Bible Strands
Daniel 11:12
When the army is carried off, the king of the South will be proud in heart and will cast down tens of thousands, but he will not triumph.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The oracle addresses the historical conflict between the Ptolemaic king of the South and the Seleucid king of the North. It occurs immediately after the South’s forces capture the North’s army and before the North mobilizes a larger counteroffensive.
The words — The Hebrew verb רָם (rum), meaning “to be lifted up,” describes the king’s inflated pride, while יָעוֹז (ya'oz), meaning “to prevail,” confirms his campaign will ultimately fail.
The thread — This pattern of human arrogance meeting checked power appears in Deuteronomy 8:14, where a proud heart leads to forgetting God, and in Habakkuk 2:4, which contrasts the proud soul with the righteous who live by faith.
Why it lands — The text requires a reader to observe that military success does not guarantee final victory, and that pride in victory precedes a checked advance. It demands recognition that human triumph is bounded by sovereign purpose.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And when he hath taken away the multitude, his heart shall be lifted up; and he shall cast down many ten thousands: but he shall not be strengthened by it.
Cross-references
- Habakkuk 2:4 Look at the proud one; his soul is not upright—but the righteous will live by faith—
- 1 Peter 5:5 Young men, in the same way, submit yourselves to your elders. And all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
- Deuteronomy 8:14 then your heart will become proud, and you will forget the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
- 2 Kings 14:10 You have indeed defeated Edom, and your heart has become proud. Glory in that and stay at home. Why should you stir up trouble so that you fall—you and Judah with you?”
- 2 Chronicles 25:19 You have said, ‘Look, I have defeated Edom,’ and your heart has become proud and boastful. Now stay at home. Why should you stir up trouble so that you fall—you and Judah with you?”
- 2 Chronicles 26:16 But when Uzziah became powerful, his arrogance led to his own destruction. He was unfaithful to the LORD his God, for he entered the temple of the LORD to burn incense on the altar of incense.
- 2 Chronicles 32:25 But because his heart was proud, Hezekiah did not repay the favor shown to him. Therefore wrath came upon him and upon Judah and Jerusalem.
- Proverbs 16:18 Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
- Isaiah 10:7 But this is not his intention; this is not his plan. For it is in his heart to destroy and cut off many nations.
- Ezekiel 28:2 “Son of man, tell the ruler of Tyre that this is what the Lord GOD says: Your heart is proud, and you have said, ‘I am a god; I sit in the seat of gods in the heart of the sea.’ Yet you are a man and not a god, though you have regarded your heart as that of a god.