Commentary on Daniel (fragments)

"In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim." The prophet begins his account with the exile of the Hebrews, not aiming to tell of the capture of the city (for that has been shown sufficiently from the words of the prophet Jeremiah), but giving himself a starting point for his teaching; for he could not say in what circumstances he came to be and what he did in Babylon without first stating his exile.

One should know that there were two Jehoiakims: the first, who is also called Jechoniah; the second, who is also called Eliakim. It was while the second was reigning that the capture of the city by Nebuchadnezzar took place.

"Nebuchadnezzar came." He does not indicate the complete destruction of the Jews; for Jehoiakim does not appear to have gone into exile, since he ended his life after reigning eleven years, as the histories teach; nor did the city or the temple suffer anything terrible, for it underwent its final overthrow under Zedekiah. Rather, it shows that it became tributary to the Babylonian. That is why, having first said that he besieged it, he then added, "And the Lord gave Jehoiakim the king into his hand," instead of "he became subject to him."

"Part of the vessels of the house of God." Since they did not suffer their final capture at this time.

"And the king told him to bring in some of the sons of the captivity." Then, having said what kind of young men he ordered to be chosen, and how they were to be disposed both in soul and in body, and for what reason, and for how long a time, he adds also what concerned the young men's diet.

"From the phorthommin." Josephus says phorthommin means "from the other nations"; some have translated it "of the chosen"; but in the Hebrew it stands for "of the nobles," that is, "of those of royal descent."

"In whom there is no blemish." That is, surpassing the others in bloom of youth, and sound in the rest of the body.

"And knowing knowledge." Able to take in their lessons most easily.

"Among them, from the sons of Judah, was Daniel." So it is clear that they were taken captive at this time; for no captivity by the Babylonian earlier than this one appears to have taken place. So here, in the third year of Jehoiakim, having deported the inhabitants of Judea, he had the young men chosen; and these were taken from among all, evidently being brought into the palace as soon as they were captured and examined.

"Daniel resolved in his heart." Judging it to be defilement to partake of such things, since those who worship idols received from them the portion set apart for them for feasting.

He calls "chief eunuch" the one entrusted with the care of the whole household and who serves its necessary needs.

"God gave Daniel favor." It seems wonderful how one young in age and just taken captive shared in such boldness. Yet the chief eunuch did not despise him as a boy, but admired his shrewdness and pitied the reversal of his fortunes, reckoning that, though of royal descent, he had been allotted the rank of servants. Daniel seems to make the request on behalf of them all.

"The chief eunuch said." That he was willing to listen and obey what was said, but feared the power of the ruler: lest, as tends to happen, the king should come to inspect those being fed, then see a difference in the good condition of their bodies, examine the cause closely, learn of the withdrawal of the food, and he be punished for having put this before the king's goodwill.

"Test your servants." He does not declare the future as a prophet, for such boldness had no place then; but from the outcome he confirms what was said, which was likely and acceptable to the hearer. Having found, then, that the righteous man's words were true, he no longer hesitated for the time that followed.

"Their appearance was seen." What intention they had when they were brought into the palace, divine Scripture has made known; but it follows to consider for what reason the righteous man turned away from partaking of the king's table. If it was only because it was offered to idols, he could have persuaded the one in charge to give them food clean of defilement; indeed they prevailed on the overseer to give them seeds to eat; and besides, they could have taken bread without any defilement, had they only been careful. But here above all the purpose of the righteous is shown. And a little after: They judged it right to fast, and with fasting to make earnest supplication to God, so as both to make his strength plain to the Babylonians, to show his providence for them, and to put to shame the boastfulness of their enemies; which indeed came to pass.

"In all learning." By "learning" (grammatikē) he means wisdom in letters; so too Aquila says "in every book." For lest anyone think that, being educated among the Chaldeans, they learned magic and whatever lay outside godliness, he necessarily added, "in all learning and wisdom," distinguishing from what is done by sorcery and by curious arts the rest of the teaching of letters. He attributed the knowledge of letters to the four in common, but said that the discernment of dreams belonged especially to Daniel; for now he narrates the events as in summary, according to the manner of Scripture.

"At the end of the days." By "the end of days" he means the three years after which it was decided to present them for a display of their learning. But one must observe that before this time Daniel gave the proofs of this same wisdom in the interpretation of the dream, as the historian himself shows a little later.

"In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar." After Nebuchadnezzar had conquered both Judea and Egypt, he thought fit to be counted king from then on, judging that to be a true kingdom which nothing opposed. This is found in common usage too: that those who in time past have, as it were, been handed over to oblivion begin their count from remarkable events or persons or reputations. And a little after: One must admire the Master of all wisdom; for he did not let the three-year period pass during which the youths were brought to be educated, but when scarcely a year had gone by he shows the dream, so that the king might not ascribe the knowledge of what was said to their practice in learning; nor yet at the very beginning, so that the purpose of the righteous might be tested and the Lord be seen not to give his grace without discernment. So God shows the king the vision, not only teaching his own authority but also making the righteous illustrious.

"His spirit was troubled." He calls the imagination itself "spirit," because the vision in dreams is not secure but dissolves like a breath; for it is put as an image, without "as," according to the manner of Scripture; and so it seems somewhat obscure. — It is clear from this that he called the memory "spirit"; for he says plainly, "my spirit departed from knowing it": "departed" (exestē) in the sense of "went away"; Symmachus says, "and he was at a loss." So forgetfulness of the vision seized him, so that he was at a loss about the memory of what he had seen, though he remembered that he had seen it. It was God's dispensation both that the future was shown to the impious king, of which the prophet was to become the interpreter, and that he forgot it, so that it might be made known through the prophet; so that the enchanters might not be able to make up one thing for another and improvise for the king as it happened; and that after their thinking had been exposed, Daniel might be shown to know hidden things by divine grace. For in Joseph's case, since there were none who opposed him, the interpretation of the dreams sufficed; but here, since the ruler was boastful, and the magi had acquired great reputation by prejudice, and there was in a way a contest between the power of God and the deceit of demons, he does not simply arrange that the dream be forgotten; first the magi had to be at a loss, so that the comparison might make the knowledge of the truth clear.

"To call the enchanters." By "enchanters" he means the soothsayers, as foretelling something; by "magi" the Chaldeans who practise curious arts and illusions; but the Syriac says briefly "the wise men of Babylon," that is, those trained in the learning of the Babylonians.

"You are buying time." You seem, he says, to be fleeing the refutation at your feet; and since you cannot say what is right, you think this a sufficient pretext for your defense.

"The thing the king asks is hard." God arranges that the magi say this, so that when Daniel tells the hidden things, both the power and the authority of the God he worships may be proclaimed. For if Daniel had told the dream before they were exposed, the magi could have twisted what was said one way or another.

"Then Daniel answered with counsel." That is, he came forward calmly to confer with him about the matter at hand, not terrified by death but trusting in his supplications to God.

"He inquired of him." "Tell me why so lawless a sentence against all has been issued by the authority itself." For he called the king's decision a "decree"; and "shameless" because the sentence was not in accordance with the laws.

"Arioch made the matter known." It is clear that everything was arranged by the grace of God; for he was not angry as with one liable to punishment, but, praising the youth for his understanding, he gave him an account.

"Daniel went in." Everywhere Daniel appears as the leader in what was to be done, perhaps because he was older in age, perhaps also because he was more fervent in godliness; yet the others too do not fall short in zeal for what is good.

"They sought mercies." Judging the finding of what was in doubt to be a common achievement, they turned to prayer, knowing that no one else would be the teacher of hidden things but God alone; for he called the knowledge of the dream a "mystery" because it lay hidden. — It is clear that the king's sentence was the cause of their prayer; but it seems to me that he turned to supplication not for this reason alone, but so that the power of God might be known by comparison.

"So that they might not perish." That is, so that the righteous might not perish with the ungodly, as having no one to protect them, and no one able to make known wonderful things; therefore God, praising their purpose, grants what they asked.

"Then to Daniel in a vision." Yet there were four who made the prayer; but Daniel, as I said, led in the matter at hand; therefore, I think, because he was also more fervent in godliness, he reveals to him what was hidden.

"He blessed God." He did not turn to pleasure, as people in former times were more inclined to do in good fortune, but went on to a hymn to the Master, since he had reached the goal of his aim; and he makes his words suited to the matter at hand.

"May the name of God be blessed." That is, our God is worthy of hymns, but not the gods of Babylon.

"From eternity." That is, the one who has neither beginning nor end, since the idols were invented and can perish.

"Wisdom and understanding and strength are his." For the Babylonians thought much of themselves for wisdom, and also for power, as having overcome all. He had much to say, but rather gathered it in summary in the thought of what he said; for that the divine is worthy of hymns for ever proclaimed nothing else than that what is beneficent is eternal; with which, clearly, its creative power appeared together, and indeed its incorporeality; for it was not possible that the maker of the ages should be clothed in the imperfection of a body.

"He changes times." To say that all things depend on his counsel, and that some are in good fortune and again in misfortune, hinting at what concerned the Jews; and teaching that the Babylonians did not overcome the Jews by their own power, but because God willed it.

"He sets up kings and removes them." Certainly, he says, those who now hold all things will a little later come under the rule of others.

"Giving wisdom to the wise." He called "wise" those who possess the fear of God; and by "those who know understanding" he meant those trained in the law and who understand the power of the prophets.

He called "hidden things" what is unknown to all; and "deep things" what is plain but cannot yet be interpreted: meaning both the dream and the interpretation of the dream.

"The light is with him." For he possesses exact knowledge of all things, even of what lies in obscurity. — That is, he has the knowledge of all things in himself, not needing to receive it from another.

"God of my fathers." He recalled his ancestors to show God's providence from of old, and that the Jews would never have suffered these things had they not made themselves unworthy of divine grace. "For wisdom and power." By "wisdom" he means the interpretation of the dream; by "understanding" his knowledge of it.

"To destroy the wise men." He did not speak about his own affairs only, but took care to snatch the others too from danger.

"He brought Daniel in before the king and said to him, I have found a man." It is clear here that the order of the words is not sequential; for he did not first bring in the righteous man and then report finding him; but plainly, having reported it, he brought the man in at the king's command.

"Can you tell me?" He seems still to doubt what was promised. "For do not you too," he says, "like the magi of the Chaldeans, ask to learn the dream from me, since I cannot tell it; but confirm the truth of what you will say by telling the hidden thing."

He called it a "mystery," confessing that what was said lay hidden in the secret of divine knowledge. So, he says, to know such things does not belong to the Babylonians, even if they are trained in the highest wisdom.

"This is it." God, who knows all things, revealed to the righteous man not only the dream but also the cause of the vision and the king's thoughts; and, before what was shown, he tells also what he had thought before sleep, so that from what was admitted he might become credible when speaking also about what was doubted.

"He who reveals mysteries." To you, he says, so disposed, he showed the vision you forgot, making known what would happen many generations later.

"And to me, not by wisdom that is in me." Then, pushing the wonder away from himself and referring the praise to God, he says: I do not boast that I know these things of my own or from myself, nor from the experience I have gained of the native wisdom.

"But in order to make the interpretation known to the king." For God, he says, who showed you the events through the dream, has given me the clear meaning of what was made known to you; and he added knowledge of your thoughts too, so that you might have an undeniable knowledge of what is said.

"To whom the God of heaven has given a kingdom." For you would never have overcome so many, had God not given you the strength; and he himself has caused his own people to be taken by you. — Hinting that you would not have held Judea had God not given up its inhabitants.

"The beasts of the field and the birds." God has subjected to you those keen in war, powerful and strong of body, and made you lord of all: that is, he has granted you not only victory in war but also secure authority.

"Another kingdom will arise, inferior to you." Here he no longer said "inferior," but by the addition of the words showed a more powerful authority: "it will rule over all the earth." For Cyrus acquired an empire much greater than the Babylonian, and accomplished many wars with divine help.

"A third kingdom." He indicates the Macedonian empire, and makes known Alexander.

"A fourth kingdom, strong as iron." For it not only overcame the rest, but subjected the Persians in a short time, overthrowing the most illustrious dynasties more swiftly than anyone could have hoped. "It will crush," then, in the sense of "it will make weak."

"And from the root, in it." By these words too he means the Macedonian empire still ruling; for "in it" means "in the root": for they succeeded Alexander.

"They will be mixed in the seed of men." By "the seed being mixed" he meant the intermingling with one another of those who came after Alexander, hinting at their intermarriages; for "to be mingled" indicates nothing other than close kinship, and "in the seed of men" plainly signifies what was said; just as what follows also does, "and they will cling," as though the families were formerly divided, but joined by their intermingling with one another.

"The God of heaven will raise up a kingdom." "Will raise up" is well said, as of a kingdom that existed from the beginning but was not apparent; for the divine nature existed even before the coming of Christ in the flesh. "Will raise up," then, means "will show his providence." Nor did he say, "In the days of those kings a king will arise"; for he did not have a kingdom in time, being eternal in authority; but "the God of heaven will raise up a kingdom," showing God's dispensation toward us.

