Bible Strands
Daniel 11:37
He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers, nor for the one desired by women, nor for any other god, because he will magnify himself above them all.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The prophet Daniel records a vision of a future northern king who will act independently during the final phase of prophesied geopolitical conflicts. The narrative addresses the historical trajectory of empires opposing Israel's God.
The words — The Hebrew יָבִין (ya.Vin) literally means "he will pay attention" or "understand," paired with the negative לֹא (lo') to indicate a complete refusal to acknowledge. The phrase חֶמְדַּת נָשִׁים (chem.Dat na.Shim) translates directly as "the desire of women."
The thread — This pattern of rejecting ancestral deities while exalting the self appears in the taunt against the king of Babylon (Isaiah 14:13) and the description of the lawless one (2 Thessalonians 2:4). The rejection of created order and divine boundaries also echoes the warnings in 1 Timothy 4:3.
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that human autonomy opposing divine authority inevitably replaces worship with self-deification. Readers must distinguish between the king's claimed supremacy and the actual sovereignty of the God of gods described in the surrounding context.
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
Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 14:13 You said in your heart: “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God. I will sit on the mount of assembly, in the far reaches of the north.
- 2 Thessalonians 2:4 He will oppose and exalt himself above every so-called god or object of worship. So he will seat himself in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.
- 1 Timothy 4:3 They will prohibit marriage and require abstinence from certain foods that God has created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.
- Genesis 3:5 “For God knows that in the day you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
- Genesis 3:16 To the woman He said: “I will sharply increase your pain in childbirth; in pain you will bring forth children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”
- Deuteronomy 5:21 You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house or field, or his manservant or maidservant, or his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
- Deuteronomy 21:11 if you see a beautiful woman among them, and you desire her and want to take her as your wife,
- Song of Solomon 7:10 I belong to my beloved, and his desire is for me.
- Ezekiel 24:16 “Son of man, behold, I am about to take away the desire of your eyes with a fatal blow. But you must not mourn or weep or let your tears flow.