Daniel 11:16-26

16 But he who comes against him shall 1do as he wills, and 2none shall stand before him. And he shall stand in 3the glorious land, with destruction in his hand.
17 He shall 4set his face to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and he shall bring terms of an agreement and perform them. He shall give him the daughter of women to destroy the kingdom,[a] but it shall not stand or be to his advantage.
18 Afterward he shall turn his face to the coastlands and shall capture many of them, but a commander shall put an end to his insolence. Indeed,[b] he 5shall turn his insolence back upon him.
19 Then he shall turn his face back toward the 6fortresses of his own land, but he shall 7stumble and fall, 8and shall not be found.
20 "Then shall arise in his place one who shall send an 9exactor of tribute for the glory of the kingdom. But within a few days he shall be broken, neither in anger nor in battle.
21 In his place shall arise a contemptible person to whom royal majesty has not been given. 10He shall come in without warning and obtain the kingdom 11by flatteries.
22 Armies shall be 12utterly swept away before him and broken, even the prince of the covenant.
23 And from the time that an alliance is made with him he shall act deceitfully, and he shall become strong with a small people.
24 13Without warning he shall come into 14the richest parts[c] of the province, and he shall do what neither his fathers nor his fathers' fathers have done, scattering among them plunder, spoil, and goods. He shall devise plans against strongholds, but only for a time.
25 And he shall stir up his power and his heart against 15the king of the south with a great army. And the king of the south shall wage war with an exceedingly great and mighty army, but he shall not stand, for plots shall be devised against him.
26 Even those who eat his food shall break him. His army shall be 16swept away, and many shall fall down 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.

Cross References 16

Footnotes 3

  • [a]. Hebrew her, or it
  • [b]. The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
  • [c]. Or among the richest men
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.