And a mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will.
Parallel translations
- WEB A mighty king shall stand up, who shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will.
- BSB Then a mighty king will arise, who will rule with great authority and do as he pleases.
- NKJV Then a mighty king shall arise, who shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will.
- NASB And a mighty king will arise, and he will rule with great authority and do as he pleases.
- NLT “Then a mighty king will rise to power who will rule with great authority and accomplish everything he sets out to do.
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
A mighty king will arise and rule with great dominion, doing as he pleases. This foretells the rise of a dominant world conqueror.
Overview
Conservative interpreters widely identify this mighty king as Alexander the Great, whose Greek empire swiftly overran the Persians. The phrase 'do according to his will' marks his apparent autonomy, yet he serves, unknowingly, within God's larger plan. The precision of the prophecy underscores that even the greatest human powers act only within the bounds the Lord sets.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Dan 11:16But he that cometh against him shall do according to his own will, and none shall stand before him: and he shall stand in the glorious land, which by his hand shall be consumed.
- Dan 11:36And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.
- Dan 8:21And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king.
- Dan 7:6After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.
- Dan 5:19And for the majesty that he gave him, all people, nations, and languages, trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew; and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up; and whom he would he put down.
- Heb 2:4God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will?
- Dan 4:35And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?
- Eph 1:11In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
- Jas 1:18Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.
- Dan 8:4–14I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; so that no beasts might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and became great.
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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 11:3 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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