¹ "And as for me, in the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood up to support and strengthen him.

² And now what I show you is true. Behold, there shall arise three more kings in Persia, and the fourth shall be far richer than all of them; and when he has grown strong through his riches, he shall stir up all against the kingdom of Greece.

³ And a powerful king shall arise, who shall rule an extensive empire, and do as he pleases.

⁴ When he shall arise, his kingdom shall be broken up, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not to his posterity, nor according to his authority with which he ruled; for his kingdom shall be uprooted, and will go to others besides these.

⁵ The king of the south shall grow strong, and one of his officers shall grow more powerful, and shall have a greater kingdom than his.

⁶ At the end of years they shall join themselves together; and the daughter of the king of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement: but she shall not retain her power; neither shall his strength endure; but she shall be surrendered, and her attendants, and he who became the father of her, and he who supported her in those times.

⁷ But out of a shoot from her roots shall arise in his place, who shall come against the army, and shall enter into the fortress of the king of the north, and shall deal against them, and shall prevail.

⁸ Also their gods, with their molten images, and with their precious vessels of silver and of gold, shall he carry captive into Egypt; and he shall withdraw for some years from the king of the north.

⁹ And he shall come into the realm of the king of the south, but he shall return into his own land.

¹⁰ And his sons shall wage war, and shall assemble a multitude of great forces, which shall advance and overflow and pass through, and they shall return and wage war, as far as his fortress.

¹¹ The king of the south shall be moved with rage and shall come forth and fight against him, even with the king of the north; and he shall raise a great multitude, and the multitude shall be given into his hand.

¹² The multitude shall be taken away, and his heart shall be exalted; and he shall cast down tens of thousands, but he shall not prevail.

¹³ The king of the north shall return, and shall raise a multitude greater than the former; and he shall advance after some years with a great army and with abundant supplies.

¹⁴ And in those times many shall rise up against the king of the south: also the violent ones among your people shall rise up in confirmation of the vision; but they shall fail.

¹⁵ So the king of the north shall come, and build up a siege mound and take a well-fortified city. And the forces of the south shall not prevail, neither his best troops, neither shall there be any strength to resist.

¹⁶ But he who comes against him shall do as he pleases, and no one shall be able to withstand him. And he shall stand in the beautiful land, and destruction will be within his power.

¹⁷ He shall set his face to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and will reach an agreement with him which he shall put into effect. And he shall give him a daughter of women to send destruction on him; but it will not last or be to his advantage.

¹⁸ After this shall he turn his face to the coastal regions, and shall capture many. But a commander shall bring his insolence to an end. In addition, he shall repay him for his insolence.

¹⁹ Then he shall turn his attention toward the fortresses of his own land, but he shall stumble and fall, and shall not be found again.

²⁰ Then shall arise in his place one who shall send an exactor of tribute to pass through the kingdom to maintain its glory; but within few days he shall be destroyed, though not in anger nor in battle.

²¹ In his place shall arise a despicable person, to whom the honor of kingship had not been given, but he shall come in a time of prosperity, and shall obtain the kingdom through deceit.

²² And large armies shall be swept away and shattered before him, as well as the prince of the covenant.

²³ And after an alliance is made with him he shall work deceitfully; for he shall become strong with a small force.

²⁴ In a time of prosperity he shall come even on the richest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor their fathers; he shall distribute among them plunder, and spoil, and property. He shall devise plans against their strongholds, but only for a time.

²⁵ And 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 wage war in battle with an extremely large and powerful army; but he shall not stand; for they shall devise plans against him.

²⁶ Yes, those who eat of his royal food shall seek to destroy him, and his army shall be swept away; and many shall fall slain.

²⁷ As for both these kings, their minds shall be fixed on evil, and they shall speak lies at the table; but it shall not succeed; for still the end shall be at the appointed time.

²⁸ Then shall he return into his land with great property; and his mind shall be against the holy covenant. And he shall take action, and then return to his own land.

²⁹ At the appointed time he shall return, and come into the south; but this time the outcome shall not be as it was before.

³⁰ For ships from Kittim shall come against him; therefore he shall be intimidated, and shall turn back, and be enraged against the holy covenant, and shall take action. He shall turn back, and show regard to those who forsake the holy covenant.

³¹ Forces shall come at his order, and they shall profane the sanctuary and the fortress, and shall take away the daily burnt offering, and they shall set up the abomination that causes desolation.¹

1. Matthew 24:15; Mark 13:14

³² And those who act wickedly toward the covenant he shall corrupt by smooth words; but the people who know their God shall be strong, and take action.

³³ And those who are wise among the people shall instruct many; yet they shall fall by the sword and by flame, by captivity and by plunder for some time.

³⁴ Now when they shall fall, they shall receive a little help. And many shall join with them insincerely.

³⁵ Some of those who are wise shall fall, to be refined, purified and cleansed until the time of the end; for the appointed time is still to come.

³⁶ And the king shall do as he pleases. And he shall exalt and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak outrageous things against the God of gods. And he shall prosper until the indignation is accomplished; for that which is decreed shall be done.

³⁷ Neither shall he regard the gods of his fathers, nor the one desired by women, nor show regard to any other god, because he shall magnify himself above all.

³⁸ But instead he shall honor the god of fortresses; a god whom his fathers did not know shall he honor with gold and silver, and with valuable stones, and costly gifts.

³⁹ And he shall deal with the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign god. Whoever acknowledges him he shall grant considerable honor; and he shall make them rulers over many, and shall divide the land for a price.

⁴⁰ And at the time of the end shall the king of the south attack him. And the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall invade countries, and pass through like a flood.

⁴¹ He shall enter also into the beautiful land, and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall be delivered out of his hand: Edom, and Moab, and the foremost of the sons of Ammon.

⁴² He shall reach out his hand also on other countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape.

⁴³ But he shall have control over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the riches of Egypt; and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his feet.

⁴⁴ But news out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him; and he shall go out with tremendous rage to destroy and utterly sweep away many.

⁴⁵ And he shall pitch his royal tents between the sea and the beautiful holy mountain. Yet he shall come to his end, with no one to help him.