Daniel 11:15
King James Version (1769)
Other translations
| Verse | KJV | BSB | ASV |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | So the king of the north shall come, and cast up a mount, and take the most fenced cities: and the arms of the south shall not withstand, neither his chosen people, neither shall there be any strength to withstand. | Then the king of the North will come, build up a siege ramp, and capture a fortified city. The forces of the South will not stand; even their best troops will not be able to resist. | So the king of the north shall come, and cast up a mound, and take a well-fortified city: and the forces of the south shall not stand, neither his chosen people, neither shall there be any strength to stand. |
In context
AI-assisted, sourcedIn a long vision about the kings of the north and the south, the king of the north returns with a bigger army. He builds a siege mound, takes strongly fortified cities, and the south's forces and best troops cannot hold him off. The next verse says none shall stand before him, and he stands in the glorious land. Daniel 11:13Daniel 11:14Daniel 11:15Daniel 11:16
SpeakingThe one speaking to Daniel in this vision. He says that in the first year of Darius the Mede he stood to confirm and to strengthen "him," and he now shows Daniel "the truth" about coming kings. Daniel 11:1Daniel 11:2
ToDaniel, who records this vision in the first person. The speaker refers to "thy people," Daniel's own nation. Daniel overviewDaniel 11:14
Also involvedThe king of the north and the king of the south, with their armies and cities. The chapter ties the south to Egypt. The text does not give these kings personal names. Daniel 11:8Daniel 11:15
The king of the north lays siege. "Cast up a mount" means heaping a mound against a city, as in Ezekiel 4:2 and Jeremiah 6:6. The south's forces, even its choicest men, have no strength to resist. The wording echoes Daniel 8:7, where the ram had "no power... to stand before him." Daniel 11:15Ezekiel 4:2Jeremiah 6:6Daniel 8:7Strong's H5550
The fighting is between a northern kingdom and a southern one tied to Egypt. It moves toward "the glorious land" in the next verse. Daniel served in Babylon, where the book was written. Daniel 11:8Daniel 11:16NorthSouth 3Daniel overview
The eventsIn the vision's order, this comes after the north's king returns "after certain years" with a greater army (11:13), and many rise against the south (11:14). It comes before he stands in the glorious land (11:16). These kings follow the breakup of the mighty king's kingdom (11:3-4). Daniel 11:3Daniel 11:4Daniel 11:13Daniel 11:14Daniel 11:16
WrittenTraditional: written by Daniel in the 500s BC; the book's events run to the third year of Cyrus, about 536 BC. Scholarly: many critical scholars date the book's final form to about 167-164 BC, because chapter 11 describes those years in detail. Others keep the traditional date, pointing to Jesus' words in Matthew 24:15. Daniel overview
HereThe verse shows the balance of power swinging to the north, step by step as foretold. The chapter stresses that "that that is determined shall be done" and that the end comes "at the time appointed." Daniel 11:15Daniel 11:27Daniel 11:36
In the whole of ScriptureDaniel shows that "the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men." God sets up and removes kings. Even the rise and fall of armies here runs inside God's plan, and his kingdom will never be destroyed. Daniel overview
For readersFortified cities and chosen troops could not save the south. Scripture says "safety is of the LORD" and no counsel stands against him. In this same chapter, the people who know their God are the ones who "shall be strong." Daniel 11:15Proverbs 21:31Proverbs 21:30Daniel 11:32
- mountסֹלְלָה
The word means "mound." It is a heap cast up against a city in a siege, the same act described in Ezekiel 4:2 and Jeremiah 6:6, not a natural mountain. Strong's H5550Ezekiel 4:2Jeremiah 6:6
- fenced citiesמִבְצָר
It means fortification, fortress, fortified city, or stronghold. The king takes the strongly defended places. Strong's H4013
- armsאֶדְרַע
The lexicon gives "strong, force, arm, power." "The arms of the south" means the south's forces. Strong's H2220
- chosen peopleמִבְחוֹר
The word means "choice" or "best." Here it is the south's choicest ones, its best men, not God's chosen people. Strong's H4005Daniel 11:15
- withstandעָמַד
The word is "stand," including to make a stand or hold one's ground. "Stand" runs through the chapter, as kings "stand up" and "none shall stand before him" (11:16). Strong's H5975GDaniel 11:2Daniel 11:3Daniel 11:16
Takeaway
This verse foretells a siege in which the south's best defenses and troops fail before the king of the north. Its "chosen people" are the south's best men, not God's people. It reminds readers that walls and armies cannot save; safety is of the LORD. Daniel 11:15Strong's H4005Proverbs 21:31
Drafted by AI from the Scripture and data shown under “Show sources,” then checked automatically and by a second AI pass. Updated 2026-10-28.
