Daniel 11:31-45

31 "Forces from him will arise, ¹desecrate the sanctuary fortress, and do away with the regular sacrifice. And they will set up the ²abomination of desolation.

32 "By ³smooth words he will turn to godlessness those who act wickedly toward the covenant, but the people who know their God will display ⁴strength and take action.

33 "⁵Those who have insight among the people will give understanding to the many; yet they will ⁶fall by sword and by flame, by captivity and by plunder for many days.

34 "Now when they fall they will be granted a little help, and many will ⁷join with them in ⁸hypocrisy.

35 "Some of those who have insight will fall, in order to ⁹refine, ¹⁰purge and make them ¹¹pure until the ¹²end time; because it is still to come at the appointed time.

36 "Then the king will ¹³do as he pleases, and he will exalt and ¹⁴magnify himself above every god and will ¹⁵speak monstrous things against the ¹⁶God of gods; and he will prosper until the ¹⁷indignation is finished, for that which is ¹⁸decreed will be done.

37 "He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers or for the desire of women, nor will he show regard for any other god; for he will magnify himself above them all.

38 "But instead he will honor a god of fortresses, a god whom his fathers did not know; he will honor him with gold, silver, costly stones and treasures.

39 "He will take action against the strongest of fortresses with the help of a foreign god; he will give great honor to those who acknowledge him and will cause them to rule over the many, and will parcel out land for a price.

40 "At the ¹⁹end time the ²⁰king of the South will collide with him, and the ²¹king of the North will ²²storm against him with chariots, with horsemen and with many ships; and he will enter countries, ²³overflow them and pass through.

41 "He will also enter the ²⁴Beautiful Land, and many countries will fall; but these will be rescued out of his hand: Edom, ²⁵Moab and the foremost of the sons of ²⁶Ammon.

42 "Then he will stretch out his hand against other countries, and the land of Egypt will not escape.

43 "But he will gain control over the hidden treasures of gold and silver and over all the precious things of Egypt; and ²⁷Libyans and ²⁸Ethiopians will follow at his heels.

44 "But rumors from the East and from the North will disturb him, and he will go forth with great wrath to destroy and annihilate many.

45 "He will pitch the tents of his royal pavilion between the seas and the beautiful ²⁹Holy Mountain; yet he will come to his end, and no one will help him.

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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.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Cross References 29

1. Daniel 8:11-13; Daniel 12:11
2. Daniel 9:27; Matthew 24:15; Mark 13:14
3. Daniel 11:21, 34
4. Micah 5:7-9; Zechariah 9:13-16; Zechariah 10:3-6
5. Malachi 2:7
6. Matthew 24:9; John 16:2; Hebrews 11:36-38
7. Matthew 7:15; Acts 20:29, 30
8. Daniel 11:21, 32; Romans 16:18
9. Deuteronomy 8:16; Proverbs 17:3; Daniel 12:10; Zechariah 13:9; Malachi 3:2, 3
10. John 15:2
11. Revelation 7:14
12. Daniel 11:27
13. Daniel 5:19; Daniel 11:3, 16
14. Isaiah 14:13; Daniel 5:20; Daniel 8:11, 25; 2 Thessalonians 2:4
15. Revelation 13:5, 6
16. Deuteronomy 10:17; Psalms 136:2; Daniel 2:47
17. Isaiah 10:25; Isaiah 26:20; Daniel 8:19
18. Daniel 9:27
19. Daniel 11:27, 35; Daniel 12:4, 9
20. Daniel 11:11, 25
21. Dan 11:7, 13, 15
22. Isaiah 5:28; Jeremiah 4:13
23. Daniel 11:10, 26
24. Daniel 8:9; Daniel 11:16
25. Jeremiah 48:47
26. Jeremiah 49:6
27. 2 Chronicles 12:3; Nahum 3:9
28. 2 Chronicles 12:3; Ezekiel 30:4, 5; Nahum 3:9
29. Isaiah 11:9; Isaiah 27:13; Isaiah 65:25; Isaiah 66:20; Daniel 9:16, 20

Footnotes 13

[a]. Lit "that makes desolate;" or "that causes horror"
[b]. Or "pollute those"
[c]. Or "Instructors of" the "people"
[d]. Or "the instructors"
[e]. Lit "white"
[f]. Lit "extraordinary"
[g]. Or "God"
[h]. Lit "in his place"
[i]. Lit "the one who acknowledges"
[j]. I.e. Palestine
[k]. Or "rule over"
[l]. Lit "footsteps"
[m]. Lit "devote to destruction"