Daniel 12:3
in Daniel 12Then the wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever and ever.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And they that are wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.
KJV
And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.
⋯
This verse in Daniel 12
Commentary
16 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
And they that be wise - This is the language which, in the Scriptures, is employed to denote the pious, or those who serve God and keep his commandments. See the book of Proverbs, passim. True religion is wisdom, and sin is folly, and they who live for God and for heaven are the truly wise. The meaning is, that they have chosen the path which true wisdom suggests as that in which man should walk, while all the ways of sin are ways of folly.
This site's exposition
shine as the brightness of the firmament
They that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever: the wise here are named by what they do, turning others to righteousness, not by private insight kept to themselves. The Lord's own words at Matthew 13:43, then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun, are read by the commentators as an echo of this verse, carrying its promise into his own teaching on the age to come. Gill and the older writers take the stars as the fixed and lasting reward of the teacher who leads others rather than only himself into the light.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
Is he not good, who exalted the earth to heaven, so that, just as the bright companies of stars reflect his glory in the sky, as in a mirror, so the choirs of apostles, martyrs and priests, shining like glorious stars, might give light throughout the world.
Death … is entered on for a time and then … is put aside. He has shown, too, that the course of the life that is to be after death will be better than that which before death is passed in pain and sorrow. For the life after death is compared with the stars, while our life here is condemned to misery.
And so of the things which will be in this way he adds saying, "And many of they who sleep in the dust of the earth shall arise, some to eternal life and some to reproach and eternal shame and they who understand shall shine as the splendor of the firmament and the many righteous as the stars in the age to come." [Daniel 12:2-3] For also the Lord in the Gospel spoke the same, "Then the righteous shall gleam as the sun shines in its glory." [Matthew 13:43]
A commentator
Apostolic ConstitutionsCONSTITUTIONS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES 5:7 · Written before 380.
proposed
Gabriel speaks to Daniel.… Therefore the most holy Gabriel foretold that the saints should shine like the stars: for his sacred name did witness to them, that they might understand the truth. Nor is a resurrection only declared for the martyrs but for all people, righteous and unrighteous, godly and ungodly, that every one may receive according to his desert. For God, says the Scripture, "will bring every work to judgment."
"And the wise will shine.…" And the Lord says in the holy Gospels, "Then the righteous will shine like the sun." "And from their many righteous deeds, they will shine like the stars forever and ever." The most upright above all will be compared with …
9 more voices on this verse
The Church Fathers4 voices
Verses 1-3. "But at that time shall Michael rise up, the great prince, who stands for the children of thy people, and a time shall come such as never occurred from the time that nations began to exist even unto that time. And at that time shall thy people be saved, even everyone who shall be found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some unto life everlasting, and others unto reproach, that they may behold it always.
Quick, flee from sin, think at once of death, for it is written, "The prudent person treats sin harshly, and the face of ascetics will shine like the sun."
This body shall rise, but it will not abide in its present condition but as an eternal body. No longer will it, as now, need nourishment for life or stairs for its ascent, for it will become spiritual, a marvelous thing, beggaring description. "Then shall the just," it is said, "shine forth like the sun and the moon and like the splendor of the firmament." God, foreknowing human unbelief, has given to the smallest worms to emit from their bodies beams of light in the summer, that natural fluorescence might be a parable of what we expect.… He who makes the worm shine luminously will much more illumine the just person. Therefore we shall rise again, all with eternal bodies, though not all with like bodies. A just person will receive a heavenly body, to dwell worthily with the angels, whereas the sinner will receive an eternal body and so never be consumed, though it burn eternally in fire.
For every prophecy, before its fulfilment, is to men [full of] enigmas and ambiguities. But when the time has arrived, and the prediction has come to pass, then the prophecies have a clear and certain exposition.
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
BonaventureCollations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 8 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
The solidity of faith is also called heaven, because it makes understanding lofty through investigation, stable when it establishes the truth, and visible when it fills it with a manifold light. Hence in Daniel: "The wise shall shine brightly like the splendor of the firmament." …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Christ is the sun, the fountain, of the lights both of grace and glory; ministers, as stars, shine in both, with a light derived from him, and a diminutive light in comparison of him; yet to those that are earthen vessels it will be a glory infinitely transcending their deserts.
