“Three² more kings will arise for Persia. Then a fourth³ king will be unusually rich,⁴ more so than all who preceded him. When he has amassed power through his riches, he will stir up everyone against⁵ the kingdom of Greece. ^11:3Then a powerful king⁶ will arise, exercising great authority and doing as he pleases. ^11:4Shortly after his rise to power,⁷ his kingdom will be broken up and distributed toward the four winds of the sky⁸—but not to his posterity or with the authority he exercised, for his kingdom will be uprooted and distributed to others besides these.

^11:5“Then the king of the south⁹ and one of his subordinates¹⁰ will grow strong. His subordinate¹¹ will resist¹² him and will rule a kingdom greater than his.¹³^11:6After some years have passed, they¹⁴ will form an alliance. Then the daughter¹⁵ 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,¹⁶ nor will he continue¹⁷ in his strength.¹⁸ She, together with the one who brought her, her child,¹⁹ and her benefactor will all be delivered over at that time.²⁰

^11:7“There will arise in his²¹ place one from her family line²² who will come against their army and will enter the stronghold of the king of the north and will move against them successfully.²³^11:8He 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 from²⁴ the king of the north. ^11:9Then the king of the north²⁵ will advance against the empire of the king of the south, but will withdraw to his own land. ^11:10His sons²⁶ will wage war, mustering a large army which will advance like an overflowing river and carrying the battle all the way to the enemy’s²⁷ fortress.²⁸

^11:11“Then the king of the south²⁹ 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. ^11:12When the army is taken away, the king of the south will become arrogant.³⁰ He will be responsible for the death³¹ of thousands and thousands of people,³² but he will not continue to prevail. ^11:13For 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.

^11:14“In those times many will oppose³³ the king of the south.³⁴ Those who are violent³⁵ among your own people will rise up in confirmation of³⁶ the vision, but they will falter. ^11:15Then the king of the north will advance and will build siege mounds and capture a well-fortified city.³⁷ The forces of the south will not prevail, not even his finest contingents.³⁸ They will have no strength to prevail. ^11:16The 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.³⁹^11:17His intention⁴⁰ will be to come with the strength of his entire kingdom, and he will form alliances.⁴¹ He will give the king of the south⁴² a daughter⁴³ in marriage in order to destroy the kingdom, but it will not turn out to his advantage. ^11:18Then he will turn his attention⁴⁴ to the coastal regions and will capture many of them. But a commander⁴⁵ will bring his shameful conduct to a halt; in addition,⁴⁶ he will make him pay for his shameful conduct.⁴⁷^11:19He 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 The antecedent of the pronoun “I” is the angel, not Daniel. The traditional chapter division at this point, and the presence of a chronological note in the verse similar to ones used elsewhere in the book to position Daniel’s activities in relation to imperial affairs, sometimes lead to confusion on this matter.
2 Perhaps these three more kings are Cambyses ( 530–522 b.c.), Pseudo-Smerdis ( 522 b.c.), and Darius I Hystaspes ( 522–486 b.c.).
3 This fourth king is Xerxes I ( 486–465 b.c.). The following reference to one of his chiefs apparently has in view Seleucus Nicator.
4 Heb “rich with great riches.”
5 The text is difficult. The Hebrew has here אֶת (’et), the marker of a definite direct object. As it stands, this would suggest the meaning that “he will arouse everyone, that is, the kingdom of Greece.” The context, however, seems to suggest the idea that this Persian king will arouse in hostility against Greece the constituent elements of his own empire. This requires supplying the word “against,” which is not actually present in the Hebrew text.
6 The powerful king mentioned here is Alexander the Great ( 336–323 b.c.).
7 Heb “and when he stands.”
8 Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.
9 The king of the south is Ptolemy I Soter ( 323–285 b.c.). The following reference to one of his subordinates apparently has in view Seleucus I Nicator ( 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.
10 Heb “princes.”
11 Heb “and he”; the referent (the subordinate prince mentioned in the previous clause) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
12 Heb “be strong against.”
13 Heb “greater than his kingdom.”
14 Here they refers to Ptolemy II Philadelphus ( 285–246 b.c.) and Antiochus II Theos ( 262–246 b.c.).
15 The daughter refers to Berenice, who was given in marriage to Antiochus II Theos.
16 Heb “the strength of the arm.”
17 Heb “stand.” So also in vv. 7, 8, 11, 13.
18 Heb “and his arm.” Some understand this to refer to the descendants of the king of the north.
19 The present translation reads יַלְדָּה (yaldah, “her child”) rather than the יֹלְדָהּ (yolédah, “the one who begot her”). Cf. Theodotion, the , and the .
20 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 ( 246–227 b.c.), as the Seleucid king.
21 The reference is to the king of Egypt.
22 Heb “the stock of her roots.” The reference to one from her family line is probably to Berenice’s brother, Ptolemy III Euergetes ( 246–221 b.c.).
23 Heb “will deal with them and prevail.”
24 The Hebrew preposition מִן (min) is used here with the verb עָמַד (’amad, “to stand”). It probably has a sense of separation (“stand away from”), although it may also be understood in an adversative sense (“stand against”).
25 Heb “he”; the referent (the king of the north) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
26 The sons of Seleucus II Callinicus were Seleucus III Ceraunus ( 227–223 b.c.) and Antiochus III the Great ( 223–187 b.c.).
27 Heb “his”; the referent (the enemy of the king of the north) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
28 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.
29 This king of the south refers to Ptolemy IV Philopator ( 221–204 b.c.).
30 Heb “his heart will be lifted up.” The referent (the king of the south) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
31 Heb “cause to fall.”
32 Heb “of myriads.”
33 Heb “stand against.”
34 This was Ptolemy V Epiphanes ( 203–181 b.c.).
35 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.
36 Heb “to cause to stand.”
37 This well-fortified city is apparently Sidon. Its capture from the Ptolemies by Antiochus the Great was a strategic victory for the Seleucid kingdom.
38 Or “choice troops” ( 104 מִבְחָר), or “elite troops” ( מִבְחָר).
39 Heb “hand.”
40 Heb “and he will set his face.” Cf. vv. 18, 19.
41 The present translation reads מֵישָׁרִים (mesharim, “alliances”) for the וִישָׁרִים (viysharim, “uprightness”).
42 Heb “him”; the referent (the king of the south) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
43 Heb “the daughter of the women.” The daughter refers to Cleopatra, the daughter of Antiochus, who was given in marriage to Ptolemy V.
44 Heb “his face.” See v. 19 as well.
45 The commander is probably the Roman commander, Lucius Cornelius Scipio.
46 The Hebrew here is difficult in that the negative בִּלְתִּי (biltiy, “not”) is used in an unusual way. The sense is not entirely clear.
47 Heb “his shameful conduct he will return to him.”