1 Kingdoms and Wars “Now I, in the first year of Darius the Mede, 11:1 Lit my standing up was I stood to strengthen and to be a fortress for him.
2 So now I will tell you the truth. Behold, three more kings are going to stand 11:2Lit for in Persia. Then a fourth will gain far more riches than allof them; as soon as he becomes strong through his riches, 11:2Or they all will stir up the realm of Greece he will arouse the wholeempireagainst the kingdom of 11:2Heb Javan Greece.
3 And a mighty king will stand, and he will 11:3Lit rule dominate with great 11:3Lit rulership domination and do as he pleases.
4 But as soon as he stands, his kingdom will be broken up and parceled out toward the four winds of 11:4 Or the sky heaven, but not to hisowndescendants, nor according to his 11:4 Lit rulership domination with which he 11:4 Lit ruled dominated, for his kingdom will be uprooted andgivento others besides 11:4 His descendants them.
5 “Then the king of the South will grow strong, 11:5Lit and along withoneof his princes 11:5Lit and he who will grow strong over him and 11:5Lit and then rule obtain dominion; indeed, his 11:5Lit rule domainwill bea great 11:5Lit rule dominion.
6 And 11:6Lit at the end of after some years they will form an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the South will come to the king of the North to carry out 11:6Or an upright agreement an equitable arrangement. But she will not retain her 11:6Lit strength of arm position of power, nor will hecontinue tostand with his 11:6Lit arm power, but she will be given up, along with those who brought her in and the one who fathered her as well as he who strengthened her inthosetimes.
7 But one of the 11:7Lit branch of her roots descendants of her line will stand in his place, and he will come againsttheirmilitary force and enter the fortress of the king of the North, and he will deal with them and display strength.
8 And also their gods with their 11:8 Lit cast images metal imagesandtheir desirable vessels of silver and gold he will bring into captivity to Egypt, and he on his part will standbackfromattackingthe king of the North forsomeyears.
9 Then 11:9Lit he will, so in ch the latter will enter the kingdom of the king of the South, but will return to hisownland.
10 “And his sons will wage war. So they will gather a multitude of great forces; and one of them will keep on coming and overflow and pass through, that he may 11:10Or return and wage again wage war up to hisveryfortress.
11 And the king of the South will be enraged and go forth and fight 11:11Lit with him, with with the king of the North. Then the latter will cause a great multitude to stand, butthatmultitude will be given into 11:11Lit his hand the hand of theformer.
12 Then the multitude will be carried away, his heart will be lifted up, and he will cause tens of thousands to fall; yet he will not prevail.
13 And the king of the North will again cause a muchgreatermultitude than the former to stand, and at the end of the times ofthoseyears, he will keep on coming with a great military force and much equipment.
14 “Now in those times many will stand against the king of the South; the violent ones among your people will also lift themselves up in order to cause the vision to stand, but they will 11:14Lit stumble, so in ch fall down.
15 Then the king of the North will come, cast up a siege ramp, and capture a well-fortified city; and the might of the South will not stand, not even 11:15Lit the people of its choice ones their choicest troops, for there will be no strength to make a stand.
16 But he who comes against him will do as he pleases, and no one willbe able tostand in 11:16 Lit before opposition to him; he will also standfor a timein the 11:16 Israel Beautiful Land, with destruction in his hand.
17 And he will set his face to come with the authority of his whole kingdom, 11:17Lit and bringing with him 11:17Lit upright things an equitable proposal which he will 11:17Lit do put into effect; he will also give him the daughter of women to destroy it. But she will not take a standfor himor be 11:17For her father; lit for him on his side.
18 Then he will turn his face to the coastlands and capture many. But a ruler will make his reproach against him cease; moreover, he will repay him for his reproach.
19 So he will turn his face toward the fortresses of his own land, but he will stumble and fall and be found no more.
20 “Then in his place one will stand who will have an 11:20Or exactor of tribute oppressor pass through the 11:20Lit adornment Jewel ofhiskingdom; yet within a few days he will be broken, though not in anger nor in battle.