And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Answering to "they that understand" (Da 11:33, 35), the same Hebrew, Maskilim; Israelites who, though in Jerusalem when wickedness is coming to a head, are found intelligent witnesses against it.
And they that be wise - Those who are thoroughly instructed in Christ’s word and doctrine, shall shine - shall be eminently distinguished in the Christian Church by the holiness of their lives, and the purity of their creed. And they that turn many to righteousness - They who, by preaching Christ crucified among their brethren, shall be the means of converting them to the Christian faith; shall be as the stars - bright luminaries in the Gospel kingdom of Jesus Christ. This also may be applied to the case of holy and useful men, particularly the faithful ministers of the Gospel, in the day of judgment. See Jas 5:20 (note), 1Co 15:41-42 (note).
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
And many who sleep in the dust of the earth will awaken The dead will come to life.
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. 2 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
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהַ֨מַּשְׂכִּלִ֔ים | vehamaskilim | and those [who] have insight | H7919 → | 62 times |
| יַזְהִ֖רוּ | yazhiru | they will shine | H2094 → | |
| כְּזֹ֣הַר | kezohar | like [the] shining of | H2096 → | |
| הָרָקִ֑יעַ | harakia' | the firmament | H7549 → | |
| וּמַצְדִּיקֵי֙ | umatzdikei | and [those who] turn to righteousness | H6663 → | |
| הָֽרַבִּ֔ים | harabim | <of> the many [people] | H7227 → | 454 times |
| כַּכּוֹכָבִ֖ים | kakokhavim | like the stars | H3556 → | |
| לְעוֹלָ֥ם | leolam | for ever | H5769 → | 438 times |
| וָעֶֽד׃ פ | vaed | and ever | H5703 → |
וְהַ֨מַּשְׂכִּלִ֔יםand those [who] have insight
vehamaskilimH7919 →62 times
יַזְהִ֖רוּthey will shine
yazhiruH2094 →
כְּזֹ֣הַרlike [the] shining of
kezoharH2096 →
הָרָקִ֑יעַthe firmament
harakia'H7549 →
וּמַצְדִּיקֵי֙and [those who] turn to righteousness
umatzdikeiH6663 →
הָֽרַבִּ֔ים<of> the many [people]
harabimH7227 →454 times
כַּכּוֹכָבִ֖יםlike the stars
kakokhavimH3556 →
לְעוֹלָ֥םfor ever
leolamH5769 →438 times
וָעֶֽד׃ פand ever
vaedH5703 →
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
Proverbs 4:18The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining brighter and brighter until midday.
it leads to
- John 8:12
Once again, Jesus spoke to the people and said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.”
- Job 11:17
Your life will be brighter than noonday; its darkness will be like the morning.
- Philippians 2:15
so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine as lights in the world
- 2 Corinthians 3:18
And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into His image with intensifying glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
- 2 Peter 1:19
We also have the word of the prophets as confirmed beyond doubt. And you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day…
- John 8:12
Through
Daniel 11:35Some 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.
it leads to
- Zechariah 13:9
This third I will bring through the fire; I will refine them like silver and test them like gold. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They…
- Malachi 3:2–4
But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He will be like a refiner’s fire, like a launderer’s soap.
- Zechariah 13:9
Through
Matthew 13:43Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
it leads to
- Luke 12:32
Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.
- Luke 12:32
Where this verse is studied
About Daniel
This page draws on 16 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); Ambrose of Milan, Exposition of the Christian Faith 2.2.24; Ambrose of Milan, On the Death of Satyrus 2.66; Apostolic Constitutions, CONSTITUTIONS OF THE HOLY APOSTLES 5:7; Bonaventure, Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 8; Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lecture 18:18-19; Hippolytus of Rome, Commentary on Daniel 4.55.1, 3; Irenaeus, Against Heresies Book IV; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, St. Jerome, Commentary on Daniel, CHAPTER TWELVE; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Pachomius the Great, INSTRUCTIONS 1:32 and Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON DANIEL 12:3.