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Daniel 11:5-19
New English Translation

5 “Then the king of the south[a] and one of his subordinates[b] will grow strong. His subordinate[c] will resist[d] him and will rule a kingdom greater than his.[e] 6 After some years have passed, they[f] will form an alliance. Then the daughter[g] of the king of the south will come to the king of the north to make an agreement, but she will not retain her power,[h] nor will he continue[i] in his strength.[j] She, together with the one who brought her, her child,[k] and her benefactor will all be delivered over at that time.[l]

7 “There will arise in his[m] place one from her family line[n] who will come against their army and will enter the stronghold of the king of the north and will move against them successfully.[o] 8 He will also take their gods into captivity to Egypt, along with their cast images and prized utensils of silver and gold. Then he will withdraw for some years from[p] the king of the north. 9 Then the king of the north[q] will advance against the empire of the king of the south, but will withdraw to his own land. 10 His sons[r] will wage war, mustering a large army that will advance like an overflowing river and carrying the battle all the way to the enemy’s[s] fortress.[t]

11 “Then the king of the south[u] will be enraged and will march out to fight against the king of the north, who will also muster a large army, but that army will be delivered into his hand. 12 When the army is taken away, the king of the south will become arrogant.[v] He will be responsible for the death[w] of thousands and thousands of people,[x] but he will not continue to prevail. 13 For the king of the north will again muster an army, one larger than before. At the end of some years he will advance with a huge army and enormous supplies.

14 “In those times many will oppose[y] the king of the south.[z] Those who are violent[aa] among your own people will rise up in confirmation of[ab] the vision, but they will falter. 15 Then the king of the north will advance and will build siege mounds and capture a well-fortified city.[ac] The forces of the south will not prevail, not even his finest contingents.[ad] They will have no strength to prevail. 16 The one advancing against him will do as he pleases, and no one will be able to stand before him. He will prevail in the beautiful land, and its annihilation will be within his power.[ae] 17 His intention[af] will be to come with the strength of his entire kingdom, and he will form alliances.[ag] He will give the king of the south[ah] a daughter[ai] in marriage in order to destroy the kingdom, but it will not turn out to his advantage. 18 Then he will turn his attention[aj] to the coastal regions and will capture many of them. But a commander[ak] will bring his shameful conduct to a halt; in addition,[al] he will make him pay for his shameful conduct.[am] 19 He will then turn his attention to the fortresses of his own land, but he will stumble and fall, not to be found again.

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Footnotes

  1. Daniel 11:5 sn The king of the south is Ptolemy I Soter (ca. 323-285 b.c.). The following reference to one of his subordinates apparently has in view Seleucus I Nicator (ca. 311-280 b.c.). Throughout the remainder of chap. 11 the expressions “king of the south” and “king of the north” repeatedly occur. It is clear, however, that these terms are being used generically to describe the Ptolemaic king (i.e., “of the south”) or the Seleucid king (i.e., “of the north”) who happens to be in power at any particular time. The specific identity of these kings can be established more or less successfully by a comparison of this chapter with the available extra-biblical records that discuss the history of the intertestamental period. In the following notes the generally accepted identifications are briefly mentioned.
  2. Daniel 11:5 tn Heb “princes.”
  3. Daniel 11:5 tn Heb “and he”; the referent (the subordinate prince mentioned in the previous clause) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  4. Daniel 11:5 tn Heb “be strong against.”
  5. Daniel 11:5 tn Heb “greater than his kingdom.”
  6. Daniel 11:6 sn Here they refers to Ptolemy II Philadelphus (ca. 285-246 b.c.) and Antiochus II Theos (ca. 262-246 b.c.).
  7. Daniel 11:6 sn The daughter refers to Berenice, who was given in marriage to Antiochus II Theos.
  8. Daniel 11:6 tn Heb “the strength of the arm.”
  9. Daniel 11:6 tn Heb “stand,” as also in vv. 7, 8, 11, 13.
  10. Daniel 11:6 tn Heb “and his arm.” Some understand this to refer to the descendants of the king of the north.
  11. Daniel 11:6 tc The present translation reads יַלְדָּה (yaldah, “her child”) rather than the MT יֹלְדָהּ (yoledah, “the one who begot her”). Cf. Theodotion, the Syriac, and the Vulgate.
  12. Daniel 11:6 sn Antiochus II eventually divorced Berenice and remarried his former wife Laodice, who then poisoned her husband, had Berenice put to death, and installed her own son, Seleucus II Callinicus (ca. 246-227 b.c.), as the Seleucid king.
  13. Daniel 11:7 sn The reference is to the king of Egypt.
  14. Daniel 11:7 tn Heb “the stock of her roots.”sn The reference to one from her family line is probably to Berenice’s brother, Ptolemy III Euergetes (ca. 246-221 b.c.).
  15. Daniel 11:7 tn Heb “will deal with them and prevail.”
  16. Daniel 11:8 tn The Hebrew preposition מִן (min) is used here with the verb עָמַד (ʿamad, “to stand”). It probably has a sense of separation (“stand away from”), although it may also be understood in an adversative sense (“stand against”).
  17. Daniel 11:9 tn Heb “he”; the referent (the king of the north) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  18. Daniel 11:10 sn The sons of Seleucus II Callinicus were Seleucus III Ceraunus (ca. 227-223 b.c.) and Antiochus III the Great (ca. 223-187 b.c.).
  19. Daniel 11:10 tn Heb “his”; the referent (the enemy of the king of the north) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  20. Daniel 11:10 tn Heb “and he will certainly come and overflow and cross over and return and be aroused unto a fortress.” The translation has attempted to simplify the syntax of this difficult sequence.
  21. Daniel 11:11 sn This king of the south refers to Ptolemy IV Philopator (ca. 221-204 b.c.).
  22. Daniel 11:12 tn Heb “his heart will be lifted up.” The referent (the king of the south) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  23. Daniel 11:12 tn Heb “cause to fall.”
  24. Daniel 11:12 tn Heb “of myriads.”
  25. Daniel 11:14 tn Heb “stand against.”
  26. Daniel 11:14 sn This was Ptolemy V Epiphanes (ca. 203-181 b.c.).
  27. Daniel 11:14 tn Heb “sons of violence.” “Son(s)” is sometimes used idiomatically in Hebrew to indicate that someone is characterized by a certain quality. So the expression “sons of violence” means that these individuals will be characterized by violent deeds.
  28. Daniel 11:14 tn Heb “to cause to stand.”
  29. Daniel 11:15 sn This well-fortified city is apparently Sidon. Its capture from the Ptolemies by Antiochus the Great was a strategic victory for the Seleucid kingdom.
  30. Daniel 11:15 tn Or “choice troops” (BDB 104 s.v. מִבְחָר), or “elite troops” (HALOT 542 s.v. מִבְחָר).
  31. Daniel 11:16 tn Heb “hand.”
  32. Daniel 11:17 tn Heb “and he will set his face” (cf. vv. 18, 19).
  33. Daniel 11:17 tc The present translation reads מֵישָׁרִים (mesharim, “alliances”) for the MT וִישָׁרִים (viysharim, “uprightness”).
  34. Daniel 11:17 tn Heb “him”; the referent (the king of the south) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
  35. Daniel 11:17 tn Heb “the daughter of the women.”sn The daughter refers to Cleopatra, the daughter of Antiochus, who was given in marriage to Ptolemy V.
  36. Daniel 11:18 tn Heb “his face,” as also in v. 19.
  37. Daniel 11:18 sn The commander is probably the Roman commander, Lucius Cornelius Scipio.
  38. Daniel 11:18 tn The Hebrew here is difficult in that the negative בִּלְתִּי (bilti, “not”) is used in an unusual way. The sense is not entirely clear.
  39. Daniel 11:18 tn Heb “his shameful conduct he will return to him.”
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Daniel 11:5-19
New American Standard Bible

