[The Non-Euclidean Blog] Untangling Daniel 7:27

[NEB]

I need help. Well, you knew that already, but specifically I need help figuring out why there's a discrepancy among translations in Daniel 7:27--so if you've got some Greek or Hebrew skills, that would be fantastic.

Okay, here's the deal. Each English translation of Daniel 7:27 falls into one of two groups. I give you a representative sample of the first group, which we'll call the Singular:

KVJ: "And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him."

NASB: "Then the sovereignty, the dominion and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Highest One; His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all the dominions will serve and obey Him."

NIV: "Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be handed over to the saints, the people of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will worship and obey him."

And here's a representative sample of the second group, which we'll call the Plural:

ESV: "And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; their kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey them."

RSV: "And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; their kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey them."

After doing a little research online, I think the difference lies in the source text. Namely, it looks like Singular translations follow the Septuagint, and Plural translations follow the Masoretic Text. But I'd like to confirm that.

So, all you theological scholars...am I right? Or wrong?

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Posted By NEB to The Non-Euclidean Blog at 7/19/2009 07:00:00 AM