Daniel 11:6 - Printer Friendly

ESV: After some years they shall make an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement. But she shall not retain the strength of her arm, and he and his arm shall not endure, but she shall be given up, and her attendants, he who fathered her, and he who supported her in those times.

NIV: After some years, they will become allies. The daughter of the king of the South will go to the king of the North to make an alliance, but she will not retain her power, and he and his power will not last. In those days she will be betrayed, together with her royal escort and her father and the one who supported her.

NASB: And after some years they will form an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the South will come to the king of the North to reach an agreement. But she will not keep her position of power, nor will he remain with his 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.

CSB: After some years they will form an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the South will go to the king of the North to seal the agreement. She will not retain power, and his strength will not endure. She will be given up, together with her entourage, her father, and the one who supported her during those times.

NLT: Some years later an alliance will be formed between the king of the north and the king of the south. The daughter of the king of the south will be given in marriage to the king of the north to secure the alliance, but she will lose her influence over him, and so will her father. She will be abandoned along with her supporters.

KJV: 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.

NKJV: And at the end of some years they shall join forces, for the daughter of the king of the South shall go to the king of the North to make an agreement; but she shall not retain the power of her authority, and neither he nor his authority shall stand; but she shall be given up, with those who brought her, and with him who begot her, and with him who strengthened her in those times.

Daniel's ongoing prophecy (Daniel 10:1; 11:2) has described a powerful king whose kingdom would be split four ways (Daniel 11:3–4). This was fulfilled in the person of Alexander the Great. After this, the king associated with "the south" is predicted in connection with one of his "princes," who will have even greater strength (Daniel 11:5). This corresponds to the way Ptolemy's former lieutenant, Seleucus, was appointed to rule in Babylon. When another of Alexander's former generals attacked in 316 BC, Ptolemy came to Seleucus's aid. When the fighting was done, Seleucus's kingdom was much larger than that of Ptolemy.

Here, the angel (Daniel 10:18–21) mentions the two kingdoms uniting through a daughter of the king of the south and the king of the north. This agreement does not last; neither he nor she is strong enough to prevent what happens. The daughter, her servants, her father, and other loyal supporters are lost. The next verse mentions a campaign of vengeance waged by someone who shares the daughter's ancestry (Daniel 11:7).

Daniel was given these words in 536 BC (Daniel 10:1). History affirms earlier predictions about Alexander and his successors. It also ties this part of prophecy to further real-world events. Between 285 and 246 BC, this intrigue would play out between the nations of Egypt and the Seleucid Empire which stretched east from Syria.

Ptolemy II Philadelphus, son of Ptolemy I, came to rule Egypt. He was a rival of the grandson of Seleucus: Antiochus II Theos, who reigned from Syria. Seeking to end a series of wars over Syrian territory, Philadelphus insisted Antiochus marry Philadelphus's daughter, Berenice. This required Antiochus to divorce his wife Laodice, for whom he had founded the city of Laodicea (Revelation 3:14). In so doing, Antiochus disinherited his children and agreed to appoint a future son of Berenice's as heir to the throne. This occurred in approximately 250 BC, but the attempt at peace ended in disaster.

When Ptolemy II died, Antiochus II promptly abandoned Berenice and their child, reunited with Laodice, and claimed that Laodice's firstborn would inherit the throne. Mere months later, Antiochus died, likely poisoned by his scorned current-and-former partner, Laodice. In the resulting chaos, Laodice's supporters murdered Berenice and her son. This set up Laodice's son, Seleucus II Callinicus, to become king.

In turn, this would lead to acts of revenge by Berenice's brother, Ptolemy III Euergetes (Daniel 11:7).

Daniel 11:2–20 provides a political timeline beginning with Darius the Mede (Daniel 5:30–31). The history—given as prophecy to the prophet Daniel around 536 BC (Daniel 10:1)—involves military conflicts between Greeks and Persians and between empires ruling from Syria and Egypt. These accounts are given to Daniel by an angel, probably Gabriel (Daniel 10:18–21). Parts of these prophecies are unusually straightforward, relying much less on symbolism and plainly indicating the events which will occur.

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.