The Meaning of Daniel 7:26 Explained

Daniel 7:26

KJV: But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end.

YLT: And the Judge is seated, and its dominion they cause to pass away, to cut off, and to destroy -- unto the end;

Darby: And the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end.

ASV: But the judgment shall be set, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

But the judgment  shall sit,  and they shall take away  his dominion,  to consume  and to destroy  [it] unto  the end. 

What does Daniel 7:26 Mean?

Study Notes

and they shall
The end of Gentile world-power.
(1) In the beast vision of Daniel 7. the fourth beast is declared to be "the fourth kingdom," i.e. the Roman empire, the "iron" kingdom of Daniel 2. The "ten horns" upon the fourth beast (Roman empire), Daniel 7:7 are declared to be "ten kings that shall arise" ( Daniel 7:24 ) answering to the ten toes of the image vision of Daniel 2. The ten kingdoms, covering the regions formerly ruled by Rome, will constitute, therefore, the form in which the fourth or Roman empire will exist when the whole fabric of Gentile world-domination is smitten by the "stone cut out without hands" == Christ; Daniel 2:44 ; Daniel 2:45 ; Daniel 7:9 .
(2) But Daniel sees a "little horn" rise up and subdue three of the ten kings Daniel 7:24-26 . His distinguishing mark is hatred of God and of the Saints. He is not to be confounded with the "little horn" of Daniel 8 --a prophecy fulfilled in Antiochus Epiphanes. In Revelation 13, additional particulars of the "little horn" of Daniel 7. are given. See Scofield " Revelation 13:1 ".
little horn
The "little horn" here is a prophecy fulfilled in Antiochus Epiphanes, B.C. 175, who profaned the temple and terribly persecuted the Jews. He is not to be confounded with the "little horn" of Daniel 7. who is yet to come, and who will dominate the earth during the great tribulation. (See Scofield " Daniel 7:8 ") concerning "The Beast". See Scofield " Revelation 19:20 " and "The great tribulation," Psalms 2:5 . See Scofield " Revelation 7:14 ". But Antiochus is a remarkable type of the Beast, the terrible "little horn" of the last days. Daniel 8:24-25 go beyond Antiochus and evidently refer to the "little horn" of Daniel 7. Both Antiochus and the Beast, but the Beast pre-eminently, are in view in Daniel 8:24-25 . That the "little horn" of Daniel 7. cannot be the little horn of Daniel 8:9-13 ; Daniel 8:23 is evident. The former comes up among the ten horns into which the fourth empire (Roman) is to be divided; the little horn of Daniel 8. comes out of one of the four kingdoms into which the third (Grecian) empire was divided ( Daniel 8:23 ), and in "the latter time" of the four kingdoms Daniel 8:22 ; Daniel 8:23 ). This was historically true of Antiochus Epiphanes. They are alike in hatred of the Jews and of God, and in profaning the temple. Cf. Daniel 7:25 (the Beast) with Daniel 8:10-12 (Antiochus):
one of them Anticohus Epiphanes came out of Syria, one of the "four notable" kingdoms into which Alexander's empire was divided.

Verse Meaning

The angel continued to explain that the heavenly court ( Daniel 7:10) would pass judgment on the little horn, and God will remove his dominion and destroy it forever ( Daniel 7:11; 2 Thessalonians 2:8; Revelation 19:20).

Chapter Summary: Daniel 7

1  Daniel's vision of the four beasts,
9  and of God's kingdom
15  The interpretation thereof

What do the individual words in Daniel 7:26 mean?

But court the shall be seated and his dominion they shall take away to consume and destroy [it] to forever
וְדִינָ֖א יִתִּ֑ב וְשָׁלְטָנֵ֣הּ יְהַעְדּ֔וֹן לְהַשְׁמָדָ֥ה וּלְהוֹבָדָ֖ה עַד־ סוֹפָֽא

וְדִינָ֖א  But  court  the 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular determinate
Root: דִּין  
Sense: judgment.
יִתִּ֑ב  shall  be  seated 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: יְתִב  
Sense: to sit, dwell.
וְשָׁלְטָנֵ֣הּ  and  his  dominion 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: שָׁלְטָן  
Sense: dominion, sovereignty.
יְהַעְדּ֔וֹן  they  shall  take  away 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: עֲדָה  
Sense: to pass on, pass away.
לְהַשְׁמָדָ֥ה  to  consume 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Hifil, Infinitive construct
Root: שְׁמַד  
Sense: (Aphel) to destroy.
וּלְהוֹבָדָ֖ה  and  destroy  [it] 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-l, Verb, Hifil, Infinitive construct
Root: אֲבַד  
Sense: to perish, vanish.
סוֹפָֽא  forever 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular determinate
Root: סׄוף  
Sense: end, conclusion.