"It will never be destroyed," and so on. Then, showing the difference of this kingdom from those already mentioned, he says that it will never be destroyed, since they perish, but this remains for endless time. — That is, there will be no one after him so that his authority would cease, but he himself remains and will have power without end. — Not only will it have rule, he says, but it will also prevail over all who oppose it; and the Lord says, "On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it."

"They stood before the image." Waiting for the signal of the command; this was the king's order. He indicated the multitude of those gathered: by "nations" meaning their respective homelands, by "tribes" those gathered by clan, by "peoples" the multitudes from various homelands. By trumpets, pipes, and lyres he means various musical instruments; and by sambuca and psaltery he plainly means kinds of instruments. He shows that they did not make the sounds simply or at random, but performed the melody with a certain order and rhythm, so as to give some pleasure to the hearers.

"All the peoples, falling down." So that some from folly and others from fear of the threats might obey the command. — While the rest flattered servilely, the youths, according to the law of Moses, would worship nothing made by hands; for they gave the king the honor due to him, but refused to worship him as God: the one was the part of those who keep the fitting order, the other of those who disregard the worship of God.

"Live for ever." That is, may you remain in power, with events bearing witness to your rule. This shows flattery; what follows, envy.

"For there is our God in heaven, whom we serve." By mentioning God and saying that he is in heaven, they lead the hearer by the hand to the Creator of all things; and by speaking of his worship they recall ancient wonders. For just as the Babylonians tried to refute God's power from their deportation, so the saints wished to strengthen their own argument from creation and from what had happened to them of old. Yet they do not say these things plainly; for it was not a time for teaching but for an account and a trial; for it belongs to a teacher to speak with authority, but to one on trial to measure his words to the occasion.

"He is able to deliver us." We know clearly that we shall suffer nothing terrible, since God's providence overcomes every device; but if he should decide to hand us over to terrible things, we have such love for him that we choose rather to die with godliness than to live outside the divine laws.

"They fell into the midst." He did not say "they went in" but "they fell," showing that the intensity of the flame did not allow anyone to approach, nor to push the young men in with any tools, as one usually feeds fuel into such fires; but as from some height they throw the youths into the depth, as to certain death.

"And they walked about." He did not simply say "they sang hymns," but that they sang hymns while walking about, heightening the wonder of what happened; for the fire not only did not touch them, but served to loose their bonds, having as the limit of its working the destruction of the iron.

"Bless, all." One must know that this hymn is not found in the Hebrew or in the Syriac books; for it is said to have been composed afterwards by certain people from what had been said. Therefore I too pass over the interpretation of each part of it, keeping only to the interpretation of the book.

"Nebuchadnezzar the king to all the peoples." He was taught the truth by the events themselves; therefore he sets out the decree publicly to all his subjects. For since they were inclined, comparing the gods, to mock the protector of the Jews as powerless, as unable to snatch those under him from the enemy's hand, he charges them no longer to use such words, as they would at once pay the penalty for the blasphemy. — The events themselves, he says, cried out the truth more brightly than any voice; for those worshipped by the others not only cannot snatch anyone from open dangers, but cannot give even the slightest help; but he showed in deed what was beyond all hope.

"Hear the vision." I do not ask you, he says, to tell the vision that was shown, as before, for it is clear; but the clear meaning of what is agreed; for this is as much a puzzle to me as the unknown vision.

"All the wise men are not able." All, he says, who prided themselves on wisdom were exposed; but you are able, "because the holy Spirit of God is in you": that is, you tell everything by divine revelation, as before.

"He was dumbfounded for about an hour." That is, he was astonished at the wonder of what was shown, and became thoughtful.

"And his thoughts troubled him." That is, he was afraid, reckoning the power of the Master, and that nothing human is secure unless it has the weight of support from above.

"The tree that you saw." Not speaking of his person alone, but of the whole kingdom; but he said "you" because all his subjects were seen in him and filled out the royal image. The tree, then, indicates him; the leaves, the army about him; "flourishing" because they were splendid in their good order and their abundance of everything else. By the tree's fruit he means the yearly tributes sent by the subjects; the birds and beasts being fed hints at the allowance of provisions supplied by the king to the officials and the regiments. He calls "birds" those in authority, as being above the rest, and "beasts" the subject nations; and some dwelling under the tree, others nesting in the branches means that all live under his laws. He said that abundance was supplied from there to all those mentioned, since those fed by him receive wages for their service, and they carry on trade and contracts with the royal coinage. The prophet passed over the detailed interpretation, perhaps because it was easily grasped, especially since the things then in motion caused no difficulty for understanding the whole; and also because he had in view, by the account of what concerned the king, to make him more sober; for this purpose the interpretation of the rest was superfluous.

"Because you have grown great." That is, from small you became great through victory in wars; and "you have grown strong," because afterwards too you met no resistance.

"And your greatness has grown great." That is, you became puffed up in mind and stretched your pride even to the Master of all; for he called authority itself "greatness," and says it "grew great" because of the swelling of his thoughts.

"And your dominion to the ends of the earth." This happened, he says, because, extending your rule everywhere on earth, you did not stop at the limits of nature.

"And that the king saw a watcher (eir)." Eir is a Hebrew word; it means "the wakeful one," and "angel"; therefore he also calls him "holy," as possessing a nature set apart above all men.

"But the stump." He did not condemn the king to complete destruction, he says.

"And in a band of iron." By this he indicates the manner of the misfortune that would overtake him.

"And in the grass." He will be in such a condition as to eat grass and to embrace a life with the beasts.

"Until seven times." It means three and a half years, a "time" being taken as either a winter or a summer; since, in a general way, the year is divided into these two, spring and autumn being included in each of these seasons; for they are also the beginnings of the extremes, spring of summer and autumn of winter. Summing up in the account the one who came down from heaven, the outcome of the sentence, the form of the deliverance, the hope of what was to come, its certainty, he adds also the time of the misfortune.

"This is its interpretation, O king." He gathered everything in a general way, since the teaching had to be brief, leaving aside what was agreed and setting out the solution of what was doubtful.

"And a decree of the Most High." By "decree" (synkrima) he means the interpretation; which Nebuchadnezzar said above: "by the decree of the watcher is the matter, and the word of the holy ones the question." For he who showed you the vision and made it known to those who asked, has now given me too to make plain what was hidden.

"Which has come." He means the certainty of the outcome of what was shown; for he says "has come" instead of "will come," according to the manner of Scripture.

"And your dwelling will be with the wild beasts." For they say that he was turned to madness, and others that he was troubled by a demon; when those at the palace, ashamed of the king's condition, first shut him up, so that what had happened might not become known; and they held him guarded as with fetters and chains, which the band of iron indicates; for no human strength sufficed against such a condition of a man. For a long time, then, they decided to guard him out of sight; but when everything gave way before the madness, the strength of men, the power of iron, and the devices of various craftsmen, then they did not merely let him go, but his life with the beasts took place far away.

"And they will feed you grass like an ox." For he could not eat flesh, since he did not have the nature of the beasts, though he had their condition in the length of his hair, the growth of his nails, and the rest of his wildness; but he grazed, eating the food that the earth yields of itself.

"And seven times will be changed." That is, you will change your complexion; for if the change of age alone works a very great difference of features, much more would the unaccustomed food and the hardened life have shown this.

"Until you know." God did not decree your complete destruction; for he does not bring the suffering in anger, but in care, providing for a change for the better, and he will free you from all your troubles when he restores you again to your own dignity. — So that you may know that nothing human is secure, but all things depend on authority from above.

"Let my counsel please you." Since, then, he says, God has threatened the penalty with sparing and not with savagery, accept my counsel.

"Redeem by almsgiving." Since he took no pity on the captives but treated all unsparingly, so as to bring to a pitiable end even those raised in nobility and every abundance, he necessarily urges gentleness on him, since this cruelty moved the divine to anger.

"Perhaps he will be patient." One must admire the prophet, how he neither made his expectation of good things hopeless, lest in despair he should fall altogether to a worse lot, nor made it certain. — But though the prophet's counsel, he says, was such as to be able to ward off the penalty hanging over him, he was in no way better disposed, being above the prophet's counsel; therefore the terms of the sentence too were carried out to the end.

"All these things came." God threatened the misfortune, he says, but did not bring the experience of the evils at once; he allowed a whole year, giving time for repentance. But the king, since he saw none of the threats in action, cast the immediate fear out of his mind, thinking over the greatness of all his achievements. Wishing to indicate this, the prophet mentioned not only the time but also the action and the words, to teach more clearly the king's state of mind.

"On the temple of the kingdom." The palace itself is called the "temple of the kingdom"; he surveyed, he says, all the public buildings and whatever was made for royal display.

"Is not this Babylon?" That is: where are those sentences against me? Where is God's punishment? See, I have suffered nothing terrible; but I have raised this Babylon on high, having driven out those who ruled before, and have suffered nothing from anyone; the power of my dynasty has been confirmed, and my glory has advanced to greater magnificence, no length of time having been able to refute my strength.

"While the word was still," and so on. Humiliation came at once upon the boasting; not so much because of the word spoken at the moment as because of his whole arrogance; but so that the pride being punished might be shown as a sign of the word.

"The word was fulfilled." For everything that was said happened to him. Since he remained unrepentant, the penalty was exacted; and it is clear that his body took on a more beastlike condition, the rest of his body changing to another appearance, his hair turning wilder, and his nails growing beyond human nature.

"I lifted my eyes to heaven." Freed from the madness, he says, with my thoughts calmed, seeing the beastlike state of my body, and comparing my former prosperity with my present state, the earlier sickness of my mind, the sentence brought from above, and the fulfilment of what had been said, and knowing that nothing human is secure, I turned to hymns to the Master.

"For his authority is an eternal authority." And this, he says, I did not do lightly, but learning from the events themselves that he has an eternal nature, not admitting change of rule as men do.

"I was established in my kingdom." That is, I was not harmed by the time or by what happened in between. — If one must tell the truth, he says, I had greater authority.

"Belshazzar the king made a feast." Without mentioning the death of Nebuchadnezzar, he passes to Belshazzar, since it is not his purpose to tell the succession of the kings in order; for that, as I said before, is the task of a historian; but to teach the wonders and show God's universal providence. So whatever contributes to his purpose, that he narrates. For after Nebuchadnezzar, Evil-merodach appears to have reigned, according to the words of Jeremiah, who also freed Jechoniah from his bonds, left in that condition by Nebuchadnezzar. For the prophet says thus: "In the twenty-third year of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuzaradan the chief cook deported seven hundred and forty-five souls of the Jews; and it came to pass in the thirty-seventh year after Jehoiakim king of Judah was deported, Evil-merodach king of Babylon, in the year he became king, lifted up the head of Jehoiakim king of Judah." If, then, the prophet had intended to write history, he would necessarily have put him in the writing after Nebuchadnezzar; but since his purpose was different, he thought fit to pass over these things too, since no wonder was worked in his time. For this reason he did not even mention the beginning of Belshazzar's reign, but passed at once to the events.

"Before the thousand, the wine." That is, there was great abundance of everything, and above all of wine, so that by their emulation in drinking the banquet was prolonged until late evening.

"And the vessels were brought." That is, he did not stop his daring at the command, but carried out his plan in deed.

"And they drank from them." To say that he brought the vessels not only for display but also for insult.

"And they praised the gods." He showed the cause of the daring: as if by the help of all the idols they had overcome God himself, he acknowledged his gratitude to them, but insulted the Master of all.

"In that very hour." That is, while they were still talking and admiring the power of the demons, the rebuke came at their feet and gave a greater sense of the lawlessness.

"Fingers came out." As if bringing the sentence against the tyrant by a king's decree.

"And the king was watching." For he seems to have been the only one to see the wonder, as Balaam's donkey saw the angel. A shared sight would have made the fear easy to console, as one explained the strangeness of the vision one way and another another; but that he alone saw it and had no one at once as witness of his words made his dread greater and gave the others the impression that he was mad. Afterwards all knew it, to the perplexity of the whole company and the instruction of the Babylonians. For I think the writer, wishing to indicate this, did not say that the king "saw" but that he "was watching," signifying the extension of the time; and that at first the king was astonished, but afterwards all experienced the same, so that it should not be thought some illusion or deceit worked by someone. — For the intensity of fear changed his color. — That is, he did not know what to decide about what appeared.

"And his knees knocked together." He shows that, though seated or reclining, he did not remain at ease, but, gripped by fear as by a shivering fit, shook all over.

"And the king cried out with strength." "With strength" is well said; for it showed the turmoil of his soul.

"And the queen." Contrary to all custom the queen appears to have rushed into the middle of the banquet; for, sharing in the misfortune, she neglected her usual decorum and came in before the eyes of all, having in mind what concerned the prophet.

"Let not your thoughts trouble you." Do not collapse from fear, she says, nor fall into perplexity if you find these men ignorant of the writing.

