Daniel 12:10
King James Version (1769)
Other translations
| Verse | KJV | BSB | ASV |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Many shall be purified, and made white, and tried; but the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand; but the wise shall understand. | Many will be purified, made spotless, and refined, but the wicked will continue to act wickedly. None of the wicked will understand, but the wise will understand. | Many shall purify themselves, and make themselves white, and be refined; but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand; but they that are wise shall understand. |
In context
AI-assisted, sourcedDaniel asked how these things would end, and was told the words are sealed until the time of the end (12:8-9). This verse says what that time will do to people. Many will be purified and tested, the wicked will go on in wickedness without understanding, and the wise will understand. Daniel 12:8Daniel 12:9Daniel 12:10
SpeakingThe man clothed in linen, who stood upon the waters of the river and answered Daniel's question. Daniel 12:7Daniel 12:9
ToDaniel, who heard the words but did not understand them and asked what the end would be. Daniel 12:8Daniel 12:9
Also involvedPeople living at the time of the end. The verse sets the many who are purified and the wise who understand against the wicked, who keep doing wickedly and do not understand. Earlier in the chapter the wise are promised to "shine as the brightness of the firmament" (12:3). Daniel 12:3Daniel 12:4Daniel 12:10
The hard times foretold in this vision will sort people out. Some are cleansed and tested like refined metal, as 11:35 also says of those of understanding. The wicked stay as they are and cannot grasp God's words, while the wise do. Daniel 12:10Daniel 11:35Daniel 12:1
Daniel saw this vision beside a river, with the man in linen above its waters. He lived in Babylon, serving under the Persian king Cyrus at the time. Daniel 12:5Daniel 12:6Daniel overview
The eventsThe verse looks ahead to "the time of the end," the time of trouble when Michael stands up for Daniel's people. The vision itself came in the third year of Cyrus king of Persia, about 536 BC. Daniel 12:1Daniel 12:9Daniel overview
WrittenTraditional: written by Daniel in the 500s BC. Scholarly: many critical scholars date the book's final form to about 167-164 BC under Antiochus IV, while others hold the 500s BC date. Daniel overview
HereDaniel is told he need not understand everything now. The meaning will become clear to the wise at the time of the end, and Daniel himself will rest and stand in his lot at the end of the days. Daniel 12:9Daniel 12:10Daniel 12:13
In the whole of ScriptureThe book shows that God rules over earthly kingdoms and reveals his secrets to those who seek him. Here trouble does not defeat God's people but refines them, while understanding is given to the wise. Daniel overviewDaniel 11:35
For readersOther Scripture says the same: the wise understand the ways of the LORD while transgressors fall in them (Hosea 14:9). Those who are of God hear his words (John 8:47), and those who refuse the love of the truth are left in unrighteousness (2 Thessalonians 2:10, 2:12; Revelation 22:11). Hosea 14:9John 8:472 Thessalonians 2:102 Thessalonians 2:12Revelation 22:11
- purifiedבָּרַר
Rendered here "they will purge themselves," with senses of purify, cleanse, make bright, and test or prove. Strong's H1305
- made whiteלָבֵן
Means to become white or be purified, and the lexicon marks this form as ethical purity. It is a picture of moral cleansing, matching "to make them white" in 11:35. Strong's H3835ADaniel 11:35
- triedצָרַף
Means to smelt, refine, or test, and is used of a refiner or goldsmith. The trials of the end are pictured as the refining of metal. Strong's H6884
- wiseשָׂכַל
Means those who have insight, and can also mean those who give insight, "the teachers, the wise." Earlier in the chapter, "they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament" (12:3). Strong's H7919ADaniel 12:3
Takeaway
Times of trouble do not leave people unchanged: they refine the faithful and expose the wicked. Understanding of God's word belongs to those who are wise toward him, not to those who keep choosing wickedness. Daniel 12:10Daniel 11:35Hosea 14:9
