American King James Version - AKJV - 1999
Daniel 11
1
Also I in the first year of Darius the Mede, even I, stood to confirm and to strengthen him.
Reference
2
And now will I show you the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth shall be far richer than they all: and by his strength through his riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia.
Reference
3
And a mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will.
Reference
4
And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven; and not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion which he ruled: for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others beside those.
Reference
Kingdom
Daniel 8:22
Jeremiah 18:7
Daniel 7:8
Parallel theme
Daniel 8:8
Jeremiah 12:17
Jeremiah 12:15
Daniel 7:2
5
And the king of the south shall be strong, and one of his princes; and he shall be strong above him, and have dominion; his dominion shall be a great dominion.
Reference
People
6
And in the end of years they shall join themselves together; for the king's daughter of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement: but she shall not retain the power of the arm; neither shall he stand, nor his arm: but she shall be given up, and they that brought her, and he that begat her, and he that strengthened her in these times.
Reference
People
7
But out of a branch of her roots shall one stand up in his estate, which shall come with an army, and shall enter into the fortress of the king of the north, and shall deal against them, and shall prevail:
8
And shall also carry captives into Egypt their gods, with their princes, and with their precious vessels of silver and of gold; and he shall continue more years than the king of the north.
Reference
References God
Isaiah 37:19
9
So the king of the south shall come into his kingdom, and shall return into his own land.
10
But his sons shall be stirred up, and shall assemble a multitude of great forces: and one shall certainly come, and overflow, and pass through: then shall he return, and be stirred up, even to his fortress.
Reference
11
And the king of the south shall be moved with choler, and shall come forth and fight with him, even with the king of the north: and he shall set forth a great multitude; but the multitude shall be given into his hand.
Reference
12
And when he has taken away the multitude, his heart shall be lifted up; and he shall cast down many ten thousands: but he shall not be strengthened by it.
13
For the king of the north shall return, and shall set forth a multitude greater than the former, and shall certainly come after certain years with a great army and with much riches.
Reference
14
And in those times there shall many stand up against the king of the south: also the robbers of your people shall exalt themselves to establish the vision; but they shall fall.
15
So the king of the north shall come, and cast up a mount, and take the most fenced cities: and the arms of the south shall not withstand, neither his chosen people, neither shall there be any strength to withstand.
Reference
16
But he that comes against him shall do according to his own will, and none shall stand before him: and he shall stand in the glorious land, which by his hand shall be consumed.
Reference
17
He shall also set his face to enter with the strength of his whole kingdom, and upright ones with him; thus shall he do: and he shall give him the daughter of women, corrupting her: but she shall not stand on his side, neither be for him.
Reference
18
After this shall he turn his face to the isles, and shall take many: but a prince for his own behalf shall cause the reproach offered by him to cease; without his own reproach he shall cause it to turn on him.
Reference
19
Then he shall turn his face toward the fort of his own land: but he shall stumble and fall, and not be found.
Reference
20
Then shall stand up in his estate a raiser of taxes in the glory of the kingdom: but within few days he shall be destroyed, neither in anger, nor in battle.
Reference
Parallel theme
Isaiah 60:17
21
And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honor of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.
Reference
22
And with the arms of a flood shall they be overflowed from before him, and shall be broken; yes, also the prince of the covenant.
Reference
23
And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people.
Reference
Parallel theme
Daniel 8:25
24
He shall enter peaceably even on the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers' fathers; he shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil, and riches: yes, and he shall forecast his devices against the strong holds, even for a time.
25
And he shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the south with a great army; and the king of the south shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army; but he shall not stand: for they shall forecast devices against him.
26
Yes, they that feed of the portion of his meat shall destroy him, and his army shall overflow: and many shall fall down slain.
Reference
Parallel theme
Daniel 11:10
27
And both of these kings' hearts shall be to do mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table; but it shall not prosper: for yet the end shall be at the time appointed.