"There is a man." So the solution of the perplexity, she says, is not hopeless; for another, better than these, has already appeared, who is not wont to say such things by custom but by grace.

"You will be clothed in purple." He promises to clothe him in purple, that is, to share the kingdom; he puts on him a gold necklace as a symbol of rule; and he promises that he will be third in the kingdom, that is, after himself and the queen.

"Let your gifts be yours." I will give the solution of what is sought without payment, telling everything exactly.

"God Most High gave the kingdom to Nebuchadnezzar." Calling the rule itself "kingdom," the conspicuousness of authority "greatness," the worship from all "honor," and the abundance of wealth and the acclaim of all "glory," he ascribed this to God, showing that Nebuchadnezzar took pride not in ancestral achievements but in his own, which were given by God.

"All the peoples, tribes." He held not only his own homeland, he says, but extended his rule over the other nations too; and all yielded to his commands with fear, no one ever plotting rebellion. — He did everything, he says, with authority.

"And when his heart was lifted up." Yet, he says, the one who reached the summit of power, since he boasted against the God of all, was removed from the kingdom by divine sentence.

"You, his son Belshazzar." For he, even if he appeared arrogant in other things, at least showed reverence toward the vessels; but you have left him no excess of boastfulness, and in your drunken insolence toward God you boldly stretched out your hands against them. And having exposed the swelling of his soul, he goes on to what happened.

"Mane: he has measured." That is, he has limited your life as by a measure until the present time; for just as in Zechariah he saw a measure of lead, so that he might learn the end of God's patience toward sinners, so now too he says that the power of the rulers has been limited as by a measure; for mane means "measure."

"Thekel: it was weighed in the balance." Thekel means "weight"; he wants to show that God did not bring his sentence against him without judgment, but that the time of your rule, weighed in some way against your deeds, went down, dragged by the weight of your sins: to say that because of your lawlessness you were found unworthy to prolong your kingdom.

"Phares: it has been divided." Phares means "division"; he says that you will not only now pay the penalty for your daring against God, but will not even pass the rule on to descendants, honored by the good repute of your sons. The prophet stopped here, and no longer offered counsel as in the case of Nebuchadnezzar, following throughout the divine purpose. In that case he saw from the dream that there was some hope for the king; and besides he knew him to be reverently disposed toward the divine oracles; for at the interpretation of the statue he not only honored him with the rest but thought him worthy of worship, and again at the tree; and besides what was said, he appointed the righteous men governors in the kingdom. Therefore, loving the man and holding out good hopes to him, he urged him to the doing of good. But in this case he knew him not only to be ungrateful for the divine gifts, but to have become wholly of the worse lot. To a man, then, who had nothing good and did not accept the teaching of events, and so had fallen under an acknowledged sentence, he judged it superfluous to speak of what was fitting.

"They clothed Daniel in purple." One might ask how or when these things were done. I think, then, that Daniel gave the interpretation of the writing while it was still night, and was honored at once with the purple and the necklace, with the army and all the officials present; but that the proclamation did not take place, but was only drawn up in writing; and what was not yet to be, or rather what was fulfilled by the judgment, the historian set down as having happened.

"That very night he was killed." For once the trickery of the wise men in Babylon had been exposed and the Master proclaimed, justice overtook the lawless man.

"And Darius the Mede received the kingdom." It is asked how, at the same time, Daniel told the interpretation of the writing, the kingdom was taken from the Babylonians, and the Medes held their rule; and besides, how, having said in the interpretation of the writing that the rule would pass to the Medes and Persians together, he added that Darius the Mede alone received the rule. Some, then, have said that Darius was Belshazzar's governor, and, being godly beyond all the rest and very sincerely disposed toward the godly among the Jews, he was persuaded that what Daniel had said was true. So when the prophet declared these things, he did not hesitate about what had been said, but stirred everyone at once against the king; and he drove him from rule and himself held the kingdom, transferring the rule to the Medes.

"A hundred and twenty satraps." That is, since the dominion was great, he decided that the rulers in each homeland should be many.

"Three officers." That is, he ordered them to be set over the regiments; for he called the commanders of the regiments "officers" (taktikoi); and Daniel was one of them.

"So that the king might not be troubled." That is, so that only the most necessary matters should come to the king, and the rest be administered by these; this happened also in the time of Moses.

"Because an excellent spirit." That is, he showed himself wiser and more capable in administration, not only than the three but than the whole multitude, so that the righteous man was shown superior to all in the kingdom. — By "spirit" he means here his understanding, the movement of the thoughts of his soul, and his skill in affairs; for he did not say of the Holy Spirit that it was "excellent" in him; for the others did not share in the Spirit, since they shared in impiety. Yet I think the prophet hints here at the divine grace, from which he had his incomparable superiority over all.

"The king set him over them." So that it is clear, he says, that, persuaded by what Daniel himself had said, he both carried it into action and honored Daniel as godly; as one might find, on looking, happened also in the case of Job. — That is, having been seen from his deeds to be better than the rest, he received authority over all from the king. "A pretext and a fault." By "pretext" he means the greatest occasion for death; by "fault" something not fatal, yet having some occasion for an accusation, which might be found in his administration of the subjects.

"Because he was faithful." As was shown, for instance, from his disposition toward the poor: neither selling justice for a bribe, nor removing the bonds of justice for shameful gain; that is, never departing from justice and truth. — To invent charges, they say, is not right; for we shall be easily caught, since an inquiry will reveal the fabrication; but it is fitting to turn what is admitted into an accusation.

"Establish a decree." They pretend goodwill toward him, so that the trick may succeed for them: "From our disposition toward you," they say, "and our goodwill toward the kingdom, we have come to this counsel"; and they use the greatest flattery, knowing that flattery is able to steal even the mind of a sensible man. — They left the king no time for deliberation; for they feared that if they gave time for reflection, they would miss their aim, since the absurdity of the proposal would at once be shown.

"So that the decree may not be changed." That is, that this be fixed by the king's law, so that the matter be inviolable by the credibility of the lawgiver.

"Then the king." For he did not know the trick, and accepted the flattery.

"And Daniel, when he knew." "When he knew" is excellently said; for it showed that, once the law had been made, he applied himself to prayer with greater attention. For since a contest lay before him, either to hold to godliness toward God or to put human fear before diligence in what is good, he intensified his zeal, judging it better to die with godliness than to live unlawfully. And he did not pray simply, but looking toward Jerusalem, which gave greater proof of his love for God. For he neither prays freely against what was decreed as though ignorant of the prohibition, nor, knowing it, deliberately sets himself against the command: the one would not have been God-loving, the other would have been courting danger. And a little after: One must not, then, give way to men against the divine law out of fear, but follow God even with dangers.

"Did you not issue a decree?" They use the same villainy now too: before the decree they began from what had happened; but here, hiding the reason for the document, they fasten on the king himself the plain declaration of the law.

"The king was much grieved." That is, he was at a loss, seeing the deceit but not knowing what to do; for he could neither deny what he had just agreed to, nor did he think he ought openly to break the law.

"He struggled to deliver him." He tried, he says, by other arguments to ward off the sentence against the righteous man; and until sunset he strove to deliver him: not only the deed but also the time showed the king's goodwill toward the righteous man.

"Then the king said." An ancient custom, he says, was followed, that the royal laws were in no way to be transgressed; so he had to choose one of two things: either, by saving Daniel, give the rest licence to transgress, or, keeping the force of the laws, pass sentence against him by the law.

"And the king said to Daniel." The king, taught, I think, by earlier events, had good hopes for the righteous man, that he could not be overlooked; for he reasoned that he who snatched Hananiah and his companions from the fire was able also to draw the righteous man out of the savagery of the beasts. "And the king sealed it." Hoping that the righteous man would be saved, he took care that he should not suffer any other plot; and, securing the den, he put on it the seals not only of himself but also of the officials, so that he himself might not be suspected of helping the righteous man. And this happened by divine providence, so that they might not say that the righteous man remained unharmed by human aid. So it happened also in the case of the Lord: it was arranged that guards be given to the tomb, so that the enemies might not allege a theft of the body, and might become witnesses of the truth.

"He went to bed without supper." Showing the king's great concern for the righteous man, since he not only abstained from his usual food but even rose above sleep, reduced to helplessness by the unreasonableness of what had been plotted.

"He cried with a loud voice." The pitch of his voice showed his longing about the matter. And he did not simply say "if he was saved," for the thing was not in nature; but "if God was able to snatch you away, he who is always counted worthy of your service." And "if he was able to deliver you from the mouth of the lions" shows that he hoped something wonderful would happen to him, but also suspected that it would not, since human nature does not allow such a thing.

"My God sent his angel." He did not say "I am alive," nor "I did not die," but referred the wonder to God; and he did not simply say "God shut the lions' mouths," but that he "sent his angel," signifying his great authority and the trustworthiness of his ministers.

"Because before him," and so on. That is, he knew the uprightness of his purpose, and, being just, did not allow one who had done no wrong to suffer.

"And before you too." Not only in divine things, he says, am I blameless, but in the service entrusted to me too I have been found clean of charges. For since they slanderously said, "He did not submit to your decree," wishing to show that they had made an unjust accusation against him, he also mentioned his goodwill toward the king, setting the facts directly against what they had said, in place of witnesses.

"He was very glad about him." That is, he had a greater affection for him.

"And no harm was found." Lest anyone think the prophet overcame the beasts by some skill or bodily strength, he said that he was found clean of wounds and of any other harm, so that the help from God might be seen to be undeniable.

"And they had not reached the floor." Above all, the beasts' attack on these men showed the wonder more brightly. For if the beasts did not attack the prophet because they were sated, clearly they would not have touched these either; but since they attacked them with such violence, and that not one or two who were thrown in but a great multitude, with women and children, it is clear that the wonder was beyond reproach.

"Then King Darius wrote to all the peoples." As Nebuchadnezzar after the wonders proclaimed God's power to all, so did Darius.

"May your peace be multiplied." That is, may you live in a stable kingdom; you will remain, he says, free of all harm, if you honor the God worshipped by Daniel.

"For he is the living God." That is, he has a nature without end, neither receiving his being in time nor needing another for his subsistence. — He has no succession, as human rule does. — He, he says, is able to snatch those who trust in him out of dangers beyond hope, and to do wonders in heaven and on earth.

"And Daniel prospered." That is, not only under this king, but under Cyrus too he was an illustrious and renowned man.

"In the first year of Belshazzar." That these kingdoms are made known through both that vision and this one is clear; yet they do not correspond in every respect.

"And he wrote the dream, the beginning of his words." That is, he began the things concerning himself, which he saw under Belshazzar, since what had been said before did not concern him but the kings of Babylon.

"Into the great sea." He calls life "sea," as full of tumult and disturbance; the four winds he sees coming from heaven are the angelic powers set over the four nations, Babylonians, Medes, Persians, Macedonians; and he added "from heaven" to show that the angels' charge takes place by the will of God. One might also understand "the four winds" as "from the four regions"; for it often calls the regions "winds."

"And four beasts." By four beasts he means the four kingdoms mentioned, over which divine powers were set; "they came up from the sea," to say that they appeared in life; "great," to show that each kingdom was fearsome considered by itself, but each fell short of another in some respect; for this "differing from one another" indicates: to say that the sight of each beast was terrifying, yet not all caused the same fear.

"Like a lioness." For he named the most royal of the beasts: as in the case of the statue he took gold for the empire of the Babylonians as more precious than the other materials, so among the beasts too he took the most sovereign for the empire of the Babylonians.

"I was watching." Wondering, he says, I looked intently at the beast, and meanwhile I saw its change to the opposite; for the adornment of its wings was taken away. For he did not say "fell off" but "was plucked," to signify that the overthrow of the Babylonian empire was by God's sentence.

"And it was dried up." That is, it suffered hardship, but it still existed, and complete destruction did not overtake it.

"A human heart was given to it." A lion's mark is strength, but a human being's is not to have the beast's impulse. When the Babylonians ruled, they were fearsome to their subjects; but they were made cowardly when the rule passed to the Medes by God's providence.

"Three ribs in its mouth." Since he set up the rule of the three as useful to the mouth, he says the three ribs in the mouth are fellow workers of the kingdom that is busied with eating flesh; therefore those who see it shout to it, "Arise, eat flesh."

"And it had four wings." In the case of the Mede he spoke of three ribs, in this case of four wings; since after the Medes, Babylonians, and Egyptians it held the kingdom of the Persians too. For Darius had Persia outside his hand, but this one won over the rest in addition to these. And in that case he speaks of ribs only in the mouth, but here he said there are also wings of a bird: "bird," for victory in wars; "wings," for being adorned by his subjects; for he had not conquered by overthrowing them.

"And four heads." To say that these kingdoms were known in four; for so great was each nation's standing that it sufficed for a kingdom; yet he held all as though they had no strength; therefore he spoke of heads, to make known the power in the rule, but referred them to him, since they were divided under his administration.

