The king: in some cases it will be clearer to indicate which of the two kings is intended here. Note that Good News Translation has “the king of Syria.”
Shall do according to his will: see verses 3 and 16.
Exalt himself and magnify himself: see 8.4, 8, 11 on magnify; the two verbs are used here as synonyms.
Astonishing things: elsewhere the expression astonishing things may be understood to refer to wonderful and extraordinary events and may have quite positive connotations. In Exo 34.10, for example, the same root word is used to speak of miracles in a very positive sense, as “marvels.” It may, however, also be used in a very negative sense of “abnormal things” that may even be scandalous (see 8.24, “fearful destruction”). The Revised Standard Version translation, and even New International Version “unheard of things” (which is not necessarily negative), are too weak. New American Bible captures the idea with “dreadful blasphemies.” And the same idea is conveyed in more common language by “awful things” (New Jerusalem Bible). New Revised Standard Version revises Revised Standard Version with “horrendous things.”
The God of gods: this certainly refers to the God of Israel, who is considered superior to all other possible gods. The expression does not indicate that the Jews admitted the actual existence of gods other than their own, but they did recognize (on the linguistic level) that other peoples worshiped what they called “gods.” As far as religions can be compared, the Jews affirmed that their God was superior to anything that any other people might consider their “god.” If in the translator’s language the use of the expression “God of gods” will carry the sense of polytheism (the existence of several gods placed in hierarchical order), then a different kind of expression should be used such as “the Supreme God” (Good News Translation) or “the Most High God” (Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch). Also, since it is not a good idea to say “the God of idols,” translators may consider a longer expression like “the God over all those (beings, things) that others consider to be gods.”
Till the indignation is accomplished: the word translated indignation in Revised Standard Version is better understood as “divine wrath” (Revised English Bible) or “God’s anger.” This should be made clear in the translation. And because of the passive form, it will have to be restructured in some languages to say something like the Good News Translation rendering, or possibly “until God pours out his anger on him,” or “until the time when God shows his wrath.”
What is determined shall be done: the passive verb should probably be made active, even in many languages where the passive is grammatically possible. It is clearly God who will bring about what he has planned.
This verse begins to paint a striking portrait (in veiled terms) of Antiochus IV. The statement that he shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god is probably a reference to the title “Epiphanes” (see verse 31), which the king bestowed on himself. On the idea of speaking astonishing things against the God of gods, see 7.8, 20, “speaking great things.”
Quoted with permission from Péter-Contesse, René & Ellington, John. A Handbook on Daniel. (UBS Helps for Translators). New York: UBS, 1994. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .