Kings of the South and North

1“ And I, in the first year of Darius the Mede, my standing is for a strengthener and for a stronghold to him.

2And now I declare to you the truth: Behold, yet three kings will be rising up in Persia; and the fourth will be rich, with greater riches than all. And according to his strength by his riches, he will rouse everyone against the kingdom of Javan.†

3And a mighty king will arise, and he will rule with great dominion, and he will do according to his will. 4And according to his standing, his kingdom will be broken up and will be divided to the four winds of the heavens, not to his posterity, and not according to his dominion by which he ruled; for his kingdom will be uprooted, and unto others apart from these.

5And the king of the south will become strong, and one from his princes and will gain strength even over him, and he will rule; a great dominion is his dominion.

6And at the end of years they will be united. And the daughter of the king of the south will come to the king of the north to make an agreement; she will not retain the strength of her arm, and neither will he stand, nor his arm.† And she will be given up, and those who brought her, and the one who begat her,† and the one who strengthened her in those times.

7And one will arise from a branch of her roots in his place. And he will come with an army, and he will come into the fortress of the king of the north, and he will deal with them and he will prevail. 8And even their gods, with their princes, with the vessels of their desiring, silver and gold, he will carry away into captivity to Egypt. And he will stand back some years from the king of the north, 9and he will come into the kingdom of the king of the south, and he will return to his own land.

10And his sons will stir up strife, and they will gather a multitude of great forces, and it will keep coming coming continually, and will flow over and pass through, and it will return and carry the war as far as his fortress. 11And the king of the south will be enraged, and he will go out and fight with him, with the king of the north; and he will raise up a great multitude, and the multitude will be given into his hand.

12And he has taken away the multitude, and his heart will be lifted up; and thousands he will cause to fall, and he will not prevail. 13For the king of the north will return, and he will raise a multitude greater than the first; at the end of the times of years, he will come forcefully with a great army and with many supplies.

14And in those times, many will rise up against the king of the south; and sons of violence among your people will exalt themselves to fulfill the vision, and they will fall.

15And the king of the north will come, and he will build a siege mound, and he will capture a city of fortifications; and the forces of the south will not stand; even their best troops will have no strength to stand. 16And the one coming against him will do according to his will, and no one will stand before his face; and he will stand in the land of glory, with destruction in his hand. 17And he will set his face to enter with the strength of all his kingdom, and upright ones with him; and he will act, and the daughter of women he will give to him, to corrupt her, and she will not stand and she will not be for him.†

18And he will turn back his face to the coastlands, and he will capture many, and a prince will bring to an end the scorn unto him. Nevertheless his scorn he will cause to turn back to him. 19And he will turn his face toward the fortress of his own land, and he will stumble and fall, and he will not be found.

20And there will arise upon his station one making pass through a pressing for the splendor of the kingdom; and in a few days he will be broken, though not in anger and not in battle.

21And will arise upon his station a despicable one, and they will not give upon him the splendor of royalty, and he will come in a time of ease and will seize the kingdom by flatteries. 22And the arms of the flood will be swept away from before him, and they will be broken, and also the prince of the covenant.

23And after they join with him, he will act with deceit, for he will come up and become strong with a small number of people. 24In a time of ease, he will enter the richest provinces, and he will do what his fathers have not done, nor the fathers of his fathers: Plunder and spoils and riches he will disperse unto them. And against the fortifications he will devise his plans, and only for a time.

25And he will rouse his power and his heart against the king of the south with a great army. And the king of the south will be stirred up to battle, even exceedingly with a great and mighty army, and he will not stand, for they will devise plans against him. 26And those eating of of his choice portion will destroy him, and his army will be swept away, and many will fall slain.

27And the two, kings, their heart is on evil. At a common table they speak lies, and it will not prosper, for still the end is at the appointed time. 28And he will return to his land with great riches, and his heart will be against the covenant of holiness; and he will act, and he will return to his own land.

29At the appointed time he will return, and he will come into the south; and this last time will not be like the first. 30For the ships of Kittim† will come against him, and he will be disheartened, and he will return, being angered against the covenant of holiness. And he will act, and he will turn back, and he will pay attention to those forsaking the holy covenant. 31And forces from him will stand, and they will profane the sanctuary and the fortress, and they will turn away the daily sacrifice, and they will set up the abomination of desolation.

32And those acting wickedly toward the covenant he will corrupt by flatteries; and the people who know their God will remain strong, and will take action. 33And those acting prudently among the people will bring understanding to many; and they will fall by sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by plunder, for days.

34And in their falling, they will be helped with a little help. And many will be joined to them with flatteries, 35and some of understanding will fall, in order to refine them and to purify, and to make them white, until the time of the end. For it is yet for the appointed time.

The King Who Exalts Himself

36And the king will act according to his desires, and he will exalt and magnify himself over every god, and he will speak blasphemies against the God of gods. And he will prosper until the wrath is accomplished, for what is decreed will be done. 37And to the God of his fathers he will not pay attention, or to for the one desired by women. And he will not pay attention to any god, for he will magnify himself above them all.

38And he will show honor to a god of fortresses in their place, and he will show honor to a god that his fathers did not know, with gold, and with silver, and with precious stones, and with desirable things. 39And he will act against the fortifications of strongholds with a foreign god. On those who acknowledge him, he will increase glory and make them to rule over many; and the land he will divide at a price.†

40And at the time of the end, the king of the south will thrust against him,† and the king of the North will storm against him with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he will come into the lands, and will flow over and pass through. 41And he will come into the land of glory; and many will be overthrown, and these will escape from his hand: Edom, and Moab, and the first part of the sons of Ammon.

42And he will stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt will not be for an escape. 43And he will rule over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; and the Libyans and Cushites† will be in his steps.

44And news will disturb him from the east and from the north, and he will go forth with great fury to destroy and to devote to destruction† many. 45And he will plant the tents of his palace between the seas, to the mountain of the beauty of holiness; and he will come to his end, and no one will help him.

Footnotes:

2 That is, Greece
6 Or offspring
6 Or she begat; see Vulgate and Syriac.
17 Or and she will not stand with him or support him
30 Or the western coastlands or the Mediterranean islands
39 Or for a reward
40 Or will wage war with him
43 That is, people from the upper Nile region
44 Forms of the Hebrew cherem refer to the giving over of things or persons, either by destroying them or by giving them as an offering.