"Authority was given to it." That is, to the beast itself, to say, to Cyrus; and he did not say that it "had" authority, but that it "was given," making known the help from above. For since he was going to release the Jews to their own land, to grant the sacred vessels, to order the building of the temple, and to enjoin on all godliness toward God, God, fighting on his side, made him stronger than his opponents.

"Behold a fourth beast." He indicates Alexander; since in the case of the statue too he likened him to iron, and, interpreting it, the prophet says that as iron crushes and subdues all things, so he will crush all things and subdue them. For this reason here too he compared him to a beast, in keeping with the earlier ones, so as to signify the kingdom; but by its difference from those before he indicates its pre-eminence.

"Exceedingly, beyond all." Meaning that he reigned with greater abundance, accomplishing his wars more swiftly than all hope.

"And it was exceedingly different." There is no comparison at all, he says, between the others and this one; for in twelve years Alexander, starting from Macedonia, ran across as far as Persia and Egypt, unhindered by the strength of his opponents. But one must observe how, up to what was said, he saw the succession of the kings with a certain abundance; but all that follows has its account directed to the people.

"Behold another horn, a small one, came up among them." He means Antiochus Epiphanes; for he was the tenth from Alexander. He wants to say that while I was wondering at the earlier things, another, more wonderful, appeared; for suddenly a small horn sprang up, then, growing by degrees, it became equal to the rest. For "it came up" is to show the authority acquired by degrees, and how in time he would advance to the extreme limit of wickedness. And he says "among them" not to signify that he reigned in the middle of the ten kings, but to show that while the Macedonian kingdom still stood, this one would appear, surpassing all who ever lived in wickedness. And so it happened: on first coming to rule he did not at once treat the Jews worst, even though he wanted to change their affairs to a Greek pattern; but when Menelaus contended with Jason for the priesthood, and disturbance arose from this, Antiochus, fearing for the whole, as he was subduing the Egyptians, not only treated the city badly but also tried to remould the Jews to a Greek character.

"Three of the horns before it were plucked up." That is, he overthrew three kings; for he took the Asian rule, and seized the Persians, the Egyptians, and the Jews; and he succeeded Seleucus, and himself held Asia, as the book of the Maccabees bears witness. Hence I am amazed how Apollinarius, setting himself against so clear a history, forces the words to refer to the coming of the Antichrist. — But Eudoxius, O Polychronius, said that the interpretation you have given is that of Porphyry the madman.

"Behold eyes." He summed up the strength of the rest in brief; but what concerns the Jews he now explains with exactness, telling not only the deeds of Antiochus but also his purpose, from which he slid into lawlessness. For "eyes," he says, "like the eyes of a man": what he did was beyond custom; for as it is not natural for a horn to have the eyes of a man, so it does not belong to human reason to use such cruelty against one's own kin.

"A mouth speaking great things." That is, arrogant words, hurled against God; which was not the mark of one who recognizes his own nature, but of one possessing a beastlike and not a human reasoning.

"And it made war against the holy ones." That is, against the most devout of the Jews.

"I watched until thrones were set." He sees not only the terrible things, but also the help from above that would come to the people.

"And the Ancient of Days." By "Ancient of Days" he means God; that is, he saw the Master of the ages, who has an eternal nature and is above all.

"The Ancient of Days sat." So as to keep what befits the divine nature.

"His garment was white as snow." To signify the incomparable nature; and he shapes everything as in a law court, teaching not only the unapproachableness of the nature but also presenting the purity of the judgment.

"Its wheels were burning fire." For he had come for punishment.

"A river of fire was drawn." He needs no toil to destroy the guilty, but accomplishes everything with ease.

"Going out before him." By the earlier words he indicates the pre-eminence of the nature, by these he makes known the Master of all; for he means the angelic powers.

"Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him." Not as though some sat; for it is clear that God is the one who judges. Here he calls the arrangement of the law court "the judgment"; and "it sat" in the sense of "it was made ready." And a little after: Those who serve were busy with the needs at hand: bringing in those on trial, punishing the guilty, and recording what was done. For throughout he shapes it as in a law court: the judge, the attendants, the executioners, the stenographers, those being judged, so as to lift the mind of the readers to something more magnificent.

"Books were opened." Keeping the image throughout, he says that the lawlessness of evil deeds is exposed as from books.

"Until the beast was slain." I saw how, while he was speaking words full of arrogance, at that very moment the judgment was convened, and the sentence was brought out from the reading, not only against the horn but against the whole beast; for not only did Antiochus perish, but the whole Macedonian empire was destroyed.

"Its body was given to the burning of fire." He does not indicate the form of the punishment, but the vehemence of the sentence; for divine Scripture customarily calls the penalty "fire": as "Fire fell on them, and they did not see the sun."

"The dominion of the rest of the beasts." That is, of the lioness, the bear, and the leopard, with the strange and fearsome beast, which signified the kingdoms mentioned before. Since nothing human is secure, but quickly receives the change to the opposite.

"And a prolonging of life was given them until a time." These things, he says, will happen not under the first or second or tenth king; for the Macedonian empire will last a very long time. He added "until a time" to say that it will not last for all ages, but will be punished at the end.

"I watched in the vision." While I watched the law court, he says, and was astonished at the wonder of what was happening, the sentence, the penalty, the destruction of the tyrant, I saw another in human form, not walking but borne upon the clouds, and not standing before the court, but coming without hindrance to the judge himself, which is the mark of the highest honor. And he did not see a bare presence, so that he might learn both the dignity of the one who appeared and his coming from heaven.

"To him was given the dominion." That is, the whole world; for he did not hold a corner of Palestine, as Moses did, but is worshipped by all, an eternal authority. He presents the greatness of the rule not by place but also by time. — Teaching the endlessness of his honor.

"My spirit shuddered." That is, I fell into fear, and was in agony in my soul, so that my form was changed. — That is, I was at a loss about what I had seen, not having knowledge of the things seen.

"And I went up to one." That is, to one of those who served, and I sought exactness from him; for he did not dare approach the judge because of the pre-eminence of his nature and his fear of what he saw; but desire prepared him to approach one of those who served; or rather, as in dreams, everything was shown toward what was profitable.

"And he told me the exactness." That is, he gave me the clear meaning of the words, leaving none of the difficulties unexamined.

"These great beasts." See how he does not narrate what concerns the kings in detail; for he did not wish to learn about the Babylonians and Medes or Persians or Macedonians; but since it was not possible for him to learn what concerned Antiochus without knowing the whole sequence, he necessarily shows him their vision too.

"The holy ones of the Most High." That is, those who believe in Christ: these will share in the good things with the one who appeared. "They will receive," then, that is, "they will be in enjoyment"; "if indeed we suffer with him," according to the blessed Paul, "so that we may also be glorified with him."

"The fourth beast will be a fourth kingdom." He no longer speaks in general about this as about the rest, but speaks with exactness; and not about Antiochus only, but about Alexander first, that is, the Macedonian empire; for the rule of Antiochus belonged to it too; therefore he speaks not only about him but about the whole kingdom.

"Which will surpass." That is, it will prevail with great abundance; and "it will devour" most vividly; for it all but showed it rushing on ready food, with no one daring to resist. — It shows the abundance of its authority.

"Its ten horns." He made known to me, he says, that those who rule in succession will be ten in number.

"Who will surpass all in evils." That is, compared with all the rest in wickedness, he will appear greater.

"And he will humble three kings." That is, he will prevail over three, as was said before.

"He will speak words against the Most High." To say that he will boast against God.

"He will wear out the holy ones of the Most High." Meaning he will bring the Jews to misery; for those who hoped in God and wished to appear guardians of the law, these he treated worst.

"He will think to change the times." He will make it his effort, he says, to change the Jewish order; by "time" he means the Jewish time in which they held the temple and performed sacrifices.

"And law." The constitution of the commonwealth, in which the order of the priesthood too was determined.

"It will be given into his hand." God will not prevent him from above, he says, from coming to rule, or, once come, from failing to act according to his purpose; but he will allow him to show his own intention, yet will not let him ruin the holy ones completely. And "it will be given" teaches both the permission from God and the punishment that will be brought on him from above; by "time" he means the six months.

"And the kingdom," and so on. No longer a partial kingdom, but one under the whole heaven, so that the whole creation may understand. — God, he says, who makes these things, is master of all, neither having his authority by succession, for he is the creator of all, nor yielding it to others, for he is eternal in nature. — And the events themselves make known the kingdom.

"Here is the end of the word." Up to this point, he says, the angel interpreted for me; but what concerned the son of man, who appeared coming on the clouds, he did not wish to tell.

"My thoughts troubled me." Roused, he says, and reflecting on the strangeness of what was seen and what the Jews would suffer, I fell into despondency.

"My appearance was changed." I was held by such despondency, he says, that even the look of my body was changed; for the righteous are accustomed to make the misfortunes of the multitude their own.

"I kept the word in my heart." I did not announce these things to the people, he says, lest, terrified at what was to come, they turn back from the return, and, the freedom being given them, they willingly remain in the foreign land.

"After the one that appeared to me at the beginning." That is, after the one I saw in the first year of Belshazzar.

"I saw in a vision." I saw, he says, while I was in my own house, built in the Persian country. Elymaeans are the ancestors of the Persians; for the Persians are called Elymaeans; and it seems he mentions neither the place nor the country nor the house without reason. And a little after: The prophet, then, living by himself, being God-loving and grieved at the misfortunes that held them, saw the earlier vision, in which he learned that his kinsmen would suffer the worst; and in these circumstances he asked again to learn exactly what would follow, and what the condition of affairs would be in which they would suffer these things. — That is, he learned the exact condition of affairs; for "I saw" stands for "I learned exactly"; he did not see what was to come by fantasy, but by God's revelation.

"And I was by the Ubal." I seemed, he says, to stand by flowing water; then suddenly, looking up, I saw from afar, by the river, a ram, not according to the usual appearance of the others, but having two horns greater than accords with a ram's nature: it indicates the rule of the Medes and Persians.

"The one higher than the other." Being not equal in size, he says, they formerly had a difference from each other; but the one was full-grown, while the other, beginning small, became greater. For the Medes and Persians seemed to rule together, since Darius and Cyrus were kinsmen and had no battle with one another; but Cyrus, even after the end of Darius's reign, acquired a greater rule, taking that of the Medes in addition to that of the Persians.

"A ram butting." Here too he does not speak of the horns separately, but of the ram in common; for since they were divided in honor, but in some way joined, as has been said, he indicates the Persian empire; for Cyrus appears to have conquered all and handed on the kingdom unassailable to those after him.

"All the beasts will not stand." Meaning that none of the nations will have power equal to his. — That is, he will prevail firmly, no one being able to resist at the first onset.

"It did according to its will." That is, it failed in nothing, but came to so great a height of glory as it happened to reach; for, counted worthy of help from God, it won its victories without toil, and placed the Medes and Persians under one kingdom, which had formerly been under the Medes; for this Cyrus, after Astyages his grandfather, rose up and grew strong. And Darius, who conquered the Babylonians with him, the Greeks call Cyaxares, his uncle.

"And I was understanding." That is, seeing these things, he says, I wondered what the vision might mean again, being at a greater loss about the present things than about the earlier ones.

"Behold, a he-goat." He indicates here the Macedonian empire; and "from the southwest," to say "from the south"; for Macedonia lies to the south.

"The goat had a conspicuous horn." He indicates Alexander; "conspicuous" stands for "lofty and renowned"; a he-goat, because the Macedonian Alexander was young, from whom the Macedonian kingdom came to universal rule; which he also shows by speaking of a conspicuous horn between his eyes: a kingdom set over the nation, as one horn alone.

"It ran at him in fury." For he did not win the victory when the Persian came into Macedonia, but he himself, setting foot on the Persian's territory, brought down Darius as he fought.

"I saw it reaching the ram." Since, to ward him off, Darius gathered an army and met him in Cilicia; using greater fury and vehement anger, Alexander slaughtered many of his army, and, capturing his closest kin, put Darius to flight.

"It shattered both his horns." For he had already lost his generals earlier at the Hellespont in the battle against Alexander, and now, having destroyed his army, he fell from the kingdom; "there was no strength in him," that is, he could not even renew the fight after his defeat. — To say, "he turned him completely"; that is, he held authority over him with great power. — That is, no alliance sufficed to resist the Macedonian; Josephus teaches this in the tenth book of the Antiquities.

"Its horn was broken." To say that Alexander, having conquered all, ended his life.

"Four other horns came up." He means those who reigned after him; for after his death Ptolemy held Egypt, Seleucus Syria and Babylon, Antigonus Asia and the Hellespont, and Cassander Macedonia.

"From one of them." He indicates Antiochus.

"Toward the south," and so on. He called Egypt "south," and the Jews "east," as having often grown strong by God's help.

"It grew great, up to the host of heaven." That is, he boasted against God; for he added "up to heaven" to signify the swelling of his pride.

