Danielchapter 11

A.Four Persian kings and the mighty Greek broken in fourvv. 1-4

1 “And I, in the first year of Darius the Mede, stood up to strengthen and protect him. 2 Now then, I will tell you the truth: Three more kings will arise in Persia, and then a fourth, who will be far richer than all the others. By the power of his wealth, he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece. 3 Then a mighty king will arise, who will rule with great authority and do as he pleases. 4 But as soon as he is established, his kingdom will be broken up and parceled out toward the four winds of heaven. It will not go to his descendants, nor will it have the authority with which he ruled, because his kingdom will be uprooted and given to others.

B.The kings of the south and north trade war and marriagevv. 5-20

5 The king of the South will grow strong, but one of his commanders will grow even stronger and will rule his own kingdom with great authority. 6 After some years they will form an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the South will go to the king of the North to seal the agreement. But his daughter will not retain her position of power, nor will his strength endure. At that time she will be given up, along with her royal escort and her father and the one who supported her. 7 But one from her family line will rise up in his place, come against the army of the king of the North, and enter his fortress, fighting and prevailing. 8 He will take even their gods captive to Egypt, with their metal images and their precious vessels of silver and gold. For some years he will stay away from the king of the North, 9 who will invade the realm of the king of the South and then return to his own land. 10 But his sons will stir up strife and assemble a great army, which will advance forcefully, sweeping through like a flood, and will again carry the battle as far as his fortress. 11 In a rage, the king of the South will march out to fight the king of the North, who will raise a large army, but it will be delivered into the hand of his enemy. 12 When the army is carried off, the king of the South will be proud in heart and will cast down tens of thousands, but he will not triumph. 13 For the king of the North will raise another army, larger than the first, and after some years he will advance with a great army and many supplies. 14 In those times many will rise up against the king of the South. Violent ones among your own people will exalt themselves in fulfillment of the vision, but they will fail. 15 Then the king of the North will come, build up a siege ramp, and capture a fortified city. The forces of the South will not stand; even their best troops will not be able to resist. 16 The invader will do as he pleases, and no one will stand against him. He will establish himself in the Beautiful Land, with destruction in his hand. 17 He will resolve to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and will reach an agreement with the king of the South. He will give him a daughter in marriage in order to overthrow the kingdom, but his plan will not succeed or help him. 18 Then he will turn his face to the coastlands and capture many of them. But a commander will put an end to his reproach and will turn it back upon him. 19 After this, he will turn back toward the fortresses of his own land, but he will stumble and fall and be no more. 20 In his place one will arise who will send out a tax collector for the glory of the kingdom; but within a few days he will be destroyed, though not in anger or in battle.

C.A contemptible man who comes in peaceably and takes the kingdomvv. 21-28

21 In his place a despicable person will arise; royal honors will not be given to him, but he will come in a time of peace and seize the kingdom by intrigue. 22 Then a flood of forces will be swept away before him and destroyed, along with a prince of the covenant. 23 After an alliance is made with him, he will act deceitfully; for he will rise to power with only a few people. 24 In a time of peace, he will invade the richest provinces and do what his fathers and forefathers never did. He will lavish plunder, loot, and wealth on his followers, and he will plot against the strongholds—but only for a time. 25 And with a large army he will stir up his power and his courage against the king of the South, who will mobilize a very large and powerful army but will not withstand the plots devised against him. 26 Those who eat from his provisions will seek to destroy him; his army will be swept away, and many will fall slain. 27 And the two kings, with their hearts bent on evil, will speak lies at the same table, but to no avail, for still the end will come at the appointed time. 28 The king of the North will return to his land with great wealth, but his heart will be set against the holy covenant; so he will do damage and return to his own land.

D.The abomination set up, and the people who know their Godvv. 29-35

29 At the appointed time he will invade the South again, but this time will not be like the first. 30 Ships of Kittim will come against him, and he will lose heart. Then he will turn back and rage against the holy covenant and do damage. So he will return and show favor to those who forsake the holy covenant. 31 His forces will rise up and desecrate the temple fortress. They will abolish the daily sacrifice and set up the abomination of desolation. 32 With flattery he will corrupt those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him. 33 Those with insight will instruct many, though for a time they will fall by sword or flame, or be captured or plundered. 34 Now when they fall, they will be granted a little help, but many will join them insincerely. 35 Some of the wise will fall, so that they may be refined, purified, and made spotless until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time.

E.The king who exalts himself above every godvv. 36-39

36 Then the king will do as he pleases and will exalt and magnify himself above every god, and he will speak monstrous things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been decreed must be accomplished. 37 He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers, nor for the one desired by women, nor for any other god, because he will magnify himself above them all. 38 And in their place, he will honor a god of fortresses—a god his fathers did not know—with gold, silver, precious stones, and riches. 39 He will attack the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign god and will greatly honor those who acknowledge him, making them rulers over many and distributing the land for a price.

F.The time of the end and his palace between the seasvv. 40-45

40 At the time of the end, the king of the South will engage him in battle, but the king of the North will storm out against him with chariots, horsemen, and many ships, invading many countries and sweeping through them like a flood. 41 He will also invade the Beautiful Land, and many countries will fall. But these will be delivered from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the leaders of the Ammonites. 42 He will extend his power over many countries, and not even the land of Egypt will escape. 43 He will gain control of the treasures of gold and silver and over all the riches of Egypt, and the Libyans and Cushites will also submit to him. 44 But news from the east and the north will alarm him, and he will go out with great fury to destroy many and devote them to destruction. 45 He will pitch his royal tents between the sea and the beautiful holy mountain, but he will meet his end with no one to help him.

