Forces from him: as in verses 15 and 22, this is literally “arms” but refers to “armed forces” or military personnel. Translators may say “soldiers in his command” (Revised English Bible) or “armed forces dispatched by him” (New English Bible).
Appear: literally “stand up,” this verb in military language indicates the taking of a position with the aim of attacking or besieging an enemy.
Profane: this verb has to do with “destroying the sacred character” of something previously considered especially for God. The entry of foreigners (enemy soldiers) into the Temple of Jerusalem deprived the building of its character as a building reserved exclusively for the service of God. In some languages the verb profane is best rendered “make corrupt (or contaminate) (by entering)” or something similar.
The temple and fortress: literally “the sanctuary, the fortress.” There is no conjunction in the Hebrew, and the two terms are probably intended to refer to a single structure, that is, to the Temple at Jerusalem. New Jerusalem Bible translates “the Citadel-Sanctuary” (compare “the fortress of the Temple” in Neh 2.8). New American Bible has “the sanctuary stronghold,” and New International Version reads “the temple fortress.” In other languages it may be necessary to say “our fortress which is the Temple” or “the stronghold, the Temple itself.”
Take away the continual burnt offering: see 8.11-12 and comments.
Set up: in some languages it will be necessary to include what the original readers would have known: “on the altar itself.”
The abomination that makes desolate: see 9.27 and comments. In place of a general formulation like this or the one in Good News Translation, some translators may be forced to say more precisely what this was: “they will make people do a very awful thing: worship foreign gods in our holy place.” But if possible, the more general formulation is preferred. Compare the rendering of the corresponding New Testament expression in Matt 24.15 and Mark 13.14.
In December 168 B.C. King Antiochus IV (who gave himself the blasphemous name “Epiphanes,” meaning “manifestation of God”) gave orders to his troops to penetrate the Temple in Jerusalem. He prohibited the celebration of Jewish worship and placed on top of the altar of the Temple another altar dedicated to the Olympian god Zeus. This meant that in that place which was so sacred to the Jews, people offered animals that were considered unclean (such as pigs). This practice was particularly abhorrent to all faithful Jews. On the idea of abomination in general, compare Lev 11, where the term is used several times.
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 .