"It cast down to the earth some of the host of heaven." The "from the host" has a certain obscurity; but what he wants to say is this: after he had prevailed over many and uttered blasphemous words against God, he is trampled by the Maccabees; for he called them "stars" because of their virtue; and "they trampled him" teaches the victory by force.

"Until the commander-in-chief." He calls "commander-in-chief" the angel set over the nation.

"The sacrifice was disturbed." That is, because of him the good order of the priesthood will be done away with, most having turned aside to lawlessness. "It prospered." He accomplishes these things for a very long time, God permitting.

"The sanctuary will be made desolate." He will come to such lawlessness as even to defile the temple of God with idolatrous sacrifices; for he threatened to make the temple of God a shrine of Olympian Zeus.

"Sin was given upon the sacrifice." That is, where the divine ought to be served, there they offered honors to idols. — In short, one might say, all the ordering of the law was dissolved; for it is clear that when the temple became accessible to the enemies, there was no keeping of the Sabbath, no order of the liturgy, no dignity of priests, no observances of foods, nor anything else that the law had ordered with exactness.

"It acted and prospered." That is, he carried out what he attempted, paying no penalty at the beginning.

"I heard one holy one speaking." These things I saw, he says; but the vision did not stop there; I seemed to see an angel; for he calls him "holy," as free from all human difficulty. — Phelmoni is a name of an angel, or of someone.

"Until evening and morning." He means the time in which what was said will happen. And after other things: He means three years and six months during which Antiochus will rule; the time is reckoned by the lunar cycle, for so the Hebrews are accustomed to count the times; for the month has twenty-nine days, so that all the days of the year come to 354; tripled, they make a number of 1062 days; to which one must add also the quarter of the year beyond the three months, eighty-eight days; all the days come to 1150; and these, doubled again, make the 2300 days. For he says "evening and morning" instead of "a day and a night," as we ought to count the 2300 days so; for the time of the sentence is cut short, the nights being reckoned as days; which even now those rulers who fix the terms of exile, following the laws, count, reckoning the night as a day.

"The sanctuary will be cleansed." For so long a time, he says, after Antiochus has treated the Jews as foretold, the temple will receive its proper form again.

"It happened when I saw." I saw what was said, he says, but not understanding the force of the words, I came to desire the interpretation of what was shown.

"I sought understanding." As I was considering, he says, who might be found to give the solution of what was in doubt, I suddenly saw one in the form of a man standing by. — You see orders given to angels and archangels; perhaps another, greater power. — But this one, he says, stood there, while another, standing by the water, called to the one standing by, addressing him by the name Gabriel, and urged him to give the interpretation of what was sought. — And he at once, he says, obeyed, and came up to me, to carry out what was commanded.

"When he came I was amazed." That is, I was astonished at the beauty of the one who appeared, and I fell on my face, struck by the wonder of the sight.

"Understand, son of man." Meaning, receive the understanding of what is said.

"For the vision is still for the end of a time." What was said, he says, will happen in later times, when the time mentioned before is completed; by "time" he means that of the kingdom of the Medes, Persians, and Macedonians, and the succession of the other kings.

"While he was speaking." This is a repetition of what was said before; for he wants to say that he did not fall down as soon as he came to him, but when he began to speak.

"He set me on my feet." Yet, he says, he encouraged me, raising me as I lay.

"I am making known to you." I have come, he says, to show you what will happen to the people because of God's anger; so that you may know that they will be defeated neither from weakness, nor will Antiochus prevail by abundance of power, but because God exacts from them the penalty of their lawlessness.

"The ram that you saw." By the ram he means the kingdom; by the horns, both: Cyrus the Persian and Darius the Mede; for they were neither divided altogether nor again joined altogether; but the Mede succeeded to the Babylonian kingdom, while Cyrus ruled Persia; and when he died, the rule passed to the Persians.

"The he-goat." He is the first king; he indicates Alexander; for those who reigned over the Macedonian empire were more in number, but of the rest Alexander was the first.

"Four kings will arise from his nation." He did not say "from him," but "from the nation," to say, of the Macedonian empire.

"I fell asleep and was sick." Such fear held me, he says, from what was shown, that I was in no better state than those withered by a long illness.

"I rose and did the king's business." That is, I carried out what was entrusted to me in the same way, grieved at what was shown, but not divulging it to others. For even if he was not at the palace itself, as was shown in what came before, yet perhaps, from his earlier prosperity, which he had acquired from Nebuchadnezzar, some share of administration had been entrusted to him; and those of Belshazzar's father's people who had been diligent kept something; and especially since he prided himself on his ancestors' achievements; therefore the man was not very well known to them, as he was not even appointed to office by him, but remained in some position of authority from the earlier arrangement.

"I understood in the books the number of the years." Since the people were not alert to ask for the return, he himself, making the people's cause his own, falls down before God, taking the number of years as the occasion for his request.

"For the fulfilment of the desolation." For he did not say "it has been fulfilled," but "for the fulfilment," which signifies "it is near to being fulfilled." — The prophet appears to be very concerned for the people, not only from what had been foretold but also from the present circumstances; for since he saw the appointed time of the captivity being completed, and the Jews having no zeal for the return nor entreating God, he considered that, if the opportunity passed and the promises about the return were not fulfilled, the lawless would again take another occasion for blasphemy against God, as having lied and not brought back the people; so he himself turned to supplication, making the prayer on behalf of all.

"We have sinned, we have done wrong, we have been ungodly, and have rebelled, and turned aside." By "sins" he means the corruption of life; by "wrong" greed against one's neighbor; by "ungodliness" insult toward God, which was judged in the worship of idols; and "we turned aside" is said more vividly, as though God were calling and they fleeing. By "commandments" and "judgments" he means the ordinances: commandments as orders, judgments as justly laid down.

"We did not listen." For you were not content, he says, with giving the law through Moses and doing the wonders; nor did you stop at giving us the land; but when you saw that we had corrupted the order of the ordinances, you sent the prophets, wishing to lead us to what was right; but we did not become well disposed toward what was said, but, in discord with your purpose, we became of the worse mind.

"You scattered them." When we had stumbled, he says, you sent us into various exiles; and if you wish to be judged with us, you will appear righteous, and we shall incur shame, deprived of all confidence by our very deeds.

"To the Lord our God belong compassions." But since this is so, he says, we take refuge in your love for humankind, confessing our own offenses: that we neither kept the ordinances nor obeyed the prophets who exhorted us; seeing, then, that we have no plea of justification left, we wait for your compassions.

"The curse came upon us." What curse is this? Do you want us to read it? "If you do not serve the Lord your God," he says, "he will bring on you a shameless nation, which does not hear his voice, and you will be few in number." The three youths too showed this very thing, and it is shown that from their deeds the form of the punishment came about; and they themselves, confessing to God about the common sins, said: "You handed us over into the hands of lawless enemies, most hateful apostates," and what follows.

"Great evils." What were these? Mothers tasted their children; and this very thing Moses foretells, and Jeremiah shows to have come about. For the one says that the tender and delicate woman, whose foot had not tried to step on the ground because of her tenderness and delicacy, will touch a lawless table and taste her own offspring; and Jeremiah, showing this very thing, that it came to pass, said: "The hands of compassionate women boiled their children."

"We did not entreat the face of the Lord." Yet even when these things had happened, he says, we were in no better state regarding our sins.

"And the Lord watched." God, he says, taking no delight in evils, but being holy and pure in character, wishing to draw near to them, rejected us as we sinned.

"You who brought your people out." Yet, he says, since this is so, Master, since long ago too in your own goodness you freed us from slavery in Egypt, though we were not worthy (for we sinned then too), but by your own goodness and in memory of your promise to the fathers, in the same way now too, using your usual love for humankind, forgive those who have sinned, especially since we have paid the penalty.

"From your city Jerusalem." Since, going round the people, he finds none able to make God merciful, he takes refuge in the buildings, and puts forward the city itself, and holds out its desolation; and ending his words with these, he made God merciful.

"Now hear." That is, receive the words of my prayer.

"Open your eyes." And seeing, he says, both our misery and the desolation of the city, in which formerly we sent up hymns to you, deign, Master, to bring our supplication to its fulfilment.

"Not on account of our righteousness." Not from what we do do we want you to become merciful, but we wish to receive pity in our misfortunes. — That is, do not reject us as we supplicate. — Meaning, forgive our offenses. — That is, deliver us from the evils by which we are tested. — And do it quickly, he says, through your goodness. — So that, he says, your name may be named, and those who wish to accuse your power may have no room.

"While I was still speaking." I did not miss my aim, he says, nor fail in supplicating God; while I was saying what was mentioned, confessing my own sins and those of the multitude, and asking salvation by God's love for humankind, an angel of God was sent to me, seeming to be flying; for he says this not because he saw a shape, not to teach that the angel has wings, but to teach us how swift the powers above are in serving what is commanded by God.

"Behold, the man Gabriel." To say: the one who appeared to me in the vision of the ram and the he-goat, who also interpreted then what was in doubt in what was shown.

"About the hour of sacrifice." That is, at the time when it is said, or at which they used to offer the sacrifices to God in the evening, when the affairs of the Jews were established.

"Understand in the vision." That is, attend to what is being said now. — That is, consider of what you were counted worthy, that an angel was sent to you as teacher of what is disputed.

"Seventy weeks have been decreed." For since he had learned through the earlier visions that they would suffer the worst after the return, falling into despondency he begged God not only to grant them the return but also to show him everything concerning the Jews; for it is natural, in affairs, to want to receive knowledge of what is to come. For this reason God too, since he had above all mentioned the temple, shows him all that follows: that they will go up, and in how long a time the building of the temple will be; besides which he teaches the … of the city, and how far the affairs of the Jews will stand; so that he might know that, even if the affairs of the Jews were destroyed, godliness would not have its end with them. And again: That is, … years remain until the people falls from its own glory and the city is destroyed; a better state clearly coming about through the grace of the bountiful God. But one must know that he has put the time in a general way, giving the details exactly in what follows.

"To finish sin." Meaning, it carries them until they come to the extreme of sin and have an incurable disease.

"To wipe away iniquities." Which he has granted us through the washing of regeneration, and he grants us righteousness.

"To seal vision." Meaning, to bring to completion the visions of the prophets: by "those who prophesy" signifying what was said.

"To anoint a holy of holies." Meaning, to give us a share of the anointing; and he says "holy of holies" as this surpasses the sanctification among the Jews through the anointing; or so as to signify Christ himself, saying that he is anointed with the Holy Spirit; for this is why David says, "God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness beyond your companions"; this he here called "holy of holies": not anointed by God with the usual oil, but with the special power of the Spirit. He did not say "to the holy of holies," but "a holy of holies," signifying Christ himself, who needs no sanctification but is the giver of sanctification as God, and was anointed because of the dispensation.

"From the going out of the word to answer." He says how one should proceed and from where one should count the seventy weeks, that is, the … years: in place of indicating "from when I began to speak," answering the question. It was the first year of Darius the Mede, or rather the one year, as divine Scripture itself noted, who reigned after Belshazzar, as has been shown. — "To build Jerusalem, and until an anointed leader, seven weeks": he sets out, he says, to teach two things, the time of the building of the temple and the time until the coming of Christ. For counting from here, one will find the years until the building of the temple was completed to be 49. For the prophet puts only one year of Darius himself, by saying "in the first year of his reign"; for "one" is said as there being no second. That is why for Belshazzar he did not use the same expression; for there he says "in the first year of Belshazzar king of the Chaldeans": where he found a second, he necessarily said "first"; where there was no second, he found the fitting expression "one." Nor would anyone say that Moses, calling the first day "one," erred; for since the other days did not yet exist, he called the one that came about at the beginning "one"; but, recalling the next, he consequently called it "second." For just as, when this did not exist, that one was called "one," having no connection to another, so, when another was brought in, the first received its name, having the seniority of origin. The prophet, then, reckons one year of Darius; and let no one be troubled that "in the first year" is set at the very beginning; for, as if correcting the indifference of the expression, he added "in one year," or, if one must speak exactly, interpreting the indifference of the term. Certainly in the case of Belshazzar, having said "in the first year of Belshazzar," he no longer added "in one year"; but in the case of Darius, since he knew of no more than one, he quickly made plain by the addition of "one" what he had said before. Cyrus, he says, succeeded to the rule, who from the chronicles appears to have reigned thirty years; after him Cambyses eight; after him the magi, two brothers, one year: for so Josephus puts it in the eleventh book of his history of Jewish antiquities; after whom they proclaimed Darius son of Hystaspes king, from whom the building of the temple came about, beginning in his second year according to the indication of the chronicles and the word of the prophet Zechariah, and completed in the ninth year of the same Darius according to Josephus. So he reckons the 49 years in this way. And having stated the time of the building, he also says how one must count the time until the coming of Christ; he says thus: "And sixty-two weeks, and it will return and be built, street and wall, and the times will be emptied." Again, he says, count sixty-two weeks, which make 434 years, from which the city became wide and very great through the enclosure of the temple. For this reason he also said exactly, "and it will return and be built, street and wall," that is, the city; and "it will return," to say that after the time of the building of the temple the walls of the city would be raised. And so it happened: under Cyrus only the altar was built; under Darius the temple was completed; and Artaxerxes, surnamed Longhand, coming later in time, from whom Nehemiah asked in the twentieth year of his reign to build the walls of the city, and, being permitted, finished them in the thirty-second year of his reign; Ezra's writing indicates this. And that this is so one will find from the times too: if, examining exactly, one reckons from the chronicles, he will find 434 years completed in the thirty-second year of the reign of Herod. For Eusebius, mentioning the history before us in his chronicles, puts the thirty-second year of the reign of Artaxerxes in the eighty-sixth Olympiad, the second year of that Olympiad; and he says that Herod reigned in the 186th Olympiad, in the fourth year of that Olympiad; which comes to 402 years; the remaining thirty-two years must be reckoned from the years of Herod's reign, in which the Master Christ appears to have been born according to the flesh; for Herod reigned thirty-seven years in all, and he appears to have been born in the thirty-second year of his reign; for so Eusebius too computes the time. This being so, it remains to consider the words, how they have a sense in agreement with what has been said.