Reference
Kingdom
Daniel 11:40
Parallel theme
Psalm 12:2
Psalm 64:6
Habakkuk 2:3
Daniel 11:35
Psalm 58:2
Psalm 52:1
Proverbs 12:20
Proverbs 26:23
Daniel 8:19
28
Then shall he return into his land with great riches; and his heart shall be against the holy covenant; and he shall do exploits, and return to his own land.
29
At the time appointed he shall return, and come toward the south; but it shall not be as the former, or as the latter.
30
For the ships of Chittim shall come against him: therefore he shall be grieved, and return, and have indignation against the holy covenant: so shall he do; he shall even return, and have intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant.
Reference
Covenant
Daniel 11:28
Parallel theme
Genesis 10:4
Numbers 24:24
Isaiah 23:12
Isaiah 23:1
Jeremiah 2:10
31
And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that makes desolate.
Reference
32
And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.
Reference
Parallel theme
Psalm 9:10
Zechariah 10:12
Jeremiah 31:34
Malachi 4:2
Proverbs 26:28
Proverbs 19:5
References God
1 Chronicles 28:9
John 17:3
1 John 5:20
33
And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days.
Reference
34
Now when they shall fall, they shall be helped with a little help: but many shall join to them with flatteries.
Reference
35
And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed.
Reference
36
And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvelous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.
Reference
Kingdom
Daniel 2:47
Parallel theme
Daniel 8:19
Daniel 11:16
Isaiah 10:25
References God
2 Thessalonians 2:4
Deuteronomy 10:17
Isaiah 14:13
Revelation 10:7
Psalm 136:2
37
Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.
Reference
38
But in his estate shall he honor the God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honor with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.
39
Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain.
40
And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.
Reference
Kingdom
Revelation 16:12
Parallel theme
Isaiah 5:28
Daniel 11:10
Daniel 11:35
Isaiah 21:1
Jeremiah 4:13
Zechariah 9:14
Ezekiel 38:4
Daniel 12:4
41
He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.
Reference
Glory
Daniel 11:16
Daniel 11:45
Parallel theme
Jeremiah 48:47
Jeremiah 49:6
Jeremiah 9:26
Daniel 8:9
42
He shall stretch forth his hand also on the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape.
43
But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.
Reference
44
But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.
Summary of Daniel 11
Daniel 11 provides an unusually detailed sequence of political conflicts, royal ambitions, military campaigns, marriages, betrayals, alliances, and persecutions, beginning with the final Persian rulers and the rise of Greece, continuing through the division of Alexander's empire and the prolonged rivalry between the Ptolemaic kingdom in the south and the Seleucid kingdom in the north, and eventually focusing on a ruthless ruler who interferes with Jewish worship and violently opposes those who remain faithful to God.
The chapter begins within the Persian period but quickly moves toward the rise of Greece, describing a powerful Greek king whose empire becomes extraordinarily large before being broken apart and divided among several successors.
This provides the background for the long struggle between the king of the South, generally associated with the Ptolemaic rulers of Egypt, and the king of the North, generally associated with the Seleucid rulers of Syria and surrounding territories.
Their rivalry repeatedly involves warfare, political marriages, deception, broken agreements, military campaigns, changing alliances, and attempts to gain control over strategic territories.
Because Judea lies between these competing powers, the Jewish people repeatedly become caught between larger kingdoms that are fighting for regional dominance.
The prophecy becomes increasingly focused on one particular ruler, traditionally identified with Antiochus IV Epiphanes, whose rise to power is characterized by intrigue, political manipulation, military ambition, and increasing hostility toward the Jewish covenant community.
He eventually interferes directly with Jerusalem and the temple, removes the regular sacrifice, desecrates the sanctuary, and establishes what Daniel describes as the abomination that causes desolation.
This creates a sharp division among God's people because some are persuaded through deception and political pressure while others remain faithful, strengthen themselves in God, teach others, and endure persecution even when their faithfulness costs them their possessions, freedom, and lives.
