What Does Daniel 11:25 Mean in the King James?

And he shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the south with a great army; and the king of the south shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army; but he shall not stand: for they shall forecast devices against him.

Daniel 11:25 · KJV

The analysis reads the King James wording.

King James Version The King James Version, first published in 1611. Selah Verse shows the standard text.

This verse in the Selah Decoded Version

THE KEY

The army is visible, but the hidden force is in “devices”: plans are being calculated before the battle is decided.

THE MEANING

You see a vast force gather and still fail to stand when plans are being formed against it. The contest before you is shaped by what is arranged out of sight as much as by strength displayed in the open.

WHAT THIS UNDOES

The lie that the largest force must prevail is undone: the very great and mighty army still does not stand.

THE ROOT

יַחְשְׁבוּ

yaḥšəḇū

GROWS FROM

חָשַׁב

ḥāšav

Think, reckon, calculate, or devise.

“forecast devices” in this verse is yaḥšəḇū. Here “devices” opens into a family of reckoning, thought, and deliberate design. A plan is force worked out in the mind: the army is visible, while that calculation is not.

ALSO GROWS

maḥăšāḇōṯ: Thoughts, plans, devices.

מַחֲשָׁבוֹת

Proverbs 19:21 uses the same word for the many devices held in a heart, showing these plans as deliberate thought.

laḥšōḇ maḥăšāḇōṯ: To devise skillful designs.

לַחְשֹׁב מַחֲשָׁבֹת

Exodus 31:4 uses this root for designing crafted work; the same language can describe a plan shaped with intention.

וְיָעֵר

və-yāʿēr

GROWS FROM

עוּר

ʿūr

Awaken, rouse, bring into action.

“stir up” in this verse is və-yāʿēr. The phrase portrays strength as awakened rather than merely possessed. Isaiah 51:9 uses this same root in “Awake, awake” beside “put on strength,” making the link between awakening and mobilized force explicit.

ALSO GROWS

ʿūrī ʿūrī: Awake, awake.

עוּרִי עוּרִי

Isaiah 51:9 pairs this same awakening root with putting on strength, echoing the rousing of power here.

hitʿōrərī: Awake; rouse yourself.

הִתְעוֹרְרִי

Isaiah 51:17 uses the same root as a summons out of sleep, showing its movement from inactivity into action.

THE PATTERN

The force visible in a contest does not settle its outcome; plans and wisdom can outweigh or overturn what looks mighty.

Wisdom is better than weapons of war: but one sinner destroyeth much good.

Ecclesiastes 9:18 · KJVIt sets wisdom above weapons of war, showing that battle’s visible instruments are not the only source of consequence.

The LORD bringeth the counsel of the heathen to nought: he maketh the devices of the people of none effect.

Psalm 33:10 · KJVIt names devised plans as a force whose outcome can be nullified, echoing Daniel’s unseen conflict of designs.

But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;

1 Corinthians 1:27 · KJVIt shows the weak confounding the mighty, overturning the assumption that scale decides who stands.

THE THREAD

There are many devices in a man’s heart; nevertheless the counsel of the LORD, that shall stand.

Proverbs 19:21 · KJV

“Devices” in both verses translates ⁨מַחֲשָׁבוֹת⁩ (maḥăšāḇōṯ, thoughts or plans), from ⁨חָשַׁב⁩ (ḥāšav, think, reckon, devise). Proverbs sharpens the contrast: many plans fill the heart, but the LORD’s counsel is what stands; Daniel shows a mighty army failing under plans formed against it.

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