Daniel 10:21
in Daniel 10But first I will tell you what is inscribed in the Book of Truth. Yet no one has the courage to support me against these, except Michael your prince.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But I will tell thee that which is inscribed in the writing of truth: and there is none that holdeth with me against these, but Michael your prince.
KJV
But I will shew thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth: and there is none that holdeth with me in these things, but Michael your prince.
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This verse in Daniel 10
Commentary
12 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
But I will show thee what is noted in, the scripture of truth - The word noted here means “written, or recorded.” The scripture of truth means the true writing, and the reference is doubtless to the Divine purposes or decrees in this matter - for (a) there is no other writing where these things were then found; (b) the angel came to make known what could be known in no other way, and therefore what was not yet found in any book to which man had access; (c) this language accords with common representations in the Scriptures respecting future events.
This site's exposition
to fight with the prince of Persia
on Daniel 10:20-21
The messenger explains his errand and its sequel in one breath: he returns to fight the prince of Persia, and when he is gone forth the prince of Grecia shall come, the same succession the goat and horns of chapter eight already pictured in symbol, now stated as ongoing conflict behind the nations' history. What he will show Daniel is noted in the scripture of truth, a title for the heavenly record the older writers read as underscoring the certainty of what follows in chapter eleven. None holds with the messenger in these things but Michael, Daniel's own prince, closing the vision on the same partnership that ended the delay twenty-one days before.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers4 voices
The angel reported these events, so that Daniel might know that there were not many among the Jews who asked God for their return, nor did the angels approve Daniel's vow, nor was everything you requested, Daniel, accepted by the angels, in order that the …
Verse 21. "Nevertheless I will relate to thee what has been set down in the Scripture of truth." That is, this is the order which the words follow. The fulfilment is still in doubt. For even though thou dost beseech the Lord and I present thy prayers to Him, yet the prince of the Persians takes his stand on the opposite side, and is unwilling that thy people be freed from captivity.
But who is Michael, but the angel who is granted to the people, as he says to Moses, "I will not go with you on the way because the people are stiff necked, but my angel will go with you"? [Exodus 33:3] This one stood against Moses in the encampment when he carried the uncircumcised boy [Exodus 4:24-25] to Egypt. For it was not possible for Moses to be the elder and mediator of the law, who also announced the covenant of the fathers, and also to lead the uncircumcised boy, so that he may not be considered by the people as a false prophet and a deceiver.
He says in effect, "Why then do I speak of one or two, the prince of the Persians or that of the Greeks? For none of the heavenly powers wishes your people to obtain anything good, manifestly because of their great lawlessness. Only Michael so …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Christ is the church's prince; angels are not, Heb. ii. He presides in the affairs of the church and effectually provides for its good. He is said to hold with the angels, for it is he that makes them serviceable to the heirs of salvation; and, if he were not on the church's side, its case were bad.
5 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
9 Yet heard I the voice of his words: and when I heard the voice of his words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the ground. This vision is dated in the third year of Cyrus, that is, of his reign after the conquest of Babylon, his third year since Daniel became acquainted with him and a subject to him. A general idea of this prophecy (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
But I will show that which is noted in the Scripture of truth,....
(1.) The kings of the earth are and will be its adversaries; for they set themselves against the Lord, and against his Anointed, Ps. ii. The angel told Daniel that he was to have come to him with a gracious answer to his prayers, but that the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood him one and twenty days, just the three weeks that Daniel had been fasting and praying.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Re 5:1), which are truth, that is, the things which shall most surely come to pass, being determined by God (compare Joh 17:17). none . . . but Michael--To him alone of the angels the office of protecting Israel, in concert with the angelic speaker, was delegated; all the world powers were against Israel.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Noted in the scripture of truth - Perhaps this refers to what he had already written down. See the preceding visions, which Daniel did not fully understand, though a general impression from them had filled his heart with sorrow. Michael your prince - The archangel mentioned before, Dan 10:13, and who has been always supposed to be appointed by God as the guardian of the Jewish nation. It appears that God chose to make use of the ministry of angels in this work; that angels, as they could be only in one place at one time, could not produce influence where they were not; and that, to carry on the operation on the mind of the Persian king, it was necessary that either Gabriel or Michael should be present with him, and when one went on another commission another took his place; see Dan 10:13. But we know so little of the invisible world that we cannot safely affirm any thing positively.
