Daniel 11

1 And I myself, in the first year of Darius the Mede, took my stand to support and defend him.

“As for me, in the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood up to confirm and strengthen him.

2 So now let me reveal the truth to you. There are still three kings to come to power in Persia, and then a fourth who will be far richer than all the others. When he becomes strong through his wealth, he will rally the whole kingdom against Greece.

“Now I will show you the truth. Behold, three more kings will stand up in Persia. The fourth will be far richer than all of them. When he has grown strong through his riches, he will stir up all against the realm of Greece.

3 Then a mighty king will come to power. He will rule with great authority and do whatever he wants.

A mighty king will stand up, who will rule with great dominion, and do according to his will.

4 But as he extends his power his kingdom will be broken up, divided towards the four winds of heaven. It will not go to his descendants, and it will not be ruled as he ruled. It will be pulled up and given to others.

When he stands up, his kingdom will be broken and will be divided toward the four winds of the sky, but not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion with which he ruled; for his kingdom will be plucked up, even for others besides these.

5 The king of the south will grow strong, but one of his officers will grow even stronger and will rule his kingdom with great authority.

“The king of the south will be strong. One of his princes will become stronger than him, and have dominion. His dominion will be a great dominion.

6 Some years later they will form an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the south will be married to the king of the north to guarantee the peace treaty. However, she will not be able to keep her hold on power, nor will his power continue. She and her attendants will be betrayed, along with her child and husband. Later on, however,

At the end of years they will join themselves together; and the daughter of the king of the south will come to the king of the north to make an agreement, but she will not retain the strength of her arm. He will also not stand, nor will his arm; but she will be given up, with those who brought her, and he who became the father of her, and he who strengthened her in those times.

7 a new king of the south from her family will take over. He will come to attack the army of the king of the north and enter his fortress. He will fight against them and will win.

“But out of a shoot from her roots one will stand up in his place, who will come to the army and will enter into the fortress of the king of the north, and will deal against them and will prevail.

8 In addition he will take back with him to Egypt the idols of their gods, along with their expensive vessels of silver and gold. For some years he will leave the king of the north alone.

He will also carry their gods with their molten images, and with their goodly vessels of silver and of gold, captive into Egypt. He will refrain some years from the king of the north.

9 Then the king of the north will march into the kingdom of the king of the south but will have to retreat to his own land.

He will come into the realm of the king of the south, but he will return into his own land.

10 However, his sons will prepare for war, assembling a huge number of troops. One of them will lead an advance that rushes forward like a river bursting its banks, crossing over and pressing forward to attack the enemy fortress.

His sons will wage war, and will assemble a multitude of great forces which will come on, and overflow, and pass through. They will return and wage war, even to his fortress.

11 This will infuriate the king of the south, who will go out into battle against the large army assembled by the king of the north and will defeat it.

“The king of the south will be moved with anger and will come out and fight with him, even with the king of the north. He will send out a great multitude, and the multitude will be given into his hand.

12 After capturing such a large army, he will become very proud, and will kill thousands. But this triumph will not last long.

The multitude will be carried off, and his heart will be exalted. He will cast down tens of thousands, but he will not prevail.

13 Years later the king of the north will once again raise an army, even larger than before, and will invade with this huge army, accompanied by plenty of supplies.

The king of the north will return, and will send out a multitude greater than the former. He will come on at the end of the times, even of years, with a great army and with abundant supplies.

14 At the same time many will rebel against the king of the south. Violent men from your own people will rebel in order to fulfill this vision, but they shall fail.

“In those times many will stand up against the king of the south. Also the children of the violent among your people will lift themselves up to establish the vision, but they will fall.

15 Then the king of the north will come and build siege ramps and he will capture a city with strong defenses. The forces of the south will not be able to prevent it—even his best troops won't be able to resist the attack.

So the king of the north will come and cast up a mound, and take a well-fortified city. The forces of the south will not stand, neither will his select troops, neither will there be any strength to stand.

16 The invader will do whatever he wants; no one will be able to oppose him. He will stand in the Beautiful Land with the power to destroy it.

But he who comes against him will do according to his own will, and no one will stand before him. He will stand in the glorious land, and destruction will be in his hand.

17 He will be determined to come with all the power of his kingdom and will make a peace treaty with the king of the south. To secure this he will give him a daughter of women to marry in order to destroy the kingdom. But she will not be successful and will not support him.

He will set his face to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and with him equitable conditions. He will perform them. He will give him the daughter of women, to destroy the kingdom, but she will not stand, and will not be for him.

18 Then he will turn to attack the coastlands and will conquer many, but a commander will put a stop to his arrogant behavior, paying him back for it.

After this he will turn his face to the islands, and will take many, but a prince will cause the reproach offered by him to cease. Yes, moreover, he will cause his reproach to turn on him.

19 He will return to the fortresses of his own land, but he will stumble and fall, and will be gone.

Then he will turn his face toward the fortresses of his own land; but he will stumble and fall, and will not be found.

20 His successor will send out a tax collector to maintain royal wealth. However, in a short time he will die, but not violently or in battle.

“Then one who will cause a tax collector to pass through the kingdom to maintain its glory will stand up in his place; but within few days he shall be destroyed, not in anger, and not in battle.

21 A contemptible person will follow him who will not be given royal majesty. He will take over peacably and assume control of the kingdom through deception.

“In his place a contemptible person will stand up, to whom they had not given the honor of the kingdom; but he will come in time of security, and will obtain the kingdom by flatteries.

22 Great armies will be swept away before him. They will be broken, as well as the prince of the agreement.

The overwhelming forces will be overwhelmed from before him, and will be broken. Yes, also the prince of the covenant.

