Daniel 12:9
in Daniel 12“Go on your way, Daniel,” he replied, “for the words are closed up and sealed until the time of the end.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he said, Go thy way, Daniel; for the words are shut up and sealed till the time of the end.
KJV
And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.
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This verse in Daniel 12
Commentary
8 notes on this verse"And he said, 'Go, Daniel, for the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end.'" And if the prophet himself heard and did not understand, what will be the case with those men who presumptuously expound a book which has been sealed, and that too unto the time of the end, a book which is shrouded with many obscurities?
This site's exposition
I heard, but I understood not
on Daniel 12:8-9
Daniel hears the oath and does not understand it, and asks what shall be the end of these things, only to be told the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. His confessed incomprehension stands deliberately beside Revelation 22:10's opposite instruction to John, seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand, a contrast the commentators note as marking two different moments in the same unfolding purpose. Daniel's not understanding here answers back to his own words at 8:27, I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it, tying the book's visions together under one honest human limit.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
After these things were spoken in this way, the prophet, wishing to more precisely investigate what would be the kind of things which would happen after the resurrection, he answered him and said, "'Lord what will be the end of these?' And he said, 'Come Daniel, because these words are closed and sealed until the end of time, until many are chosen and are made white and are tried with fire and the lawless shall be lawless and the wise shall understand and you, come and rest. For there are still many days to the fulfillment of the consummation and to the resurrection, to your inheritance at the consummation of days.'" [Daniel 12:8-10] For since what God prepared for the saints a man is now not able to describe, for neither his eye sees, nor his ear hears, nor the heart of a man ascends to it, for which even the angels desire to glimpse, he spoke in this way to him, "These words are sealed until the end of time until many are chosen and are made white and are tried with fire." [Daniel 12:9-10] But who are the chosen, but they who are found worthy of the kingdom? And who is whitened, but they who believe the word of truth so that they are whitened through it and casting off the filth of sins they are clothed with purity from heaven and the radiant Holy Spirit, so that when the cloud is present they may immediately enter with him? And who are they who are tried with fire except they who pass through fire and water through the washing of rebirth of the Spirit and do the will of the Father through many fiery trials and afflictions. "And the lawless shall be lawless and the wise shall understand." [Daniel 12:10] They who are lawless are that way through their own choice and the wise again, through their own choice, are satisfied.
Not in vain have I said these rather obscure matters and put obscurity on these words as if they were seals, for divine matters must not be imparted to all indiscriminately, but the wise will understand it through the knowledge imparted to them from above. …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And no relief is so sovereign, of such general application, so easily accommodated to every case, and of such powerful efficacy, as those that are fetched from Christ and the future state; thence the comforts here are fetched. Jesus Christ shall appear his church's patron and protector: At that time, when the persecution is at the hottest, Michael shall stand up,
And he said, go thy way, Daniel,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
The words are closed up - The prophecy shall not be understood, but in its accomplishment; and then the depth of the wisdom and providence of God will be clearly seen in these matters. See on Daniel 4 (note). We must wait “till the time of the end;” and this, it appears from the following calculations, will not arrive before the Twentieth Century. We here see the reason why these prophecies are at present so imperfectly understood. God has sealed them.
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 he said, Go thy way, Daniel - That is, make no further inquiries. All has been disclosed that is to be. At the close of his communication Dan 12:4, he had told Daniel to shut up, and seal the book, for his revelations were ended. He here repeats substantially the same thing, and he assures him that no more could be imparted on the subject.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
They will be clarified and whitened [i.e.,] these calculations.
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
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֖אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לֵ֣ךְ | lekh | go | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| דָּנִיֵּ֑אל | daniyel | O Daniel | H1840 → | 24 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| סְתֻמִ֧ים | setumim | [are] kept secret | H5640 → | 14 times |
| וַחֲתֻמִ֛ים | vachatumim | and sealed up | H2856 → | 26 times |
| הַדְּבָרִ֖ים | hadevarim | the things | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | until | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| עֵ֥ת | ʾet | [the] time of | H6256 → | 296 times |
| קֵֽץ׃ | ketz | [the] end | H7093 → | 67 times |
וַיֹּ֖אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
לֵ֣ךְgo
lekhH1980 →1546 times
דָּנִיֵּ֑אלO Daniel
daniyelH1840 →24 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
סְתֻמִ֧ים[are] kept secret
setumimH5640 →14 times
וַחֲתֻמִ֛יםand sealed up
vachatumimH2856 →26 times
הַדְּבָרִ֖יםthe things
hadevarimH1697 →1440 times
עַד־until
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
עֵ֥ת[the] time of
ʾetH6256 →296 times
קֵֽץ׃[the] end
ketzH7093 →67 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
Daniel 12:4But you, Daniel, shut up these words and seal the book until the time of the end. Many will roam to and fro, and knowledge will increase.”
it leads to
- Revelation 22:10
Then he told me, “Do not seal up the words of prophecy in this book, because the time is near.
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Daniel 8:26
The vision of the evenings and the mornings that has been spoken is true. Now you must seal up the vision, for it concerns the distant future.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Daniel 8:17
As he came near to where I stood, I was terrified and fell facedown. “Son of man,” he said to me, “understand that the vision concerns the time of the end.”
- Revelation 10:4
When the seven thunders had spoken, I was about to put it in writing. But I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not write…
- Daniel 12:13
But as for you, go on your way until the end. You will rest, and will arise to your inheritance at the end of the days.”
- Revelation 22:10
Through
Revelation 10:4When the seven thunders had spoken, I was about to put it in writing. But I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not write…
it leads to
- Daniel 12:4
But you, Daniel, shut up these words and seal the book until the time of the end. Many will roam to and fro, and knowledge will increase.”
Reached by 4 separate paths from here.
- Daniel 12:4
Through
Isaiah 29:11And the entire vision will be to you like the words sealed in a scroll. If it is handed to someone to read, he will say, “I cannot, because it is sealed.”
it leads to
- Matthew 13:11
He replied, “The knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Matthew 13:11
Through
Daniel 8:26The vision of the evenings and the mornings that has been spoken is true. Now you must seal up the vision, for it concerns the distant future.”
it leads to
- Daniel 10:1
In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia, a message was revealed to Daniel, who was called Belteshazzar. The message was true, and it concerned a great conflict. And the understanding of the…
- Daniel 10:1
Where this verse is studied
About Daniel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Hippolytus of Rome, Commentary on Daniel 4.58.1-6; 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 and Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON DANIEL 12:9-10.