The world around the text
About 605-536 BC. King of Babylon: Nebuchadnezzar (605-562 BC). Where Daniel lived and served for about seventy years. The capital of the Babylonian empire, on the Euphrates south of modern Baghdad, in the land the Bible calls Shinar and Chaldea.
Who ruled
- King of BabylonNebuchadnezzar605-562 BC
The king who besieged Jerusalem, carried Daniel and the temple vessels to Babylon, and later destroyed the city and temple. His own building inscriptions boast of the Babylon he built. Daniel 1:1-22 Kings 24:12 Kings 25:8-10Jeremiah 25:1Babylonian Chronicles (ABC 5)
- Last king of Babylon, and his son who ruled in his placeNabonidus and Belshazzar556-539 BC
Nabonidus spent about ten years at the oasis of Tema in Arabia and left his son Belshazzar to rule in Babylon. That is why Belshazzar could only offer Daniel the place of "third ruler in the kingdom": he was himself second. Daniel 5:1Daniel 5:7Daniel 5:29Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7)Verse Account of Nabonidus
- Received the kingdom after Babylon fellDarius the MedianFrom 539 BC
Daniel says he "took the kingdom, being about threescore and two years old" and set 120 princes over it. Records outside the Bible do not name him; he has been identified with Gubaru, the governor Cyrus set over Babylon, or with Cyrus himself. Daniel 5:31Daniel 6:1Daniel 9:1Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7)
- King of PersiaCyrus559-530 BC
He united the Medes and Persians, took Babylon in 539 BC, and let the exiles go home to rebuild the temple, as Isaiah had named him beforehand. Daniel 1:21Daniel 6:28Daniel 10:1Ezra 1:1-4Isaiah 44:28-45:1Cyrus Cylinder
- King of JudahJehoiakim609-598 BC
Judah's king when Daniel was taken. Jeremiah warned him and his people that the land would serve Babylon seventy years. Daniel 1:1-22 Kings 23:36-24:6Jeremiah 25:1-11
What was happening, 612 BC to 167 BC
- 612 BCWarNineveh falls
Babylon and the Medes destroyed Nineveh, the capital of Assyria, as Nahum and Zephaniah had foretold. Babylon became the great power of the region. Nahum 3:7Zephaniah 2:13Fall of Nineveh Chronicle (ABC 3)
- 605 BCWarBattle of Carchemish
Nebuchadnezzar defeated Pharaoh Necho of Egypt at Carchemish on the Euphrates, in Jehoiakim's fourth year. The same year he came against Jerusalem and took the first captives, Daniel among them. Jeremiah 46:2Daniel 1:1-4Babylonian Chronicles (ABC 5)
- 597 BCWarJerusalem surrenders
Nebuchadnezzar took King Jehoiachin, his nobles and craftsmen to Babylon. The prophet Ezekiel went into exile with them. 2 Kings 24:10-17Ezekiel 1:2Babylonian Chronicles (ABC 5)
- 586 BCWarJerusalem and the temple destroyed
Babylon's army burned the temple and the city and broke down its walls. Daniel later prays over "the desolations of Jerusalem" and asks God to shine on his "sanctuary that is desolate." 2 Kings 25:8-10Jeremiah 52:12-14Daniel 9:2Daniel 9:17
- c. 575 BCBuildingBabylon rebuilt in splendor
Nebuchadnezzar rebuilt Babylon with great walls, palaces and the blue-glazed Ishtar Gate, and his inscriptions praise his own work. Compare his boast: "Is not this great Babylon, that I have built?" Daniel 4:30Nebuchadnezzar's East India House InscriptionHerodotus, Histories 1.178-183
- 562 BCRulersNebuchadnezzar dies
His son Evil-merodach became king and released Jehoiachin of Judah from prison. 2 Kings 25:27-30Jeremiah 52:31-34
- c. 553-543 BCRulersNabonidus leaves Babylon to Belshazzar
King Nabonidus stayed at Tema in Arabia for about ten years, and the yearly New Year festival in Babylon was not held. Belshazzar governed in Babylon. Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7)Daniel 5:1Daniel 7:1
