| Dan | KJV | ELH |
|---|---|---|
| 11:20a | Then shall stand up in his estate a raiser of taxes in the glory of the kingdom: | And he shall stand on his post, one causing to pass the one exacting the honor of the kingdom. |
| b | but within few days he shall be destroyed, neither in anger, nor in battle. | But within a few days he shall be broken, though not in anger and not in battle. |
| 21a | And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: | And he shall stand on his post, one being despised, to whom they shall not bestow on him the honor of the kingdom. |
| b | but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries. | For he shall come in peaceably and strengthen the kingdom by way of fine promises. |
| 22a | And with the arms of a flood shall they be overflown from before him, and shall be broken; | And by the arms of the overwhelmer they shall be overwhelmed before the faces of him. |
| b | yea, also the prince of the covenant. | Yes, even the prince of the covenant! |
Comments:
As usual, my improvised color-coding scheme is employed on my translation.
11:20a
This verse introduces the climax of the Daniel 10-12 narrative, where the prophet proclaims the Lion of Judah’s ascension to his “station” as the King of Judah.”
11:20b
Shifting perspective to the evil, beast King of the South, v20b will be “broken” by the incoming Lion of Judah. The companion verse pick up after skipping the next verse, which is the center of the literary structure and therefore the focus of Daniel 10-12.
11:21a
Here at last is the main crux of the entire prophecy given in the Daniel 10-12: that the Lion of Judah returns to the earth and assumes leadership of Judah, such as the country will exist at that time. And then, over time, Judah will grow from a “small people” into a nation that will serve as the ultimate prototype of righteous government. The use in the KJV of “vile” is clearly a translator’s bias, obviously based on his misunderstanding of the text that he was copying or transcribing. The corrected word is “despised,” which is here used as an adjective, meaning hated; viewed with scorn. Such will be the opinion held by those who will have been battling the Lion of Judah before being conquered by Him (Isaiah 53). Of course, this makes sense. Indeed, much of the world already despises the Son of Man.
11:21b
This second part of v21 and the first part of v22 should be read as a single verse. This unit add a description to how the Lion of Judah returns to Judah, that he comes “in peaceably.” “Fine Promises” is a synonym for the WORD.
11:22a
The second half of this unit describes how the Lion of Judah and “the faces of him” (His followers) will “overwhelm” the armies of the evil King of the South
11:22b
Finally, 22b reiterates the identity of the figure back in 20a, the Lion of Judah, the “Prince of the Covenant” found in the “Fine Promises” of the Father.