Daniel 11:15
in Daniel 11Then 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
So the king of the north shall come, and cast up a mound, and take a well-fortified city: and the forces of the south shall not stand, neither his chosen people, neither shall there be any strength to stand.
KJV
So the king of the north shall come, and cast up a mount, and take the most fenced cities: and the arms of the south shall not withstand, neither his chosen people, neither shall there be any strength to withstand.
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This verse in Daniel 11
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
So the king of the north - Antiochus the Great. Shall come - Shall come again into these provinces. This occurred after he had vanquished the army of the Egyptians at Paneas. He then took Sidon and Patara, and made himself master of the whole country. - Prideaux, iii. 198. This happened 198 b.c. Scopas, a general of Ptolemy, had been sent by him into Coelo-Syria and Palestine, with a view of subjecting those countries again to Egyptian rule.
This site's exposition
the king of the south shall be strong
on Daniel 11:5-20
Sixteen verses of south against north, Ptolemies against Seleucids by the whole bench's reading, traced campaign by campaign: the king's daughter given north in a failed alliance, the branch of her roots avenging her, gods and vessels carried captive into Egypt, multitudes raised and cast down, the mount cast up against the fenced cities. At verse 16 the wars enter the glorious land, Judea as the road between the rivals, which is the corridor's whole point of view: the text watches empires through the land they trample. The raiser of taxes destroyed neither in anger, nor in battle closes the stretch, and the notes keep RESTRAINT here, the identifications carried once as the bench carries them rather than verse by verse.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
Verses 15, 16. "And the king of the North shall come, and shall cast up a mound and capture the best fortified cities, and the arms of the South shall not withstand. And his chosen ones shall rise up to resist, and they shall have no strength. And he shall come upon him and do according to his own desire, and there shall be none to stand against his face. And he shall stand in the glorious land and it shall be consumed by his hand."
"And another mighty king shall arise and he shall enter into the strongholds of the king of Egypt." [Daniel 11:3] For one named Antiochus became king of Syria. This one reigned in the one hundredth and thirtieth and seventh year of the kingdom of Greeks. And at this point, then in those times he engaged in war with Ptolemy king of Egypt, and having prevailed over him he ruled. This one, returning from Egypt, went up to Jerusalem in the one hundredth and forty-third year and taking all the treasures which were in the house of the Lord he went to Antioch. After these things happened in this way, two years later the king sent his own tax collector to compel the Jews in the cities of Judea to transgress the laws of their fathers and to be subjected to the decrees and laws of the king.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
So the king of the north shall come, and cast up a mount, and take the most fenced cities,.... That is, Antiochus the great, king of Syria, should come into Coelesyria and Phoenicia, which was the part of the kingdom of Egypt he was to have by the league with Philip king of Macedon; and this is a prophecy of his expedition into those parts, and the success of it.
The kingdom of Syria, which was set up by Seleucus Nicanor, or the conqueror; he was one of Alexander's princes, and became stronger than the other, and had the greatest dominion of all, was the most powerful of all Alexander's successors. It was said that he had no fewer than seven-two kingdoms under him.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
king of . . . north--Antiochus the Great. take . . . fenced cities--Scopas, the Egyptian general, met Antiochus at Paneas, near the sources of the Jordan, and was defeated, and fled to Sidon, a strongly "fenced city," where he was forced to surrender. chosen people--Egypt's choicest army was sent under Eropus, Menocles, and Damoxenus, to deliver Scopas, but in vain [JEROME].
