“And through his shrewdness He will make deceit a success by his influence; And he will make himself great in his own mind, And he will destroy many while they are at ease. He will even oppose the Prince of princes, But he will be broken without human agency.
Parallel translations
- WEB Through his policy he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and he shall destroy many in their security. He shall also stand up against the prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand.
- KJV And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand.
- BSB Through 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.
- NKJV “Throughhis cunning He shall cause deceit to prosper under his rule; And he shall exalt himself in his heart. He shall destroy many in their prosperity. He shall even rise against the Prince of princes; But he shall be broken without human means.
- NLT He will be a master of deception and will become arrogant; he will destroy many without warning. He will even take on the Prince of princes in battle, but he will be broken, though not by human power.
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
Through cunning he prospers and exalts himself, even opposing the Prince of princes, yet he will be broken by no human hand. He defies God and is destroyed by God Himself.
Overview
The king's craft, pride, and assault on the Prince of princes, God or His Anointed, reach their climax, but he is broken without hand, that is, by divine power rather than human agency. Antiochus's sudden death fulfilled this in part, while many see a fuller fulfillment in the Antichrist destroyed by the brightness of Christ's coming. The verse assures that those who set themselves against God meet certain, supernatural overthrow.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Dan 8:11Yes, it magnified itself, even to the prince of the army; and it took away from him the continual burnt offering, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down.
- Dan 11:32–33Such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he pervert by flatteries; but the people who know their God shall be strong, and take action.
- Rev 17:14These will war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings, and those who are with him are called chosen and faithful.”
- Job 34:20In a moment they die, even at midnight. The people are shaken and pass away. The mighty are taken away without a hand.
- Rev 19:19–21I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him who sat on the horse, and against his army.
- Dan 11:21–25In his place shall stand up a contemptible person, to whom they had not given the honor of the kingdom: but he shall come in time of security, and shall obtain the kingdom by flatteries.
- Dan 2:34–35You saw until a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet that were of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces.
- Lam 4:6For the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the sin of Sodom, That was overthrown as in a moment, and no hands were laid on her.
- Dan 11:45He shall plant the tents of his palace between the sea and the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and no one shall help him.
- Dan 7:8I considered the horns, and behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one, before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots: and behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things.
- Dan 7:26But the judgment shall be set, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it to the end.
- Jer 48:26“Make him drunken; for he magnified himself against Yahweh: and Moab shall wallow in his vomit, and he also shall be in derision.
- Dan 11:36–37The 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 8:23–24In the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors have come to the full, a king of fierce face, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up.
- Dan 2:44–45In the days of those kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall its sovereignty be left to another people; but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.
- Acts 12:23Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he didn’t give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and died.
- Rev 19:16He has on his garment and on his thigh a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”
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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 8:25 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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