Daniel 10:20

Amplified Bible

Then he said, "Do you understand [fully] why I came to you? Now I shall return to fight against the [hostile] prince of Persia; and when I have gone, behold, the prince of Greece is about to come.

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
He said, “Do you know why I’ve come to you? I must return at once to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I leave, the prince of Greece will come.

Hebrew Names Version
Then he said, "Do you know why I have come to you? Now I will return to fight with the prince of Paras. When I go forth, behold, the prince of Yavan shall come.

King James Version
Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come.

English Standard Version
Then he said, "Do you know why I have come to you? But now I will return to fight against the prince of Persia; and when I go out, behold, the prince of Greece will come.

New American Standard Bible
Then he said, "Do you understand why I came to you? But I shall now return to fight against the prince of Persia; so I am leaving, and behold, the prince of Greece is about to come.

New Century Version
Then he said, "Daniel, do you know why I have come to you? Soon I must go back to fight against the prince of Persia. When I go, the prince of Greece will come,

Geneva Bible (1587)
Then saide he, Knowest thou wherefore I am come vnto thee? but nowe will I returne to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, loe, the prince of Grecia shall come.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Then he said, "Do you understand why I came to you? But I shall now return to fight against the prince of Persia; so I am going forth, and behold, the prince of Greece is about to come.

Berean Standard Bible
"Do you know why I have come to you?" he said. "I must return at once to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I have gone forth, behold, the prince of Greece will come.

Contemporary English Version
Then the angel said: Now do you understand why I have come? Soon I must leave to fight against the guardian angel of Persia. Then after I have defeated him, the guardian angel of Greece will attack me.

Complete Jewish Bible
Then he said, "Do you know why I came to you? Although now I must return to fight the prince of Persia; and when I leave, the prince of Greece will come;

Darby Translation
And he said, Knowest thou wherefore I am come unto thee? And now I return to fight with the prince of Persia; and when I go forth, behold, the prince of Greece shall come.

Easy-to-Read Version
So then he said, "Daniel, do you know why I have come to you? Soon I must go back to fight against the prince of Persia. When I go, the prince of Greece will come.

George Lamsa Translation
Then he said to me, Do you know why I have come to you? And now I will return to fight with the ruler of Persia; and when I went out, lo, the ruler of Greece came.

Good News Translation
He said, "Do you know why I came to you? It is to reveal to you what is written in the Book of Truth. Now I have to go back and fight the guardian angel of Persia. After that the guardian angel of Greece will appear. There is no one to help me except Michael, Israel's guardian angel.

Lexham English Bible
Then he asked, "Do you know why I have come to you? And now I return to fight against the prince of Persia and I myself am going, and look, the prince of Javan will come.

Literal Translation
And he said, Do you know why I have come to you? And now I will return to fight with the ruler of Persia. And when I have gone out, then, lo, the ruler of Greece shall come.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
The sayde he: knowest thou wherfore I am come vnto ye? now wil I go agayne to fight with the prynce of the Perses. As soone as I go forth, lo, the prynce of Grekelonde shal come.

American Standard Version
Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I am come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I go forth, lo, the prince of Greece shall come.

Bible in Basic English
Then he said, It is clear to you why I have come to you. And now I will give you an account of what is recorded in the true writings:

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Then said he: Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia; and when I go forth, lo, the prince of Greece shall come.

King James Version (1611)
Then said hee, Knowest thou wherefore I come vnto thee? and now will I returne to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, loe, the prince of Grecia shall come.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Thus saide he: Knowest thou wherefore I am come vnto thee? now wyll I returne to fight with the prince of the Perses: assoone as I go foorth, lo, the prince of Greke lande shall come.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
And he said, Knowest thou, wherefore I am come to thee? and now I will return to fight with the prince of the Persians: and I was going in, and the prince of the Greeks came.

English Revised Version
Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I am come unto thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I go forth, lo, the prince of Greece shall come.

World English Bible
Then he said, "Do you know why I have come to you? Now I will return to fight with the prince of Persia. When I go forth, behold, the prince of Greece shall come.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
And he seide, Whether thou woost not, whi Y cam to thee? And now Y schal turne ayen, to fiyte ayens the prince of Perseis. For whanne Y yede out, the prince of Grekis apperide comynge.

Update Bible Version
Then he said, Do you know why I have come to you? and now I will return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I go forth, look, the prince of Greece shall come.

Webster's Bible Translation
Then said he, Knowest thou for what cause I come to thee? and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia: and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come.

New English Translation
He said, "Do you know why I have come to you? Now I am about to return to engage in battle with the prince of Persia. When I go, the prince of Greece is coming.

New King James Version
Then he said, "Do you know why I have come to you? And now I must return to fight with the prince of Persia; and when I have gone forth, indeed the prince of Greece will come.

