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Daniel 11:21-28, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Daniel 11:21-28
A Contemptible King Gains Power by Intrigue
A contemptible man takes the kingdom by intrigue
In his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom, but he shall come in peaceably and obtain the kingdom by flatteries. With the arms of a flood shall they be overflown from before him and shall be broken; yea, also the prince of the covenant.
After the league made with him he shall work deceitfully, for he shall come up and shall become strong with a small people. He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the province, do that which his fathers have not done, scatter among them the prey, spoil, and riches, and forecast his devices against the strong holds, even for a time. He shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the south with a great army, and the king of the south shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army, but he shall not stand, for they shall forecast devices against him. Yea, they that feed of the portion of his meat shall destroy him, and his army shall overflow, and many shall fall down slain. Both these kings' hearts shall be to do mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table, but it shall not prosper, for yet the end shall be at the time appointed. Then shall he return into his land with great riches, and his heart shall be against the holy covenant; and he shall do exploits, and return to his own land.
Antiochus IV is the strong horizon for this contempt
A rejected figure, flattery, a small start, deceit after league, devices, a table of lies, wealth from Egypt, and a heart turned against the holy covenant closely fit Antiochus IV Epiphanes. Prince of the covenant is disputed in identity, often heard in an Oniad or high-priestly crisis. Confidence should stay verse-specific.
The vile person is not a blank to fill with a living politician you despise. North and south still do not name modern blocs by default. Hostility toward the covenant is hostility toward this people's worship and life, not a cue for antisemitic theories about Jewish power.
How this should shape us
Name flattery, lying peace, and loot as the methods they are. Support people whose covenant life is being targeted, and do not pin this vile person on a current face because a chart needs a villain.
Teach it back
Explain Daniel 11:21-28 in your own words. Include its movement, ancient horizon, one material uncertainty, and one use the context rules out.
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Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Where careful interpreters disagreeThe strongest options and their difficulties
Where do careful interpreters disagree?
Best judgment: Exact king identifications, campaign details, verse 14's violent ones, covenant language, the referent of every pronoun, start of a possible eschatological shift, and verses 40-45 are disputed. Traditional predictive readings and critical ex eventu reconstruction should each be labeled.
How certain? probableResearch trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact reader-facing KJV wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Daniel 11:21-28, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew-Aramaic wording, morphology, language boundary, names, repeated roots, clauses, and lexical controls.
Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Dan.xml, 11:21-28; Hebrew 1:1–2:4a and 8:1–12:13, Aramaic 2:4b–7:28
Supports: Verse-level Hebrew-Aramaic, textual, historical, translation, chronology, angelic-language, and duration notes.
NET Bible Daniel PDF, printed pp. 1665–1668, translation and translator notes on 11:21-28
Supports: Bilingual form, genres, composition, imperial settings, Antiochus IV, four kingdoms, seventy weeks, resurrection, and major critical alternatives.
P. R. Davies, 'Daniel,' Oxford Bible Commentary, printed pp. 563–571; chapter-level discussion applied to 11:21-28
Supports: Two major Greek editions, substantial chapters 4–6 differences, numbering, wording, order, and additions outside the pinned KJV mapping.
McLay, NETS Daniel, introduction printed pp. 991–994 and parallel Old Greek/Theodotion translation pp. 995–1025; 11:21-28
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact reader-facing KJV wording, paragraph markers, supplied-word markup, and complete verse coverage.
Exact location: Daniel 11:21-28, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM corpus
Open source ↗hebrew aramaic text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Daniel
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew-Aramaic wording, morphology, language boundary, names, repeated roots, clauses, and lexical controls.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v.2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Dan.xml, 11:21-28; Hebrew 1:1–2:4a and 8:1–12:13, Aramaic 2:4b–7:28
Open source ↗translation and translator notes
NET Bible: Daniel with translators' notes
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Verse-level Hebrew-Aramaic, textual, historical, translation, chronology, angelic-language, and duration notes.
Exact location: NET Bible Daniel PDF, printed pp. 1665–1668, translation and translator notes on 11:21-28
Open source ↗scholarly commentary article
Daniel
Philip R. Davies
Oxford University Press, in The Oxford Bible Commentary, edited by John Barton and John Muddiman, 2001
Supports: Bilingual form, genres, composition, imperial settings, Antiochus IV, four kingdoms, seventy weeks, resurrection, and major critical alternatives.
Exact location: P. R. Davies, 'Daniel,' Oxford Bible Commentary, printed pp. 563–571; chapter-level discussion applied to 11:21-28
Open source ↗greek text translation and introduction
A New English Translation of the Septuagint: Daniel
R. Timothy McLay
Oxford University Press for the International Organization for Septuagint and Cognate Studies, 2009, electronic corrections through 2014
Supports: Two major Greek editions, substantial chapters 4–6 differences, numbering, wording, order, and additions outside the pinned KJV mapping.
Exact location: McLay, NETS Daniel, introduction printed pp. 991–994 and parallel Old Greek/Theodotion translation pp. 995–1025; 11:21-28
Open source ↗