As the Good News Translation note indicates, the first part of this verse is unclear in Hebrew. In fact the whole of verses 12 and 13 are difficult, and there are numerous possible interpretations. One or more notes will probably be required.

The word translated host has been variously understood as referring to “the host of the saints” (New International Version) or “the army of heaven” (Living Bible). But Good News Translation takes it here as referring to “people (in the Temple).” It is the same word as in the previous verse, in the expression “the Prince of the host,” but the meaning is not necessarily identical. In this case the meaning is probably less broad than in verse 11, here referring to the pious worshipers in the Temple.

The host was given over to it: the least unsatisfactory solution to the understanding of these words seems to be that of New Jerusalem Bible and New American Bible, which (contrary to Revised Standard Version and Good News Translation) takes them as the continuation of the sentence begun in verse 11b. The meaning is then “and the host (or army, or people) of God was (or were) also delivered to the power of the horn.” This seems to indicate the temporary success of the persecutor. Revised English Bible renders it “the heavenly host were delivered up.” The use of the past tense is legitimate, since in an apocalyptic vision the events are at the same time past (in the vision) and future (in reality). Considerations of the translator’s own language, however, will have to determine which tense is natural in such a context. In those cases where the passive form has to be rendered actively, it may be best to say something like “God allowed the horn to have power over his people,” or possibly “the people of God began to turn away from him and gave themselves to (the power of) the horn.”

Together with the continual burnt offering: the preposition translated together with may be understood to mean “at the same time” (Bible en français courant), “while” (New American Bible), “in addition,” or simply “and” (New English Bible). The expression that follows is extremely difficult and may possibly be understood to mean (a) that the transgression, referring to the “Awful Horror,” is substituted for the normal Temple sacrifice, or (b) that the regular offering of sacrifice was pronounced a crime by the persecutor. The latter solution is followed by New English Bible/Revised English Bible, “it raised itself impiously against the regular offering.” But the first solution is more likely and more commonly adopted. It is worded as follows in some English versions: “sin replaced the daily sacrifice” (New American Bible), or “thus was the daily sacrifice profanely treated” (Moffatt). Translators may even say “in the place of the daily sacrifice it established something outrageously evil.” The words through transgression have been translated in a variety of ways including “because of rebellion (or wickedness)” (New International Version, New Revised Standard Version), “iniquity” (New Jerusalem Bible), and the adverb “impiously” (Revised English Bible). Experts do not agree on whose “wickedness” is meant here. It may be that of the horn or of the “host.” Or possibly Anchor Bible is correct in slightly correcting the text so that the term actually refers to the offense or abomination that is set up in place of the regular sacrifice. This conforms to the statement in the following verse.

Truth was cast down: this refers not to abstract truth but to religious truth as contained in the Torah (Law). The passive formulation may be made active with the horn as the agent, “the horn threw true religion down,” or in those languages where the word for religion is especially difficult, “it slandered the truth about the things of God.”

Acted and prospered: these two verbs simply indicate that the horn was successful in all that it attempted to do.

While Anchor Bible has no less than nine textual notes on verses 11 and 12, the actual Anchor Bible translation of this passage may be worth noting:

• Even over the Prince of the host it exalted itself; it removed the daily sacrifice from its stand and defiled the sanctuary and the pious ones; and on the stand of the daily sacrifice it set up an offense. It cast truth to the ground and was successful in its undertaking.

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 .