1 “Alsoin the first year ofDarius the Mede, I,evenI, stood up to confirm and strengthen him.)
2 And now I will tell you the truth: Behold, three more kings will arise in Persia, and the fourth shall be far richer thanthemall; by his strength, through his riches, he shall stir up all against the realm of Greece.
3 Thena mighty king shall arise, who shall rule with great dominion, anddo according to his will.
4 And when he has arisen,his kingdom shall be broken up and divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not among his posteritynor according to his dominion with which he ruled; for his kingdom shall be uprooted, even for others besides these.
Warring Kings of North and South
5 “Also the king of the South shall become strong, as well asoneof his princes; and he shall gain power over him and have dominion. His dominionshallbea great dominion.
6 And at the end ofsomeyears they shall join forces, for the daughter of the king of the South shall go to the king of the North to make an agreement; but she shall not retain the power of her authority, and neither he nor his authority shall stand; but she shall be given up, with those who brought her, and with him who begot her, and with him who strengthened her inthosetimes.
7 But from a branch of her rootsoneshall arise in his place, who shall come with an army, enter the fortress of the king of the North, and deal with them and prevail.
8 And he shall also carry their gods captive to Egypt, with their princesandtheir precious articles of silver and gold; and he shall continuemoreyears than the king of the North.
9 “AlsothekingoftheNorthshall come to the kingdom of the king of the South, but shall return to his own land.
10 However his sons shall stir up strife, and assemble a multitude of great forces; andoneshall certainly comeand overwhelm and pass through; then he shall returnto his fortress and stir up strife.
11 “And the king of the South shall bemoved with rage, and go out and fight with him, with the king of the North, who shall muster a great multitude; but themultitude shall be given into the hand of hisenemy.
12 When he has taken away the multitude, his heart will be lifted up; and he will cast down tens of thousands, but he will not prevail.
13 For the king of the North will return and muster a multitude greater than the former, and shall certainly come at the end of some years with a great army and much equipment.
14 “Now in those times many shall rise up against the king of the South. Also, violent men of your people shall exalt themselves in fulfillment of the vision, but they shallfall.
15 So the king of the North shall come andbuild a siege mound, and take a fortified city; and the forces of the South shall not withstandhim.Even his choice troopsshallhaveno strength to resist.
16 But he who comes against himshall do according to his own will, andno one shall stand against him. He shall stand in the Glorious Land with destruction in his power.
17 “He shall alsoset his face to enter with the strength of his whole kingdom, and upright ones with him; thus shall he do. And he shall give him the daughter of women to destroy it; but she shall not standwithhim,or be for him.
18 After this he shall turn his face to the coastlands, and shall take many. But a ruler shall bring the reproach against them to an end; and with the reproach removed, he shall turn back on him.
19 Then he shall turn his face toward the fortress of his own land; but he shallstumble and fall,and not be found.
20 “There shall arise in his place one who imposes taxesonthe glorious kingdom; but within a few days he shall be destroyed, but not in anger or in battle.
21 And in his placeshall arise a vile person, to whom they will not give the honor of royalty; but he shall come in peaceably, and seize the kingdom by intrigue.
22 With the force of aflood they shall be swept away from before him and be broken,and also the prince of the covenant.
23 And after the leagueismadewith himhe shall act deceitfully, for he shall come up and become strong with a smallnumberofpeople.
24 He shall enter peaceably, even into the richest places of the province; and he shall dowhathis fathers have not done, nor his forefathers: he shall disperse among them the plunder, spoil, and riches; and he shall devise his plans against the strongholds, butonlyfor a time.
25 “He shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the South with a great army. And the king of the South shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army; but he shall not stand, for they shall devise plans against him.
26 Yes, those who eat of the portion of his delicacies shall destroy him; his army shall be swept away, and many shall fall down slain.
27 Both these kings’ heartsshallbebent on evil, and they shall speak lies at the same table; but it shall not prosper, for the endwillstillbeat theappointed time.
28 While returning to his land with great riches, his heart shall bemovedagainst the holy covenant; so he shall dodamageand return to his own land.
The Northern King’s Blasphemies
29 “At the appointed time he shall return and go toward the south; but it shall not be like the former or the latter.
30 For ships from Cyprus shall come against him; therefore he shall be grieved, and return in rage against the holy covenant, and dodamage.
“So he shall return and show regard for those who forsake the holy covenant.
31 And forces shall be mustered by him,and they shall defile the sanctuary fortress; then they shall take away the dailysacrifices,and placetherethe abomination of desolation.
32 Those who do wickedly against the covenant he shall corrupt with flattery; but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry outgreatexploits.
33 And those of the people who understand shall instruct many; yetformanydays they shall fall by sword and flame, by captivity and plundering.
34 Now when they fall, they shall be aided with a little help; but many shall join with them by intrigue.
35 Andsomeof those of understanding shall fall,to refine them, purifythem,and makethemwhite,untilthe time of the end; becauseitisstill for the appointed time.
36 “Then the king shall do according to his own will: he shallexalt and magnify himself above every god, shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the wrath has been accomplished; for what has been determined shall be done.
37 He shall regard neither the God of his fathers nor the desire of women,nor regard any god; for he shall exalt himself abovethemall.
38 But in their place he shall honor a god of fortresses; and a god which his fathers did not know he shall honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and pleasant things.
39 Thus he shall act against the strongest fortresses with a foreign god, which he shall acknowledge,andadvanceitsglory; and he shall cause them to rule over many, and divide the land for gain.
The Northern King’s Conquests
40 “At thetime of the end the king of the South shall attack him; and the king of the North shall come against himlike a whirlwind, with chariots,horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter the countries, overwhelmthem,and pass through.
41 He shall also enter the Glorious Land, and manycountriesshall be overthrown; but these shall escape from his hand:Edom, Moab, and the prominent people of Ammon.
42 He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land ofEgypt shall not escape.
43 He shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; also the Libyans and Ethiopiansshallfollowat his heels.
44 But news from the east and the north shall trouble him; therefore he shall go out with great fury to destroy and annihilate many.
45 And he shall plant the tents of his palace between the seas andthe glorious holy mountain;yet he shall come to his end, and no one will help him.