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He will resolve to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and will reach an agreement with the king of the South. He will give him a daughter in marriage in order to overthrow the kingdom, but his plan will not succeed or help him.
Daniel 11:17 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB He shall set his face to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and with him equitable conditions; and he shall perform them: and he shall give him the daughter of women, to corrupt her; but she shall not stand, neither be for him.
  • KJV He shall also set his face to enter with the strength of his whole kingdom, and upright ones with him; thus shall he do: and he shall give him the daughter of women, corrupting her: but she shall not stand on his side, neither be for him.
  • NKJV “He shall also set his face to enter with the strength of his whole kingdom, and upright ones with him; thus shall he do. And he shall give him the daughter of women to destroy it; but she shall not stand with him, or be for him.
  • NASB And he will set his mind on coming with the power of his entire kingdom, bringing with him 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 on his side.
  • NLT He will make plans to come with the might of his entire kingdom and will form an alliance with the king of the south. He will give him a daughter in marriage in order to overthrow the kingdom from within, but his plan will fail.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

The king seeks to subdue the south, offering a daughter in marriage to corrupt it, but the scheme fails. Crafty alliances cannot override God's purposes.

Overview

This reflects a Seleucid attempt to gain Egypt through a marriage alliance, historically the giving of Cleopatra I to the Egyptian king, which did not achieve its intended end. The failure of the plot shows that human cunning has limits. The repeated collapse of such schemes underscores the futility of opposing or manipulating the course God has set.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 14

  • Rom 8:31What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
  • Ezek 4:7You must turn your face toward the siege of Jerusalem with your arm bared, and prophesy against it.
  • Ezek 4:3Then take an iron plate and set it up as an iron wall between yourself and the city. Turn your face toward it so that it is under siege, and besiege it. This will be a sign to the house of Israel.
  • 2 Kgs 12:17At that time Hazael king of Aram marched up and fought against Gath and captured it. Then he decided to attack Jerusalem.
  • Luke 11:23He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.
  • 2 Chr 20:3Jehoshaphat was alarmed and set his face to seek the LORD. And he proclaimed a fast throughout Judah.
  • Dan 9:26Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and will have nothing. Then the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood, and until the end there will be war; desolations have been decreed.
  • Dan 11:19After this, he will turn back toward the fortresses of his own land, but he will stumble and fall and be no more.
  • Ezek 25:2“Son of man, set your face against the Ammonites and prophesy against them.
  • Matt 12:30He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.
  • Luke 9:51As the day of His ascension approached, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.
  • Ezek 17:17Pharaoh with his mighty army and vast horde will not help him in battle, when ramps are built and siege walls constructed to destroy many lives.
  • Prov 19:21Many plans are in a man’s heart, but the purpose of the LORD will prevail.
  • Ps 56:9Then my enemies will retreat on the day I cry for help. By this I will know that God is on my side.

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Daniel videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Daniel 11:17YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on DanielMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Daniel sees the stone cut without hands that shatters the kingdoms, and 'one like a son of man' given everlasting dominion — titles and visions Jesus claims as his own.

How Daniel 11:17 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.