complete verse (Daniel 7:23)

Following are a number of back-translations as well as a sample translation for translators of Daniel 7:23:

  • Kupsabiny: “Then (he) showed/explained to me that, ‘The fourth beast represents the fourth kingdom/rulership that will appear on this earth. That kingdom shall differ from the others and will defeat/conquer this whole earth. It will destroy and crush (the) people.” (Source: Kupsabiny Back Translation)
  • Newari: “I was caused to understand its meaning in this way. ‘The fourth animal is a fourth kingdom established on earth. This kingdom will be different from all the other kingdoms. It will devour the whole earth and trample it to dust. ” (Source: Newari Back Translation)
  • Hiligaynon: “‘Now, this was what he explained to me: ‘The fourth animal is the fourth kingdom here on earth that different from the other kingdoms. It will-attack and destroy/bring-down the whole earth.” (Source: Hiligaynon Back Translation)
  • English: “Then the man who was standing there said to me, ‘The fourth beast represents an empire that will exist on the earth; that empire will be different from all other empires. The army of that empire will crush/kill people all over the world and trample on their bodies.” (Source: Translation for Translators)

Translation commentary on Daniel 7:23

English versions differ as to whether verses 23-27 are to be considered poetry. In addition to Revised Standard Version/New Revised Standard Version, the following translations use poetic format: New Jerusalem Bible, An American Translation, and New American Bible. On the other hand the prose indentation of Good News Translation is also adopted by New International Version, New English Bible/Revised English Bible, and New Jerusalem Bible. The prose format is probably preferable.

Thus he said: this is a better model than Good News Translation for those languages that do not have passive forms. However, it can be made clearer by saying something like “He explained it in this way…” or “He gave me this interpretation….” The pronoun he again refers to the person questioned by Daniel in verse 16. But since the antecedent is quite some distance from this verse, some may wish to make the subject explicit, or else to use a verb with a passive meaning like “receive,” if one exists in the language. The introductory sentence will then read something like “I received this explanation.”

There shall be a fourth kingdom: as in verse 17 above, the verb “to be” may not be the most natural way to speak of the relationship between the beast of the vision and the earthly kingdom. In English the best way to express this relationship may be “As for the fourth beast, it stands for a fourth kingdom” or “… it means that there will be a fourth kingdom.”

Different from all the kingdoms: while the Good News Translation rendering may be taken to mean “unique in all the world,” this is not the focus of this passage. Compare verse 19, “different from all the rest.”

And it shall devour the whole earth: it will be wise in many languages to begin a new sentence at this point, and probably to make the subject clearer with something like “this kingdom” instead of the pronoun “it.” On the verbs devour … trample … break and their order in the translation, see verses 7 and 19.

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 .