New International Version
Daniel 7:5
5“And there before me was a second beast, which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, ‘Get up and eat your fill of flesh!’
Daniel 7:5 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.
- English Standard Version (ESV)And behold, another beast, a second one, like a bear. It was raised up on one side. It had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth; and it was told, 'Arise, devour much flesh.'
- New King James Version (NKJV)“And suddenly another beast, a second, like a bear. It was raised up on one side, and had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. And they said thus to it: ‘Arise, devour much flesh!’
- New Living Translation (NLT)Then I saw a second beast, and it looked like a bear. It was rearing up on one side, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. And I heard a voice saying to it, “Get up! Devour the flesh of many people!”
Context of Daniel 7:5
3Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea. 4“The first was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted from the ground so that it stood on two feet like a human being, and the mind of a human was given to it. “And there before me was a second beast, which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, ‘Get up and eat your fill of flesh!’ 6“After that, I looked, and there before me was another beast, one that looked like a leopard. And on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. This beast had four heads, and it was given authority to rule. 7“After that, in my vision at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast—terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns.
Read all of Daniel 7Daniel 7:5 word by word
וַאֲר֣וּ חֵיוָה֩ אָחֳרִ֨י תִנְיָנָ֜ה דָּמְיָ֣ה לְדֹ֗ב וְלִשְׂטַר־חַד֙ הֳקִמַ֔ת וּתְלָ֥ת עִלְעִ֛ין בְּפֻמַּ֖הּ בֵּ֣ין שִׁנַּ֑הּ וְכֵן֙ אָמְרִ֣ין לַ֔הּ ק֥וּמִֽי אֲכֻ֖לִי בְּשַׂ֥ר שַׂגִּֽיא׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- And beholdאֲרוּ'ărû · behold!H718
- anotherאׇחֳרִי'ochŏrîy · anotherH317
- beastחֵיוָאchêyvâ' · beastH2423
- a secondתִּנְיָןtinyân · secondH8578
- likeדְּמָהdemâh · be likeH1821
- to a bearדֹּבdôb · bearH1678
- and it raised upקוּםqûm · to stand: raiseH6966
- itself on oneחַדchad · oneH2298
- sideשְׂטַרsheţar · sideH7859
- threeתְּלָתtelâth telâthâh telâthâ' · threeH8532
- ribsעֲלַע‛ăla‛ · ribH5967
- in the mouthפֻּםpûm · mouthH6433
- of it betweenבֵּיןbêyn · betweenH997
- the teethשֵׁןshên · toothH8128
- of it: and they saidאֲמַר'ămar · to sayH560
- thusכֵּןkên · thusH3652
- unto it, Ariseקוּםqûm · to stand: riseH6966
- devourאֲכַל'ăkal · to devourH399
- muchשַׂגִּיאώaggîy' · greatH7690
- fleshבְּשַׁרbeώar · fleshH1321
Cross-references for Daniel 7:5
- Daniel 2:39“After you, another kingdom will arise, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule over the whole earth.
- Daniel 8:3I looked up, and there before me was a ram with two horns, standing beside the canal, and the horns were long. One of the horns was longer than the other but grew up later.
- 2 Kings 2:24He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the Lord. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the boys.
- Proverbs 17:12Better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs than a fool bent on folly.
- Hosea 13:8Like a bear robbed of her cubs, I will attack them and rip them open; like a lion I will devour them— a wild animal will tear them apart.
- Daniel 5:28Peres : Your kingdom is divided and given to the Medes and Persians.”
- Daniel 8:4I watched the ram as it charged toward the west and the north and the south. No animal could stand against it, and none could rescue from its power. It did as it pleased and became great.
- Daniel 11:2“Now then, I tell you the truth: Three more kings will arise in Persia, and then a fourth, who will be far richer than all the others. When he has gained power by his wealth, he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece.
- Isaiah 13:17See, I will stir up against them the Medes, who do not care for silver and have no delight in gold.
- Isaiah 56:9Come, all you beasts of the field, come and devour, all you beasts of the forest!
- Jeremiah 50:21“Attack the land of Merathaim and those who live in Pekod. Pursue, kill and completely destroy them,” declares the Lord. “Do everything I have commanded you.
- Ezekiel 39:17“Son of man, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Call out to every kind of bird and all the wild animals: ‘Assemble and come together from all around to the sacrifice I am preparing for you, the great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel. There you will eat flesh and drink blood.
Commentaries on Daniel 7:5
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5Another beast - like to a bear - This was the Medo-Persian empire, represented here under the symbol of the bear, as the largest species of these animals was found in Media, a mountainous, cold, and rough country, covered with woods. The Medes and Persians are compared to a bear on account of their cruelty and thirst after blood, a bear being a most voracious and cruel animal; the bear is termed by Aristotle an all-devouring animal; and the Medo-Persians…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5And, behold, another beast, a second, like to a bear - That is, after the lion had appeared, and he had watched it until it had undergone these surprising transformations. There are several circumstances, also, in regard to this symbol, all of which, it is to be supposed, were significant, and all of which demand explication before it is attempted to apply them. (a) The animal seen: the bear. For a full description of the bear, see Bochart, Hieroz. lib…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5The second beast likely represents Persia (Daniel 2:34–40; 6:9, 12, 15; 8:20). The bear was known for its fierce attacks (Proverbs 28:15). The three ribs might symbolize Babylon, Media, and Lydia, which Cyrus conquered. flesh: God chose Cyrus and Persia to conquer many nations (Isaiah 41:2–3; 44:28; 45:1, 13; 46:11).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. bear--symbolizing the austere life of the Persians in their mountains, also their cruelty (Is 13:17, 18; Cambyses, Ochus, and other of the Persian princes were notoriously cruel; the Persian laws involved, for one man's offense, the whole kindred and neighborhood in destruction, Da 6:24) and rapacity. "A bear is an all-devouring animal" [Aristotle, 8.5], (Jr 51:48, 56). raised ... itself on one side--but the Hebrew, "It raised up one dominion." The…Read the comment
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Daniel 7
- 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
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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Commentaries