New Living Translation
He replied, "Do you know why I have come? Soon I must return to fight against the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia, and after that the spirit prince of the kingdom of Greece will come.

New Life Bible
He said, "Do you understand why I have come to you? Soon I will return to fight against the ruler of Persia. And when I go, the ruler of Greece will come.

New Revised Standard
Then he said, "Do you know why I have come to you? Now I must return to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I am through with him, the prince of Greece will come.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
And he said, Knowest thou wherefore I am come unto thee? But, now, must I return to fight with the ruler of Persia; I, therefore am going forth, and lo! the ruler of Greece, is coming.

Douay-Rheims Bible
And he said: Dost thou know wherefore I am come to thee? And now I will return, to fight against the prince of the Persians. When I went forth, there appeared the prince of the Greeks coming.

Revised Standard Version
Then he said, "Do you know why I have come to you? But now I will return to fight against the prince of Persia; and when I am through with him, lo, the prince of Greece will come.

Young's Literal Translation
And he saith, Hast thou known why I have come unto thee? and now I turn back to fight with the head of Persia; yea, I am going forth, and lo, the head of Javan hath come;

THE MESSAGE
"He said, ‘Do you know why I've come here to you? I now have to go back to fight against the angel-prince of Persia, and when I get him out of the way, the angel-prince of Greece will arrive. But first let me tell you what's written in The True Book. No one helps me in my fight against these beings except Michael, your angel-prince.'"

Contextual Overview

¹⁰Then behold, a hand touched me and set me unsteadily on my hands and knees. ¹¹So he said to me, "O Daniel, you highly regarded and greatly beloved man, understand the words that I am about to say to you and stand upright, for I have now been sent to you." And while he was saying this word to me, I stood up trembling. ¹²Then he said to me, "Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on humbling yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to your words. ¹³"But the prince of the kingdom of Persia was standing in opposition to me for twenty-one days. Then, behold, Michael, one of the chief [of the celestial] princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia. ¹⁴"Now I have come to make you understand what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision is in regard to the days yet to come." ¹⁵When he had spoken to me according to these words, I turned my face toward the ground and was speechless. ¹⁶And behold, one who resembled the sons of men touched my lips. Then I opened my mouth and spoke and said to him who was standing before me, "O my lord, because of the vision anguish has come upon me, and I have retained no strength. ¹⁷"For how can such a [weakened] servant of my lord talk with such [a being] as my lord? For now there remains no strength in me, nor has any breath been left in me." ¹⁸Then the one (Gabriel) whose appearance was like that of a man touched me again, and he strengthened me. ¹⁹He said, "O man, highly regarded and greatly beloved, do not be afraid. Peace be to you; take courage and be strong." Now when he had spoken to me, I was strengthened and said, "Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

to fight: Daniel 10:13, Isaiah 37:36, Acts 12:23

the prince of Grecia: Daniel 7:6, Daniel 8:5-8, Daniel 8:21, Daniel 11:2-4

Reciprocal: Genesis 32:2 - God's Numbers 24:24 - Chittim Ezekiel 27:13 - Javan Daniel 2:39 - another third Zechariah 1:11 - We

Cross-References

Genesis 10:1
These are the records of the generations (descendants) of Shem, Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah; and the sons born to them after the flood:

Genesis 10:6
the sons of Ham: Cush, Mizraim [from whom descended the Egyptians], Put, and Canaan;

Genesis 10:9
He was a mighty hunter before the LORD; therefore it is said, "Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before the LORD."

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Then said he, knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee?.... He had told him before, Daniel 10:12, that it was on account of his prayers, and to bring an answer to them; and particularly to inform him what would befall his people in the latter day; and now, lest, through the hurry of his spirits, he had not observed it, or had forgot it, he reminds him of it, to stir up his desire the more after the knowledge of particulars, which he was now about to relate unto him: and now will I return to fight with the prince of Persia; the evil spirit, in the court of Persia, he had been contesting with before, and had got the better of by the help of Michael; but since this good angel had been with Daniel, the evil one had been working upon the king and counsellors of Persia, and had wrought them up to an indifference unto, or carelessness about, the affairs of the people of the Jews, and to listen to their adversaries, whereby the building of the city and temple went on heavily and slowly; and so things were, through the evil influence of Satan, more or less, until the twentieth year of Artaxerxes Longimanus: and, indeed, Satan was continually soliciting mischief against the Jews, and stirring up enemies to them in the court of Persia, as long as that monarchy lasted, though he had not always the wished for success; the times of Esther and Mordecai are a proof of this:

and when I am gone forth, lo, the prince of Grecia shall come; meaning, when he was gone forth from the court of Persia, having done his business he was sent about; confounded the schemes and baffled the designs of the evil spirit, conquered him, and obliged him to give way, and cease from being troublesome any more, and obtained peace and rest for the Jews, and settled their affairs: the Persian monarchy being translated to the Grecians, the evil spirit began to work among them, to put them on doing mischief to the people of God; as in Alexander himself, who set out against them, but was pacified by the meeting of the high priest; and more especially in his successors; and above all in Antiochus, who was a violent persecutor of them; which this clause, as well as the following prophecy, has a respect unto.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Then said he, Knowest thou wherefore I come unto thee? - This was known by what the angel had said in Daniel 10:14. He seems to have called his attention to it, and to have proposed the question, because Daniel had been so overcome by his fright that it might be doubtful whether he had understood him distinctly when he had told him the object of his coming. He therefore proposes the question here; and as the silence of Daniel seems to have been construed as a declaration that he did understand the purpose of the visit, he proceeds to unfold frilly the purport of his message.

