Daniel 10:20
in Daniel 10“Do you know why I have come to you?” he said. “I must return at once to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I have gone forth, behold, the prince of Greece will come.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I am come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I go forth, lo, the prince of Greece shall come.
KJV
Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come.
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This verse in Daniel 10
Commentary
11 notes on this verseKnowest thou wherefore I come - So high art thou in the favor of God, that he hath sent me unto thee to give thee farther satisfaction; though I was elsewhere employed upon a most important mission, and I must speedily return to accomplish it, viz.: - To fight with the king of Persia - To remove all the scruples of Cyrus, and to excite him to do all that God designs him to do for the restoration of my people, and the rebuilding of the city and temple of Jerusalem.
This site's exposition
fight against the prince of Persia
on Daniel 10:20-21
The messenger will return to fight the prince of Persia. Then “the prince of Greece will come,” the order of empires the goat and its horns showed in chapter 8. No one stands with him against these “except Michael your prince,” the helper who ended the delay in verse 13.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
Verse 20. "'Dost thou know why I have come to thee? And now I will return to fight against the prince of the Persians.'" What he means is this: I have indeed come to teach thee of the things thou hast received in answer to prayer; but I am going to return once more to contend against the prince of the Persians in the sight of God, for he is unwilling that thy people be released from captivity. "For (Vulgate: Therefore) as I was coming away, the prince of the Greeks appeared and entered in (Vulgate: and came up)."
Each nation has a guardian angel over them, so that they may not be harmed by the demons.… Therefore, the prince of the Greeks was also in the presence of God so that he himself heard the prophecies that were spoken concerning Alexander and those …
And so he says to him, "Do you know why I came to you? And now I will return to fight with the chief of the Persians, but I will proclaim to you what is written in the Scripture of truth, and there is no one who endures with me concerning these things except Michael your chief, and I left him there, for from the day you gave your face to be afflicted before your Lord God your petition was heard, and I myself was sent to fight with the chief of the Persians. For some plot happened to prevent me from coming to the people so that therefore in haste your request may be answered, I myself stood against him and I left Michael your chief there." [Daniel 10:12-14, 20-21]
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The Grecian monarchy, though favourable to the Jews at first, as the Persian was, will yet come to be vexatious to them. Such is the state of the church-militant; when it has got clear of one enemy it has another to encounter: and such a hydra's head is that of the old serpent; when one storm has blown over it is not long before another rises.
9 Yet heard I the voice of his words: and when I heard the voice of his words, then was I in a deep sleep on my face, and my face toward the ground. This vision is dated in the third year of Cyrus, that is, of his reign after the conquest of Babylon, his third year since Daniel became acquainted with him and a subject to him. A general idea of this prophecy (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
4 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
), though he knows that another as mischievous, even that of Grecia, will rise instead of it. [2.] Here is Michael our prince, the great protector of the church, and the patron of its just but injured cause: The first of the chief princes,
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Then said he, knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee?....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
Rather, as the prince of Persia is an angel, representing the hostile world power, so the prince of Grecia is a fresh angelic adversary, representing Greece. When I am gone forth from conquering the Persian foe, a fresh one starts up, namely, the world power that succeeds Persia, Greece;
