Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.
The Bible (The Old Testament) (14th - 2nd C BC) Judeo-Christian sacred scripture [Tanakh, Hebrew Bible], incl. the Apocrypha (Deuterocanonicals)
Daniel 12:4 [KJV (1611)]
(Source)
The Old Greek version of the Septuagint uses a word that translated out to "evil" or "wickedness" or "injustice". Later versions, particularly Theodotian's favored translation, used "knowledge" (Hebrew הַדָּֽעַת or Greek γνῶσις) [notes 1, 2, 3, 4].
Quoted by Francis Bacon as an epigraph on the frontispiece of his Instauratio Magna [The Great Instauration] (1620), in both English (as the King James Version) and Latin: "Multi pertransibunt & augebitur scientia."
Alternate translations:Many will wander this way and that, and wickedness will go on increasing.
[JB (1966)]Meanwhile, many people will waste their efforts trying to understand what is happening.
[GNT (1976)]Many will roam about, this way and that, and wickedness will continue to increase.
[NJB (1985)]Many will stray far, but knowledge will increase.
[CEB (2011)]Many shall be running back and forth, and evil shall increase.
[NRSV (2021 ed.)]Many will range far and wide and knowledge will increase.
[RJPS (2023 ed.)]
Quotations about:
wandering
Note not all quotations have been tagged, so Search may find additional quotes on this topic.
O, what can ail thee, knight-at-arms,
Alone and palely loitering?
The sedge has wither’d from the lake,
And no birds sing.