-- Oracle <= 11g
SELECT * FROM ( SELECT * FROM emp ORDER BY sal DESC ) WHERE ROWNUM <= 5;
-- Oracle 12c +
SELECT * FROM emp ORDER BY sal DESC FETCH FIRST 5 ROWS ONLY;
SELECT * FROM (SELECT [COLUMNS] FROM [TABLE] ORDER BY [DATE] DESC)
WHERE ROWNUM >= 1 AND ROWNUM <=10;
-- Oracle 12c:
SELECT * FROM (SELECT [COLUMNS] FROM [TABLE] ORDER BY [DATE] DESC)
FETCH FIRST 10 ROWS ONLY;