1 In the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood both to strengthen and to succor him: and now I will declare to thee the truth.

2 Behold, three kings shall yet stand up in Persia, and a fourth shall be enriched with great riches above them all: and when he is grown strong through his wealth, he shall stir up the whole against the kingdom of Jayan (Greece.)

3 Then a mighty king shall stand up, and shall rule with extended dominion, and shall do according to his will.

4 And when he shall be established, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be dispersed towards the four winds of heaven, yet not to his posterity, nor yet according to the dominion which he exercised; for his kingdom shall be extirpated, and shall be for others, who are not of his posterity.

5 A king of the south shall then become strong, being one of his princes, and he shall be strengthened against him, and shall become supreme, and his dominion shall be extensive.

6 At the end of the years, they shall become allies, and the daughter of the king of the south shall, come to the king of the north for the purpose of making peace: Yet his arm shall not retain its strength; neither shall he stand, nor his seed, but she shall be delivered up with her attendants, and her mother, and whoever supported her at that time.

7 Yet there shall stand up a shoot from her root in its own rank: it shall come with an army, and shall reach the fortifications of the king of the north, and shall act among the people, and shall prevail.

8 Their gods also with their molten images, with their precious vessels of silver and gold, shall they carry into captivity to Egypt, and he shall stand for more years than the king of the north.

9 And the king of the north shall come into the kingdom, and shall return to his own land.

10 But his sons shall be provoked, and shall assemble a multitude of mighty forces; and shall advance rapidly, and overflow, and pass through: he shall return and shall be stirred up even to his own fortress.

11 Then the king of the south shall be exasperated, and shall go forth to make war against the king of the north: he shall set in motion a large multitude, and that multitude shall be delivered into his hand.

12 Then that multitude shall be taken away, and his heart shall be elated: He shall east down tens of thousands, and yet he shall not become strong.

13 For the king of the north shall return, and shall collect a greater multitude than before And at the end of the times of the years, he shall come swiftly with a great army, and with much wealth.

14 And at those times many shall stand up against the king of the south (Egypt), and sons, robbers of thy people, shall exalt themselves to establish the vision, but yet they shall fail.

15 For the king of the north shall come, and shall east up a rampart, and shall take the city of fortifications, and the arms of the south shall not stand, nor yet the people of his levies, for there shall be no strength for standing.

16 Also when coming he shall do unto him according to his will, and none shall stand before his face, and he shall stand in the desirable land which shall be consumed in his hand.

17 And he shall set his face to come with the power of his whole kingdom to make alliances with him; he shall accomplish this: he shall give the daughter of women to him to corrupt her, but she shall not stand by him, nor be under his power.

18 Then he shall turn his face towards the islands, and shall take many: and a prince shall set at rest his reproach against him: hence he shall not turn his reproach upon himself.

19 And he shall turn his face towards the fortifications of his own land, and shall stumbles and fall, and never be found.

20 Next there shall stand up in his place one who shall send forth an exactor, or raiser of tribute, in honor of his kingdom, but within a few days he shall perish, yet not either in anger or in battle.

21 Then a contemptible person shall succeed him, on whom they shall not confer the honor of royalty, but he shall come stealthily, and shall seize the kingdom by flatteries.

22 His auxiliaries shall be overwhelmed by a deluge before his sight: they shall be utterly broken, as well as the leader of the covenant.

23 After conjunction with him shall he practice deceit, and shall ascend, and prevail with a small band.

24 He shall advance in peace into the richest portion of the province, and shall do what neither his father nor his father's father had done: he shall distribute among them spoils, and booty, and wealth, and he shall think many thoughts respecting fortified cities, and that for a time.

25 And he shall stir up his strength and his breast against the king of the south, with a great army; and the king of the south shall be roused up to battle with a large and very powerful army: and he shall not stand, because they shall agitate perfidious counsels against him.

26 Those who partake of his table shall ruin him, and his army shall be overwhelmed, and many shall fall wounded.

27 The heart of both these kings shall be inclined to evil; at the same table shall they speak deceitfully: yet it shall not prosper, because the end is yet for a defined period.

28 Then shall he return to his own land with great wealth; and his heart shall be towards the covenant of holiness, and he shall accomplish his purpose, and return to his own land.

29 After a time he shall return, and shall come to the south; But this expedition small not succeed as the former one.

30 For ships of Chittim shall advance against him, and he shall be humbled, and return, and shall be indignant against the holy covenant, and shall do his work, and return and apply his mind to the deserters of the holy covenant.

31 And arms shall stand up from him; and they shall profane the sanctuary of Ms strength, and abolish the continual sacrifice, and set up the abomination which shall make desolate.

32 Now those who act impiously against the covenant will he seduce with flatteries, but the people who know their God shall be strengthened and will practice it.

33 And the wise among the people shall teach many, yet they shall fall by the sword, and by the flame, by exile, and by rapine, for many days.

34 Yet in their fall they shall be assisted with moderate help, and many shall join themselves to them through flatteries.

35 Also some of those who have understanding shall fall, to prove, and purge, and whiten them even for a definite time, since it is still for an appointed time.

36 And the king shall act according to his will, and shall raise himself, and magnify himself above every deity, and against the God of gods shall he speak wonderful things; He shall prosper also unto the consummation of the anger, Since the decision has been made.

37 He shall not attend to either the God of his fathers, nor to the desire of women: He shall not attend to any deity, for he shall magnify himself above them all.

38 And the God of fortresses shall he honor in his own place; And a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honor with gold, and silver, and precious stones, and with desirable things.

39 Then he shall attack the fortifications of strength with the strange god whom he has acknowledged: He shall multiply the glory, and cause them to reign over many; for he shall divide the land for a price.

40 After a fixed time, the king of the south shall attack him; Then the king of the north shall rush at him like a whirlwind, with chariots and horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter his lands, and shall overflow and pass through.

41 He shall also arrive at the land of desire, (Judea;) Many regions shall fall, but these shall escape out of his hand, Edom, Moab, and the heads of the children of Ammon.

42 Then he shall extend his hand over the lands, and the land of Egypt shall not escape.

43 He shall have dominion over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the desirable things of Egypt, and Libya and Ethiopia in his progress.

44 But rumors shall disturb him from the east and from the north; he shall go forth with great anger to destroy many, and to devote them to utter destruction.

45 And he shall fix the tabernacle of his palace between the seas, near the mountain of the desire of holiness; Then he shall come to his end, and no one shall help him.