But the saints of the Most High will receive the kingdom and possess it forever—yes, forever and ever.’
Parallel translations
- WEB But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever.
- KJV But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.
- NKJV But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever.’
- NASB But the saints of the Highest One will receive the kingdom and take possession of the kingdom forever, for all ages to come.’
- NLT But in the end, the holy people of the Most High will be given the kingdom, and they will rule forever and ever.”
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
In contrast to the fleeting beast-kingdoms, the saints of the Most High will receive and possess an everlasting kingdom. God's people share in His eternal reign.
Overview
This is the hinge of the chapter: earthly empires pass away, but the kingdom is finally given to God's holy people forever. This anticipates the reign of Christ, the Son of Man (7:13-14), in which His people share. It offers enduring comfort that the last word belongs not to tyrants but to the redeemed who belong to the Most High.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Dan 7:27Then the sovereignty, dominion, and greatness of the kingdoms under all of heaven will be given to the people, the saints of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will serve and obey Him.’
- Isa 60:12–14For the nation or kingdom that will not serve you will perish; it will be utterly destroyed.
- Rev 5:10You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign upon the earth.”
- Rev 20:4Then I saw the thrones, and those seated on them had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image, and had not received its mark on their foreheads or hands. And they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
- Rev 2:26–27And to the one who overcomes and continues in My work until the end, I will give authority over the nations.
- 2 Tim 2:11–12This is a trustworthy saying: If we died with Him, we will also live with Him;
- Dan 7:22until the Ancient of Days arrived and pronounced judgment in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for them to possess the kingdom.
- Ps 149:5–9Let the saints exult in glory; let them shout for joy upon their beds.
- Ps 45:16Your sons will succeed your fathers; you will make them princes throughout the land.
- Eph 1:3Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms.
- Rev 3:21To the one who overcomes, I will grant the right to sit with Me on My throne, just as I overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.
- Eph 6:12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this world’s darkness, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
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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 7:18 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.