Limitless Word
After an alliance is made with him, he will act deceitfully; for he will rise to power with only a few people.
Daniel 11:23 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB After the treaty made with him he shall work deceitfully; for he shall come up, and shall become strong, with a small people.
  • KJV And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people.
  • NKJV And after the league is made with him he shall act deceitfully, for he shall come up and become strong with a small number of people.
  • NASB After an alliance is made with him he will practice deception, and he will go up and gain power with a small force of people.
  • NLT With deceitful promises, he will make various alliances. He will become strong despite having only a handful of followers.

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

After making a treaty he acts deceitfully, growing strong with only a small following. The tyrant rises by treachery rather than honest strength.

Overview

His path to power is paved with broken faith and cunning rather than open might. The portrait of deceit marks Antiochus as an enemy who advances by craft against both rivals and God's people. Such treachery characterizes the spirit of opposition to God throughout Scripture, which works by lies, in contrast to Christ who is the truth.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 8

  • 2 Th 2:9The coming of the lawless one will be accompanied by the working of Satan, with every kind of power, sign, and false wonder,
  • Dan 8:25Through his craft and by his hand, he will cause deceit to prosper, and in his own mind he will make himself great. In a time of peace he will destroy many, and he will even stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be broken off, but not by human hands.
  • Gen 34:13But because Shechem had defiled their sister Dinah, Jacob’s sons answered him and his father Hamor deceitfully.
  • Rom 1:29They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice. They are gossips,
  • 2 Cor 11:3I am afraid, however, that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may be led astray from your simple and pure devotion to Christ.
  • Ezek 17:13–19He took a member of the royal family and made a covenant with him, putting him under oath. Then he carried away the leading men of the land,
  • Prov 11:18The wicked man earns an empty wage, but he who sows righteousness reaps a true reward.
  • Ps 52:2Your tongue devises destruction like a sharpened razor, O worker of deceit.

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 11:23YouTube · 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 11:23 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.