21 And in his place a despised person will stand, to whom the splendor of the kingdom has not been given, but he will come in a time of ease and take hold of the kingdom by intrigue.
22 But the overflowing 11:22Or power, cf.11:6;lit arms might will be flooded away before him and broken, and also the prince of the covenant.
23 And after an alliance is made with him, he will 11:23Lit do practice deception, and he will go up and gain power with a smallforce ofpeople.
24 11:24Lit Into tranquility and the richest...he will enter In a time of ease he will enter the richestpartsof the province, and he will do what his fathers never did, nor his fathers’ fathers; he will distribute plunder, spoil, and possessions among them, and he will devise his schemes against strongholds, butonlyfor a time.
25 And he will stir up his strength and heart against the king of the South with a great military force; so the king of the South will wage war with an extremely large and mighty military force for war; but he will not stand, for schemes will be devised against him.
26 And those who eat his choice food will break him, and his military force will 11:26Or be swept away, and many overflow, but many will fall down slain.
27 And as for both kings, their hearts will beintenton evil, and they will speak falsehood at the same table; but it will not succeed, for the end is stillto comeat the appointed time.
28 Then he will return to his land with great possessions; but his heart will besetagainst the holy covenant, and he will take action andthenreturn to hisownland.
29 “At the appointed time he will return and come into the South, but 11:29Lit it will not happen as the first and as the last this last time it will not happen the way it did before.
30 Indeed, ships of 11:30Cyprus Kittim will come against him; therefore he will be disheartened and will return and become indignant at the holy covenant and take action; so he will come back and show regard for those who forsake the holy covenant.
31 Mighty forces from him will stand, profane the sanctuary fortress, and abolish the regular sacrifice. And they will set up the abomination 11:31Or that causes horror; lit that makes desolate of desolation.
32 And by smoothwordshe will 11:32Or pollute those turn to godlessness those who act wickedly toward the covenant, but the people who know their God will display strength and take action.
33 And 11:33Or instructors of the people those who have insight among the people will give understanding to the many; yet they will fall by sword and by flame, by captivity and by plunder formanydays.
34 Now when they fall, they will be granted a little help, and many will join with them in 11:34 Or hypocrisy intrigue.
35 And some of 11:35Or the instructors those who have insight will fall, in order to refine, purge, and make them 11:35Lit white pure until the time of the end, becauseit isstillto comeat the appointed time.
36 “Then the king will do as he pleases, and he will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will speak 11:36Or wondrous; lit extraordinary astonishing things against the God of gods; and he will succeed until the indignation is finished, for that which is decreed will be done.
37 He will show no regard for the 11:37Or God gods of his fathers or for the desire of women, nor will he show regard for anyothergod; for he will magnify himself abovethemall.
38 But 11:38Lit in his place instead he will honor a god of fortresses, a god whom his fathers did not know; he will honorhimwith gold, silver, costly stones, and desirable things.
39 And he will take action against the strongest of fortresses withthe help ofa foreign god; he will give great honor to 11:39Lit the one who acknowledges those who recognizehimand will cause them to rule over the many and will apportion land for a price.
40 “And at the time of the end, the king of the South will collide with him, and the king of the North will storm against him with chariots, with horsemen, and with many ships; and he will enter lands, overflowthem, and pass through.
41 And he will also enter the 11:41Israel Beautiful Land, and manycountrieswill fall; but these will be rescued out of his hand: Edom, Moab, and the foremost of the sons of Ammon.
42 Then he will send forth his hand againstothercountries, and the land of Egypt will not escape.
43 But he will rule over the hidden treasures of gold and silver and over all the desirable things of Egypt; and Libyans and Ethiopianswill followat his 11:43Lit footsteps heels.
44 But reports from the East and from the North will dismay him, and he will go forth with great wrath to destroy and 11:44Lit devote to destruction devote many to destruction.
45 And he will pitch the tents of his royal pavilion between the seas and the beautiful Holy Mountain; yet he will come to his end, and no one will help him.