Daniel 12

Daniel · Chapter 12

Daniel 12:9

1And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.2And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.3And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.4But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.5Then I Daniel looked, and, behold, there stood other two, the one on this side of the bank of the river, and the other on that side of the bank of the river.6And one said to the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, How long shall it be to the end of these wonders?7And I heard the man clothed in linen, which was upon the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand unto heaven, and sware by him that liveth for ever that it shall be for a time, times, and an half; and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.8And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my Lord, what shall be the end of these things?9And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.10Many 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.11And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.12Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.13But go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.

King James Version (1769)

Other translations

VerseKJVBSBASV
9And he said, Go thy way, Daniel: for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.“Go on your way, Daniel,” he replied, “for the words are closed up and sealed until the time of the end.And he said, Go thy way, Daniel; for the words are shut up and sealed till the time of the end.

In context

AI-assisted, sourced

Daniel heard the vision's timeline but did not understand it, and asked what the end would be. The answer was not a further explanation: he was told to go his way, because the words were shut up and sealed until the time of the end. The next verses add that the wise will understand then, and that Daniel himself will rest and rise at the end of the days. Daniel 12:8Daniel 12:9Daniel 12:10Daniel 12:13

Speaking"He" is the man clothed in linen standing over the river's waters. Daniel had just addressed him as "O my Lord." Daniel 12:6Daniel 12:7Daniel 12:8

ToDaniel himself, who had asked about the end of these things. Daniel 12:8Daniel 12:9

Also involvedThe people at the time of the end. Many will be purified and the wise will understand, but none of the wicked will understand. Daniel 12:10Daniel 12:1

The verse refuses Daniel's request for more detail. It gives the reason: the message is closed and sealed until the appointed time of the end. This repeats the earlier command to Daniel to "shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end." Daniel 12:9Daniel 12:4

Daniel stood beside a river, with two figures on its banks and the man in linen above its waters. These verses do not name the river. Daniel served in Babylon under Babylonian and Persian kings. Daniel 12:5Daniel 12:6Daniel overview

BABYLONIAMEDIABabylon 1SusaUlai

The eventsThis chapter does not give its own date. The latest dated event in the book is the third year of Cyrus king of Persia, about 536 BC. Daniel overview

WrittenTraditional view: Daniel wrote the book in the 500s BC. Scholarly view: many critical scholars date its final form to about 167-164 BC under Antiochus IV, while others hold the traditional date, citing Matthew 24:15. Daniel overview

HereThe verse tells Daniel that full understanding is not for him now. He is to go on with his life, for these words are kept until their time. Verse 13 repeats the charge and adds a promise that he will rest and stand in his lot at the end of the days. Daniel 12:9Daniel 12:13

In the whole of ScriptureSealing a vision for a later day appears elsewhere in Daniel: "shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for many days" (8:26). Other Scripture also speaks of a sealed book that cannot be read (Isaiah 29:11) and of words a prophet is told to seal up (Revelation 10:4). The book's larger message is that God rules the kingdoms of men and reveals secrets in his own time. Daniel 8:26Isaiah 29:11Revelation 10:4Daniel overview

For readersEven the prophet who received the vision was not given every answer. The text does not set a date for "the time of the end." It says that understanding will belong to the wise when that time comes, and that the faithful are to keep going in trust. Daniel 12:8Daniel 12:9Daniel 12:10Daniel 12:13

  • closed upסָתַם
    Hebrew · sa.tam · H5640A

    The word means to stop up, shut up, or keep close, and as a participle it can mean "secret." The words are closed off from full understanding for now, not lost. Strong's H5640ADaniel 12:4

  • sealedחָתַם
    Hebrew · cha.tam · H2856

    The word means to seal or fasten up by sealing, and in one form "to lock up." A sealed message stays shut until it is opened at the right time, like the sealed book in Isaiah 29:11 that cannot be read. Strong's H2856Isaiah 29:11

  • endקֵץ
    Hebrew · qets · H7093

    This is the ordinary word for an end in time or space. In this chapter "the time of the end" ties to the time of trouble, the deliverance and the resurrection in 12:1-2, and to Daniel's rising "at the end of the days" (12:13). Strong's H7093Daniel 12:1Daniel 12:2Daniel 12:13

Takeaway

God told Daniel that some of what he saw was kept sealed for a later time. So Daniel was to go his way in faithfulness rather than demand every answer. The wise will understand when the time comes, and Daniel is promised rest and a share at the end. Daniel 12:9Daniel 12:10Daniel 12:13

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
  1. 612 BC
    WarNineveh 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)

