Daily Verse Daniel 12:3
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The phrase those who have insight refers to those with the wisdom to turn in faith to the Messiah Jesus. As a result, they will lead many others to faith and righteousness.
Rydelnik, M. (2017). Daniel. In E. A. Blum & T. Wax (Eds.), CSB Study Bible: Notes (p. 1348). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
3. In the midst of the centuries of seemingly endless troubles, one group stands out: the wise (see 11:33). They are people who, like Daniel, combine knowledge, skill, prayer, Scripture reading, loyalty to God and friends and love for enemies. They turn many to righteousness, to the right way of living before God and with others. In life and after death they shine … like the brightness of the sky … like the stars for ever and ever. Their life and witness endure. They are examples to follow.
House, P. R. (2018). Daniel: An Introduction and Commentary. (D. G. Firth, Ed.) (Vol. 23, p. 181). London: Inter-Varsity Press.
12:3 In the messianic age believers (“those who are [spiritually] wise” and “those who lead many [lit., “the many”] to righteousness”) “will shine like the brightness of the heavens [rāqîʿa, “expanse,” i.e., the sky]” and “like the stars for ever and ever.” Both parts of this verse contain parallel ideas.
“Those who are wise” (or “those who make others wise,” cf. 11:33) includes the resurrected saints of 12:2. Being in parallel with “those who lead many to righteousness,” these are believers generally who are spiritually wise themselves and make others wise through their life and witness. This wisdom includes the recognition of the truth of God and willingness to act upon it. Such persons will become the spiritual children of God and rise to take part in the coming kingdom.
Through words and deeds God’s children lead others to understand the call of the sovereign Lord upon their lives, a call that involves a life of holiness since God is holy. This is not a special class of saints, but as Baldwin observes, “Those who lead others to righteousness, then, are those who demonstrate their faith and encourage others to faith, and this the humblest believer can do.”
The saints are described as shining like “the brightness of the heavens,” synonymous with “the stars” (cf. 8:10, where stars are also used as a figure for the saints) mentioned in the second half of the verse. Christ, evidently with this passage in mind, declared that at the end of the age “the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (Matt 13:43). Just as stars display their beauty and glory in the sky, a bright (glorious) future and a great reward (which includes God’s blessings and great honor) awaits those who were wise enough to comprehend and obey spiritual truth and who led others to repent of their sins and live a righteous life. This blessed and glorious state will continue “for ever and ever” (lĕʿôlām wāʿed). In this present world many times believers are persecuted, misunderstood, misrepresented, suffer economically because of their spiritual priorities, and are overlooked by the world. Yet someday things will be different. The decision to follow Christ and put his kingdom first will be rewarded. Some persons ask, “Is serving Christ worth it?” (cf. Mal 3:13–15). God’s answer is a resounding, “Yes!” (cf. Mal 3:16–4:3).
Miller, S. R. (1994). Daniel (Vol. 18, pp. 319–320). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
12:3 “The discerning” who “set the multitude right” have had their teaching despised, and some of them have lost their lives. Their position will be reversed, not merely by their being restored to life but by their being given a position of pre-eminent honor. Once again, it is difficult to tell how literal and how metaphorical is the description of their destiny. The stars can represent celestial beings (cf. 8:10; also Judg 5:20; Job 38:7; 1 En. 104; T. Mos. 10:9; 2 Bar. 51). Comparing the discerning with the stars need not imply that they will be located among them, still less that they will become celestial beings. A poetic couplet echoing an earlier scriptural passage (Isa 52:13; 53:11) within a visionary flight into the future cannot be pressed.
We can ask about the significance of comparing the discerning to stars or of locating them among the celestial beings. In earlier OT thought the king has been characterized in these terms (Num 24:17; 1 Sam 29:9; 2 Sam 14:17, 20; Isa 9:6 [5]), against the background of an assumed correspondence or other linkage between heaven and earth and between heavenly powers and earthly powers such as we noted in connection with Dan 10. The last northern king had sought to storm heaven’s gates. In 12:3 such notions are not quite democratized, but they are applied more broadly to the “discerning” leaders of the community. We might compare the designation of prophets as Yahweh’s aides (מלאכים). These “discerning” are given a place in Yahweh’s council. They receive the honor the last northern king vainly sought. Once again, it is inappropriate to be literalistic in interpreting the poetry: the vision relates to life on earth lived by beings who are still human. But neither is it appropriate to be prosaic in understanding the promise: it envisages life of a heavenly character, the life of the age to come. The discerning share in the theophanic glory of the new Jerusalem.158 The promise speaks not of resuscitation but of resurrection, which incorporates transformation. And it is not in heaven but on earth.