"To build Jerusalem." That is, he sets out to state the time of the building of the temple, how many years there are until it was completed in building.

"Until an anointed leader." That is, from the building of the temple, again, I want to tell you the time until the coming of Christ; for he called him "anointed leader": anointed, as anointed according to what was said before; leader, as ruling over all. "Seven weeks." That is, this is the time of the building, forty-nine years, as has been shown.

"And sixty-two weeks." That is, 434 years are counted until the coming of Christ, as has been said. — Meaning, these years will be counted not from when the temple was rebuilt, but from when the wall of the city is made; that is why he says "it will return," that is, later in time the city will receive its complete form.

"The times will be emptied." For then, he says, these times mentioned before will be used up, that is, the time of the 434 years, after which Christ will at once make his sojourn among men.

"Anointing will be destroyed." That is, the whole Jewish order will be done away with; for by "anointing" he means the anointed priest; for as he calls the law "Moses," signifying what was laid down from the one who laid it down, so too by "anointing" he makes known the anointed priest, from what is shared the one who shares in it. At any rate the Hebrew and the Syrian say plainly, "Christ will be destroyed," taking away the sacrifices together with the memory of the priest. — These things, he says, will happen to the Jews not as soon as the times fixed until the coming of Christ are fulfilled, but very many years later. — So as to show the anger against the Jews because of their lawlessness: those who stumbled without repentance he put outside the promise, but he gave the world a way of salvation more profitable.

"There will be no judgment in it." Meaning: law courts, votes, and laws; which all show the royal good order and the civil constitution.

"They will be cut off in a flood." I think that the Lord's declaration differs in no way in force from the prophetic word; for the prophet, saying "they will be cut off," makes plain their destruction from the root; and the Lord, declaring that not a stone would remain upon a stone, teaches the strength of the enemies by force. — For the enemies will prevail over them by force so that no hope of recovery is left them; for "until the end" makes plain the complete destruction, and "of disappearance," that not even a memory of their former prosperity is seen.

"He will strengthen a covenant." "He will strengthen" is said most exactly; since before his coming it was in promises, these good things, he says, he himself will confirm by his coming; and the covenant with the faithful will be secure and strong, unable to be shaken by anyone, nor to receive change.

"In the half of the week." He means the time in which Christ completed his teaching, having said as much about it as was allowed one prophesying to say. By "covenant" he means the compact of God with men; for this is the custom of divine Scripture, as Jeremiah says, "Behold, I will make with you an eternal, new covenant." — For when these things happen, he says, the promise of Christ will be confirmed, made to all the nations; which Christ did in the half of the week, both coming himself and setting out his own laws, and undergoing death for us, and putting an end to sin, and granting the resurrection, and giving us the pledge of the good things to come. — It is clear that he means Christ's life among men, in which he chose the apostles and taught the Jews, and through them all the rest, the most perfect godliness.

"In the first year of Cyrus the king." It was set before him to narrate what was made known by the angel; but here too he uses the manner of Scripture; for he does not first speak in detail before he has gathered the sense of the whole in a summary; for he does not say what was revealed, but that a word was revealed, making the account of the events orderly.

"The word is true." That is, he does not set down a fantasy, but the truth of the events themselves.

"Great power and understanding." Not only, he says, were the things seen wonderful, but the one who announced the matters was fearsome, and I could not even have begun to receive the discourse of the one speaking had I not met with a grace greater than human for the hearing of the words.

"In those days." Clearly, when no one any longer thought of destroying the people, since the kingdom had begun to be his and remained in safety.

"Mourning three weeks." That is, fasting. For it is the custom among the Jews to call fasting "mourning," as is also written in the law. It is clear that he fasted the twenty-one days in succession, taking not even one meal in between, nor doing anything according to custom; for this is what "until three weeks of days" indicates. For if he had spent each day in the fast and eaten in the evening, there would have been nothing wonderful; but it is clear that, wishing to use intense prayer and seized by great divine longing, he joined the days together, having decided, in a way, not to take food until he was counted worthy of converse from above.

"I did not anoint myself with ointment." It indicates that he not only abstained from his usual food, but did not do any of the other customary things either; for it was the custom of those in office among the Persians to beautify their hair with certain other things and with ointment, which can still be seen among the Persians today. He says, then, that he had not lost his rank, but, remaining in the same position, did none of the customary things; for he was in very great prosperity under Darius, especially after the wonder of the lions, and he remained in the same honor under Cyrus too.

"Until three weeks of days were completed." He marks most exactly the time at which he had the vision. And a little after: He was begging God both to grant the Jews the return according to his promise, and to make known to him exactly what would be done by Antiochus. It is clear from what has been said that he did not keep the Passover. "And how," someone says, "do you say that it was not lawful for Jews to fast in the days of unleavened bread? Yet this man took nothing at all for twenty-one days. And where does it appear," he says, "that these twenty-one days were during the days of unleavened bread?" From his saying "on the twenty-fourth of the first month"; and the Passover ends on the twenty-first; for they begin from the fourteenth of the first month and, having kept the feast seven days, reach the twenty-first. But even when the Passover had passed, he remained fasting; for, beginning from the third day of the first month and then completing the fourteenth, he passed beyond it too by seven and three days. How then are the polluted Jews, who keep none of those holy ordinances in a foreign land, not ashamed, but turn the matter to contentiousness and strife?

"I lifted my eyes." While praying, he says, and being in helplessness, because though he had prayed for so long he had received not one answer, as he raised his eyes I saw one in human form, clothed in a garment unlike what men usually wear: baddin. The word is Hebrew; the Seventy render it "fine linen," while Aquila says "special."

"His loins girded with gold of Uphaz." He says that the girdle of the one who appeared was such as one made of pure gold would be; but according to the Seventy, that the rest of his body, clothed in some wonderful garment, also had something visible flashing out, like pure light.

"Like the appearance of lightning." That is, it was gleaming and radiant, and as it were a lightning flash shone out from the face. — He is clearly at a loss in a way about the interpretation of what was seen; for he does not narrate simply, but makes known the wonder by comparisons. — Meaning: everything was wonderful, the garment, the face, the eyes, the rest of the body; and, he says, besides the rest, his voice too was above the ordinary; for it seemed to be uttered not as by one but as by a multitude making a din and talking with one another, or rather shouting and sending out a wonderful sound.

"I, Daniel, alone saw." It is clear that Daniel did not make the supplication alone, but took others too as fellow workers, either the three youths or several others whom he knew to be like-minded; as at the beginning, at the perplexity over Nebuchadnezzar's vision, he had these too acting with him in prayer; yet they were equal in the matter at hand; therefore he seems to me to see the wonder alone.

"I saw this great vision." For the others, he says, turned to flight, but I alone obtained this wonderful sight. — Yet, he says, I was not equal to the sight, but was undone by fear. — That is, the color of my face was changed, which happens above all to those who fall into fear, the blood often drawing back from fear and anguish, and a paleness leaving its mark on the surface of the body. — He says he came into this state when he heard him speaking. — To say that from fear he did not even dare to look intently, but, falling on his face, he looked down.

"He raised me." The one who appeared, he says, calmed my fear and raised me from my fall. — That is, being loved by God and having great affection for the people. — That is, rise and attend to what is said; God allowed him to come into such fear so that his mind might not be puffed up by the greatness of the appearances.

"Now I have been sent to you." I have come, he says, not of myself, but sent from God. — What was commanded, he says, I did, and I rose from my fall, but was not freed from fear. — He comforts him before the word, since he is still troubled in soul.

"From the first day." Do not wonder, he says, if I come after so many days to give the knowledge of what is in doubt; for God did not put it off; for he sent me at once to serve your entreaties, so as to give you the teaching of what you seek.

"The prince of the kingdom of the Persians." While Daniel was making his request and the good angel was standing up for him, the evil one too was ranged against him, relying on the sins of Israel so that they would be held by the Persians; for whatever evil there is in a man is power for him; which is why the Lord, speaking of himself alone, says that the ruler of the world has no power: "The ruler of the world is coming, and has nothing in me"; that is, he comes in vain, having nothing to give him power. Some say that "the prince of the kingdom of the Persians" is a demonic nature, greatly missing the truth in my view; for each nation does not have opposing powers set over it; otherwise nothing good would be found in anyone. For if demons are set over them and do everything according to their will, and want nothing good, it is clear that none of the subjects would have done anything according to their mind, since those powers lead and carry affairs by authority. Besides, how would they say these are set over them: by their own will or by God's? And how? If by God's, how do they not see the absurdity, that God has handed human affairs to the tyranny of demons? If of themselves, how does God in his providence not set men free from their domination? And after other things: It is clear, then, that by "the prince of the Persians" he means an angelic power; since an angel appears to be set over and to sit beside each nation and each man, according to what was said by Moses: "He set the bounds of the nations according to the number of the angels of God." And after other things: He did not say, "he fought against me," but rather he argued his case against me, that the Jews were not worthy to be freed from slavery to the Persians: for to say that when they are godly they are stronger than all is nothing strange, as Daniel and Hananiah's companions became, and their forefathers who were freed from slavery in Egypt and took possession of all of Palestine; but when they transgress, what just plea will rescue them? Is not their rule to be judged by the power of those who hold it? This being so, let us look at the details. When you began your supplication, I was sent to make known to you that the Jews will be freed from slavery to the Persians; but until now another angel, to whom the charge of the Persians has been entrusted, has used his plea against me, declaring the Jews unworthy of the benefit.

"Behold, Michael." But I had Michael, he says, one of the archangels, arguing with me in the dispute against that one. For they relied on the divine command, and he had his strength in the deeds of the Jews, and both used the divine law: for since God had promised the return to those who were godly and repented, the one said the command should prevail; the other that they were not worthy of salvation, but should remain in a foreign land.

"He came to help me." Since, then, he says, one was found who would use words on your behalf, I come to bring what was commanded to its fulfilment.

"I opened my mouth and spoke." I confessed, he says, my weakness; for I was not able to listen to the angel's words, since the fear that fell on me not only took away the understanding of what was said, but in a way changed my whole condition into its opposite.

"Peace to you." That is, I do not come to punish you; for you have great confidence before God; and receive from me the power given to you to believe what is said. — The command, he says, was enough to dissolve his weakness. — Hence, he says, I not only permitted the words, but begged to hear what he had come to serve.

"Do you know why I came?" That is, listen to what is said, since you do not know and wish to hear what will be. — Know, he says, that what I said before is true: that the prince of the Persians opposed me.

"The prince of the Greeks was coming." But passing that one too, he says, I found again opposing me the prince of the Greeks; for they had been settled not only in Persia but also in Greece; for he argued with me that it was not just for them to return, since the appointed time was calling for the return, but they did not desire it.

"But I will tell you." Yet, he says, I have come to tell you what will certainly happen, in truth. "There is no one." For no one is found among the people begging God to obtain the return and working with me through repentance; but Michael fights on my side, while these resist, so as in a way to lead them out of captivity even against their will.

"In the first year of Cyrus." These things, he says, happened in the first year of Cyrus, ruler of the Persians; for then I begged not to take food until I had first been counted worthy of the vision and obtained what was said; so it is clear that he saw the vision not in the third year of Cyrus but in the first.

"I will tell you the truth." That is, having stated the cause of the delay, the angel promised me to find with truth the knowledge of what I asked.

"Three more kings." Know, he says, that there will be three after this one; he means Cyrus, Cambyses, and the rule of the magi.

"A mighty king will arise." He spoke in agreement of Alexander, whom he likened to a he-goat earlier in the vision.

"He will do according to his will." For he will accomplish everything, he says, according to his own wish.