  2. 605 BC
    WarBattle 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)

  3. 597 BC
    WarJerusalem 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)

  4. 586 BC
    WarJerusalem 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

  5. c. 575 BC
    BuildingBabylon 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

  6. 562 BC
    RulersNebuchadnezzar dies

    His son Evil-merodach became king and released Jehoiachin of Judah from prison. 2 Kings 25:27-30Jeremiah 52:31-34

  7. c. 553-543 BC
    RulersNabonidus 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

  8. 550 BC
    WarCyrus 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

  9. October 539 BC
    WarBabylon 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

  10. 538 BC
    God'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

  11. c. 536 BC
    God'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

  12. 334-331 BC
    WarAlexander 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

  13. 323-301 BC
    WarAlexander'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

  14. 167 BC
    WarAntiochus 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

EnglishHebrewSay itStrong'sMeaning
and he saidוַיֹּ֖אמֶרvai-YO-merH0559
to say

אָמַר (a.mar) 1) to say, speak, utter 1a) (Qal) to say, to answer, to say in one's heart, to think, to command, to promise, to intend 1b) (Niphal) to be told, to be said, to be called 1c) (Hithpael) to boast, to act proudly 1d) (Hiphil) to avow, to avouch Aramaic equivalent: a.mar (אֲמַר "to say" H0560)

goלֵ֣ךְlekhH1980M
to go: went

הָלַךְ (ha.lakh) : went/go[away] 1) to go, walk, come 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to go, walk, come, depart, proceed, move, go away 1a2) to die, live, manner of life (fig.) 1b) (Piel) 1b1) to walk 1b2) to walk (fig.) 1c) (Hithpael) 1c1) to traverse 1c2) to walk about 1d) (Niphal) to lead, bring, lead away, carry, cause to walk

O Danielדָּנִיֵּ֑אלda-ni-YELH1840G
Belteshazzar

בֵּלְטְשַׁאצַּר (be.le.te.shats.tsar) A man living at the time of Exile and Return, first mentioned at Ezk.14.14; also called Belteshazzar at Dan.1.7; 2.26; 4.8,9,18,19; 5.12; 10.1; Another name of da.niy.yel (דָּנִיֵּאל, דָּנִאֵל "Daniel" H1840G) § Belteshazzar = "lord of the straitened's treasure" …

forכִּֽי־ki-H3588A
for

כִּי (ki) 1) that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since 1a) that 1a1) yea, indeed 1b) when (of time) 1b1) when, if, though (with a concessive force) 1c) because, since (causal connection) 1d) but (after negative) 1e) that if, for if, indeed if, for though, but if 1f) but rather, but 1g) except that 1h) only, nevertheless 1i) surely 1j) that is 1k) but if 1l) for though 1m) forasmuch as, for therefore

[are] kept secretסְתֻמִ֧יםse-tu-MIMH5640A
to close

סָתַם (sa.tam) 1) to stop up, shut up, keep close 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to stop up 1a2) to shut up, keep close 1a3) secret (participle) 1b) (Niphal) to be stopped up 1c) (Piel) to stop up

and sealed upוַחֲתֻמִ֛יםva-cha-tu-MIMH2856
to seal

חָתַם (cha.tam) 1) to seal, seal up, affix a seal 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to seal, affix one's seal 1a2) to seal up, fasten up by sealing 1b) (Niphal) to seal 1c) (Piel) to lock up 1d) (Hiphil) to be stopped Aramaic equivalent: cha.tam (חֲתַם "to seal" H2857)

the thingsהַדְּבָרִ֖יםha-de-va-RIMH1697G
word

דָּבָר (da.var) : word/speech/command 1) speech, word, speaking, thing 1a) speech 1b) saying, utterance 1c) word, words 1d) business, occupation, acts, matter, case, something, manner (by extension)

untilעַד־'ad-H5704
till

עַד (ad) prep 1) as far as, even to, until, up to, while, as far as 1a) of space 1a1) as far as, up to, even to 1b) in combination 1b1) from...as far as, both...and (with 'min' -from) 1c) of time 1c1) even to, until, unto, till, during, end 1d) of degree 1d1) even to, to the degree of, even like conj 2) until, while, to the point that, so that even Aramaic equivalent: ad (עַד "till" H5705)

[the] time ofעֵ֥ת'etH6256
time

עֵת (et) 1) time 1a) time (of an event) 1b) time (usual) 1c) experiences, fortunes 1d) occurrence, occasion

[the] endקֵֽץ׃KetzH7093
end

קֵץ (qets) 1) end 1a) end, at the end of (of time) 1b) end (of space)

Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.