392 evertet, prosperabitur, et efficiet, et perdet, repetit idem verbum, robus-
DANIEL
anything leads, as they say, to delay; for as soon as God bears witness to anything, we wish it to be fulfilled at the very first moment, and if he suspend its execution only a very few days, we not only wonder but cry out with vexation. God, therefore, here admonishes us by his angel that he has a settled time, and thus we are to learn to put a bridle on ourselves, and not to be rash and unseasonably hasty, according to our usual habit. We ought, then, to remember the explanation given, and perceive how the effect of the vision is shewn here, and thus it will obtain from us its just reverence. It follows: — Daniel 8:20-21 20. The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia.
20. Et aries quem vidisti habentem duo cornua, reges sunt Medorum et Persarum.
21. And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king.
21. Et hircus caprae, qui natus erit ex hirco, rex Graecae, et cornu magnum quod erat inter oculos, ejus, est rex primus.
By the word "Javan" the Hebrews designate not only the Greeks but the: Macedonians, and the whole of that tract which is divided by the Hellespont, from Asia Minor as far as Illyricmn. Therefore the meaning is — the king of Greece.
Daniel 8:22-23 22. Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power.
22. Et confractum est, 388 et extiterunt quatuor, cornua scilicet, loco ejus: quatuor regna a gente exsurgent, vel, existent, et non pro fortitudine illius.
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.
23. Et in fine regni illorum, ubi perfecti fuerint scelerati, existet rex praefractus facie, 389 et intelligens aenigmata.
Hence Luther, indulging his thoughts too freely, refers this passage to the masks of Antichrist, but we shall trace this point afterwards. 390
Daniel 8:24-25 24. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.
24. Et roborabitur fortitudo ejus, et non in fortitudine sua, 391 et mirabilia 392 evertet, prosperabitur, et efficiet, et perdet, repetit idem verbum, robus-
388That is, the horn was broken. — Calvin. 389Verbally, "in faces." — Calvin. 390The English reader may consult Michelet's Life of Luther. Hazlitt's Ed., 1846. 391Or, according to his fortitude; we shall treat this phrase also. — Calvin 392That is, "in wonderful ways" "wonderfully;" the noun being used in the place of the adverb.