Charles Ellicott Commentary Daniel 11:14

"And in those times there shall many stand up against the king of the south: also the children of the violent among thy people shall lift themselves up to establish the vision; but they shall fall." — Daniel 11:14 (ASV)

In those times. It must be noted that at this verse, the earliest in which there is any reference to Daniel’s people and to the vision (Daniel 10:1; Daniel 10:7–8), we appear to be approaching the great crisis. We appear to be within “a very few days” of the vile person who corresponds to the little horn of the fourth beast.

At this period, the king of the south suffers from many hostile opponents, while certain others, more closely connected with the Jews, become prominent for a while, but then fail. The obscurity of the Hebrew text was felt by the Septuagint, and distinct historical allusions can be found only by those who are determined to find them. These are stated to be some insurrections during the early years of Ptolemy Epiphanes and a league that some of the Jews made with Antiochus the Great against Ptolemy.

Robbers of your people. This difficult expression occurs in only five other passages (Psalms 17:4; Isaiah 35:9; Jeremiah 7:11; Ezekiel 7:22; Ezekiel 18:10). The words in this passage can only refer to certain Jews who committed various violent breaches of the Law and, on this occasion, revolted against the king of the south.

To establish the vision. The meaning is that the result of their acts is to bring about the accomplishment of the vision (Daniel 10:14). The significant part of the verse is the “falling” of the robbers. It seems to mean that the conduct of these men will bring them just the reverse of what they had expected.