"It will be broken." For as soon as he had established the kingdom, he fell, and the kingdom was divided. — Meaning, not after his death; for while still alive he divided his kingdom into four principalities. — Meaning, glory will not come to the one reigning; since they were not related to him by family. — That is, it will be done away with, and will not pass to his descendants.

"The king of the south will grow strong." He speaks of Ptolemy, who took over the kingdom of Alexander his son-in-law, who was a descendant of Antiochus Epiphanes; and this man ruled Asia and Syria.

"One of the princes." That is, Ptolemy will have strength over the princes of Alexander; for as a kinsman, with all suspecting nothing, he took hold of the rule; to say that he will hold it with none of Alexander's princes resisting.

"He will rule a great dominion." For besides Egypt he held Asia too, and the kingdom of Alexander.

"After his years they will make an alliance." Later in time, he says, they will embrace kinship with one another; for after Alexander had defeated Demetrius, he sent to Ptolemy in Egypt and asked to become his son-in-law.

"The daughter of the king of the south." This seems to be the second Ptolemy, named Philadelphus, who collected the books of the Greeks and, with them, those of the Hebrews; who gave his daughter Berenice in marriage to Antiochus of Syria, the third king from Seleucus Nicator; who had married Laodice, and had children by her, Seleucus and Antigonus; but, having kept her in the place of a concubine, he took Berenice in marriage as a partner of the kingdom; and the intermarriage brought an end to the war with Ptolemy. — He calls Ptolemy's kingdom "south" and Alexander's "north"; for he resided in Antioch; to say, then, that Ptolemy will betroth his own daughter to Alexander.

"To make his agreements." For since he had been defeated by Demetrius son of Seleucus, but had won back the defeat after his death, and ruled over all, so that his kingdom alone would be uncontested even against those who rose up, he sought for himself kinship with the Egyptian.

"He will not retain the strength of the arm." Yet, he says, even when these things happen, they will not agree; for they fell into strife with one another.

"His seed will not stand." He means the child of Alexander by Cleopatra; for she is taken away from him and given to Demetrius, who lay in wait for his kingdom. — For Ptolemy, being Alexander's kinsman, held the kingdom by deceit; for he came as to a friend and son-in-law, but in each city of Alexander that he passed he left a garrison for himself; and he made his intention plain when he entered Antioch.

"The young woman and the one who strengthened her." Meaning, prevailing through her, he will also bring down Alexander, who was strong in ruling.

"In the times." It signifies that these things will happen after a time.

"One will rise from the flower." Ptolemy, he says, will do these things on account of what concerned his daughter; for he calls her the flower of their root, because of their friendship with one another from the marriage.

"On his preparation." Meaning, from the preparation for the giving in marriage; as if pleased by the kinship with Alexander, Ptolemy displayed very great preparation for the wedding; by which, having given proof of his goodwill, he drove Alexander from the kingdom.

"He will come to the army." That is, Ptolemy will come by deceit to Alexander's forces; for so he gained control of the cities too.

"To the strongholds of the king of the north." He called the royal city of Antioch "strongholds," which had all the royal wealth and the forces in it; for having passed through the other cities, Ptolemy seized it by deceit and put on a second diadem, as ruling Asia too, over which Alexander had ruled; who was in Cilicia, for he happened to be staying there, and learning of it, hastened against Ptolemy, and, defeated in battle, fled to Arabia. — For, disturbed at the report, Alexander rushed into war. — That is, Ptolemy; for having conquered Alexander, he held unchallenged rule over all.

"He will overturn their gods." For whatever valuable treasures there were, or offerings stored in temples, or treasures laid up for the king, Ptolemy, having taken the kingdom, took them all and sent them to Egypt.

"He will return to his land." That is, Alexander's. For Tryphon, having set Antiochus, Alexander's son, on the throne according to his father's instructions, engaged Demetrius and put him to flight.

"And his sons will gather a multitude." Meaning, Antiochus and Tryphon; for Tryphon, seeing that the army was badly disposed toward Demetrius, raised a revolt against him, gathered forces, made Antiochus king, and marched against Demetrius. — That is, he will go out with great vigor against Demetrius, and will be fearsome to him.

"He will engage." That is, coming, they will engage him, and, defeating him, will hold the kingdom of the father, Alexander.

"Up to his strength." That is, with all his power, or he will move up to all his power.

"The king of the south will be enraged." This is the father of Demetrius who married Cleopatra, the daughter of Ptolemy and wife of Alexander; and after he succeeded to the kingdom, Demetrius son of Seleucus, he says, will go out and make war with Alexander, the king of the north. For before marrying Cleopatra, Alexander made war with Demetrius, father of Demetrius and son of Seleucus; and Alexander was defeated and fled; and after Demetrius died, Alexander ran back to his rule, and, finding the kingdom uncontested, thus took Ptolemy's daughter as wife.

"He will fight with the king of the north." That is, Demetrius will make ready for war with great preparation.

"He will raise a great multitude." That is, the multitude of Alexander is handed over into the hand of Demetrius, as he conquered and drove Alexander out of the country.

"He will take the multitude." That is, he will become master of all.

"His heart will be lifted up." That is, he will think highly of himself over the victory.

"He will not prevail." That is, Demetrius, even after the victory, will not hold the rule; for after prevailing over Alexander and taking hold of the rule, he dies, having lived not many days.

"The king will return." For Alexander, restored to the rule, gathered a great force and rushed against Demetrius, the son of Demetrius, who reigned after his father's death.

"At the end of the times." That is, after the death of Demetrius son of Seleucus, Demetrius his son gathered a force and rushed against Alexander.

"Many will rise up against the king of the south." That is, Jonathan and the Maccabees, who made war on Demetrius son of Seleucus when he tried to besiege them after becoming king; for at that time Judas the Maccabee died, having accomplished many other victories but ending his life in the battle against Bacchides and Alcimus; after whom Jonathan, taking over the rule, experienced much wickedness from his kinsmen.

"The sons of the pestilent." He calls "sons of the pestilent" the wicked among the people; for these, when things were happening, as they saw affairs going well for Jonathan, plotted the death of Jonathan, not bearing the man's prosperity.

"And they will be weak." For their purpose will not prevail.

"The arms of the king of the south." That is, the forces of Demetrius; for after his death they came to Alexander.

"They will not stand." That is, Alexander has no one to resist him.

"To come in with the strength of all his kingdom." After the death of Demetrius son of Seleucus, eager that all his rule should be in his possession.

"He will do everything right with him." That is, he will accomplish everything according to his mind; for when Demetrius son of Seleucus had been brought down, he ratified the treaty with Ptolemy.

"He will give him a daughter." Meaning, Ptolemy will readily receive the embassy from Alexander and betroth his daughter to him.

"To the islands." He called Cilicia an island as being coastal. — He will go there, he says, after many successes; for having conquered Demetrius, settled the rest of the rule, and confirmed it, as he thought, by his friendship with Ptolemy, he then set out for Cilicia to subdue those making trouble there.

"He will stop the rulers of reproach." For he came to stop those who reproached him for his defeat by Demetrius son of Seleucus, so as to hide his earlier misfortune by his present bravery.

"His reproach will return to him." But even if Alexander subdues the Cilicians who reproached him, he says, he himself will not escape their reproach; for he was brought down by Ptolemy at that time, as Ptolemy laid hold of Alexander's kingdom and did what I said before.

"He will turn back," and so on. He speaks of the same Alexander; for hearing that Ptolemy his father-in-law had come to Antioch and taken hold of his rule, he left the Cilicians and hastened to Antioch to make war on Ptolemy. — But he will not prevail over Ptolemy, he says, but, seen to be weaker than him in strength, will be made a fugitive and will become the work of the other's right hand.

"Passing over." He will do these things, he says, acting against what is just and violating the treaty with Alexander, out of desire to seize his kingdom, and eager to transfer that one's glory to himself.

"He will be broken." But he will gain nothing, he says, from his deceit; for he will not survive his successes, but not long after he too will end his life. — But he will die, he says, not in battle; for he does not die by blows in war, but, falling from his horse and being shattered, he dies at home.

"He was despised." He speaks of Ptolemy. For thinking he had now taken hold of both kingdoms, of Egypt and Asia, he ends his life after Alexander's death, gaining no profit from his wickedness.

"They did not give him the glory of a kingdom." And so, he says, ending his life, he did not enjoy the glory he thought, quickly paying the debt of nature.

"He will come in prosperity." That is, without toil he will rule both kingdoms, that of Alexander and that of Ptolemy, without fighting or labor; for as son-in-law of Ptolemy, who had held the kingdom of Asia and of Egypt, he came in after Ptolemy's death and became master of both kingdoms.

"The arms of the one who floods." That is, the strength of Ptolemy will be under this one; for he called that one "the one who floods," as having taken the rule of Alexander; "they will be flooded," then, in place of "this one will hold the rule of Ptolemy, as that one held Alexander's."

"They will be flooded before him." That is, all will obey him with fear.

"The leader of the covenant." He means Jonathan the Maccabee, as ruler of the people and guiding the multitude to godliness; and he says that Demetrius, once he had taken the rule, will plan to remove him too from rule.

"With a small nation." For the three thousand men sent by Jonathan killed a hundred and twenty thousand men who rose up against Demetrius in Antioch.

"In prosperity." Demetrius, he says, will take courage from what happened and set foot on more lands, seeing the strength of his allies to be invincible.

"He will do what his fathers did not do." For he won a victory wonderful beyond his ancestors; for even if, when a war was fought, many have won, yet no one had overcome a rebellious army, as Demetrius did, winning the victory the more wonderfully by its speed.

"Plunder and spoils." And the Jews too, he says, will take much from the spoils.

"And he will plan against Egypt." When these rose up, he says, he will fall into fear about the whole kingdom; and he mentioned Egypt now since he had taken control of it too after Ptolemy's death.

"Until a time." That is, this one too will die, having lived a short while.

"His strength and his heart will be roused." He means Antiochus, the son of Alexander.

"Against the king of the south." By "king of the south" he now means Antiochus, Alexander's son; and he says he will come with a great host against Demetrius.

"He will join battle." For engaging Demetrius, Antiochus with Tryphon put him to flight.

"They will devise plans against him." He speaks of Antiochus; for Tryphon, having made him king, plotted against him, killed him, and transferred the kingdom to himself.

"Those who eat his provisions." He will do these things, he says, pretending friendship toward him, and not even respecting the shared table.

"They will break him." That is, he will win over the mass of the army and carry out his murder.

"The wounded will fall." At the time of the killing of Antiochus.

"They will speak lies." That is, he will speak; for he speaks about Tryphon: since he ate with Antiochus and promised to establish the kingdom for him by his alliance, he fell on him off guard and killed him.

"He will not prosper." Yet, he says, he will not carry off the gain from this treacherous intention; for after killing Antiochus and taking the kingdom, he too was brought down from rule, killed by Antiochus the son of Demetrius.

"He will return to his land with great wealth." Either he speaks of Antiochus son of Demetrius, who took control of the rule and came with glory; or of Tryphon, when, having killed Antiochus the son of Alexander, he returned home.

"His heart against the holy covenant." He speaks of Tryphon, who killed Jonathan before he became king, and treated the people worst after his reign, in the time of Simon, Jonathan's brother.

"He will return." That is, Tryphon, having killed Jonathan, will go back to his own land, to say that he will not set foot in Jerusalem.

"At the time he will return." After Jonathan's death; for he did not withdraw before he had fulfilled his intention against him; for when he saw that he could not become master of Judea, having slain Jonathan, he went off to his own country.

"He will come into the south." Meaning, into his own kingdom.

"And it will not be like the first and the last." The Syriac reads, "and he will do as the first and the last things"; that is, the deceit he used against Antiochus, the same he will use against Jonathan too.

"Those who go out, the Kitians." The Kitians, he says, will come against Tryphon; they were the men of Antiochus son of Demetrius; these, then, he says, with their king, about a hundred and twenty thousand men, drew up for battle and killed Tryphon.

"He will turn back and be enraged against the holy covenant." Everywhere he weaves in what concerns the people; for their sake he mentions the rest too; and now he speaks of Antiochus son of Demetrius. — That is, having conquered the Egyptians, Antiochus will come back; and he first states the cause from which, seething with rage, he came back to Jerusalem, exposing the whole character of Antiochus.

"He will have understanding with those who forsake the holy covenant." For Antiochus, on taking the rule, holding out his hand for a bribe, gives the high priesthood to Jason; "he will have understanding," then, that is, he will attach the apostates to himself in mind.

"Arms and seeds from him." That is, by the king's commission the lawless will become strong against those of the same faith who want to be godly.

"They will profane the sanctuary of power." To say that they will show even the very temple of the mighty God to be something common by their own pollution; he calls "profane" what is not set apart, but lies open alike to all; as in "they are not profane bread under my hand."

"They will remove the continual sacrifice." For from the cause mentioned before, Antiochus, intensifying his madness against the Jews, also prevented the usual sacrifices from being offered to God.

