Daniel 11

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

“And so, from the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood firm, so that he might be reinforced and strengthened.

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.

And now I will announce to you the truth. Behold, up to a certain point, three kings will stand in Persia, and the fourth will be exceedingly enriched in power above them all. And when he has grown strong by his resources, he will stir up all against the kingdom of Greece.

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

But there will rise up a strong king, and he will rule with great power, and he will do what he pleases.

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.

And when he has been firmly established, his kingdom will be shattered and will be divided towards the four winds of the heaven, but not to his posterity, nor according to his power with which he ruled. For his kingdom will be torn to pieces, even for the outsiders who have been expelled from 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.

And the king of the South will be reinforced, yet one of his leaders will prevail over him, and he will rule with riches, for great is his domain.

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,

And after the end of years, they will form a federation, and the daughter of the king of the South will come to the king of the North to make friendship, but she will not obtain the strength of arms, neither will her offspring stand firm, and she will be handed over, along with those who brought her, her young men, and those who comforted her in these 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.

And a transplant from the germination of her roots will stand up, and he will come with an army, and will enter into the province of the king of the North, and he will abuse them, and will hold it fast.

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.

And, in addition, he will carry away captive into Egypt their gods, and their graven images, and likewise their precious vessels of gold and silver. He will prevail against 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.

And the king of the South will enter into the kingdom, and will return to 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.

But his sons will be challenged, and they will assemble a multitude of very many forces. And he will arrive rushing and overflowing. And he will be turned back, and he will be enraged, and he will join the battle in his redness.

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.

And the king of the South, having being challenged, will go forth and will fight against the king of the North, and he will prepare an exceedingly great multitude, and a 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.

And he will seize a multitude, and his heart will be exalted, and he will cast down many 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.

For the king of the North will change strategy and will prepare a multitude much greater than before, and at the end of times and years, he will rush forward with a great army and exceedingly great resources.

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.

And in those times, many will rise up against the king of the South. And likewise the sons of the deceivers among your people will extol themselves, so as to fulfill the vision, and they will collapse.

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.

And the king of the North will arrive and will transport siege works, and he will seize the most fortified cities. And the arms of the South will not withstand him, and his elect will rise up to resist, but the strength will not.

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.

And when he arrives, he will do just as he pleases, and there will be none who stand against his face. And he will stand in the illustrious land, and it will be consumed by 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.

And he will set his face to strive to hold his entire kingdom, and he will make fair conditions with him. And he will give him a daughter among women, so as to overthrow it. But she will not stand, neither will she 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.

And he will turn his face towards the islands, and he will seize many. And he will cause the leader of his reproach to cease, and his reproach will be turned around for him.

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

And he will turn his face to the empire of his own land, and he will strike, and will overthrow, but he will not succeed.

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.

And there will stand up in his place one who is most worthless and unworthy of kingly honor. And in a short time, he will be worn out, but not in fury, nor 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.

And there will stand up in his place the despicable one, and he will not be assigned the honor of a king. And he will arrive in secret, and he will obtain the kingdom by deceitfulness.

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

And the arms of the fighting will be assaulted before his face and will be shattered, and, in addition, the leader of the federation.

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.

And, after making friends, he will trick him, and he will go up and will overcome with a small 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.

And he will enter into rich and resourceful cities, and he will do what his fathers never did, nor his fathers’ fathers. He will scatter their spoils, and their prey, and their riches, and will form a plan against the most steadfast, and this until 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.

And his strength and his heart will be enraged against the king of the South with a great army. And the king of the South will be provoked into going to war by having many allies and exceedingly good circumstances, and yet these will not stand, for they will form plans against him.

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

And those who eat bread with him will crush him, and his army will be suppressed, and very many will die, having been executed.

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.

And the heart of two kings will be similar, to do harm, and they will speak lies at one table, but they will not succeed, because as yet the end is for another 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.

And he will return to his land with many resources. And his heart will be against the holy testament, and he will act, and he will 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.

At the appointed time, he will return, and he will approach the South, but the latter time will not be like 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.

And the Greek warships and the Romans will come upon him, and he will be pierced, and will retreat, and will have scorn against the testament of the sanctuary, and he will act. And he will return and will consult their adversaries, who have forsaken the covenant of the sanctuary.

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.

And arms will take his side, and they will pollute the sanctuary of the strength, and they will take away the continual sacrifice and will replace it with the abomination of desolation.

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.

And the impious within the testament will imitate deceitfully, but the people, knowing their God, will persevere and will act.

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.

And the teachers among the people will teach many, but they will be ruined by the sword, and by fire, and by captivity, and by assaults for many days.

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

And when they have fallen, they will be supported with a little help, but many will apply to them deceitfully.

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.

And some of the learned will be ruined, that they may be kindled and chosen and purified, up to the predetermined time, because there will be still another time.

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.

And the king will act according to his will, and he will be lifted up and will be extolled against every god. And he will speak great things against the God of gods, and he will control, until the passion is completed. Once accomplished, the limit is reached with certainty.

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.

And he will give no thought to the God of his fathers, and he will be in the desire of women, and he will not attend to any gods, because he will rise up against all things.

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 he will do homage to the god Maozim in his place, and, a god whom his fathers did not know, he will worship with gold, and silver, and precious stones, and costly 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.

And he will act to reinforce Maozim with an alien god, of whom he has become aware, and he will increase their glory, and will give them power over many, and he will distribute land for free.

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.

And, at the predetermined time, the king of the South will fight against him, and the king of the North will come against him like a tempest, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with a great fleet, and he will enter into the lands, and will crush 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.

And he will enter into the glorious land, and many will fall. But only these will be saved from his hand: Edom, and Moab, and the first part of the sons of Ammon.

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

And he will cast his hand upon the lands, and 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.

And he will rule over the treasure chests of gold, and silver, and all the precious things of Egypt, and likewise he will pass through Libya and Ethiopia.

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.

And rumors from the East and from the North will trouble him. And he will arrive with a great multitude to destroy and to execute 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.

And he will fasten his tabernacle, Apadno, between the seas, upon an illustrious and holy mountain, and he will come even to its summit, and no one will help him.”