Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of Daniel
Daniel is the account of faith kept pure in a pagan empire, and of God's sovereign rule over all history. It gives us the fiery furnace, the lions' den, the writing on the wall, and sweeping prophecies of the world's kingdoms rising and falling before the everlasting kingdom of God. This commentary walks through it verse by verse.
About This Commentary
The Book of Daniel tells how Daniel and his companions, carried from Judah to Babylon as youths around 605 BC, kept their faith in a foreign court through decades of Babylonian and Persian rule. Its first half is history, full of tests and deliverances: the refusal of the king's food, the fiery furnace, Nebuchadnezzar's dreams, the writing on the wall, and the lions' den. Its second half is prophecy, revealing God's sovereign hand over the empires of the world and the coming of a kingdom that shall never be destroyed.
This commentary covers Daniel verse by verse, with the Hebrew words that sharpen the meaning, verified background, and an Apostolic reading. Daniel's vision of 'One like the Son of Man' receiving an everlasting dominion (7:13-14) points directly to Jesus Christ and His unshakable kingdom. References are given at the foot of each chapter.
All 12 chapters of Daniel are complete, from the four young men who purposed in their hearts not to defile themselves, to the resurrection of the dead and the promise of rest and reward for the faithful.
Author
Daniel, taken to Babylon as a youth around 605 BC.
Setting
The Babylonian and Persian courts, sixth century BC.
Key Themes
Faithfulness under pressure and God's rule over history.
Famous Chapters
The fiery furnace (3), the writing on the wall (5), the lions' den (6).
Translation
King James Version (KJV) throughout.
The Chapters
Daniel Commentary
The chapters below are available now. The rest are being written and will open here as they are finished and verified.
Daniel 1:1-21
Purposed in His Heart
Young captives in Babylon are pressed to be remade in its image, but Daniel purposes in his heart not to defile himself, and God gives the four young men wisdom ten times better than all the king's counselors.
Read Chapter 1 →Daniel 2:1-49
The Stone Cut Without Hands
Nebuchadnezzar's dream of a great image of gold, silver, brass, and iron, the kingdoms of the world, struck by 'a stone... cut out without hands' that becomes 'a great mountain, and filled the whole earth', the everlasting kingdom of God set up in Christ, 'a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed... it shall stand for ever.'
Read Chapter 2 →Daniel 3:1-30
The Fourth Man in the Fire
The golden image and the fiery furnace: three Hebrews refuse to bow with the great confession, 'our God whom we serve is able to deliver us... But if not... we will not serve thy gods,' and in the flames a fourth appears, 'the form of the fourth is like the Son of God', the LORD Himself with His servants, so the king blesses 'the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.'
Read Chapter 3 →Daniel 4:1-37
He Is Able to Abase the Proud
Nebuchadnezzar's own testimony: the dream of the great tree hewn to a stump, his boast 'Is not this great Babylon, that I have built... by the might of my power,' his seven years of madness, and his restoration when 'I lifted up mine eyes unto heaven,' ending in the confession that 'the most High ruleth' and 'those that walk in pride he is able to abase.'
Read Chapter 4 →Daniel 5:1-31
Weighed in the Balances
Belshazzar's feast and the writing on the wall: the king profanes the temple vessels, a hand writes 'MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN,' and Daniel reads the verdict, 'Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting,' rebuking him for failing to glorify 'the God in whose hand thy breath is.' That night Babylon falls.
Read Chapter 5 →Daniel 6:1-28
He Hath Shut the Lions' Mouths
The lions' den: Daniel is so blameless that his rivals can accuse him only 'concerning the law of his God,' so he keeps praying 'three times a day... as he did aforetime,' is cast to the lions and sealed under a stone, and found alive at dawn, 'My God hath sent his angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths', a picture of the risen Christ, and the king decrees all fear 'the living God, and stedfast for ever.'
Read Chapter 6 →Daniel 7:1-28
One Like the Son of Man
The four beasts from the sea and the blaspheming little horn; the Ancient of Days enthroned as 'the judgment was set, and the books were opened'; and 'one like the Son of man' who 'came with the clouds of heaven' to receive 'an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away', Jesus Christ, whose kingdom the saints possess for ever.
Read Chapter 7 →Daniel 8:1-27
Broken Without Hand
The ram and the he-goat, Medo-Persia and Greece named centuries ahead; the little horn that takes away 'the daily sacrifice' and 'cast down the truth to the ground'; and the fierce king who 'shall stand up against the Prince of princes' but 'shall be broken without hand', destroyed by God, not man.
Read Chapter 8 →Daniel 9:1-27
Messiah Shall Be Cut Off
Daniel's great prayer of confession over Jeremiah's seventy years, resting 'not for our righteousnesses, but for thy great mercies'; and the prophecy of the Seventy Weeks, 'to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness,' with 'Messiah shall be cut off, but not for himself', the atoning death of Jesus Christ foretold.
Read Chapter 9 →Daniel 10:1-21
The Unseen Battle Behind the Answer
The vision of the glorious 'man clothed in linen' by the Hiddekel, shining like the risen Christ, leaves Daniel undone; he is raised as 'a man greatly beloved' and told his prayer was heard 'from the first day,' though the answer was delayed because 'the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me' until Michael came, the unseen warfare behind the nations.
Read Chapter 10 →Daniel 11:1-45
They That Know Their God Shall Do Exploits
The Bible's most detailed prophecy: the wars of the kings of the north and south, the 'vile person' who defiles the sanctuary and sets up 'the abomination that maketh desolate,' the promise that 'the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits,' and the willful king who exalts himself above every god but 'shall come to his end, and none shall help him.'
Read Chapter 11 →Daniel 12:1-13
They That Be Wise Shall Shine
The last chapter: Michael stands up, the time of trouble, and the clearest Old Testament promise of resurrection, 'many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt', the wise who shine 'as the stars for ever and ever,' and God's tender word to Daniel, 'thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.'
Read Chapter 12 →