- 550 BCWarCyrus unites the Medes and Persians
Cyrus of Persia defeated Astyages king of the Medes, joining the two peoples in one kingdom. Daniel's vision names the ram's two horns as "the kings of Media and Persia," the higher coming up last. Daniel 8:3Daniel 8:20Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7)Herodotus, Histories 1.127-130
- October 539 BCWarBabylon falls to Cyrus
Cyrus's army entered Babylon without a long siege. Herodotus says the people were feasting when the city was taken. Daniel records that "in that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans slain." Daniel 5:30-31Nabonidus Chronicle (ABC 7)Herodotus, Histories 1.191Cyrus Cylinder
- 538 BCGod's peopleCyrus lets the exiles return
In his first year over Babylon, Cyrus proclaimed that the Jews could go back and build the LORD's house in Jerusalem. Daniel "continued even unto the first year of king Cyrus." Ezra 1:1-42 Chronicles 36:22-23Daniel 1:21Cyrus Cylinder
- c. 536 BCGod's peopleThe temple's foundation is laid
The returned exiles rebuilt the altar and laid the foundation of the temple. In the third year of Cyrus, Daniel was still in the east, mourning and praying. Ezra 3:1-11Daniel 10:1-3
- 334-331 BCWarAlexander the Great conquers Persia
Alexander of Macedon crossed into Asia and overthrew the Persian empire within four years. Daniel 8:21 names the rough goat as "the king of Grecia" and its great horn as "the first king." Daniel 8:5-8Daniel 8:21Arrian, Anabasis of Alexander 1-3
- 323-301 BCWarAlexander's empire is divided
Alexander died young, and after twenty years of war his generals divided his empire, chiefly into four kingdoms. Daniel 8:22 says "four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power." Daniel 8:8Daniel 8:22Daniel 11:4Diodorus Siculus, Library 18-20Plutarch, Demetrius 28-30
- 167 BCWarAntiochus IV defiles the temple
The Greek king Antiochus IV banned Jewish worship and set up a pagan altar on the altar of burnt offering. 1 Maccabees calls it "the abomination of desolation." Two centuries later Jesus spoke of "the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet" as still to come. 1 Maccabees 1:54-59Josephus, Antiquities 12.5.4Matthew 24:15
The full picture: places, culture and daily life. Scripture first, then ancient records of these years (the Babylonian Chronicles, the Cyrus Cylinder, Nebuchadnezzar's inscriptions) and ancient writers (Herodotus, Arrian, Diodorus, Josephus). Drafted by Claude and not yet reviewed by a person.
Original Hebrew words
| English | Hebrew | Say it | Strong's | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| and he may come | וְיָבֹא֙ | ve-ya-VO' | H0935G | to come (in): comeבּוֹא (bo) : come/go_in 1) to go in, enter, come, go, come in 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to enter, come in 1a2) to come 1a2a) to come with 1a2b) to come upon, fall or light upon, attack (enemy) 1a2c) to come to pass 1a3) to attain to 1a4) to be enumerated 1a5) to go 1b) (Hiphil) 1b1) to lead in 1b2) to carry in 1b3) to bring in, cause to come in, gather, cause to come, bring near, bring against, bring upon 1b4) to bring to pass 1c) (Hophal) 1c1) to be brought, brought in 1c2) to be introduced, be put |
| [the] king of | מֶ֣לֶךְ | ME-lekh | H4428G | kingמֶ֫לֶךְ (me.lekh) 1) king Aramaic equivalent: me.lekh (מֶ֫לֶךְ "king" H4430) |
| the north | הַצָּפ֔וֹן | ha-tza-FON | H6828G | northצָפוֹן (tsa.phon) 1) north (of direction), northward 1a) north 1b) northward |
