After this I saw: while the Revised Standard Version rendering differs here, this verse begins exactly the same way as verse 6 in the original. See the comments on the beginning of the previous verse.
Night visions: this refers back to verse 2 and situates the vision being described. This information is not repeated here in Good News Translation.
Behold: see verse 2.
Terrible and dreadful and exceedingly strong: these three adjectives are used to describe the fourth beast. The first two have almost the same meaning and describe the reaction of awe and fear in those who see the beast. In some languages the two terms may be translated by a single expression such as “which provokes terror” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). The third descriptive term is reinforced by the use of the adverb “very” or “extremely.” It relates to the natural physical strength of the beast.
Great iron teeth: while some manuscript evidence adds “and claws of bronze,” few modern versions include these words. This is not recommended to translators.
Devoured and broke in pieces: the first of these two verbs carries the idea of eating like an animal, as in 4.33. The idea of eating has not been clearly translated in Good News Translation, but this should not be imitated in the receptor language. The second verb makes readers think of reducing to powder, or to small bits. The same word is found in 2.34, 45; 6.24. It may be rendered something like “shatter,” “fragment,” or “splinter.” This combination of verbs is repeated in verse 19 below.
Stamped … with its feet: in some languages this idea may be expressed as “trampled,” “stepped on,” or “stood on.”
The residue: that is, what was left of the victims. New Jerusalem Bible has “trampled their remains,” New Revised Standard Version “what was left.”
Different from all: or “totally different from the other beasts.” The difference is directly related to the fact that the fourth beast had ten horns. So in some languages translators may want to say “it was completely different from the other beasts because it had ten horns.”
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 .