Daniel 11:23
in Daniel 11After an alliance is made with him, he will act deceitfully; for he will rise to power with only a few people.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully; for he shall come up, and shall become strong, with a small people.
KJV
And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people.
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This verse in Daniel 11
Commentary
8 notes on this verseHere he foretells the revolt against Onias the high priest by Joshua, also called Jason, and by Onias, son of Menelaus. The former, Jason, had recourse to Antiochus and threw his own brother out from the high priesthood. Menelaus, who was commissioned to bring tributes …
This site's exposition
shall stand up a vile person
on Daniel 11:21-28
The vile person enters without the honour of the kingdom and obtains it by flatteries, and the bench is unanimous on the near identification: Antiochus Epiphanes, the self-styled Illustrious whom his subjects renamed Epimanes, the madman. The prince of the covenant broken, the deceitful league, the scattering of prey and spoil his fathers never practiced, the lies spoken at one table between two kings: the portrait is of power exercised as fraud. His heart against the holy covenant at verse 28 turns the corridor's camera where it will stay, on what this king does to the sanctuary and the saints.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
) after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully, as one whose avowed maxim it is that princes ought not to be bound by their word any longer than it is for their interest.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
And after the league made with him,....
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 Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
TREGELLES notes three divisions in the history of the "vile person," which is continued to the end of the chapter: (1) His rise (Da 11:21, 22). (2) The time from his making the covenant to the taking away of the daily sacrifice and setting up of the abomination of desolation (Da 11:23-31).
He shall come up - From Rome, where he had been a hostage for the payment of the tax laid on his father. Shall become strong with a small people - At first he had but few to espouse his cause when he arrived at Antioch, the people having been greatly divided by the many claimants of the crown; but being supported by Eumenes and Attalus, his few people increased, and he became strong.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
And after the league made with him - A treaty of peace and concord. The great subject of contention between the kings of Syria and Egypt was the possession of Coelo-Syria and Palestine. This they often endeavored to settle by conquest as each of them claimed that in the original partition of the empire of Alexander this portion of the empire fell to himself; and often they endeavored to settle it by treaty. Consequently this region was constantly passing from one to the other, and was also the seat of frequent wars.
The words behind it
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּמִן־ | umin- | and from when | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הִֽתְחַבְּר֥וּת | hitchaberut | made an alliance | H2266 → | |
| אֵלָ֖יו | ʾelav | with him | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יַעֲשֶׂ֣ה | yaaseh | he will act | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| מִרְמָ֑ה | mirmah | deceit | H4820 → | |
| וְעָלָ֥ה | vealah | and he will rise | H5927 → | 890 times |
| וְעָצַ֖ם | veatzam | and he will become mighty | H6105 → | 20 times |
| בִּמְעַט־ | bimat- | with fewness of | H4592 → | |
| גּֽוֹי׃ | goy | a nation | H1471 → | 561 times |
וּמִן־and from when
umin-H4480 →1188 times
הִֽתְחַבְּר֥וּתmade an alliance
hitchaberutH2266 →
אֵלָ֖יוwith him
ʾelavH413 →5510 times
יַעֲשֶׂ֣הhe will act
yaasehH6213 →2628 times
מִרְמָ֑הdeceit
mirmahH4820 →
וְעָלָ֥הand he will rise
vealahH5927 →890 times
וְעָצַ֖םand he will become mighty
veatzamH6105 →20 times
בִּמְעַט־with fewness of
bimat-H4592 →
גּֽוֹי׃a nation
goyH1471 →561 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
2 Corinthians 11:3I am afraid, however, that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may be led astray from your simple and pure devotion to Christ.
it leads to
- Colossians 2:8
See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, which are based on human tradition and the spiritual forces of the world rather than on Christ.
- Galatians 1:6
I am amazed how quickly you are deserting the One who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—
- Ephesians 4:14
Then we will no longer be infants, tossed about by the waves and carried around by every wind of teaching and by the clever cunning of men in their deceitful scheming.
- 1 John 4:1
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. For many false prophets have gone out into the world.
- Colossians 2:4
I say this so that no one will deceive you by smooth rhetoric.
- Colossians 2:8
Through
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,
it leads to
- Matthew 24:24
For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders that would deceive even the elect, if that were possible.
- Revelation 19:20
But the beast was captured along with the false prophet, who on its behalf had performed signs deceiving those who had the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. Both the beast and…
- Ephesians 2:2
in which you used to walk when you conformed to the ways of this world and of the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit who is now at work in the…
- Matthew 24:24
Where this verse is studied
About Daniel

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Book of Daniel; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON DANIEL 11:23.