The chapter therefore does not present faithfulness as a guarantee of immediate safety.
Instead, it shows that some of the wise will suffer precisely because they refuse to compromise, while their suffering becomes a period of testing, purification, and refinement before the appointed time arrives.
The final section of the chapter becomes more difficult to interpret because the description of the northern ruler appears to move beyond the events that can be confidently connected with Antiochus IV and contains language that many interpreters understand as extending toward a future or final ruler.
This has resulted in significant differences among Jewish and Christian interpretations concerning where the historical description ends and where a larger prophetic or eschatological fulfillment begins.
Nevertheless, the major theme remains consistent throughout the chapter: earthly rulers may appear to control history through armies, wealth, political alliances, deception, and persecution, but their authority is limited and their success lasts only for the period permitted within God's purposes.
The central message is that Daniel 11 reveals the instability and brutality of human political power, showing how kingdoms rise and fall through warfare, ambition, deception, and betrayal while ordinary people, particularly God's covenant people, are often caught in the consequences of struggles between rulers who seek greater territory and authority.
At the same time, the chapter encourages faithfulness by showing that those who know God can remain strong even when powerful rulers attack their beliefs and practices, because persecution may test and refine them for a season, but no earthly ruler can ultimately escape God's appointed limits or prevent His purposes from being fulfilled.
The chapter begins within the Persian period but quickly moves toward the rise of Greece, describing a powerful Greek king whose empire becomes extraordinarily large before being broken apart and divided among several successors.
This provides the background for the long struggle between the king of the South, generally associated with the Ptolemaic rulers of Egypt, and the king of the North, generally associated with the Seleucid rulers of Syria and surrounding territories.
Their rivalry repeatedly involves warfare, political marriages, deception, broken agreements, military campaigns, changing alliances, and attempts to gain control over strategic territories.
Because Judea lies between these competing powers, the Jewish people repeatedly become caught between larger kingdoms that are fighting for regional dominance.
The prophecy becomes increasingly focused on one particular ruler, traditionally identified with Antiochus IV Epiphanes, whose rise to power is characterized by intrigue, political manipulation, military ambition, and increasing hostility toward the Jewish covenant community.
He eventually interferes directly with Jerusalem and the temple, removes the regular sacrifice, desecrates the sanctuary, and establishes what Daniel describes as the abomination that causes desolation.
This creates a sharp division among God's people because some are persuaded through deception and political pressure while others remain faithful, strengthen themselves in God, teach others, and endure persecution even when their faithfulness costs them their possessions, freedom, and lives.
The chapter therefore does not present faithfulness as a guarantee of immediate safety.
Instead, it shows that some of the wise will suffer precisely because they refuse to compromise, while their suffering becomes a period of testing, purification, and refinement before the appointed time arrives.
The final section of the chapter becomes more difficult to interpret because the description of the northern ruler appears to move beyond the events that can be confidently connected with Antiochus IV and contains language that many interpreters understand as extending toward a future or final ruler.
This has resulted in significant differences among Jewish and Christian interpretations concerning where the historical description ends and where a larger prophetic or eschatological fulfillment begins.
Nevertheless, the major theme remains consistent throughout the chapter: earthly rulers may appear to control history through armies, wealth, political alliances, deception, and persecution, but their authority is limited and their success lasts only for the period permitted within God's purposes.
The central message is that Daniel 11 reveals the instability and brutality of human political power, showing how kingdoms rise and fall through warfare, ambition, deception, and betrayal while ordinary people, particularly God's covenant people, are often caught in the consequences of struggles between rulers who seek greater territory and authority.
At the same time, the chapter encourages faithfulness by showing that those who know God can remain strong even when powerful rulers attack their beliefs and practices, because persecution may test and refine them for a season, but no earthly ruler can ultimately escape God's appointed limits or prevent His purposes from being fulfilled.