Goldingay, J. (2019). Daniel. (N. L. deClaissé-Walford, Ed.) (Revised Edition, Vol. 30, p. 549). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic.
Rydelnik, M. (2017). Daniel. In E. A. Blum & T. Wax (Eds.), CSB Study Bible: Notes (p. 1348). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
3. In the midst of the centuries of seemingly endless troubles, one group stands out: the wise (see 11:33). They are people who, like Daniel, combine knowledge, skill, prayer, Scripture reading, loyalty to God and friends and love for enemies. They turn many to righteousness, to the right way of living before God and with others. In life and after death they shine … like the brightness of the sky … like the stars for ever and ever. Their life and witness endure. They are examples to follow.
House, P. R. (2018). Daniel: An Introduction and Commentary. (D. G. Firth, Ed.) (Vol. 23, p. 181). London: Inter-Varsity Press.
12:3 In the messianic age believers (“those who are [spiritually] wise” and “those who lead many [lit., “the many”] to righteousness”) “will shine like the brightness of the heavens [rāqîʿa, “expanse,” i.e., the sky]” and “like the stars for ever and ever.” Both parts of this verse contain parallel ideas.
“Those who are wise” (or “those who make others wise,” cf. 11:33) includes the resurrected saints of 12:2. Being in parallel with “those who lead many to righteousness,” these are believers generally who are spiritually wise themselves and make others wise through their life and witness. This wisdom includes the recognition of the truth of God and willingness to act upon it. Such persons will become the spiritual children of God and rise to take part in the coming kingdom.
Through words and deeds God’s children lead others to understand the call of the sovereign Lord upon their lives, a call that involves a life of holiness since God is holy. This is not a special class of saints, but as Baldwin observes, “Those who lead others to righteousness, then, are those who demonstrate their faith and encourage others to faith, and this the humblest believer can do.”
The saints are described as shining like “the brightness of the heavens,” synonymous with “the stars” (cf. 8:10, where stars are also used as a figure for the saints) mentioned in the second half of the verse. Christ, evidently with this passage in mind, declared that at the end of the age “the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (Matt 13:43). Just as stars display their beauty and glory in the sky, a bright (glorious) future and a great reward (which includes God’s blessings and great honor) awaits those who were wise enough to comprehend and obey spiritual truth and who led others to repent of their sins and live a righteous life. This blessed and glorious state will continue “for ever and ever” (lĕʿôlām wāʿed). In this present world many times believers are persecuted, misunderstood, misrepresented, suffer economically because of their spiritual priorities, and are overlooked by the world. Yet someday things will be different. The decision to follow Christ and put his kingdom first will be rewarded. Some persons ask, “Is serving Christ worth it?” (cf. Mal 3:13–15). God’s answer is a resounding, “Yes!” (cf. Mal 3:16–4:3).
Miller, S. R. (1994). Daniel (Vol. 18, pp. 319–320). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
12:3 “The discerning” who “set the multitude right” have had their teaching despised, and some of them have lost their lives. Their position will be reversed, not merely by their being restored to life but by their being given a position of pre-eminent honor. Once again, it is difficult to tell how literal and how metaphorical is the description of their destiny. The stars can represent celestial beings (cf. 8:10; also Judg 5:20; Job 38:7; 1 En. 104; T. Mos. 10:9; 2 Bar. 51). Comparing the discerning with the stars need not imply that they will be located among them, still less that they will become celestial beings. A poetic couplet echoing an earlier scriptural passage (Isa 52:13; 53:11) within a visionary flight into the future cannot be pressed.
We can ask about the significance of comparing the discerning to stars or of locating them among the celestial beings. In earlier OT thought the king has been characterized in these terms (Num 24:17; 1 Sam 29:9; 2 Sam 14:17, 20; Isa 9:6 [5]), against the background of an assumed correspondence or other linkage between heaven and earth and between heavenly powers and earthly powers such as we noted in connection with Dan 10. The last northern king had sought to storm heaven’s gates. In 12:3 such notions are not quite democratized, but they are applied more broadly to the “discerning” leaders of the community. We might compare the designation of prophets as Yahweh’s aides (מלאכים). These “discerning” are given a place in Yahweh’s council. They receive the honor the last northern king vainly sought. Once again, it is inappropriate to be literalistic in interpreting the poetry: the vision relates to life on earth lived by beings who are still human. But neither is it appropriate to be prosaic in understanding the promise: it envisages life of a heavenly character, the life of the age to come. The discerning share in the theophanic glory of the new Jerusalem.158 The promise speaks not of resuscitation but of resurrection, which incorporates transformation. And it is not in heaven but on earth.
Goldingay, J. (2019). Daniel. (N. L. deClaissé-Walford, Ed.) (Revised Edition, Vol. 30, p. 549). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic.