Daniel 11:16-19

11:16 The one advancing against him will do as he pleases, and no one will be able to stand before him. He will prevail in the beautiful land, and its annihilation will be within his power. ¹  11:17 His intention ²  will be to come with the strength of his entire kingdom, and he will form alliances. ³  He will give the king of the south ⁴  a daughter ⁵  in marriage in order to destroy the kingdom, but it will not turn out to his advantage. 11:18 Then he will turn his attention ⁶  to the coastal regions and will capture many of them. But a commander ⁷  will bring his shameful conduct to a halt; in addition, ⁸  he will make him pay for his shameful conduct. ⁹  11:19 He will then turn his attention to the fortresses of his own land, but he will stumble and fall, not to be found again.

¹ tn Heb “hand.”

² tn Heb “and he will set his face.” Cf. vv. 18, 19.

³ tc The present translation reads מֵישָׁרִים (mesharim, “alliances”) for the MT וִישָׁרִים (viysharim, “uprightness”).

⁴ tn Heb “him”; the referent (the king of the south) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

⁵ tn Heb “the daughter of the women.”

³ tn Heb “his face.” See v. 19 as well.

⁴ sn The commander is probably the Roman commander, Lucius Cornelius Scipio.

⁵ tn The Hebrew here is difficult in that the negative בִּלְתִּי (biltiy, “not”) is used in an unusual way. The sense is not entirely clear.

⁶ tn Heb “his shameful conduct he will return to him.”