Daniel 11:31-45

31 Forces from him shall appear and 1profane the temple and fortress, and shall take away the regular burnt offering. And 2they shall set up the abomination that makes desolate.
32 He shall seduce with flattery those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action.
33 3And the wise among the people shall make many understand, though for some days they shall stumble by sword and flame, by captivity and plunder.
34 When they stumble, they shall receive a little help. And many shall join themselves to them with flattery,
35 and some of the wise shall stumble, so that they may be refined, 4purified, and 5made white, until 6the time of the end, 7for it still awaits the appointed time.
36 "And the king shall 8do as he wills. 9He shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god, 10and shall speak astonishing things against 11the God of gods. 12He shall prosper 13till the indignation is accomplished; for what is decreed shall be done.
37 He shall pay no attention to the gods of his fathers, or to the one beloved by women. He shall not pay attention to any other god, for 14he shall magnify himself above all.
38 He shall honor the god of fortresses instead of these. A god whom his fathers did not know he shall honor 15with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts.
39 He shall deal with the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign god. Those who acknowledge him he shall load with honor. He shall make them rulers over many and 16shall divide the land for a price.[a]
40 17"At the time of the end, the king of the south shall attack[b] him, but the king of the north shall rush upon him 18like a whirlwind, with chariots and horsemen, and with many ships. And he shall come into countries and 19shall overflow and pass through.
41 He shall come into 20the glorious land. And tens of thousands shall fall, but these shall be delivered out of his hand: 21Edom and 22Moab and the main part of the 23Ammonites.
42 He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape.
43 He shall become ruler of the treasures of gold and of silver, and all the precious things of Egypt, and the 24Libyans and the 25Cushites shall follow in his train.
44 But news from the east and the north shall alarm him, and he shall go out with great fury to destroy and devote many to destruction.
45 And he shall pitch his palatial tents between the sea and the glorious holy mountain. Yet he shall come to his end, with none to help him.

Daniel 11:31-45 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO DANIEL 11

In this chapter the angel makes good his promise to Daniel, that he would show him what was written in the Scripture of truth, concerning the monarchies of the earth, and what would befall his people the Jews in the latter days; and after he had observed that he had strengthened and confirmed Darius the Mede, who was the first king of the then present flourishing monarchy, Da 11:1, he foretells the number of the kings of Persia, and particularly describes the fourth, Da 11:2 predicts the rise of the Grecian monarchy under Alexander the great, and the disposition of it after his death, Da 11:3,4 and then proceeds to give an account of the two principal kingdoms of that monarchy, into which it was divided, the Seleucidae and Lagidae; and of their kings, the king of Egypt, and the king of Syria, under the names of the king of the south, and the king of the north, and of their power and agreement, Da 11:5,6 and then of their various wars between themselves and others, and the success of them, Da 11:7-20, and particularly of Antiochus, his character and manner of coming to the kingdom, and of his wars with the king of Egypt, and the issue of them, Da 11:21-29 and of his persecution of the Jews, and the distress he should bring on them, and the use it should be of to the godly among them, Da 11:30-35, and then his antitype, antichrist, is described; the western antichrist, his character and actions, Da 11:36-39 then the eastern, his power, wealth and riches, hail and rain, Da 11:40-45.

Cross References 25

  • 1. [Daniel 12:11]
  • 2. Matthew 24:15; Mark 13:14; [Daniel 8:13; Daniel 12:11]
  • 3. Daniel 12:3, 10
  • 4. [Malachi 3:3, 4]
  • 5. [Revelation 7:14]
  • 6. [ver. 27, 40]
  • 7. [ver. 27, 40]
  • 8. ver. 3, 16
  • 9. [Daniel 7:25; 2 Thessalonians 2:4]
  • 10. [Daniel 7:25; Revelation 13:5, 6]
  • 11. Deuteronomy 10:17
  • 12. [Daniel 8:12]
  • 13. [Isaiah 10:25]; Daniel 9:27
  • 14. [See ver. 36 above]
  • 15. [Joel 3:5]
  • 16. [Lamentations 5:2, 6]
  • 17. [ver. 27, 35]
  • 18. Zechariah 9:14
  • 19. ver. 10, 26
  • 20. ver. 16; See Daniel 8:9
  • 21. [Isaiah 11:14]
  • 22. [Isaiah 11:14]
  • 23. [Isaiah 11:14]
  • 24. [2 Chronicles 12:3]
  • 25. 2 Chronicles 12:3; Ezekiel 30:4, 5; Nahum 3:9

Footnotes 2

The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.