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| they will purge themselves | יִ֠תְבָּֽרֲרוּ | YIT-ba-ra-ru | H1305 | to purifyבָּרַר (ba.rar) 1) to purify, select, polish, choose, purge, cleanse or make bright, test or prove 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to purge, purge out, purify 1a2) to choose, select 1a3) to cleanse, make shining, polish 1a4) to test, prove 1b) (Niphal) to purify oneself 1c) (Piel) to purify 1d) (Hiphil) 1d1) to purify 1d2) to polish arrows 1e) (Hithpael) 1e1) to purify oneself 1e2) to show oneself pure, just, kind |
| and they may purify themselves | וְיִֽתְלַבְּנ֤וּ | ve-yit-la-be-NU | H3835A | to whitenלָבֵן (la.ven) 1) to be white 1a) (Hiphil) 1a1) to make white, become white, purify 1a2) to show whiteness, grow white 1b) (Hithpael) to become white, be purified (ethical) |
| so they may be refined | וְיִצָּֽרְפוּ֙ | ve-yi-tza-re-FU | H6884 | to refineצָרַף (tsa.raph) 1) to smelt, refine, test 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to smelt, refine 1a2) to test 1a3) to test (and prove true) 1a4) smelter, refiner, goldsmith (participle) 1b) (Niphal) to be refined 1c) (Piel) to be a refiner 1c1) refiner (participle) |
| many [people] | רַבִּ֔ים | 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 |
| and they will act wickedly | וְהִרְשִׁ֣יעוּ | ve-hir-SHI-'u | H7561 | be wickedרָשַׁע (ra.sah) 1) to be wicked, act wickedly 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to be wicked, act wickedly 1a2) to be guilty, be condemned 1b) (Hiphil) 1b1) to condemn as guilty (in civil relations) 1b2) to condemn as guilty (in ethical or religious relations) 1b3) to act wickedly (in ethics and religion) |
| wicked [people] | רְשָׁעִ֔ים | re-sha-'IM | H7563 | wickedרָשָׁע (ra.sah) 1) wicked, criminal 1a) guilty one, one guilty of crime (subst) 1b) wicked (hostile to God) 1c) wicked, guilty of sin (against God or man) |
| and not | וְלֹ֥א | ve-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 understand | יָבִ֖ינוּ | ya-VI-nu | H0995 | to understandבִּין (bin) 1) to discern, understand, consider 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to perceive, discern 1a2) to understand, know (with the mind) 1a3) to observe, mark, give heed to, distinguish, consider 1a4) to have discernment, insight, understanding 1b) (Niphal) to be discerning, intelligent, discreet, have understanding 1c) (Hiphil) 1c1) to understand 1c2) to cause to understand, give understanding, teach 1d) (Hithpolel) to show oneself discerning or attentive, consider diligently 1e) (Polel) to teach, instruct 2) (TWOT) prudent, regard |
| any | כָּל־ | kol- | H3605 | allכֹּל (kol) 1) all, the whole 1a) all, the whole of 1b) any, each, every, anything 1c) totality, everything Aramaic equivalent: kol (כֹּל "all" H3606) |
| wicked [people] | רְשָׁעִ֑ים | re-sha-'IM | H7563 | wickedרָשָׁע (ra.sah) 1) wicked, criminal 1a) guilty one, one guilty of crime (subst) 1b) wicked (hostile to God) 1c) wicked, guilty of sin (against God or man) |
| and those [who] have insight | וְהַמַּשְׂכִּלִ֖ים | ve-ha-mas-ki-LIM | H7919A | be prudentשָׂכַל (sa.khal) 1) to be prudent, be circumspect, wisely understand, prosper 1a) (Qal) to be prudent, be circumspect 1b) (Hiphil) 1b1) to look at or upon, have insight 1b2) to give attention to, consider, ponder, be prudent 1b3) to have insight, have comprehension 1b3a) insight, comprehension (subst) 1b4) to cause to consider, give insight, teach 1b4a) the teachers, the wise 1b5) to act circumspectly, act prudently, act wisely 1b6) to prosper, have success 1b7) to cause to prosper Aramaic equivalent: se.khal (שְׂכַל "to contemplate" H7920) |
| they will understand | יָבִֽינוּ׃ | ya-VI-nu | H0995 | to understandבִּין (bin) 1) to discern, understand, consider 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to perceive, discern 1a2) to understand, know (with the mind) 1a3) to observe, mark, give heed to, distinguish, consider 1a4) to have discernment, insight, understanding 1b) (Niphal) to be discerning, intelligent, discreet, have understanding 1c) (Hiphil) 1c1) to understand 1c2) to cause to understand, give understanding, teach 1d) (Hithpolel) to show oneself discerning or attentive, consider diligently 1e) (Polel) to teach, instruct 2) (TWOT) prudent, regard |
Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.