Daniel 12:4

Daniel 12:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.
• English Standard Version (ESV)But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, until the time of the end. Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase."
• New King James Version (NKJV)“But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.”
• New Living Translation (NLT)But you, Daniel, keep this prophecy a secret; seal up the book until the time of the end, when many will rush here and there, and knowledge will increase.”

Context of Daniel 12:4

2Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. 3Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever. But you, Daniel, roll up and seal the words of the scroll until the time of the end. Many will go here and there to increase knowledge.” 5Then I, Daniel, looked, and there before me stood two others, one on this bank of the river and one on the opposite bank. 6One of them said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, “How long will it be before these astonishing things are fulfilled?”

Daniel 12:4 word by word

וְאַתָּ֣ה דָֽנִיֵּ֗אל סְתֹ֧ם הַדְּבָרִ֛ים וַחֲתֹ֥ם הַסֵּ֖פֶר עַד־עֵ֣ת קֵ֑ץ יְשֹׁטְט֥וּ רַבִּ֖ים וְתִרְבֶּ֥ה הַדָּֽעַת׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• But thou, O Danielדָּנִיֵּאל, דָּנִאֵלdânîyê'l dâni'êl · DanielH1840
• shut upסָתַםsâtham ώâtham · to closeH5640
• the wordsדָּבָרdâbâr · wordH1697
• and sealחָתַםchâtham · to sealH2856
• the bookסֵ֫פֶרsêpher siphrâh · scroll: bookH5612
• to the timeעֵת‛êth · timeH6256
• of the endקֵץqêts · endH7093
• manyרַבrab · manyH7227
• shall run to and froשׁוּטshûţ · to roveH7751
• and knowledgeדַּ֫עַתda‛ath · knowledgeH1847
• shall be increasedרָבָהrâbâh · to multiplyH7235

Cross-references for Daniel 12:4

• Daniel 8:26“The vision of the evenings and mornings that has been given you is true, but seal up the vision, for it concerns the distant future.”
• Revelation 10:4And when the seven thunders spoke, I was about to write; but I heard a voice from heaven say, “Seal up what the seven thunders have said and do not write it down.”
• Revelation 22:10Then he told me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this scroll, because the time is near.
• Daniel 12:9He replied, “Go your way, Daniel, because the words are rolled up and sealed until the time of the end.
• Daniel 8:17As he came near the place where I was standing, I was terrified and fell prostrate. “Son of man,” he said to me, “understand that the vision concerns the time of the end.”
• Daniel 10:1In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia, a revelation was given to Daniel (who was called Belteshazzar). Its message was true and it concerned a great war. The understanding of the message came to him in a vision.
• Daniel 11:40“At the time of the end the king of the South will engage him in battle, and the king of the North will storm out against him with chariots and cavalry and a great fleet of ships. He will invade many countries and sweep through them like a flood.
• Daniel 11:33“Those who are wise will instruct many, though for a time they will fall by the sword or be burned or captured or plundered.
• Isaiah 11:9They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.
• Isaiah 29:18In that day the deaf will hear the words of the scroll, and out of gloom and darkness the eyes of the blind will see.
• Isaiah 30:26The moon will shine like the sun, and the sunlight will be seven times brighter, like the light of seven full days, when the Lord binds up the bruises of his people and heals the wounds he inflicted.
• Isaiah 32:3Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed, and the ears of those who hear will listen.
• Zechariah 14:6On that day there will be neither sunlight nor cold, frosty darkness.
• Matthew 24:14And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
• Romans 10:18But I ask: Did they not hear? Of course they did: “Their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.”
• Revelation 14:6Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation, tribe, language and people.

Commentaries on Daniel 12:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Shut up the words, and seal the book - When a prophet received a prediction concerning what was at a considerable distance of time, he shut his book, did not communicate his revelation for some time after. This Daniel was commanded to do, Daniel 8:26. See also Isaiah 29:10, Isaiah 29:11; Revelation 22:10. Among the ancients, those were said to seal, who in the course of their reading stamped the places of which they were yet doubtful, in order to keep…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words - To wit, by sealing them up, or by closing the book, and writing no more in it. The meaning is, that all has been communicated which it was intended to communicate. The angel had no more to say, and the volume might be sealed up. And seal the book - This would seem to have been not an unusual custom in closing a prophecy, either by affixing a seal to it that should be designed to confirm it as the prophet‘s work - as…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4Daniel had to keep the prophecy a secret (compare Daniel 7:28; 8:26). God would reveal it at the right time, at the end.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. shut up ... seal the book--John, on the contrary, is told (Re 22:10) not to seal his visions. Daniel's prophecy refers to a distant time, and is therefore obscure for the immediate future, whereas John's was to be speedily fulfilled (Re 1:1, 3; 22:6). Israel, to whom Daniel prophesied after the captivity, with premature zeal sought after signs of the predicted period: Daniel's prophecy was designed to restrain this. The Gentile Church, on the contrary…Read the comment

Topics related to Daniel 12:4

• Church
• Knowledge
• Wisdom
• Word of God

In the dictionaries

• Daniel
• Bel, and the Dragon
• Seal
• Writing

Commentaries on Daniel 12

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings