Daniel 11

1 And I in the first year of Cyrus stood to strengthen and confirm [him].

In the first year of Darius the Mede, I myself came to support and protect Michael.

2 And now I will tell you the truth. Behold, there shall yet rise up three kings in Persia: and the fourth shall be very far richer than all: and after that he is master of his wealth, he shall rise up against all the kingdoms of the Greeks.

Now I will tell you the truth. Three kings will arise in Persia, and a fourth will be far richer than all the others. When he has gained power through his riches, he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece.

3 An there shall rise up a mighty king, and he shall be lord of a great empire, and shall do according to his will.

A mighty king will rise up who will rule a very great kingdom, and he will act according to his desires.

4 And when his kingdom shall stand up, it shall be broken, and shall be divided to the four winds of heaven; but not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion which he ruled over: for his kingdom shall be plucked up, and [given] to others beside these.

When he has risen up, his kingdom will be broken and divided to the four winds of heaven, but not to his own descendants, and not with his power when he had been ruling. For his kingdom will be uprooted for others besides his descendants.

5 And the king of the south shall be strong; and one of their princes shall prevail against him, and shall obtain a great dominion.

The king of the South will become strong, but one of his commanders will become even stronger than he and will rule his kingdom with great power.

6 And after his years they shall associate; and the daughter of the king of the south shall come to the king of the north, to make agreements with him: but she shall not retain power of arm; neither shall his seed stand: and she shall be delivered up, and they that brought her, and the maiden, and he that strengthened her in these times.

After a few years, when the time is right, they will make an alliance. The daughter of the king of the South will come to the king of the North to confirm the agreement. But she will not keep her arm's strength, nor will he stand, or his arm. She will be abandoned—she and those who brought her, and her father, and the one who supported her in those times.

7 [But] out of the flower of her root there shall arise [one on] his place, and shall come against the host, and shall enter into the strongholds of the king of the north, and shall fight against them, and prevail.

But a branch from her roots will rise up in her place. He will attack the army and enter the fortress of the king of the North. He will fight them, and he will conquer them.

8 Yes, he shall carry with a body of captives into Egypt their gods with their molten [images, and] all their precious vessels of silver and gold; and he shall last longer than the king of the north.

He will carry off to Egypt their gods along with their cast metal figures and their precious vessels of silver and of gold. For some years he will stay away from the king of the North.

9 And he shall enter into the kingdom of the king of the south, and shall return to his own land.

Then the king of the North will invade the realm of the king of the South, but he will withdraw to his own land.

10 And his sons shall gather a multitude among many: and one shall certainly come, and overflow, and pass through, and he shall rest, and collect his strength.

His sons will get ready and assemble a great army. It will keep coming and will flood everything; it will pass through all the way to his fortress.

11 And the king of the south shall be greatly enraged, and shall come forth, and shall war with the king of the north: and he shall raise a great multitude; but the multitude shall be delivered into his hand.

Then the king of the South will become very angry; he will go and fight against him, the king of the North. The king of the North will raise up a great army, but the army will be given into his hand.

12 And he shall take the multitude, and his heart shall be exalted; and he shall cast down many thousands; but he shall not prevail.

The army will be carried off, and the heart of the king of the South will be lifted up, and he will make tens of thousands to fall, but he will not be victorious.

13 For the king of the north shall return, and bring a multitude greater than the former, and at the end of the times of years an invading army shall come with a great force, and with much substance.

Then the king of the North will raise up another army, greater than the first. After some years, the king of the North will surely come with a great army supplied with much equipment.

14 And in those times many shall rise up against the king of the south; and the children of the spoilers of your people shall exalt themselves to establish the vision; and they shall fail.

In those times many will rise against the king of the South. Sons of the violent among your people will set themselves in order to fulfill a vision, but they will stumble.

15 And the king of the north shall come in, and cast up a mound, and take strong cities: and the arms of the king of the south shall withstand, and his chosen ones shall rise up, but there shall be no strength to stand.

The king of the North will come, pour out earth for siege mounds, and capture a city with fortifications. The forces of the South will not be able to stand, not even their best soldiers. There will be no strength to stand.

16 And he that comes in against him shall do according to his will, and there is no one to stand before him: and he shall stand in the land of beauty, and it shall be consumed by his hand.

Instead, the one who comes will act according to his desires against him; no one will stand in his way. He will stand in the land of beauty, and destruction will be in his hand.

17 And he shall set his face to come in with the force of his whole kingdom, and shall cause everything to prosper with him: and he shall give him the daughter of women to corrupt her: but she shall not continue, neither be on his side.

The king of the North will set his face to come with the strength of his entire kingdom, and with him will be an agreement that he will make with the king of the South. He will give him a daughter of women in marriage to ruin the kingdom of the South. But the plan will not succeed or help him.

18 And he shall turn his face to the islands, and shall take many, and cause princes to cease from their reproach: nevertheless his own reproach shall return to him.

After this, the king of the North will pay attention to the coastlands and will capture many of them. But a commander will end his arrogance and will cause his arrogance to turn back upon him.

19 Then he shall turn back his face to the strength of his own land: but he shall become weak, and fall, and not be found.

Then he will pay attention to the fortresses of his own land, but he will stumble and fall; he will not be found.