"A people that knows its God." He means the Maccabees, who overcame their enemies; for even if they seemed to be driven out of their homeland, yet with God's help they proved stronger than Antiochus, recovering their own land and restoring the good order of the temple.

"The wise of the people." He calls "wise" those who possess divine zeal, such as Mattathias and those with him became, fighting against the royal command, and judging the life in the desert with godliness better than the luxury of the palace.

"They will be weakened by the sword." These things, he says, will come upon the righteous who showed their courage in deeds; for Antiochus will plan very many things against them, so as to kill some by fire, others by the sword, and to deport others from their homeland; and very many things he will do concerning the holy city as well.

"They will be helped with a little help." When these things are done by Antiochus, he says, they will obtain alliance from God; and "little" means "God begins to help them"; he hints at Judas's first victory, over Apollonius, by which he became fearsome to the rest and routed the others who rose up.

"They will be added to them." For Mattathias and Judas, having left the city in the revolt, strengthened many in godliness by word and exhortation; and at times Mattathias, punishing the lawless, compelled the rest to be godly.

"In slipperiness." Meaning, from those who slipped and turned aside to impiety.

"Some of those who understand." That is, the righteous will obtain God's help; for he knows that many will suffer very much, paying the price of impiety by their deeds; and he speaks of those who died for orthodoxy, who are Eleazar and the seven brothers with their mother.

"Until a time of the end." That is, Antiochus and his men will prevail so far, and will do these things concerning the temple, until the time is fulfilled which he stated before, of the two thousand three hundred days. — These things, he says, will happen in later times; for Antiochus is the tenth from Alexander, as has been shown.

"The king will be exalted." That is, he will despise the Egyptians and their superstition.

"He will be magnified above every god." That is, he will boast even against the Master himself; for, puffed up by the successes mentioned, he dared even to enter the temple, with Menelaus leading him, and to plunder the sacred treasures, and threatened to transfer … to the Greek way, imagining himself equal to God and like the Master in strength.

"He will prosper." That is, even doing these things, he will suffer nothing.

"Until the wrath is accomplished." That is, even from God's patience he will not change his mind, until, through blows from God, he confesses against his will the Master whom he had denied, having come to know his own weakness.

"For it comes to completion and haste." That is, when he thinks he is succeeding in everything, then he will pay the penalty; then too with haste and speed.

"Against all the gods of his fathers." For when all before him had honored the place, so that much wealth from the offerings lay there, he alone tried to sack the city and to empty the temple of its contents.

"He will not have understanding of any god." That is, he accuses the gods named as gods by all the native peoples; not because he despised the idol, but because, imagining himself equal to God, he despises whatever is called god. — That is, it is no wonder, seeing that he despised even God himself, the Lord of all.

"The god Maozim." It signifies "strong"; and he wants to say that he will know the God who is Lord of all, at the time when he cut out his tongue; for, seized by unbearable pains, falling from his chariot, and his body full of worms, and in such a state from the stench that he became heavy to those who came near, he came to know the Lord of all, even against his will; at any rate, sending many offerings to Jerusalem, he asked that supplication be made by the people to God on his behalf. — For he who imagined himself equal to God not only came down from that pride, but also departed from the impiety of his fathers, singing a recantation.

"He will act for the strongholds." That is, he will make a treaty of friendship with the Jews, as they appeared strong to him through their taking refuge in God. — That is, he will hold the Jews and the temple in honor; for he honored the nation by letters, and sought their concord.

"He will subject many to them." That is, he will stop the wars against them.

"He will divide land with gifts." That is, he will allow them to administer their own land, and will honor the temple with gifts.

"At the end of a time." That is, even having done these things he will die, paying the penalty for what he did.

"He will butt with the king of the south," and so on. That is, gathering a force he will march against the Egyptians. — That is, Antiochus will come against Ptolemy, having gathered a very great force for himself. — That is, Antiochus into Egypt with a multitude; for so he appears to have engaged. — That is, having conquered he will return; for he drove Ptolemy from his rule.

"Into the land of Sabaein." Meaning, into the land of the God who is worshipped; for, returning from there, he rushed against the Jews.

"And many will be weakened." For then Antiochus, coming upon the city, oppressed the inhabitants, took the vessels of the temple and went off, and set an altar in the temple and defiled it.

"He will stretch out his hand," and so on. That is, he will kill many and plunder the people. — These things, he says, will happen after he has subdued Egypt. — Having held these nations, he says, he will take all their wealth.

"Reports and haste will trouble him." Making known the disturbance in Judea from the rivalry with one another of Jason and Menelaus; for, hearing this, he returned in haste. — He shows that he feared for his whole rule; for he held Persia too, which he calls "north."

"He will come in great rage." That is, Antiochus, seething with rage, will come from Egypt into Judea.

"To destroy." For he planned to destroy them root and branch.

"He will pitch his tent at Aphadano." He means the place at Aphadano; and by "sea" he means the multitude metaphorically; to say, then, that coming to Jerusalem he will encamp in the midst of the multitude, welcomed by those who held his views; for this reason he also said "tent," since he did not stay there; for, having plundered the temple, he hastened to Antioch.

"There will be no one to rescue him." That is, God will allow these things to happen, not exacting the penalty from him at once.

"Michael will arise." Indeed, the help from above coming, those who acted impiously will be put to shame, while those who persevered for the law will appear radiant and famous with boldness, as has been interpreted; since the angel's help was shown above all in the wars which Judas the Maccabee won against the generals of Antiochus.

"There will be a time of affliction," and so on. That is, not even in Egypt did you suffer such things; for so great was the oppression that even a bride, leaving the bridal chamber, mourned, and every age was in lamentation. And lest God seem not to know the intention of the godly and the lawless, he fittingly adds, before the end, ...

"Your people will be saved, all of them." That is, those whom God knows to be righteous, these will remain in godliness; and though Antiochus does countless things, he will not prevail over them.

"Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth will be roused." We know that many say these things about the resurrection; but one must not hold to the obvious meaning, but care for the truth everywhere; for Scripture often calls those in captivity dead; as Isaiah too says: "The dead will rise, and those in the tombs will be raised," and what follows.

"Those who understand will shine." For he called "understanding" those who were godly and persevered in keeping the laws; and by the comparison he made known their distinction and renown.

"Like the stars for ever, and beyond." Again, according to the manner of Scripture, he called the radiant and renowned "stars"; to say, then, that those who were godly, honoring what is just above lawlessness, will have undying honor throughout life; and "and beyond" indicates that their honor will be without end.

"Seal the book." That is, having written, leave it in obscurity; for "seal" signifies this, I think: that the things need not be written plainly.

"Until the time of the end." Until the time comes at which these things must be completed; so that from the events one is led to the truth of what is said.

"Until many are taught." For before the experience of the events, ignorance was profitable, so that they would not, held back by fear, willingly lose heart about the return; but after the outcome, knowledge is profitable.

"And knowledge will be multiplied." That the things said in the prophet's revelation have an end is clear even before the other word; but these are added not simply, but because Daniel, having heard exactly what concerned the people, and that they would suffer the worst under Antiochus, so as to surpass every misfortune that had ever overtaken them, fell into despondency and was not even able to ask; and God, not leaving him without comfort, relieves him of the care about the time. And when the angel who was speaking with him had now completed the words of his ministry, and was going away and had passed over the river, he shows him two other angels standing on either side of the river and asking what the time of the things said would be; for perhaps they had the authority to ask, while the other, being perhaps the chief of the angels and knowing hidden things, announced it; or perhaps everything was shaped for the profit and teaching of the prophet.

"How long until the end?" That is, of the things that will happen to the nation. — The angel wished to teach the prophet not only the time at which the things said will happen, but also to give assurance about the truth of what was said; for this reason, raising his hands to heaven for full assurance, he gives his pledge about what was said by an oath by God.

"When the scattering is completed." After the people have suffered terribly, he says, and those sanctified by God have become exiles from the land that bore them, all the doings of the lawless will cease; the godly will live in safety, and the temple will regain its fitting form.

"I heard and understood." That is, recalling what had already been said, I knew that the things said are true.

"What are the last of these things?" It is clear that Daniel, from great desire for divine things, wishes to learn exactly everything that comes after.

"Go, Daniel." That is, stop eagerly inquiring beyond what has been said; for those words must be obscure and remain unspoken with God until the outcome of the times. — Hinting at the obscurity of what was said.

"They will be chosen," and so on. Know this much only: that all the best things will come at the coming of Christ; for the apostles were chosen; those who are cleansed and enlightened by holy baptism are made white; and the approved are refined by fire, becoming approved through faith.

"The lawless will act lawlessly." These things, then, will concern Christ; but know that there will be some who will then display the greatest impiety; he means those who hastened to the murder of Christ. He speaks indefinitely, having resolved, as I said, to hide altogether both these things and those: the rejection of the Jews and the calling of the Gentiles.

"None of the lawless will understand." Many, he says, will not know the Master who comes; he hints at the Jews and those around Herod and Pilate, of whom the blessed Paul also says: "For if they had known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory."

"Those with insight will understand." But though these showed this attitude, those who are upright in godliness will believe, moved partly by the signs, partly by what the prophets foretold of Christ and what came to pass.

"From the time of the change of the continual offering." By "continual offering" he means the daily sacrifice; by "change" the perversion, from being changed and turned into its opposite.

"For the abomination to be set up." The altar which he set up for the overthrow of the temple and in honor of Olympian Zeus. He means, then, that after the lawless worship has been performed at the temple, and your kinsmen have suffered terribly, as has been said, some change in their prosperity will begin.

"One thousand two hundred and ninety days." From that time, then, at which there will be a turn to the opposite, when those who were tried in hardships are about to regain their own condition, there will be one thousand two hundred and ninety days.

"Blessed is the one who endures and reaches the days," and so on. He calls blessed, then, those who persevered through terrible things for godliness and lived through the earlier time, I mean the 1,290 days, in which the difference between the godly and the lawless was still uncertain, and who reached the time of the 1,335 days, in which, after the victory over Antiochus, the help of God was shown brilliantly; and those who had hoped in God, deemed blessed, rejoiced, no longer having the help from above only in words, but shown in deeds to be better than the lawless and devoted to God for their godliness. For just as before, while affairs still hung in suspense and calamity threatened the godly, those who wished to court the royal power were thought worthy of praise, so after the victory of Judas and his men, these appeared worthy of being called blessed, and the others thought themselves wretched.

"But you, go and rest." That is, now that you know these things, be rid of anxiety, inquiring no further than what has been said.

"For there are still days." For indeed the things said will happen at later times.

"You will rest." Meaning, you will depart this life.

"You will rise to your lot." Know, he says, that this whole condition of life will cease, and there will be a resurrection of all, in which each will receive the recompense for the life he has lived; and at that time you too will receive the prizes for your labors of virtue.

"King Astyages." One might suspect from the text that Astyages the Mede reigned after Darius; but it is not so. For otherwise the prophet would have recorded in what condition he was during his times, as he evidently did in the other cases. One would find, then, that the prophet has accounted for this in what was said earlier. For he said, in the interpretation of the writing shown on the wall under Belshazzar, that the Medes and Persians would take over the kingdom, since under it Darius the Mede and Cyrus the Persian would rule, and the rule would very soon pass to the Persians, as was said earlier. Having mentioned Darius, then, as succeeding Belshazzar (for he says, "That very night Belshazzar the king was killed, and Darius the Mede received his kingdom"), and having at once added his own visions, which he saw in the first year of Belshazzar and in the third, and those he saw when Darius was reigning, and those he saw in the first year of King Cyrus; since he did not state the beginning of Cyrus's reign, but simply said that in the first year he saw such and such things, he now supplies what was lacking in the writing and says that Astyages had died and Cyrus had become king. This Astyages was king of the Persians and grandfather of Cyrus, as the Greek writings teach, who wished to kill him at birth; but Cyrus, saved by divine providence, seized the rule and overthrew Astyages. Now, then, he stated the death of Astyages and, showing the beginning of Cyrus's reign, showed the writing shown under Belshazzar, which he himself had interpreted, to be true, and that God, caring for the people, resolved to save them, bringing his own prediction to fulfillment and granting the multitude the return according to his promises. If Scripture said that Cyrus reigned after Darius, it is no cause for surprise; for clearly the kingdoms at that time were local principalities, and the kingdom of the Persians, ruling many nations, had different rulers in ancient times; for the kingdom of the Assyrians was one, that of the Medes another, that of the Babylonians another, and that of the Persians another. It is likely, then, that Darius ruled the Medes, Astyages a neighboring nation, and that Cyrus, having received Darius's rule, overthrew Astyages as one who plotted against him. One may infer this both from what is contained in divine Scripture and from what we are taught by the Greek histories.

"Daniel was a companion of the king." That is, as under Darius, and under Cyrus who took over his rule. — "Honored above all his friends." Everywhere the writer is seen teaching the prophet's honor, striving throughout to show God's very great providence for him; for this at once showed the prophet illustrious, and became the greatest incentive to virtue for the rest, who gape at what impresses men.