Daniel 11:16-26

16 The king of the North who comes against him will do whatever he wants, and no one can oppose him. He will establish himself in the beautiful land[a][b]with total destruction in his hand.
17 He will resolve to come with the force of his whole kingdom and will reach an agreement with him.[c] He will give him a daughter in marriage[d] to destroy it,[e] but she will not stand with him or support him.
18 Then he will turn his attention to the coasts and islands[f] and capture many. But a commander will put an end to his taunting; instead, he will turn his taunts against him.
19 He will turn his attention back to the fortresses of his own land, but he will stumble, fall, and be no more.
20 "In his place one will arise who will send out a tax collector[g] for the glory of the kingdom; but within a few days he will be shattered, though not in anger[h] or in battle.
21 "In his place a despised[i] person will arise; royal honors will not be given to him, but he will come during a time of peace[j][k]and seize the kingdom by intrigue.
22 A flood of forces will be swept away before him; they will be shattered, as well as the covenant prince.
23 After an alliance is made with him, he will act deceitfully. He will rise to power with a small nation.[l]
24 During a time of peace,[m] he will come into the richest parts of the province and do what his fathers and predecessors never did. He will lavish plunder, loot, and wealth on his followers, and he will make plans against fortified cities, but only for a time.
25 "With a large army he will stir up his power and his courage against the king of the South. The king of the South will prepare for battle with an extremely large and powerful army, but he will not succeed, because plots will be made against him.
26 Those who eat his provisions[n] will destroy him; his army will be swept away, and many will fall slain.

Daniel 11:16-26 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.

Footnotes 14

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