Daniel 11:39 - Printer Friendly

ESV: He shall deal with the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign god. Those who acknowledge him he shall load with honor. He shall make them rulers over many and shall divide the land for a price.

NIV: 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.

NASB: And he will take action against the strongest of fortresses with the help of a foreign god; he will give great honor to those who acknowledge him and will make them rulers over the many, and will parcel out land for a price.

CSB: He will deal with the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign god. He will greatly honor those who acknowledge him, making them rulers over many and distributing land as a reward.

NLT: Claiming this foreign god’s help, he will attack the strongest fortresses. He will honor those who submit to him, appointing them to positions of authority and dividing the land among them as their reward.

KJV: 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.

NKJV: Thus he shall act against the strongest fortresses with a foreign god, which he shall acknowledge, and advance its glory; and he shall cause them to rule over many, and divide the land for gain.

Recently, Daniel introduced a "king" with a strong will and a blasphemous level of arrogance (Daniel 11:36–37). Commentators usually identify this as one of the two "beasts" of the book of Revelation. In that text, one beast arises to take political control (Revelation 13:1–4), the other to rule over religion (Revelation 13:11–17). Many end-times interpretations label the first beast "the Antichrist" and the second "the false prophet."

The king Daniel speaks of now will find success against powerful enemies with the help of a foreign god. This may be the same idol mentioned in the prior verse. Or it may allude to another powerful world figure. The Hebrew wording of this verse is slightly obscure. Some translations suggest the king is attacking these fortresses; others that he is "taking action" or "dealing" with them somehow. Since the prior verse referred to a "god of fortresses," it seems likely the "foreign god" and "the god of fortresses" are one and the same.

In a prior prophecy, Daniel mentioned an obscure "he" who would make a covenant (Daniel 9:27). Many interpreters believe this is a peace treaty with Israel arranged by the Antichrist. The king mentioned in this more recent passage might be this very figure. Under an alternative view, the king noted in this verse is the false prophet, and the "foreign god" is the first beast. Some combination of these figures will come to dominate the world through force as well as spiritual deception. They will re-divide the earth according to their corrupt schemes.

Daniel 11:36–45 is part of a prophecy given to Daniel; everything he was told was to occur after his own life. Viewed from the modern perspective, most of the predictions have been fulfilled in our past. In this passage, that viewpoint shifts to the future. In the last days before the final judgment, a time of tribulation, a notable figure will honor some kind of military god. He will be attacked by armies from the north, but the leader of those armies will hastily retreat to a location between the Mediterranean Sea and Israel, where he will perish.

This chapter is most easily understood in terms of the historical events which it predicts. These include the conflicts between Ptolemaic Egypt and the Seleucid Empire up through the second century BC. This mentions the infamous Antiochus IV Epiphanes and what eventually became the Maccabean Revolt. The last portion of prophecy looks to the end times: blasphemous rulers, an invasion from the north, and a major defeat.

Daniel is receiving a prophecy, in an encounter which began in chapter 10. The substance of that prophecy is mostly given in chapter 11. This predicts the major events relating to Judea leading up to the conquest of the Roman Empire. It also begins to speak of end-times events. This leads to chapter 12 and the final prophetic remarks given to Daniel. Chapter 11 connects to other prophetic segments of Scripture such as Ezekiel 38 and Joel 2. Occurrences recorded here are also used by Jesus to depict end times events (Matthew 24:15).

The book of Daniel contains famous Old Testament stories and prophecies. Daniel was taken from the Israelite people and made an advisor for a conquering empire. He demonstrates faithfulness and wisdom during many years serving in this role. Though Daniel does not deliver a public message, Jesus refers to him as a "prophet" (Matthew 24:15). The first portion of the book mostly describes Daniel's interpretations of dreams and other events. The second portion looks ahead to the end times. Daniel is classified in English Bibles as a "major" prophet, meaning the book is relatively long and the content has broad implications. The book of Revelation echoes and expands on many of the same themes.