New International Reader s Version - NIrV - 1996
Daniel 11
1
I stepped forward to help him and keep him safe. It was the first year that Darius, the Mede, was king.
Reference
2
"Now then, what I'm about to tell you is true. Three more kings will appear in Persia. Then a fourth one will rule. He will be much richer than all of the others. He will use his wealth to gain power. And he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece.
Reference
3
"After him, a mighty king will appear. He will rule with great power. He will do as he pleases.
Reference
4
Not long after his rule ends, his kingdom will be broken up. It will be divided up into four parts. His children will not receive it when he dies. And it will not be as strong as his kingdom. It will be pulled up by the roots. And it will be given to others.
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
"The king of Egypt will become strong. But one of his commanders will become even stronger. He will rule over his own kingdom with great power.
Reference
6
After many years, the two kingdoms will join forces. The daughter of the next king of Egypt will go to the king of Syria. She will join forces with him. But she will not hold on to her power. And he and his power will not last either. In those days she and her attendants will be put to death. Her father will die. So will the one who helped her.
Reference
7
"Someone from her family line will take her place. He will attack the army of the next king of Syria. Then he will enter his fort. He will fight against that army and win.
8
He will take the metal statues of their gods. He will also take away their priceless articles of silver and gold. He will carry everything off to Egypt. For many years he will leave the king of Syria alone.
Reference
References God
Isaiah 37:19
9
"That king will march into territory that was controlled by Egypt. Then he will return to his own country.
10
His sons will prepare for war. They will gather a huge army. It will sweep along like a mighty flood. It will fight its way as far as one of the Egyptian forts.
Reference
11
"Another king of Egypt will march out with mighty force. He will fight against the next king of Syria. That king will gather a huge army. But it will lose the battle.
Reference
12
His soldiers will be carried off. Then the king of Egypt will be filled with pride. He will kill many thousands of soldiers. But his success will not last.
13
"The king of Syria will bring another army together. It will be larger than the first one. After several years, he will march out with a huge army. It will have everything it needs for battle.
Reference
14
"In those times many people will rise up against the next king of Egypt. Lawless men in your own nation will refuse to obey him. That is what you saw in your vision. But they will not succeed.
15
"Then the king of Syria will go to a certain city that has high walls around it. He will build ramps against them. And he will capture that city. The forces of Egypt will not have the power to stop him. Even their best troops will not be strong enough to stand up against him.
Reference
16
He will do anything he wants to. No one will be able to stand up against him. He will take over the beautiful land of Israel. And he will have the power to destroy it.
Reference
17
"He will decide to come with the might of his entire kingdom. He will join forces with the king of Egypt. And he will give him his daughter to become his wife. He will do it in order to take control of Egypt. But his plans will not succeed. They will not help him.
Reference
18
"Then he will turn his attention to the lands along the Mediterranean coast. He will take over many of them. But a commander will put an end to his proud actions. He will turn his pride back on him.
Reference
19
"After that, the king of Syria will return to the forts in his own country. But he will trip and fall. And he will never be seen again.
Reference
20
"The next king after him will send someone out to collect taxes. The taxes will help maintain the glory of his kingdom. But in a few years the king will be destroyed. It will not happen because someone becomes angry with him or kills him in battle.
Reference
Parallel theme
Isaiah 60:17
21
"Another king will take his place. Many people will hate him. He will not be honored as a king should be. He will lead an army into the kingdom when its people feel secure. He will make clever plans to capture it.
Reference
22
Then he will sweep away a huge army. The army and a prince of the covenant will be destroyed.
Reference
23
"The king of Syria will make an agreement with that prince. But then he will not keep his word. He will rise to power with the help of only a few people.
Reference
Parallel theme
Daniel 8:25
24
When the people in the richest areas feel secure, he will attack them. He will do what the kings before him could not do. And he will reward his followers with the goods and wealth he takes. He will make clever plans to take over the forts. But that will last for only a short time.
25
"He will stir up his strength and courage. With a large army he will go to war against the next king of Egypt. That king will fight against him with a huge and very powerful army. But he will not be able to stand up against him. So the plans of the king of Syria will succeed.
26
The trusted advisers of the king of Egypt will try to destroy him. His army will be swept away. Many of his soldiers will be wounded or killed.
Reference
Parallel theme
Daniel 11:10
27
"The kings of Syria and Egypt will sit at the same table. But in their hearts they will plan to do what is evil. And they will tell lies to each other. But it will not do them any good. God will put an end to their plans at his appointed time.
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
"The king of Syria will return to his own country. He will go back there with great wealth. But he will make evil plans against the holy temple in Jerusalem. He will do a lot of harm to the temple and the people who worship there. Then he will return to his own country.
29
"At God's appointed time, the king of Syria will march south again. But this time things will turn out differently.
30
Roman ships will oppose him. He will lose hope. Then he will turn back. He will take out his anger against the holy temple. And he will show favor to the Jews who desert it.
Reference
Covenant
Daniel 11:28
Parallel theme
Genesis 10:4
Numbers 24:24
Isaiah 23:12
Isaiah 23:1
Jeremiah 2:10
31
"His army will come and make the temple area 'unclean.' They will put a stop to the daily sacrifices. Then they will set up a hated thing that destroys.
Reference
32
He will pretend to praise those who have broken the covenant. He will lead them to do what is evil. But the people who know their God will firmly oppose him.
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
"Those who are wise will teach many others. But for a while, some of the wise will be killed with swords. Others will be burned to death. Still others will be made prisoners. Or they will be robbed of everything they have.
Reference
34
When that happens, they will receive a little help. Many who are not honest will join them.
Reference
35
"So some of the wise people will suffer. They will be made pure in the fire. They will be made spotless until the time of the end. It will still come at God's appointed time.
Reference
36
"A certain king will do as he pleases. He will honor himself. He will put himself above every god. He will say things that have never been heard before against the greatest God of all. He will have success until God is not angry anymore. What God has decided to do must take place.
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
"The king will not show any respect for the gods his people have always worshiped. He will not respect the one women long for. He will not have respect for any god. Instead, he will put himself above all of them.
Reference
38
In place of them, he will worship a god of war. He will honor a god his people have not had anything to do with before. He will give gold and silver to that god. He will bring jewels and expensive gifts to it.
39
"He will attack the strongest forts. A new god will help him do it. He will greatly honor those who recognize him as their leader. He will make them rulers over many people. And he will give them land as a reward.
40
"A king in the south will go to war against him. It will happen at the time of the end. The king who will honor himself will rush out against him. He will come with chariots and horsemen. He will attack with a lot of ships. He will lead his army into many countries. He will sweep through them like a flood.
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 will also march into the beautiful land of Israel. Many countries will fall. But Edom, Moab and the leaders of Ammon will be saved from his mighty hand.
Reference
Glory
Daniel 11:16
Daniel 11:45
Parallel theme
Jeremiah 48:47
Jeremiah 49:6
Jeremiah 9:26
Daniel 8:9
42
His power will reach out into many countries. Even Egypt will not escape.
43
He will gain control of all of Egypt's riches. He will take their gold and silver treasures. The people of Libya and Cush will be under his control.
Reference
44
"But reports from the east and the north will terrify him. He will burn with anger and march out to destroy many people and wipe them out.
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.