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? - This was known by what the angel had said in Dan 10:14. He seems to have called his attention to it, and to have proposed the question, because Daniel had been so overcome by his fright that it might be doubtful whether he had understood him distinctly when he had told him the object of his coming. He therefore proposes the question here; and as the silence of Daniel seems to have been construed as a declaration that he did understand the purpose of the visit, he proceeds to unfold frilly the purport of his message. And now will I return - That is, evidently, after he had made known to him the message which he came to deliver. He cannot mean that he would then leave Daniel, and return immediately to Persia, for he proceeds at length Dan. 11–12 to deliver his message to him, and to state what would occur in the world in future times. To fight with the prince of Persia - In Dan 10:13, he says that he had had a contest with that “prince,” and that in consequence of that he had been delayed on his journey to Daniel. By the interposition of Michael, the affairs of Persia had been so arranged that the opposition to what was desired by Daniel had been in part removed - so far, at least, as to make it certain that Iris prayers would be answered. See the note at that verse. But still it would seem that the difficulty was not entirely overcome, and that it would be desirable for him to return, and to complete the arrangements which had been commenced. There were still causes in existence in Persia which might tend to frustrate all these plans unless they were counteracted, and his presence might still be necessary there to secure the safe return of the exiles to their own land, and the means required to rebuild the city and temple. […]
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֗אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הֲיָדַ֙עְתָּ֙ | hayada'ta | ¿ do you know | H3045 → | 945 times |
| לָמָּה־ | lamah- | <to> why? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| בָּ֣אתִי | bati | have I come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אֵלֶ֔יךָ | ʾeleikha | to you | H413 → | 5510 times |
| וְעַתָּ֣ה | veatah | and now | H6258 → | 433 times |
| אָשׁ֔וּב | ʾashuv | I will return | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| לְהִלָּחֵ֖ם | lehilachem | to engage in battle | H3898 → | |
| עִם־ | ʾim- | with | H5973 → | 1050 times |
| שַׂ֣ר | sar | [the] prince of | H8269 → | 421 times |
| פָּרָ֑ס | paras | Persia | H6539 → | 28 times |
| וַאֲנִ֣י | vaani | and I | H589 → | 874 times |
| יוֹצֵ֔א | yotze' | [am] about to go forth | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| וְהִנֵּ֥ה | vehineh | and there! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| שַׂר־ | sar- | [the] prince of | H8269 → | 421 times |
| יָוָ֖ן | yavan | Greece | H3120 → | 11 times |
| בָּֽא׃ | ba' | he will come | H935 → | 2568 times |
וַיֹּ֗אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
הֲיָדַ֙עְתָּ֙¿ do you know
hayada'taH3045 →945 times
לָמָּה־<to> why?
lamah-H4100 →752 times
בָּ֣אתִיhave I come
batiH935 →2568 times
אֵלֶ֔יךָto you
ʾeleikhaH413 →5510 times
וְעַתָּ֣הand now
veatahH6258 →433 times
אָשׁ֔וּבI will return
ʾashuvH7725 →1056 times
לְהִלָּחֵ֖םto engage in battle
lehilachemH3898 →
עִם־with
ʾim-H5973 →1050 times
שַׂ֣ר[the] prince of
sarH8269 →421 times
פָּרָ֑סPersia
parasH6539 →28 times
וַאֲנִ֣יand I
vaaniH589 →874 times
יוֹצֵ֔א[am] about to go forth
yotze'H3318 →1067 times
וְהִנֵּ֥הand there!
vehinehH2009 →843 times
שַׂר־[the] prince of
sar-H8269 →421 times
יָוָ֖ןGreece
yavanH3120 →11 times
בָּֽא׃he will come
ba'H935 →2568 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
Acts 12:23Immediately, because Herod did not give glory to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died.
it leads to
- Psalms 115:1
Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to Your name be the glory, because of Your loving devotion, because of Your faithfulness.
- Acts 10:25–26
As Peter was about to enter, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet to worship him.
- 2 Thessalonians 2:4
He will oppose and exalt himself above every so-called god or object of worship. So he will seat himself in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.
- Acts 14:14–15
But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul found out about this, they tore their clothes and rushed into the crowd, shouting,
- Psalms 115:1
Through
Isaiah 37:36Then the angel of the LORD went out and struck down 185,000 men in the camp of the Assyrians. When the people got up the next morning, there were all the dead bodies!
it leads to
- Isaiah 10:12
So when the Lord has completed all His work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, He will say, “I will punish the king of Assyria for the fruit of his arrogant heart and the proud…
- 2 Kings 19:35
And that very night the angel of the LORD went out and struck down 185,000 men in the camp of the Assyrians. When the people got up the next morning, there were all the…
- 2 Samuel 24:16
But when the angel stretched out his hand to destroy Jerusalem, the LORD relented from the calamity and said to the angel who was destroying the people, “Enough! Withdraw your hand now!” At that…
- Isaiah 10:33–34
Behold, the Lord GOD of Hosts will lop off the branches with terrifying power. The tall trees will be cut down, the lofty ones will be felled.
- Isaiah 10:12
Where this verse is studied
About Daniel
This page draws on 10 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); Ammonius of Alexandria, FRAGMENTS ON DANIEL 10:20; Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Book of Daniel; Hippolytus of Rome, Commentary on Daniel 4.40.3; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, St. Jerome, Commentary on Daniel, CHAPTER TEN; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.