23 After making an alliance with him, he will act deceptively. He will come to power peacably, becoming strong though only having a few supporters.

After the treaty made with him he will work deceitfully; for he will come up and will become strong with few people.

24 He will invade the richest parts of the land and do what his fathers and forefathers never did—he will distribute plunder, spoil, and possessions. He will make plans to attack fortresses, but only for a time.

In time of security he will come even on the fattest places of the province. He will do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers’ fathers. He will scatter among them prey, plunder, and wealth. Yes, he will devise his plans against the strongholds, but only for a time.

25 Then he will draw on his strength and courage to gather a large army against the king of the south. The king of the south will prepare for war. Fighting back with a large and powerful army, but he will not be successful because of plots made against him.

“He will stir up his power and his courage against the king of the south with a great army; and the king of the south will wage war in battle with an exceedingly great and mighty army, but he will not stand; for they will devise plans against him.

26 Those closest to him will destroy him. His army will be wiped out—many will fall in battle.

Yes, those who eat of his delicacies will destroy him, and his army will be swept away. Many will fall down slain.

27 The two kings, with evil intentions, will tell each other lies even as they sit together at the same table. But their scheming is pointless—the end will come at the time predicted.

As for both these kings, their hearts will be to do evil, and they will speak lies at one table; but it will not prosper, for the end will still be at the appointed time.

28 The king of the north will return to his own country with all the wealth he has looted. He will be determined to attack the people of the holy agreement, and do all he can to destroy it before returning to his own country.

Then he will return into his land with great wealth. His heart will be against the holy covenant. He will take action, and return to his own land.

29 At the time predicted he will return to invade the south again, but this time it won't be like before.

“He will return at the appointed time and come into the south; but it will not be in the latter time as it was in the former.

30 Ships from Cyprus will come to attack him, frightening him off so that he retreats. But this will make him mad, and he will attack the people of the holy agreement, recognizing those who abandon their commitment to the holy agreement.

For ships of Kittim will come against him. Therefore he will be grieved, and will return, and have indignation against the holy covenant, and will take action. He will even return, and have regard to those who forsake the holy covenant.

31 His forces will occupy and defile the Temple fortress. They will put a stop to the continual service, and set up a form of idolatry that causes devastation.

“Forces from him will profane the sanctuary, even the fortress, and will take away the continual burnt offering. Then they will set up the abomination that makes desolate.

32 The king will use flattery to corrupt those who break the solemn agreement, but the people who know their God will stand firm in their resistance.

He will corrupt those who do wickedly against the covenant by flatteries; but the people who know their God will be strong and take action.

33 Wise leaders of the people will teach many, though for a time they will be killed by sword and fire, or they will be imprisoned and robbed.

“Those who are wise among the people will instruct many; yet they will fall by the sword and by flame, by captivity and by plunder, many days.

34 During this time of persecution they will receive a little help, and many who join them won't be sincere.

Now when they fall, they will be helped with a little help; but many will join themselves to them with flatteries.

35 Some of the wise will be killed, so that they may be refined and purified and cleansed until the time of the end, for the predicted time is still to come.

Some of those who are wise will fall—to refine them, and to purify, and to make them white, even to the time of the end, because it is yet for the time appointed.

36 The king will do whatever he wants, praising himself and considering himself greater than any god, even saying outrageous things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of anger has finished, for what has been decided will be accomplished.

“The king will do according to his will. He will exalt himself and magnify himself above every god, and will speak marvelous things against the God of gods. He will prosper until the indignation is accomplished, for that which is determined will be done.

37 He will have no time for the gods of his forefathers, nor for the one loved by women, nor for any other god, for he considers himself greater than any of these.

He will not regard the gods of his fathers, or the desire of women, or regard any god; for he will magnify himself above all.

38 Instead he will honor the god of fortresses—a god unknown to his forefathers—giving him offerings of gold and silver and precious stones and expensive gifts.

But in their place, he will honor the god of fortresses. He will honor a god whom his fathers did not know with gold, silver, and with precious stones and pleasant things.

39 He will deal with strong fortresses with the help of this foreign god. He will give riches to those who acknowledge him, making them rulers over the people, and distributing the land at a price.

He will deal with the strongest fortresses by the help of a foreign god. He will increase with glory whoever acknowledges him. He will cause them to rule over many, and will divide the land for a price.

40 At the time of the end the king of the south will attack him. But the king of the north will retaliate with force like a storm, with chariots and horsemen and many ships. He will advance, sweeping through many lands.

“At the time of the end the king of the south will contend with him; and the king of the north will come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, with horsemen, and with many ships. He will enter into the countries, and will overflow and pass through.

41 He will invade the Beautiful Land and kill many people there. However, Moab, Edom, and most of the Ammonites will escape his power.

He will enter also into the glorious land, and many countries will be overthrown; but these will be delivered out of his hand: Edom, Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.

42 He will extend his attacks against different countries—even the land of Egypt will not be able to escape.

He will also stretch out his hand on the countries. The land of Egypt will not escape.

43 He will acquire the gold and silver and riches of Egypt, ruling over them and also the Libyans and Ethiopians.

But he will have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt. The Libyans and the Ethiopians will follow his steps.

44 But news from the east and the north will alarm him, and in a furious rage he will set out to destroy and exterminate many people.

But news out of the east and out of the north will trouble him; and he will go out with great fury to destroy and utterly to sweep away many.

45 He will set up his royal camp between the sea and the beautiful holy mountain. But he will die with no one to help him.

He will plant the tents of his palace between the sea and the glorious holy mountain; yet he will come to his end, and no one will help him.