5 “Then the (A)king of the South will grow strong, [a]along with one of his princes [b]who will gain ascendancy over him and rule; his domain will be a great realm indeed. 6 And after some years they will form an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the South will come to the (B)king of the North to reach an agreement. But she will not keep her [c]position of power, nor will he remain with his [d]power, but she will be given up, along with those who brought her in and the one who fathered her as well as he who supported her in those times. 7 But one of the [e]descendants of her line will arise in his place, and he will come against their army and enter the (C)fortress of the king of the North, and he will deal with them and prevail. 8 And he will also take into captivity to Egypt their (D)gods with their cast metal images and their precious vessels of silver and gold, and he on his part will [f]refrain from attacking the king of the North for some years. 9 Then [g]the latter will enter the realm of the king of the South, but will return to his own land.

10 “And his sons will mobilize and assemble a multitude of great forces; and one of them will keep on coming and (E)overflow and pass through, so that he may [h]again wage war up to his fortress. 11 And the (F)king of the South will be enraged and go out and fight [i]with the king of the North. Then the latter will raise a great multitude, but that multitude will be handed over to [j]the former. 12 When the multitude is carried away, his heart will [k]be haughty, and he will cause tens of thousands to fall; yet he will not prevail. 13 For the king of the North will again raise a greater multitude than the former, and [l]after an (G)interval of some years he will [m]press on with a great army and much equipment.

14 “Now in those times many will rise up against the king of the South; the violent ones among your people will also raise themselves up to fulfill the vision, but they will [n]fall down. 15 Then the king of the North will come, pile up an (H)assault ramp, and capture a well-fortified city; and the forces of the South will not stand their ground, not even [o]their choicest troops, for there will be no strength to make a stand. 16 But he who comes against him will (I)do as he pleases, and (J)no one will be able to withstand him; he will also stay for a time in the [p](K)Beautiful Land, with destruction in his hand. 17 And he will (L)set his [q]mind on coming with the power of his entire kingdom, [r]bringing with him [s]a proposal of peace which he will put into effect; he will also give him the daughter of women to ruin it. But she will not take a stand for him or be [t]on his side. 18 Then he will turn his face to the (M)coastlands and capture many. But a commander will put a stop to his taunting against him; moreover, he will (N)repay him for his taunting. 19 So he will turn his face toward the fortresses of his own land, but he will (O)stumble and fall and not be (P)found.

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Footnotes

  1. Daniel 11:5 Lit and
  2. Daniel 11:5 Lit and he
  3. Daniel 11:6 Lit strength of arm
  4. Daniel 11:6 Lit arm
  5. Daniel 11:7 Lit branch of her roots
  6. Daniel 11:8 Lit stand from the king
  7. Daniel 11:9 Lit he will, and so throughout the ch
  8. Daniel 11:10 Or return and wage
  9. Daniel 11:11 Lit with him, with
  10. Daniel 11:11 Lit his hand
  11. Daniel 11:12 Lit rise
  12. Daniel 11:13 Lit at the end of the times, years
  13. Daniel 11:13 Or keep on coming
  14. Daniel 11:14 Lit stumble, and so throughout the ch
  15. Daniel 11:15 Lit the people of its choice ones
  16. Daniel 11:16 I.e., Israel
  17. Daniel 11:17 Lit face
  18. Daniel 11:17 Lit and
  19. Daniel 11:17 Lit equitable things
  20. Daniel 11:17 Lit for him; i.e., for her father
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