Commentary on this chapter: read the Exposition

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Chapter summary

The longest sustained prophecy in the Old Testament, given as plain history written in advance.

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The longest sustained prophecy in the Old Testament, given as plain history written in advance. Three more kings rise in Persia, then a fourth who stirs up all against Greece; a mighty king rules, and his kingdom is broken toward the four winds, not to his posterity. Then decades of war between the king of the south and the king of the north: failed marriage alliances, the contemptible person who obtains the kingdom by flatteries, and forces that profane the sanctuary and set up the abomination that maketh desolate. 'The people that know their God shall be strong, and do exploits' (11:32). The last section turns to a king who exalts himself above every god (read here as the Antichrist) who comes to his end with none to help.

Drawn from Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory, Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary, John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament and John Calvin, Commentaries.

Context

Prophecy · Daniel — Daniel overview

A. 1–4 Four Persian kings and the mighty Greek broken in four
B. 5–20 The kings of the south and north trade war and marriage
C. 21–28 A contemptible man who comes in peaceably and takes the kingdom
D. 29–35 The abomination set up, and the people who know their God
E. 36–39 The king who exalts himself above every god
F. 40–45 The time of the end and his palace between the seas

Top cross-references8 chapters ▾

Daniel 1116 verses
- Daniel 11:5The king of the South will grow strong, but one of his commanders will grow even stronger and will rule his own kingdom with great authority.
- Daniel 11:6After some years they will form an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the South will go to the king of the North to seal the agreement. But his daughter will not retain her position of power, nor will his strength endure. At that time she will be given up, along with her royal escort and her father and the one who supported her.
- Daniel 11:7But one from her family line will rise up in his place, come against the army of the king of the North, and enter his fortress, fighting and prevailing.
- Daniel 11:10But his sons will stir up strife and assemble a great army, which will advance forcefully, sweeping through like a flood, and will again carry the battle as far as his fortress.
- Daniel 11:11In a rage, the king of the South will march out to fight the king of the North, who will raise a large army, but it will be delivered into the hand of his enemy.
- Daniel 11:13For the king of the North will raise another army, larger than the first, and after some years he will advance with a great army and many supplies.
- Read Daniel 11: 10 more there →
Daniel 88 verses
- Daniel 8:7I saw him approach the ram in a rage against him, and he struck the ram and shattered his two horns. The ram was powerless to stand against him, and the goat threw him to the ground and trampled him, and no one could deliver the ram from his power.
- Daniel 8:8Thus the goat became very great, but at the height of his power, his large horn was broken off, and four prominent horns came up in its place, pointing toward the four winds of heaven.
- Daniel 8:9From one of these horns a little horn emerged and grew extensively toward the south and the east and toward the Beautiful Land.
- Daniel 8:10It grew as high as the host of heaven, and it cast down some of the host and some of the stars to the earth, and trampled them.
- Daniel 8:21The shaggy goat represents the king of Greece, and the large horn between his eyes is the first king.
- Daniel 8:22The four horns that replaced the broken one represent four kingdoms that will rise from that nation, but will not have the same power.
- Read Daniel 8: 2 more there →
Daniel 93 verses
- Daniel 9:1In the first year of Darius son of Xerxes, a Mede by descent, who was made ruler over the kingdom of the Chaldeans—
- Daniel 9:26Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and will have nothing. Then the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood, and until the end there will be war; desolations have been decreed.
- Daniel 9:27And he will confirm a covenant with many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of the temple will come the abomination that causes desolation, until the decreed destruction is poured out upon him.”
- Read Daniel 9 →
2 Thessalonians 22 verses
- 2 Thessalonians 2:4He will oppose and exalt himself above every so-called god or object of worship. So he will seat himself in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.
- 2 Thessalonians 2:9The coming of the lawless one will be accompanied by the working of Satan, with every kind of power, sign, and false wonder,
- Read 2 Thessalonians 2 →

4 more chapters this one speaks with

Isaiah 142 verses
- Isaiah 14:13You said in your heart: “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God. I will sit on the mount of assembly, in the far reaches of the north.
- Isaiah 14:31Wail, O gate! Cry out, O city! Melt away, all you Philistines! For a cloud of smoke comes from the north, and there are no stragglers in its ranks.
- Read Isaiah 14 →
Habakkuk 22 verses
- Habakkuk 2:3For the vision awaits an appointed time; it testifies of the end and does not lie. Though it lingers, wait for it, since it will surely come and will not delay.
- Habakkuk 2:4Look at the proud one; his soul is not upright—but the righteous will live by faith—
- Read Habakkuk 2 →
Daniel 122 verses
- Daniel 12:7And the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, raised his right hand and his left hand toward heaven, and I heard him swear by Him who lives forever, saying, “It will be for a time, and times, and half a time. When the power of the holy people has finally been shattered, all these things will be completed.”
- Daniel 12:11And from the time the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination of desolation set up, there will be 1,290 days.
- Read Daniel 12 →
Revelation 172 verses
- Revelation 17:1Then one of the seven angels with the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits on many waters.
- Revelation 17:17For God has put it into their hearts to carry out His purpose by uniting to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled.
- Read Revelation 17 →

Cross-references from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and OpenBible.info.