The words behind it
17 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אֲבָל֙ | ʾaval | but | H61 → | |
| אַגִּ֣יד | ʾagid | I will tell | H5046 → | 370 times |
| לְךָ֔ | lekha | to you | ||
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָרָשׁ֥וּם | harashum | the [thing] inscribed | H7559 → | |
| בִּכְתָ֖ב | bikhtav | in writing of | H3791 → | |
| אֱמֶ֑ת | ʾemet | truth | H571 → | 127 times |
| וְאֵ֨ין | veein | and there not | H369 → | 789 times |
| אֶחָ֜ד | ʾechad | [is] one | H259 → | 971 times |
| מִתְחַזֵּ֤ק | mitchazek | [who] shows himself strong | H2388 → | 291 times |
| עִמִּי֙ | ʾimi | with me | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| אֵ֔לֶּה | ʾeleh | these | H428 → | 746 times |
| כִּ֥י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אִם־ | ʾim- | except | H518 → | |
| מִיכָאֵ֖ל | mikhael | Michael | H4317 → | 13 times |
| שַׂרְכֶֽם׃ פ | sarkhem | prince your | H8269 → | 421 times |
אֲבָל֙but
ʾavalH61 →
אַגִּ֣ידI will tell
ʾagidH5046 →370 times
לְךָ֔to you
lekha
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הָרָשׁ֥וּםthe [thing] inscribed
harashumH7559 →
בִּכְתָ֖בin writing of
bikhtavH3791 →
אֱמֶ֑תtruth
ʾemetH571 →127 times
וְאֵ֨יןand there not
veeinH369 →789 times
אֶחָ֜ד[is] one
ʾechadH259 →971 times
מִתְחַזֵּ֤ק[who] shows himself strong
mitchazekH2388 →291 times
עִמִּי֙with me
ʾimiH5973 →1050 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
אֵ֔לֶּהthese
ʾelehH428 →746 times
כִּ֥יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
אִם־except
ʾim-H518 →
מִיכָאֵ֖לMichael
mikhaelH4317 →13 times
שַׂרְכֶֽם׃ פprince your
sarkhemH8269 →421 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Revelation 12:7Then a war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back.
it leads to
- Daniel 12:1
“At that time Michael, the great prince who stands watch over your people, will rise up. There will be a time of distress, the likes of which will not have occurred from the beginning…
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Jude 1:9
But even the archangel Michael, when he disputed with the devil over the body of Moses, did not presume to bring a slanderous charge against him, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Daniel 12:1
Through
Jude 1:9But even the archangel Michael, when he disputed with the devil over the body of Moses, did not presume to bring a slanderous charge against him, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”
it leads to
- Revelation 12:7
Then a war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Zechariah 3:2
And the LORD said to Satan: “The LORD rebukes you, Satan! Indeed, the LORD, who has chosen Jerusalem, rebukes you! Is not this man a firebrand snatched from the fire?”
- 2 Peter 2:11
Yet not even angels, though greater in strength and power, dare to bring such slanderous charges against them before the Lord.
- Revelation 12:7
Through
Daniel 12:1“At that time Michael, the great prince who stands watch over your people, will rise up. There will be a time of distress, the likes of which will not have occurred from the beginning…
it leads to
- Matthew 24:21
For at that time there will be great tribulation, unmatched from the beginning of the world until now, and never to be seen again.
- Jeremiah 30:7
How awful that day will be! None will be like it! It is the time of Jacob’s distress, but he will be saved out of it.
- Mark 13:19
For those will be days of tribulation unmatched from the beginning of God’s creation until now, and never to be seen again.
- Matthew 24:21
Where this verse is studied
About Daniel
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Daniel; Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Book of Daniel; Ephrem the Syrian, COMMENTARY ON DANIEL 10:21; Hippolytus of Rome, Commentary on Daniel 4.40.4-5; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, St. Jerome, Commentary on Daniel, CHAPTER TEN; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON DANIEL 10:20-21.