And now will I return - That is, evidently, after he had made known to him the message which he came to deliver. He cannot mean that he would then leave Daniel, and return immediately to Persia, for he proceeds at length Dan. 11–12 to deliver his message to him, and to state what would occur in the world in future times.

To fight with the prince of Persia - In Daniel 10:13, he says that he had had a contest with that “prince,” and that in consequence of that he had been delayed on his journey to Daniel. By the interposition of Michael, the affairs of Persia had been so arranged that the opposition to what was desired by Daniel had been in part removed - so far, at least, as to make it certain that Iris prayers would be answered. See the note at that verse. But still it would seem that the difficulty was not entirely overcome, and that it would be desirable for him to return, and to complete the arrangements which had been commenced. There were still causes in existence in Persia which might tend to frustrate all these plans unless they were counteracted, and his presence might still be necessary there to secure the safe return of the exiles to their own land, and the means required to rebuild the city and temple. The simple meaning of this is, that it would be necessary to exert a farther influence at the Persian court in order to bring about the object desired; and this fact is expressed in language derived from the belief that angelic beings, good and bad, have much to do in controlling the minds of men.

And when I am gone forth - literally, “and I go forth.” The meaning seems to be, that he would return to Persia, and would so direct affairs there that the welfare of the Jews would be promoted, and that protection would be extended to them. This, he says, he would continue as long as it was necessary, for when he should have gone forth, the king of Greece would come, and the affairs of Persia would be put on a new footing, but on such a footing as not to require his presence - for the government would be of itself favorable to the Jews. The sense is, that up to the time when this “king of Grecia” should come, there would be a state of things in the Persian court that would demand the presence of some being from heaven - exerting some constant influence to prevent an outbreak against the Jews, and to secure their peace and prosperity; but that when the “king of Grecia” should come, he would himself favor their cause, and render the presence of the angel unnecessary. No one can prove that this is not a correct representation, or that the favor shown to the Jews at the Persian court during all the time of the rebuilding of the city and the temple, was not to be traced to some presiding influence from above, or that that was not put forth in connection with the ministration of an angelic being. Indeed, it is in accordance with all the teachings of the Bible that the disposition of kings and princes to show favor to the people of God, like all else that is good in this world, is to be traced to an influence from above; and it is not contrary to any of the laws of analogy, or anything with which we are acquainted pertaining to the spiritual world, to suppose that angelic interposition may be employed in any case in bringing about what is good.

Lo, the prince of Grecia shall come - Hebrew - יון yâvân. There can be no doubt that Greece is intended. The word properly denotes Ionia (derived from this word), “the name of which province,” says Gesenius, “as being adjacent to the East, and better known, was extended so as to comprehend the whole of Greece, as is expressly said by Greek writers themselves.” - Lexicon By the “prince of Greece” here, there can be no doubt that there is reference to Alexander the Great, who conquered Persia. See Daniel 11:1-4. The meaning here is, that when he should come, and conquer Persia, the opposition which the Hebrews had encountered from that country would cease, and there would then be no need of the interposition of the angel at the Persian court. The matter of fact was, that the Hebrews were favored by Alexander the Great, and that whatever there was in the Persian or Chaldean power which they had had reason to dread was then brought to an end, for all those Eastern governments were absorbed in the empire of Alexander - the Macedonian monarchy.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Daniel 10:20. Knowest thou wherefore I come — So high art thou in the favour of God, that he hath sent me unto thee to give thee farther satisfaction; though I was elsewhere employed upon a most important mission, and I must speedily return to accomplish it, viz.: -

To fight with the king of Persia — To remove all the scruples of Cyrus, and to excite him to do all that God designs him to do for the restoration of my people, and the rebuilding of the city and temple of Jerusalem. Nothing less than a supernatural agency in the mind of Cyrus can account for his decree in favour of the Jews. He had no natural, no political inclination to it; and his reluctance to obey the heavenly motions is here represented as a fight between him and the angel.

The prince of Grecia shall come. — I believe this refers to Alexander the Great, who was to destroy the Persian empire. See the second and third verses of the following chapter. Daniel 11:2; "Daniel 11:3".