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Daniel 7:15-18, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Daniel 7:15-18
Daniel's Distress and the First Interpretation
Daniel is grieved, so he asks
Daniel's spirit is grieved in the midst of his body, and the visions of his head trouble him. He comes near to one of them that stood by and asks the truth of all this. The first interpretation is short on purpose: these great beasts, which are four, are four kings which shall arise out of the earth.
Then the attendant states the reversal that the court scene already showed: the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom and possess it for ever, even for ever and ever. Kings arise; they do not keep the last word.
Four kings, not a license to hunt four current villains
The first answer names kings and then a people who receive what the beasts cannot keep. It does not yet unpack the fourth beast. Distress is the honest reader-posture; mastery is not.
Saints or holy ones here belong to this vision's promise. The phrase must not be turned into a church-versus-synagogue weapon, and the four kings must not be treated as a required roster of modern nations.
How this should shape us
When a public terror-story leaves you alarmed, ask for the truth instead of inventing enemies. Hold the promise that violent thrones are not final without claiming that your group now owns the earth.
Teach it back
Explain Daniel 7:15-18 in your own words. Include its movement, ancient horizon, one material uncertainty, and one use the context rules out.
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Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Where do careful interpreters disagree?
Best judgment: The empire sequence, identity of the humanlike figure, referent of the holy ones, relation of verses 9-14 to 15-27, and scope of later messianic reception are major disputes. The first Antiochene horizon should remain visible even where readers adopt an extended fulfillment.
How certain? probableResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact reader-facing KJV wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Daniel 7:15-18, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew-Aramaic wording, morphology, language boundary, names, repeated roots, clauses, and lexical controls.
Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Dan.xml, 7:15-18; Hebrew 1:1–2:4a and 8:1–12:13, Aramaic 2:4b–7:28
Supports: Verse-level Hebrew-Aramaic, textual, historical, translation, chronology, angelic-language, and duration notes.
NET Bible Daniel PDF, printed pp. 1657–1660, translation and translator notes on 7:15-18
Supports: Bilingual form, genres, composition, imperial settings, Antiochus IV, four kingdoms, seventy weeks, resurrection, and major critical alternatives.
P. R. Davies, 'Daniel,' Oxford Bible Commentary, printed pp. 563–571; chapter-level discussion applied to 7:15-18
Supports: Two major Greek editions, substantial chapters 4–6 differences, numbering, wording, order, and additions outside the pinned KJV mapping.
McLay, NETS Daniel, introduction printed pp. 991–994 and parallel Old Greek/Theodotion translation pp. 995–1025; 7:15-18
Supports: Daniel 7 empire and monster imagery, Antiochus IV, sanctuary boundaries, judgment, restoration, and limits on dehumanizing reuse.
Macumber, 'A Monster without a Name,' JHS 15.9 (2015), pp. 1–26, especially pp. 7–10 and 18–26; applied to 7:15-18
Supports: Masoretic, Old Greek, and Theodotion comparison; philology; court-tale and Daniel 7 textual stages; and formation arguments.
Suchard, Aramaic Daniel, pp. 96–109; textual reconstruction and formation discussion applied to 7:15-18
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing KJV wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: Daniel 7:15-18, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew aramaic text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Daniel
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew-Aramaic wording, morphology, language boundary, names, repeated roots, clauses, and lexical controls.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Dan.xml, 7:15-18; Hebrew 1:1–2:4a and 8:1–12:13, Aramaic 2:4b–7:28
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Daniel with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Verse-level Hebrew-Aramaic, textual, historical, translation, chronology, angelic-language, and duration notes.
Exact location: NET Bible Daniel PDF, printed pp. 1657–1660, translation and translator notes on 7:15-18
Open source ↗scholarly commentary article
Daniel
Philip R. Davies
Oxford University Press, in The Oxford Bible Commentary, edited by John Barton and John Muddiman, 2001
Supports: Bilingual form, genres, composition, imperial settings, Antiochus IV, four kingdoms, seventy weeks, resurrection, and major critical alternatives.
Exact location: P. R. Davies, 'Daniel,' Oxford Bible Commentary, printed pp. 563–571; chapter-level discussion applied to 7:15-18
Open source ↗greek text translation and introduction
A New English Translation of the Septuagint: Daniel
R. Timothy McLay
Oxford University Press for the International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies, 2009, electronic corrections through 2014
Supports: Two major Greek editions, substantial chapters 4–6 differences, numbering, wording, order, and additions outside the pinned KJV mapping.
Exact location: McLay, NETS Daniel, introduction printed pp. 991–994 and parallel Old Greek/Theodotion translation pp. 995–1025; 7:15-18
Open source ↗peer reviewed open access article
A Monster without a Name: Creating the Beast Known as Antiochus IV in Daniel 7
Heather Macumber
The Journal of Hebrew Scriptures 15, article 3, 2015
Supports: Daniel 7 empire and monster imagery, Antiochus IV, sanctuary boundaries, judgment, restoration, and limits on dehumanizing reuse.
Exact location: Macumber, 'A Monster without a Name,' JHS 15.9 (2015), pp. 1–26, especially pp. 7–10 and 18–26; applied to 7:15-18
Open source ↗open access scholarly monograph
Aramaic Daniel: A Textual Reconstruction of Chapters 1-7
Benjamin D. Suchard
Brill, Studia Semitica Neerlandica 73, 2022
Supports: Masoretic, Old Greek, and Theodotion comparison; philology; court-tale and Daniel 7 textual stages; and formation arguments.
Exact location: Suchard, Aramaic Daniel, pp. 96–109; textual reconstruction and formation discussion applied to 7:15-18
Open source ↗