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
So the king of the north - Antiochus came to recover Judea. Scopas was sent by Ptolemy to oppose him; but he was defeated near the fountains of Jordan, and was obliged to take refuge in Sidon with ten thousand men. Antiochus pursued and besieged him; and he was obliged by famine to surrender at discretion, and their lives only were spared. Antiochus afterwards besieged several of the fenced cities, and took them; in short, carried all before him; so that the king of the south, Ptolemy, and his chosen people, his ablest generals, were not able to oppose him.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
and the sons of the renegades of your people will exalt themselves to bring about the vision I saw in the name of Rav Saadia Gaon that they were the renegades of Israel and their company.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 3 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְיָבֹא֙ | veyavo' | and he may come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| מֶ֣לֶךְ | melekh | [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| הַצָּפ֔וֹן | hatzafon | the north | H6828 → | 153 times |
| וְיִשְׁפֹּךְ֙ | veyishpokh | so he may pour out | H8210 → | |
| סֽוֹלֲלָ֔ה | solalah | a mound | H5550 → | |
| וְלָכַ֖ד | velakhad | and he will capture | H3920 → | |
| עִ֣יר | ʾir | a city of | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| מִבְצָר֑וֹת | mivtzarot | fortifications | H4013 → | 37 times |
| וּזְרֹע֤וֹת | uzeroot | and [the] forces of | H2220 → | 91 times |
| הַנֶּ֙גֶב֙ | hanegev | the south | H5045 → | 112 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יַעֲמֹ֔דוּ | yaamodu | they will stand | H5975 → | 521 times |
| וְעַם֙ | veam | and [the] people of | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| מִבְחָרָ֔יו | mivcharav | choicest ones his | H4005 → | |
| וְאֵ֥ין | veein | and there not | H369 → | 789 times |
| כֹּ֖חַ | koach | [will be] strength | H3581 → | 126 times |
| לַעֲמֹֽד׃ | laamod | to stand | H5975 → | 521 times |
וְיָבֹא֙and he may come
veyavo'H935 →2568 times
מֶ֣לֶךְ[the] king of
melekhH4428 →2525 times
הַצָּפ֔וֹןthe north
hatzafonH6828 →153 times
וְיִשְׁפֹּךְ֙so he may pour out
veyishpokhH8210 →
סֽוֹלֲלָ֔הa mound
solalahH5550 →
וְלָכַ֖דand he will capture
velakhadH3920 →
עִ֣ירa city of
ʾirH5892 →1090 times
מִבְצָר֑וֹתfortifications
mivtzarotH4013 →37 times
וּזְרֹע֤וֹתand [the] forces of
uzerootH2220 →91 times
הַנֶּ֙גֶב֙the south
hanegevH5045 →112 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יַעֲמֹ֔דוּthey will stand
yaamoduH5975 →521 times
וְעַם֙and [the] people of
veamH5971 →1873 times
מִבְחָרָ֔יוchoicest ones his
mivcharavH4005 →
וְאֵ֥יןand there not
veeinH369 →789 times
כֹּ֖חַ[will be] strength
koachH3581 →126 times
לַעֲמֹֽד׃to stand
laamodH5975 →521 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
Joshua 1:5No one shall stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so will I be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.
it leads to
- Romans 8:31
What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
- Deuteronomy 31:6–8
Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid or terrified of them, for it is the LORD your God who goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.”
- Matthew 28:20
and teaching them to obey all that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
- Isaiah 41:10–14
Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will surely help you; I will uphold you with My right hand…
- Joshua 1:9
Have I not commanded you to be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”
- Romans 8:31
Through
Ezekiel 4:2Then lay siege against it: Construct a siege wall, build a ramp to it, set up camps against it, and place battering rams around it on all sides.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 21:22
In his right hand appears the portent for Jerusalem, where he is to set up battering rams, to call for the slaughter, to lift a battle cry, to direct the battering rams against the…
- Ezekiel 21:22
Through
Ezekiel 17:17Pharaoh with his mighty army and vast horde will not help him in battle, when ramps are built and siege walls constructed to destroy many lives.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 37:7
“This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says that you are to tell the king of Judah, who sent you to Me: Behold, Pharaoh’s army, which has marched out to help you,…
- Isaiah 36:6
Look now, you are trusting in Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff that will pierce the hand of anyone who leans on it. Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust…
- Jeremiah 37:7
Where this verse is studied
About Daniel
This page draws on 9 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; Hippolytus of Rome, Commentary on Daniel 4.42.1-6; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Daniel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.