5 And the king of the south, who is one of his princes, shall be strong; but [another] shall be stronger than he, and have dominion: his dominion shall be a great dominion. 6 And after the course of years they shall join affinity; and the king's daughter of the south shall come to the king of the north to make equitable conditions: but she shall not retain the strength of her arm; neither shall he stand, nor his arm; and she shall be given up, she and they that brought her, and he that begat her, and he that strengthened her in [those] times. 7 But out of a shoot from her roots shall one stand up in his place, who shall come to the army, and shall enter into the fortress of the king of the north, and shall deal against them, and shew himself mighty. 8 He shall also carry captive into Egypt their gods, with their princes, and their precious vessels of silver and of gold; and he shall subsist for more years than the king of the north; 9 and [the same] shall come into the realm of the king of the south, but shall return into his own land. 10 And his sons shall be stirred up, and shall assemble a multitude of great forces; and one shall certainly come, and overflow, and pass through; and he shall return and carry the war even to his fortress. 11 And the king of the south shall be enraged, and shall come forth and fight with him, with the king of the north, who shall set forth a great multitude, but the multitude shall be given into his hand. 12 And when the multitude shall have been taken away, his heart shall be exalted; and he shall cast down myriads; but he shall not prevail. 13 For the king of the north shall return, and shall set forth a multitude greater than the former; and shall certainly come at the end of the times of years with a great army and with much substance. 14 And in those times shall many stand up against the king of the south; and the violent of thy people will exalt themselves to establish the vision; but they shall fall. 15 And the king of the north shall come, and cast up a mound, and take the well-fenced city; and the arms of the south shall not withstand, neither his chosen people, for there shall be no strength to withstand. 16 And he that cometh against him shall do according to his own will, and none shall stand before him; and he shall stand in the land of beauty, and destruction shall be in his hand. 17 And he shall set his face to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and upright ones with him; and he shall practise; and he shall give him the daughter of women, to corrupt her; but she shall not stand, neither shall she be for him. 18 And he shall turn his face unto the isles, and shall take many; but a captain for his own behalf shall cause the reproach offered by him to cease: he shall turn it upon him, without reproach for himself. 19 And he shall turn his face toward the fortresses of his own land; and he shall stumble and fall, and not be found. 20 And in his place shall one stand up who shall cause the exactor to pass through the glory of the kingdom; but in a few days he shall be broken, neither in anger nor in battle.
21 And in his place 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. 22 And the overflowing forces shall be overflowed from before him, and shall be broken: yea, also the prince of the covenant. 23 And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully, and he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people. 24 In time of peace shall he enter even into the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers' fathers: he shall scatter among them prey, and spoil, and substance, and he shall plan his devices against the fortified places, even for a time. 25 And 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 engage in battle with an exceeding great and mighty army; but he shall not stand, for they shall plan devices against him. 26 And they that eat of his delicate food shall break him, and his army shall be dissolved; and many shall fall down slain. 27 And both these kings' hearts [shall meditate] mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table; but it shall not prosper; for yet the end shall be at the time appointed. 28 And he shall return into his land with great substance; and his heart shall be against the holy covenant; and he shall practise, and return to his own land. 29 At the set time he shall return, and come towards the south; but not as the former time shall be the latter; 30 for ships of Chittim shall come against him; and he shall be grieved, and return, and have indignation against the holy covenant; and will practise; and he shall return and direct his attention to those that forsake the holy covenant. 31 And forces shall stand on his part, and they shall profane the sanctuary, the fortress, and shall take away the continual [sacrifice], and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate. 32 And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he pervert by flatteries; but the people that know their God shall be strong, and shall act. 33 And they that are wise among the people shall instruct the many; and they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, [many] days. 34 And when they fall, they shall be helped with a little help; but many shall cleave to them with flatteries. 35 And [some] of the wise shall fall, to try them, and to purge and to make them white, to the time of the end: for it shall yet be for the time appointed.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Daniel 11:5-35
Commentary on Daniel 11:1-30
(Read Daniel 11:1-30)
The angel shows Daniel the succession of the Persian and Grecian empires. The kings of Egypt and Syria are noticed: Judea was between their dominions, and affected by their contests. From verse 21, to relate to Antiochus Epiphanes, who was a cruel and violent persecutor of the Jews. See what decaying, perishing things worldly pomp and possessions are, and the power by which they are gotten. God, in his providence, sets up one, and pulls down another, as he pleases. This world is full of wars and fightings, which come from men's lusts. All changes and revolutions of states and kingdoms, and every event, are plainly and perfectly foreseen by God. No word of God shall fall to the ground; but what he has designed, what he has declared, shall infallibly come to pass. While the potsherds of the earth strive with each other, they prevail and are prevailed against, deceive and are deceived; but those who know God will trust in him, and he will enable them to stand their ground, bear their cross, and maintain their conflict.
Commentary on Daniel 11:31-45
(Read Daniel 11:31-45)
The remainder of this prophecy is very difficult, and commentators differ much respecting it. From Antiochus the account seems to pass to antichrist. Reference seems to be made to the Roman empire, the fourth monarchy, in its pagan, early Christian, and papal states. The end of the Lord's anger against his people approaches, as well as the end of his patience towards his enemies. If we would escape the ruin of the infidel, the idolater, the superstitious and cruel persecutor, as well as that of the profane, let us make the oracles of God our standard of truth and of duty, the foundation of our hope, and the light of our paths through this dark world, to the glorious inheritance above.