Daniel 7:21
in Daniel 7As I watched, this horn was waging war against the saints and prevailing against them,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them;
KJV
I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them;
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This verse in Daniel 7
Commentary
11 notes on this versePaul says further, "who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called god or that is worshiped," that is, above every divinity, so that antichrist will be the bitter foe of the idolatrous cults. He continues, "so that he sits in the temple of God." What temple is that? Paul says it is the destroyed temple of the Jews. For God forbid that it should be that temple of God in which we are! Why should I suggest such a thing? Lest you should think me complacent about us Christians.
This site's exposition
diverse from all the others
on Daniel 7:19-22
Daniel presses further specifically on the fourth beast and its horn, and the angel's answer adds a detail the first telling did not give: the same horn made war with the saints and prevailed against them, until the Ancient of days came and judgment was given to the saints, who then possess the kingdom. Gill reads the horn's temporary success against the saints as the vision's honest acknowledgment that the kingdom's arrival does not mean the saints are spared conflict beforehand, only that the conflict does not have the last word. The until marks the turning point structurally the same way but if not marks chapter 3, a hinge on which the whole scene's outcome turns.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
A commentator
Hippolytus of RomeHippolytus Exegetical Fragments - Of the visions of Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar · Written before 235.
proposed
1. In speaking of a "lioness from the sea," he meant the rising of the kingdom of Babylon, and that this was the "golden head of the image." And in speaking of its "eagle wings," be meant that king Nebuchadnezzar was exalted and that his glory was lifted up against God. Then he says "its wings were plucked off," i.e., that his glory was destroyed; for he was driven out of his kingdom. And the words, "A man's heart was given it, and it was made stand upon the feet of a man," mean that he came to himself again, and recognised that he was but a man, and gave the glory to God. Then after the lioness he sees a second beast, "like a bear," which signified the Persians. For after the Babylonians the Persians obtained the power. And in saying that "it had three ribs in its mouth," he pointed to the three nations, Persians, Medes, and Babylonians, which were expressed in the image by the silver after the gold. Then comes the third beast, "a leopard," which means the Greeks; for after the Persians, Alexander of Macedon had the power, when Darius was overthrown, which was also indicated by the brass in the image. And in saying that the beast "had four wings of a fowl, and four heads," he showed most clearly how the kingdom of Alexander was parted into four divisions. For in speaking of four heads, he meant the four kings that arose out of it. For Alexander, when dying, divided his kingdom into four parts. Then he says, "The fourth beast (was) dreadful and terrible: it had iron teeth, and claws of brass." Who, then, are meant by this but the Romans, whose kingdom, the kingdom that still stands, is expressed by the iron? "for," says he, "its legs are of iron." 2. After this, then, what remains, beloved, but the toes of the feet of the image, in which "part shall be of iron and part of clay mixed together? […]
But if so great a power is shown to have followed and to be still following the dispensation of His suffering, how great shall that be which shall follow His glorious advent! For He shall come on the clouds as the Son of man, so Daniel foretold, and His angels shall come with Him. These are the words: [quotes Daniel 7:9-28]
For it is needful to observe what the prophet says, "And I precisely sought concerning the fourth beast, because he was different than every other beast, and was exceedingly fearful. His iron teeth and his bronze claws were eating and grinding and he tramples the remainder with his feet and concerning his ten horns which were on his head and concerning the other which arose and rooted out three former horns, the eyes and the mouth of whom were speaking great things and his appearance was greater than the rest. I was watching and that horn made war with the saints and prevailed upon them, until the Ancient of Days came and gave judgment to the saints of the Most High, and the season arrived and the saints possessed the kingdom." [Daniel 7:19-22] And so we already arrived at this point and said that it is clear that this is the fourth kingdom, from which no other greater kingdom or even such a kingdom like it has arisen on the earth, from which ten horns are about to spring forth. For it will be divided into ten kingdoms and in them another small horn shall arise, which is that of the Antichrist and he shall root out three who were before him, that is he shall destroy the three kings of Egypt and of the Libyans and of the Ethiopians, wishing to possess for himself every kingdom. Who having mastered the remaining seven horns, he rules the remainder, having in himself been endowed under an unnatural and evil spirit to rouse war against the saints and to persecute all of them everywhere, wishing to be glorified and to be worshipped as God by all. Just as also Ezekiel says concerning him, "Against whom your heart was lifted up and you have said 'I am God'" [Ezekiel 28:2] and again "Will you, while speaking to those whom are killing you, say 'I am a God'? […]
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Will the Lord cast off his people? Will he suffer their enemies to trample upon them and triumph over them? What is this same horn that shall prevail so far against the saints?" To this his interpreter answers (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens+odd-straight-quotes
I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints,....
