Daniel 12:10 (ASV)

Passage

Many shall purify themselves, and make themselves white, and be refined; but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand; but they that are wise shall understand.

Nearby Context

Daniel 12:8 And I heard, but I understood not: then said I, O my lord, what shall be the issue of these things?

Daniel 12:9 And he said, Go thy way, Daniel; for the words are shut up and sealed till the time of the end.

Daniel 12:10 Many shall purify themselves, and make themselves white, and be refined; but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand; but they that are wise shall understand.

Daniel 12:11 And from the time that the continual [burnt-offering] shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand and two hundred and ninety days.

Daniel 12:12 Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "shall", "purify", "themselves", "make", "white", "refined", and "wicked". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "shall" and "purify", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 9's "And he said Go thy way Daniel..." into verse 11's "And from the time that the continual...", so "shall" and "purify" belong inside that flow. In Daniel context, the local focus is covenant, worship, and faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "shall" and "purify" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.