| so he may pour out | וְיִשְׁפֹּךְ֙ | ve-yish-poKh | H8210I | to pour: pourשָׁפַךְ (sha.phakh) : pour 1) to pour, pour out, spill 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to pour, pour out 1a2) to shed (blood) 1a3) to pour out (anger or heart) (fig) 1b) (Niphal) to be poured out, be shed 1c) (Pual) to be poured out, be shed 1d) (Hithpael) 1d1) to be poured out 1d2) to pour out oneself |
| a mound | סֽוֹלֲלָ֔ה | so-la-LAH | H5550 | moundסֹלְלָה (so.le.lah) mound |
| and he will capture | וְלָכַ֖ד | ve-la-KHAD | H3920 | to captureלָכַד (la.khad) 1) to capture, take, seize 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to capture, seize 1a2) to capture (of men) (fig.) 1a3) to take (by lot) 1b) (Niphal) 1b1) to be captured 1b2) to be caught (of men in trap, snare) (fig.) 1c) (Hithpael) to grasp each other |
| a city of | עִ֣יר | 'ir | H5892B | cityעִיר (ir) 1) city, town (a place of waking, guarded) 1a) city, town (a place of waking, guarded) 1a) city, town |
| fortifications | מִבְצָר֑וֹת | miv-tza-ROT | H4013 | fortificationמִבְצָר (miv.tsar) fortification, fortress, fortified city, stronghold |
| and [the] forces of | וּזְרֹע֤וֹת | u-ze-ro-'ot | H2220 | forceאֶדְרַע (ed.ra) strong, force, arm, power Aramaic of ze.ro.a (זְרוֹעַ "arm" H2220) |
| the south | הַנֶּ֙גֶב֙ | ha-NE-gev | H5045H | Negebנֶ֫גֶב (ne.gev) region of southern Judah Also named: ne.gev (נֶ֫גֶב "south" H5045H) This name means south-country |
| not | לֹ֣א | lo' | H3808 | notלֹא (lo) 1) not, no 1a) not (with verb-absolute prohibition) 1b) not (with modifier-negation) 1c) nothing (subst) 1d) without (with particle) 1e) before (of time) Aramaic equivalent: la (לָא "not" H3809) |
| they will stand | יַעֲמֹ֔דוּ | ya-'a-MO-du | H5975G | to stand: standעָמַד (a.mad) : stand/stop/establish 1) to stand, remain, endure, take one's stand 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to stand, take one's stand, be in a standing attitude, stand forth, take a stand, present oneself, attend upon, be or become servant of 1a2) to stand still, stop (moving or doing), cease 1a3) to tarry, delay, remain, continue, abide, endure, persist, be steadfast 1a4) to make a stand, hold one's ground 1a5) to stand upright, remain standing, stand up, rise, be erect, be upright 1a6) to arise, appear, come on the scene, stand forth, appear, rise up or against … |
| and [the] people of | וְעַם֙ | ve-'AM | H5971K | No entry |
| choicest ones his | מִבְחָרָ֔יו | miv-cha-RAV | H4005 | choiceמִבְחוֹר (miv.chor) choice Another spelling of miv.char (מִבְחָר "best" H4005) |
| and there not | וְאֵ֥ין | ve-'EIN | H0369 | nothingאַ֫יִן (a.yin) 1) nothing, not, nought n 1a) nothing, nought neg 1b) not 1c) to have not (of possession) adv 1d) without w/prep 1e) for lack of |
| [will be] strength | כֹּ֖חַ | KO-ach | H3581B | strengthכֹּחַ (ko.ach) 1) strength, power, might 1a) human strength 1b) strength (of angels) 1c) power (of God) 1d) strength (of animals) 1e) strength, produce, wealth (of soil) |
| to stand | לַעֲמֹֽד׃ | la-'a-MOD | H5975G | to stand: standעָמַד (a.mad) : stand/stop/establish 1) to stand, remain, endure, take one's stand 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to stand, take one's stand, be in a standing attitude, stand forth, take a stand, present oneself, attend upon, be or become servant of 1a2) to stand still, stop (moving or doing), cease 1a3) to tarry, delay, remain, continue, abide, endure, persist, be steadfast 1a4) to make a stand, hold one's ground 1a5) to stand upright, remain standing, stand up, rise, be erect, be upright 1a6) to arise, appear, come on the scene, stand forth, appear, rise up or against … |
Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.