Daniel 11:21-45

21 “He will be succeeded by a contemptible person who has not been given the honor of royalty. He will invade the kingdom when its people feel secure, and he will seize it through intrigue.

22 Then an overwhelming army will be swept away before him; both it and a prince of the covenant will be destroyed.

23 After coming to an agreement with him, he will act deceitfully, and with only a few people he will rise to power.

24 When the richest provinces feel secure, he will invade them and will achieve what neither his fathers nor his forefathers did. He will distribute plunder, loot and wealth among his followers. He will plot the overthrow of fortresses—but only for a time.

25 “With a large army he will stir up his strength and courage against the king of the South. The king of the South will wage war with a large and very powerful army, but he will not be able to stand because of the plots devised against him.

26 Those who eat from the king’s provisions will try to destroy him; his army will be swept away, and many will fall in battle.

27 The two kings, with their hearts bent on evil, will sit at the same table and lie to each other, but to no avail, because an end will still come at the appointed time.

28 The king of the North will return to his own country with great wealth, but his heart will be set against the holy covenant. He will take action against it and then return to his own country.

29 “At the appointed time he will invade the South again, but this time the outcome will be different from what it was before.

30 Ships of the western coastlands will oppose him, and he will lose heart. Then he will turn back and vent his fury against the holy covenant. He will return and show favor to those who forsake the holy covenant.

31 “His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice. Then they will set up the abomination that causes desolation.

32 With flattery he will corrupt those who have violated the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him.

33 “Those who are wise will instruct many, though for a time they will fall by the sword or be burned or captured or plundered.

34 When they fall, they will receive a little help, and many who are not sincere will join them.

35 Some of the wise will stumble, so that they may be refined, purified and made spotless until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time.

The King Who Exalts Himself

36 “The king will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will say unheard-of things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been determined must take place.

37 He will show no regard for the gods of his ancestors or for the one desired by women, nor will he regard any god, but will exalt himself above them all.

38 Instead of them, he will honor a god of fortresses; a god unknown to his ancestors he will honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts.

39 He will attack the mightiest fortresses with the help of a foreign god and will greatly honor those who acknowledge him. He will make them rulers over many people and will distribute the land at a price.^[a]

40 “At the time of the end the king of the South will engage him in battle, and the king of the North will storm out against him with chariots and cavalry and a great fleet of ships. He will invade many countries and sweep through them like a flood.

41 He will also invade the Beautiful Land. Many countries will fall, but Edom, Moab and the leaders of Ammon will be delivered from his hand.

42 He will extend his power over many countries; Egypt will not escape.

43 He will gain control of the treasures of gold and silver and all the riches of Egypt, with the Libyans and Cushites^[b] in submission.

44 But reports from the east and the north will alarm him, and he will set out in a great rage to destroy and annihilate many.

45 He will pitch his royal tents between the seas at^[c] the beautiful holy mountain. Yet he will come to his end, and no one will help him.

Daniel 11:21-45 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

• 1. Daniel 4:17
• 2. S Daniel 8:25
• 3. S Isaiah 28:15
• 4. Daniel 8:10-11
• 5. Daniel 8:25
• 6. Nehemiah 9:25
• 7. Psalms 64:6
• 8. Psalms 12:2; Jeremiah 9:5
• 9. Habakkuk 2:3
• 10. S Genesis 10:4
• 11. S 1 Samuel 17:32
• 12. S Job 15:13
• 13. Hosea 3:4
• 14. S Jeremiah 19:4; Daniel 8:11-13; S Daniel 9:27; Matthew 24:15*; Mark 13:14*
• 15. Micah 5:7-9
• 16. Daniel 12:3; Malachi 2:7
• 17. Matthew 24:9; John 16:2; Hebrews 11:32-38
• 18. Matthew 7:15; Romans 16:18
• 19. S Job 28:1; S Psalms 78:38; S Isaiah 48:10; Daniel 12:10; Zechariah 13:9; John 15:2
• 20. Jude 1:16
• 21. Revelation 13:5-6
• 22. S Deuteronomy 10:17; S Isaiah 14:13-14; S Daniel 7:25; Daniel 8:11-12,25; 2 Thessalonians 2:4
• 23. S Isaiah 10:25; Isaiah 26:20
• 24. Ezekiel 35:13; S Daniel 8:24
• 25. S Isaiah 21:1
• 26. Isaiah 5:28
• 27. S Isaiah 8:7; S Ezekiel 38:4
• 28. S Ezekiel 20:6; Malachi 3:12
• 29. S Isaiah 11:14
• 30. S Jeremiah 48:47
• 31. S Ezekiel 30:4
• 32. 2 Chronicles 12:3; Nahum 3:9
• 33. S Isaiah 2:2,4; Daniel 8:9

Footnotes

• [a] Or "land for a reward"
• [b] That is, people from the upper Nile region
• [c] Or "the sea and"