But you, Daniel, keep this prophecy a secret; seal up the book until the time of the end, when many will rush here and there, and knowledge will increase.”
Parallel translations
- WEB But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run back and forth, and knowledge shall be increased.”
- KJV But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.
- BSB But you, Daniel, shut up these words and seal the book until the time of the end. Many will roam to and fro, and knowledge will increase.”
- NKJV “But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.”
- NASB But as for you, Daniel, keep these words secret and seal up the book until the end of time; many will roam about, and knowledge will increase.”
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
Daniel is told to seal the words until the time of the end, when many will go to and fro and knowledge will increase. The prophecy is preserved for its appointed future fulfillment.
Overview
Sealing the book means preserving and safeguarding the message until its proper time, not hiding it forever. The increase of knowledge and movement points to the unfolding of God's purposes toward the end. This assures God's people that the prophecy is trustworthy and kept secure, awaiting the time when its meaning is fully understood in the light of God's completed plan in Christ.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 18
- Dan 12:9He said, Go your way, Daniel; for the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end.
- Rev 22:10He said to me, “Don’t seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand.
- Dan 8:26The vision of the evenings and mornings which has been told is true: but seal up the vision; for it belongs to many days to come.
- Dan 8:17So he came near where I stood; and when he came, I was frightened, and fell on my face: but he said to me, Understand, son of man; for the vision belongs to the time of the end.
- Rev 10:4When the seven thunders sounded, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from the sky saying, “Seal up the things which the seven thunders said, and don’t write them.”
- Isa 32:3The eyes of those who see will not be dim, and the ears of those who hear will listen.
- Isa 8:16Wrap up the testimony. Seal the law among my disciples.
- Dan 12:13But go you your way until the end; for you shall rest, and shall stand in your lot, at the end of the days.
- Zech 14:6–10It will happen in that day, that there will not be light, cold, or frost.
- Isa 29:18–19In that day, the deaf will hear the words of the book, and the eyes of the blind will see out of obscurity and out of darkness.
- Isa 11:9They will not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of Yahweh, as the waters cover the sea.
- Matt 24:14This Good News of the Kingdom will be preached in the whole world for a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.
- Rev 14:6–7I saw an angel flying in mid heaven, having an eternal Good News to proclaim to those who dwell on the earth, and to every nation, tribe, language, and people.
- Dan 11:40At the time of the end shall the king of the south contend with him; and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass through.
- Dan 11:33Those who are wise among the people shall instruct many; yet they shall fall by the sword and by flame, by captivity and by plunder, many days.
- Rom 10:18But I say, didn’t they hear? Yes, most certainly, “Their sound went out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.”
- Dan 10:1In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a thing was revealed to Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar; and the thing was true, even a great warfare: and he understood the thing, and had understanding of the vision.
- Isa 30:26Moreover the light of the moon will be like the light of the sun, and the light of the sun will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven days, in the day that Yahweh binds up the fracture of his people, and heals the wound they were struck with.
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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 12:4 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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