And a mighty king will arise, and he will rule with great authority and do as he pleases.
Parallel translations
- WEB A mighty king shall stand up, who shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will.
- KJV And a mighty king shall stand up, that 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.
- 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 who comes against him shall do according to his own will, and no one shall stand before him; and he shall stand in the glorious land, and in his hand shall be destruction.
- Dan 11:36The king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvelous things against the God of gods; and he shall prosper until the indignation be accomplished; for that which is determined shall be done.
- Dan 8:21The rough male goat is the king of Greece: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king.
- Dan 7:6After this I saw, and behold, another, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird; the animal had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.
- Dan 5:19and because of the greatness that he gave him, all the peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him: whom he would he killed, and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he raised up, and whom he would he put down.
- Heb 2:4God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders, by various works of power, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to his own will?
- Dan 4:35All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; and he does according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth; and no one can stop his hand, or ask him, What are you doing?
- Eph 1:11in whom also we were assigned an inheritance, having been foreordained according to the purpose of him who does all things after the counsel of his will;
- Jas 1:18Of his own will he gave birth to us by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of his creatures.
- Dan 8:4–14I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; and no animals could stand before him, neither was there any who could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and magnified himself.
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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
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.