themselves.

No animal could stand against him: The Hebrew text uses the plural form: “all/any animals not stood before it.” Use either the singular or plural, whichever is more natural in your language. The point is that no other animal could resist this ram. The ram was more powerful than all the other animals, and it overcame and defeated them. Other ways to translate this include:

All beasts were powerless to withstand it (NRSV)

No animal could stop him (GNT)

No other animals were strong enough to oppose him (CEV)

8:4c

and there was no deliverance from his power.

or save another animal from its/his power.
There was no one to deliver/protect them from its power.
Nor could they protect/defend one another from the ram.

and there was no deliverance from his power: The Hebrew is more literally “and there was not anyone delivering from its hand.” As often, the word “hand” is a metaphor meaning power. This indicates that no animal was able to help the other animals withstand the ram. Other ways to translate this include:

or help his victims (NLT)

and none could save another animal from his power (NCV)

8:4d

He did as he pleased and became great.

So the ram did whatever he wanted to do and became very powerful.
So it did anything it pleased and grew strong/mighty.

He did as he pleased: The ram acted in whatever way it chose, attacking wherever he wanted. Here is another way to translate this:

He did whatever he wanted (NCV)

and became great: The Hebrew word for became great is a general one (literally, “it magnified itself” or “made itself great”). Scholars have interpreted this in two ways:

it refers to increasing in power. For example:
and became strong (NRSV) (NRSV, NJB, NIV, GW, NLT, CEV, NCV)
it refers to pride and arrogance. For example:
and grew arrogant (GNT) (GNT, NET)