4 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Belshazzar's name here is, in the original, spelt differently from what it used to be; before it was Bel-she-azar--Bel is he that treasures up riches.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
13:7). prevailed--but not ultimately. The limit is marked by "until" (Da 7:22). The little horn continues, without intermission, to persecute up to Christ's second advent (Re 17:12, 14;
The same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them - Those who make Antiochus the little horn, make the saints the Jewish people. Those who understand the popedom by it, see this as referring to the cruel persecutions of the popes of Rome against the Waldenses and Albigenses, and the Protestant Church in general.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints - I continued to look on this until I saw war made by this horn with the people of God. This circumstance, also, is not referred to in the first description, and the order of time in the description would seem to imply that the war with the saints would be at a considerable period after the first appearance of the horn, or would be only when it had grown to its great size and power.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| חָזֵ֣ה | chazeh | seeing | H2370 → | 31 times |
| הֲוֵ֔ית | haveit | I was | H1934 → | 71 times |
| וְקַרְנָ֣א | vekarna' | and horn the | H7162 → | 14 times |
| דִכֵּ֔ן | diken | this | H1797 → | 3 times |
| עָבְדָ֥ה | ʾavedah | [was] making | H5648 → | 28 times |
| קְרָ֖ב | kerav | war | H7129 → | |
| עִם־ | ʾim- | with | H5974 → | 22 times |
| קַדִּישִׁ֑ין | kadishin | [the] holy [ones] | H6922 → | 13 times |
| וְיָכְלָ֖ה | veyakhelah | and [it was] prevailing | H3201 → | |
| לְהֽוֹן׃ | lehon | to them |
חָזֵ֣הseeing
chazehH2370 →31 times
הֲוֵ֔יתI was
haveitH1934 →71 times
וְקַרְנָ֣אand horn the
vekarna'H7162 →14 times
דִכֵּ֔ןthis
dikenH1797 →3 times
עָבְדָ֥ה[was] making
ʾavedahH5648 →28 times
קְרָ֖בwar
keravH7129 →
עִם־with
ʾim-H5974 →22 times
קַדִּישִׁ֑ין[the] holy [ones]
kadishinH6922 →13 times
וְיָכְלָ֖הand [it was] prevailing
veyakhelahH3201 →
לְהֽוֹן׃to them
lehon
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 17:14They will make war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will triumph over them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and He will be accompanied by His called and chosen…
it leads to
- Romans 8:30
And those He predestined, He also called; those He called, He also justified; those He justified, He also glorified.
- 1 Timothy 6:15
which the blessed and only Sovereign One—the King of kings and Lord of lords—will bring about in His own time.
- Matthew 22:14
For many are called, but few are chosen.”
- Revelation 3:21
To the one who overcomes, I will grant the right to sit with Me on My throne, just as I overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.
- Revelation 1:5
and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has released us from our sins by…
- Romans 8:30
Through
Daniel 12:7And the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, raised his right hand and his left hand toward heaven, and I heard him swear by Him who lives forever,…
it leads to
- Daniel 7:25
He will speak out against the Most High and oppress the saints of the Most High, intending to change the appointed times and laws; and the saints will be given into his hand for…
- Revelation 12:14
But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle to fly from the presence of the serpent to her place in the wilderness, where she was nourished for a time, and times,…
- Daniel 8:24
His power will be great, but it will not be his own. He will cause terrible destruction and succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy the mighty men along with the holy people.
- Daniel 7:25
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies21
On this verse
On this chapter
- The Son of Man in 1 Enoch
- Angelology
- Antichrist (the Word and the Figure)
- Apocalyptic Literature
- The Beast and the False Prophet
- The Major Prophets
- Revelation, the Canon's Closing Scroll
- Fire
- Jesus: Titles & Roles
- John on Patmos, Revelation 1
- Rome
- The Fourth Man in the Fire: Daniel 3
- The Ascension: Acts 1:1-11 · Luke 24:50-53
- The Horn
- The Throne
- The Throne Room
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 on the Book of Daniel; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lecture 15:15; Hippolytus of Rome, Hippolytus Exegetical Fragments - Of the visions of Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar; Hippolytus of Rome, Commentary on Daniel 4.12.3-7; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho, Chapter XXXI and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
