The man clothed in linen: that is, the angel. See verse 6.
Who was above the waters: see verse 6. New Revised Standard Version has “who was upstream.” In some languages it may be considered unnecessarily redundant to repeat the position of the angel again at this point.
Raised his right hand and his left hand toward heaven: this may be clumsy in a number of languages. It may be more natural to say simply “raised both hands,” or simply “lifted up his hands,” using the plural noun. Also the words toward heaven may be redundant, depending on the particular verb used in the receptor language. In some languages the same word is used for “up” and “sky,” or “heaven.” Normally a person lifted up only one hand to swear. Here the writer seems to want to emphasize the exceptionally solemn nature of the oath.
Swear: this may be better translated “make a promise” in some languages. And in some cases it will be more natural to make the verb a part of the direct quotation: “I heard him swear that…,” or “I heard him promise that….”
By him who lives for ever: this clearly refers to God, and in many languages this should be made clear in the translation: “God who lives forever.” The expression used here is reminiscent of the “Ancient of Days” in chapter 7 but is not similar in form.
A time, two times, and half a time: this is the response to the question “How long…?” in verse 6 and repeats the Aramaic expression found in 7.25. Here, as in the previous case, it will be necessary to make the meaning clear so that the modern reader can understand the meaning of this curious expression. As in Good News Translation it is possible to say “three and a half years.”
The shattering of the power of the holy people: the remainder of the verse is extremely obscure. The word translated power is literally “hand,” but this is not the source of the difficulties. The probable meaning is that the persecution (all these things) will only end with the final crushing (shattering) of the armed resistance in Israel (the power of the holy people). There can also be here an expression of the writer’s disapproval of the policy of armed resistance to Antiochus IV (compare 11.14, 34 and comments). If the above interpretation is accepted, a possible model for this last sentence is “all this persecution will not end until the opposition (or fighting) of God’s people is completely crushed.”
Quoted with permission from Péter-Contesse, René & Ellington, John. A Handbook on Daniel. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1994. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .