Daniel 8:23

 Daniel 8:23

 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up.

a. NASB 1995: “In the latter period of their rule, When the transgressors have run their course, A king will arise, Insolent and skilled in intrigue.   [New American Standard Bible 1995 (NASB1995) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.]

b. NKJV: “And in the latter time of their kingdom, When the transgressors have reached their fullness, A king shall arise, Having fierce features, Who understands sinister schemes.  [Scripture quotations marked "NKJV" are taken from the New King James Version®, Copyright© 1982, Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.]

c. Classic Amplified Bible: And at the latter end of their kingdom, when the transgressors [the apostate Jews] have reached the fullness [of their wickedness, taxing the limits of God’s mercy], a king of fierce countenance and understanding dark trickery and craftiness shall stand up.  [Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation]

d. Stone Edition Torah/Prophets/Writings: At the end of their kingdom, when the sinners are annihil  [The Artscroll Series/Stone Edition, THE TANACH--STUDENT SIZE EDITION Copyright 1996, 1998 by Mesorah Publications, Ltd.]

e. ESV: And at the latter end of their kingdom, when the transgressors have reached their limit, a king of bold face, one who understands riddles, shall arise.  [Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001, 2007, 2011, 2016 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.]

f. Unless otherwise stated, all Greek and Hebrew definitions are from Blue Letter Bible

1. “And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full…”

a. [And in the] latter time [Strong: 319 אַחֲרִית ʼachărîyth, akh-ar-eeth'; from H310; the last or end, hence, the future; also posterity:—(last, latter) end (time), hinder (utter) -most, length, posterity, remnant, residue, reward.]

b. [of their] kingdom [Strong: 4438 מַלְכוּת malkûwth, mal-kooth'; or מַלְכֻת malkuth; or (in plural) מַלְכֻיָּה malkuyâh; from H4427; a rule; concretely, a dominion:—empire, kingdom, realm, reign, royal.]

c. [when] transgressors [Strong: 6586 פָּשַׁע pâshaʻ, paw-shah'; a primitive root (identical with through the idea of expansion); to break away (from just authority), i.e. trespass, apostatize, quarrel:—offend, rebel, revolt, transgress(-ion, -or).[

d. [are] come to the full [Strong: 8552 תָּמַם tâmam, taw-mam'; a primitive root; to complete, in a good or a bad sense, literal, or figurative, transitive or intransitive:—accomplish, cease, be clean (pass-) ed, consume, have done, (come to an, have an, make an) end, fail, come to the full, be all gone, × be all here, be (make) perfect, be spent, sum, be (shew self) upright, be wasted, whole.]

2. “...a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up.”

a. [a] king [Strong: 4428 מֶלֶךְ melek, meh'-lek; from H4427; a king:—king, royal.]

b. [of] fierce countenance [Strong: 5794 עַז ʻaz, az; from H5810; strong, vehement, harsh:—fierce, greedy, mighty, power, roughly, strong.]

c. countenance [Strong: 6440 פָּנִים pânîym, paw-neem'; plural (but always as singular) of an unused noun פָּנֶה pâneh; from H6437); the face (as the part that turns); used in a great variety of applications (literally and figuratively); also (with prepositional prefix) as a preposition (before, etc.):— accept, a-(be-) fore(-time), against, anger, × as (long as), at, battle, because (of), beseech, countenance, edge, employ, endure, enquire, face, favour, fear of, for, forefront(-part), form(-er time, -ward), from, front, heaviness, × him(-self), honourable, impudent, in, it, look(-eth) (-s), × me, meet, × more than, mouth, of, off, (of) old (time), × on, open, out of, over against, the partial, person, please, presence, prospect, was purposed, by reason of, regard, right forth, serve, × shewbread, sight, state, straight, street, × thee, × them(-selves), through ( -out), till, time(-s) past, (un-) to(-ward), upon, upside ( down), with(-in, -stand), × ye, × you.]

d. [and] understanding [Strong: 995 בִּין bîyn, bene; a primitive root; to separate mentally (or distinguish), i.e.(generally) understand:—attend, consider, be cunning, diligently, direct, discern, eloquent, feel, inform, instruct, have intelligence, know, look well to, mark, perceive, be prudent, regard, (can) skill(-full), teach, think, (cause, make to, get, give, have) understand(-ing), view, (deal) wise(-ly, man).]

e. dark sentences [Strong: 2420 e. [a] king [Strong: 4428 מֶלֶךְ melek, meh'-lek; from H4427; a king:—king, royal.]

f. [of] fierce countenance [Strong: 5794 עַז ʻaz, az; from H5810; strong, vehement, harsh:—fierce, greedy, mighty, power, roughly, strong.]

g. countenance [Strong: 6440 פָּנִים pânîym, paw-neem'; plural (but always as singular) of an unused noun פָּנֶה pâneh; from H6437); the face (as the part that turns); used in a great variety of applications (literally and figuratively); also (with prepositional prefix) as a preposition (before, etc.):— accept, a-(be-) fore(-time), against, anger, × as (long as), at, battle, because (of), beseech, countenance, edge, employ, endure, enquire, face, favour, fear of, for, forefront(-part), form(-er time, -ward), from, front, heaviness, × him(-self), honourable, impudent, in, it, look(-eth) (-s), × me, meet, × more than, mouth, of, off, (of) old (time), × on, open, out of, over against, the partial, person, please, presence, prospect, was purposed, by reason of, regard, right forth, serve, × shewbread, sight, state, straight, street, × thee, × them(-selves), through ( -out), till, time(-s) past, (un-) to(-ward), upon, upside ( down), with(-in, -stand), × ye, × you.]

h. [and] understanding [Strong: 995 בִּין bîyn, bene; a primitive root; to separate mentally (or distinguish), i.e.(generally) understand:—attend, consider, be cunning, diligently, direct, discern, eloquent, feel, inform, instruct, have intelligence, know, look well to, mark, perceive, be prudent, regard, (can) skill(-full), teach, think, (cause, make to, get, give, have) understand(-ing), view, (deal) wise(-ly, man).]

i. dark sentences [Strong: 2420 חִידָה chîydâh, khee-daw'; from H2330; a puzzle, hence, a trick, conundrum, sententious maxim:—dark saying (sentence, speech), hard question, proverb, riddle.]

f. [shall] stand up [Strong: 5975 עָמַד ʻâmad, aw-mad'; a primitive root; to stand, in various relations (literal and figurative, intransitive and transitive):—abide (behind), appoint, arise, cease, confirm, continue, dwell, be employed, endure, establish, leave, make, ordain, be (over), place, (be) present (self), raise up, remain, repair, serve, set (forth, over, -tle, up), (make to, make to be at a, with-) stand (by, fast, firm, still, up), (be at a) stay (up), tarry.]

1). Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary: 23. transgressors are come to the full—This does not hold good of the times of Antiochus, but of the closing times of the Christian era. Compare Lu 18:8, and 2Ti 3:1-9, as to the wickedness of the world in general just before Christ's second coming. Israel's guilt, too, shall then be at the full, when they who rejected Christ shall receive Antichrist; fulfilling Jesus words, "I am come in My Father's name, and ye receive Me not; if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive" (compare Ge 15:16; Mt 23:32; 1Th 2:16).

of fierce countenance—(De 28:50); one who will spare neither old nor young.

understanding dark sentences—rather, "artifices" [Gesenius]. Antiochus made himself master of Egypt and Jerusalem successively by craft (1 Maccabees 1:30, &c.; 2 Maccabees 5:24, &c.).