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.
Parallel translations
- 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.
- BSB 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.
- 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 about these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
- Ezek 4:7You shall set your face toward the siege of Jerusalem, with your arm uncovered; and you shall prophesy against it.
- Ezek 4:3Take for yourself an iron pan, and set it for a wall of iron between you and the city: and set your face toward it. It shall be besieged, and you shall lay siege against it. This shall be a sign to the house of Israel.
- 2 Kgs 12:17Then Hazael king of Syria went up, and fought against Gath, and took it; and Hazael set his face to go up to Jerusalem.
- Luke 11:23“He that is not with me is against me. He who doesn’t gather with me scatters.
- 2 Chr 20:3Jehoshaphat was alarmed, and set himself to seek to Yahweh. He proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.
- Dan 9:26After the sixty-two weeks the Anointed One shall be cut off, and shall have nothing: and the people of the prince who shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and its end shall be with a flood, and even to the end shall be war; desolations are determined.
- Dan 11:19Then he shall turn his face toward the fortresses of his own land; but he shall stumble and fall, and shall not be found.
- Ezek 25:2Son of man, set your face toward the children of Ammon, and prophesy against them:
- Matt 12:30“He who is not with me is against me, and he who doesn’t gather with me, scatters.
- Luke 9:51It came to pass, when the days were near that he should be taken up, he intently set his face to go to Jerusalem,
- Ezek 17:17Neither shall Pharaoh with his mighty army and great company help him in the war, when they cast up mounds and build forts, to cut off many persons.
- Prov 19:21There are many plans in a man’s heart, but Yahweh’s counsel will prevail.
- Ps 56:9Then my enemies shall turn back in the day that I call. I know this, that God is for me.
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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
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