Daniel 11:34
King James Version (1769)
Other translations
| Verse | KJV | BSB | ASV |
|---|---|---|---|
| 34 | Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help: but many shall cleave to them with flatteries. | Now when they fall, they will be granted a little help, but many will join them insincerely. | Now when they shall fall, they shall be helped with a little help; but many shall join themselves unto them with flatteries. |
In context
AI-assisted, sourcedThe faithful teachers who "instruct many" will fall by sword, flame, captivity and spoil (11:33). When they fall, they get only a little help, and many who join them do so with flattery, not true loyalty (11:34). God uses this falling to try, purge and make his people white until the appointed time (11:35). Daniel 11:33Daniel 11:34Daniel 11:35
SpeakingThe messenger who shows Daniel "the truth" about coming kings speaks here (11:1-2). Daniel records the vision in the first person. Daniel 11:1Daniel 11:2Daniel overview
ToDaniel hears the words. The book is meant for God's people in exile and after, and for readers looking to "the time of the end." Daniel overview
Also involved"They that understand among the people" who teach others and suffer for it (11:33). Also the many who attach themselves to them falsely (11:34). Daniel 11:33Daniel 11:34
A king of the north turns against "the holy covenant," pollutes the sanctuary and wins over covenant-breakers by flatteries (11:28-32). Those who know their God stand firm and teach. They suffer, receive only small help, and must deal with false friends among them (11:32-34). Daniel 11:28Daniel 11:30Daniel 11:31Daniel 11:32Daniel 11:33Daniel 11:34
The action centers on "the glorious land" and its sanctuary (11:16, 11:31). The chapter does not say where Daniel was when he received this vision. Daniel 11:16Daniel 11:31
The eventsIn the vision, this comes after the daily sacrifice is taken away and the abomination is set up (11:31). The suffering lasts "many days" and points on "to the time of the end" (11:33, 11:35). Daniel 11:31Daniel 11:33Daniel 11:35
WrittenTraditional: Daniel wrote in the 500s BC, and the book's events run to the third year of Cyrus, about 536 BC. Scholarly: many critical scholars date the final form to about 167-164 BC under Antiochus IV, because chapter 11 describes those years in detail. Daniel overview
HereThe verse warns the faithful ahead of time. Outside help will be small, and some who join them will be insincere. So their suffering will not take them by surprise. Daniel 11:34Daniel 11:35
In the whole of ScriptureDaniel shows that God rules over kings and sets fixed times. Even this persecution is "for a time appointed" (11:35), and the proud king "shall come to his end, and none shall help him" (11:45). Daniel overviewDaniel 11:35Daniel 11:45
For readersFaithful people should not expect strong earthly backing, and they should test those who join them. Other Scripture also warns of those who "by good words and fair speeches deceive" (Romans 16:18), and of false prophets "in sheep's clothing" (Matthew 7:15). Paul warned that men would rise from within "to draw away disciples after them" (Acts 20:30). Daniel 11:34Romans 16:18Matthew 7:15Acts 20:301 John 4:1
- fallכָּשַׁל
The word means to stumble, stagger or totter. Here it describes the teachers going down under the persecution named in 11:33. Strong's H3782Daniel 11:33
- helpעֵ֫זֶר
The word means help or succour. Here it is paired with "a little" (littleness, too little). The text promises real help, but only a small amount. Strong's H5828Strong's H4592
- cleaveלָוָה
The word means to join oneself to, or to be joined. It describes others attaching themselves to the faithful group. Strong's H3867A
- flatteriesחֲלַקְלַקּוֹת
The word means smoothness, slipperiness or fine promises. Those who join are smooth in speech but not sincere, much like the king who works by "flatteries" in 11:21 and 11:32. Strong's H2519Daniel 11:21Daniel 11:32
Takeaway
God's faithful may suffer with little outside help, and some who join them will be false friends. God still uses the trial to purify his people, and he keeps the end in his own appointed time. Daniel 11:34Daniel 11:35Daniel 11:45
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 when stumble they | וּבְהִכָּ֣שְׁלָ֔ם | uv-hi-KA-she-LAM | H3782 | to stumbleכָּשַׁל (ka.shal) 1) to stumble, stagger, totter 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to stumble 1a2) to totter 1b) (Niphal) 1b1) to stumble 1b2) to be tottering, be feeble 1c) (Hiphil) 1c1) to cause to stumble, bring injury or ruin to, overthrow 1c2) to make feeble, make weak 1d) (Hophal) to be made to stumble 1e) (Piel) bereave |
| they will be helped | יֵעָזְר֖וּ | ye-'a-ze-RU | H5826 | to helpעָזַר (a.zar) 1) to help, succour, support 1a) (Qal) to help 1b) (Niphal) to be helped 1c) (Hiphil) to help |
| help | עֵ֣זֶר | 'E-zer | H5828 | helperעֵ֫זֶר (e.zer) 1) help, succour 1a) help, succour 1b) one who helps |
| a little | מְעָ֑ט | me-'AT | H4592 | littleמְעַט (me.at) 1) littleness, few, a little, fewness 1a) little, small, littleness, fewness, too little, yet a little 1b) like a little, within a little, almost, just, hardly, shortly, little worth |
| and they will join themselves | וְנִלְו֧וּ | ve-nil-VU | H3867A | to joinלָוָה (la.vah) 1) to join, be joined 1a) (Qal) to join, be joined, attend 1b) (Niphal) to join oneself to, be joined unto |
| to them | עֲלֵיהֶ֛ם | 'a-lei-HEM | H5921A | uponעַל (al) prep 1) upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against 1a) upon, on the ground of, on the basis of, on account of, because of, therefore, on behalf of, for the sake of, for, with, in spite of, notwithstanding, concerning, in the matter of, as regards 1b) above, beyond, over (of excess) 1c) above, over (of elevation or pre-eminence) 1d) upon, to, over to, unto, in addition to, together with, with (of addition) 1e) over (of suspension or extension) … |
| many [people] | רַבִּ֖ים | ra-BIM | H7227A | manyרַב (rav) adj 1) much, many, great 1a) much 1b) many 1c) abounding in 1d) more numerous than 1e) abundant, enough 1f) great 1g) strong 1h) greater than adv 1i) much, exceedingly |
| by intrigues | בַּחֲלַקְלַקּֽוֹת׃ | ba-cha-lak-la-KOT | H2519 | smoothnessחֲלַקְלַקּוֹת (cha.laq.laq.qah) 1) flattery, slipperiness, fine promises, smoothness 1a) slipperiness 1b) fine promises |
Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.