20 And there shall arise out of his root one that shall cause a plant of the kingdom to pass over his place, earning kingly glory: and yet in those days shall he be broken, yet not openly, nor in war.

Then someone will rise up in his place who will make a tax collector pass through for the sake of the splendor of the kingdom. But in the next days he will be broken, but not in anger or in battle.

21 [One] shall stand on his place, [who] has been set a nothing, and they have not put upon him the honor of the kingdom: but he shall come in prosperously, and obtain the kingdom by deceitful ways.

In his place will rise up a despised person to whom the people will not have given the honor of royal power; he will come unexpectedly and will take over the kingdom by trickery.

22 And the arms of him that overflows shall be washed away as with a flood from before him, and shall be broken, and [so shall be] the head of the covenant.

An army will be swept away like a flood from before him. Both that army and the leader of the covenant will be destroyed.

23 And because of the leagues made with him he shall work deceit: and he shall come up, and overpower them with a small nation.

From the time an alliance is made with him, he will act deceitfully; with only a small number of people he will become strong.

24 And he shall enter with prosperity, and [that] into fertile districts; and he shall do what his fathers and his fathers' fathers have not done; he shall scatter among them plunder, and spoils, and wealth; and he shall devise plans against Egypt, even for a time.

Without warning he will come into the richest part of the province, and he will do what neither his father nor his father's father did. He will spread among his followers the booty, the plunder, and the wealth. He will plan the overthrow of fortresses, but only for a time.

25 And his strength and his heart shall be stirred up against the king of the south with a great force; and the king of the south shall engage in war with a great and very strong force; but [his forces] shall not stand, for they shall devise plans against him:

He will wake up his power and his heart against the king of the South with a great army. The king of the South will wage war with a large, very powerful army, but he will not stand because others will make plots against him.

26 and they shall eat his provisions, and shall crush him, and he shall carry away armies as with a flood, and many shall fall down slain.

Even those who eat his fine food will try to destroy him. His army will be swept away like a flood, and many of them will fall killed.

27 And [as for] both the kings, their hearts [are set] upon mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table; but it shall not prosper; for yet the end is for a [fixed] time.

Both these kings, with their hearts set on evil against each other, will sit at the same table and lie to each other, but it will be of no use. For the end will come at the time that has been fixed.

28 And he shall return to his land with much substance; and his heart [shall be] against the holy covenant; and he shall perform [great deeds], and return to his own land.

Then the king of the North will go back into his land with great riches, with his heart set against the holy covenant. He will act and then will return to his own land.

29 At the [set] time he shall return, and shall come into the south, but the last [expedition] shall [not] be as the first.

At the appointed time he will return and come against the South again. But this time it will not be as before.

30 For the Citians issuing forth shall come against him, and he shall be brought low, and shall return, and shall be incensed against the holy covenant: and he shall do [thus], and shall return, and have intelligence with them that have forsaken the holy covenant.

For ships of Kittim will come against him, and he will become afraid and will turn back. He will be furious against the holy covenant, and he will show favor to those who forsake the holy covenant.

31 And seeds shall spring up out of him, and they shall profane the sanctuary of strength, and they shall remove the perpetual [sacrifice], and make the abomination desolate.

His forces will rise up and profane the fortress sanctuary. They will take away the regular burnt offering, and they will set up the abomination that causes desolation.

32 And the transgressors shall bring about a covenant by deceitful ways: but a people knowing their God shall prevail, and do [valiantly].

As for those who acted wickedly against the covenant, he will deceive them and corrupt them. But the people who know their God will be strong and will take action.

33 And the intelligent of the people shall understand much: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, and by captivity, and by spoil of [many] days.

The wise among the people will make many understand. But they will stumble by the sword and by flame; they will stumble into captivity and into being robbed for days.

34 And when they are weak they shall be helped with a little help: but many shall attach themselves to them with treachery.

In their stumbling, they will be helped with a little help. In hypocrisy many will join themselves with them.

35 And [some] of them that understand shall fall, to try them as with fire, and to test [them], and that they may be manifested at the time of the end, for the matter [is] yet for a [set] time.

Some of the wise will stumble so that refining will happen to them, and cleansing, and purifying, until the time of the end. For the appointed time is still to come.

36 And he shall do according to his will, and the king shall exalt and magnify himself against every god, and shall speak great swelling words, and shall prosper until the indignation shall be accomplished: for it is coming to an end.

The king will act according to his desires. He will lift himself up and make himself great above every god. Against the God of gods he will say astonishing things, for he will succeed until the wrath is completed. For what has been decreed will be done.

37 And he shall not regard any gods of his fathers, nor the desire of women, neither shall he regard any deity: for he shall magnify himself above all.

He will pay no attention to the gods of his ancestors or to the god desirable to women. Neither will he will pay attention to any other god. For all above every one he will make himself great.

38 And he shall honor the god of forces on his place: and a god whom his fathers knew not he shall honor with gold, and silver, and precious stones, and desirable things.

He will honor the god of fortresses instead of these. It is a god whom his fathers did not acknowledge that he will honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and valuable gifts.

39 And he shall do [thus] in the strong places of refuge with a strange god, and shall increase his glory: and he shall subject many to them, and shall distribute the land in gifts.

He will attack the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign god. To anyone who acknowledges him, he will give much honor. He will make them rulers over many people, and he will divide up the land as a reward.

40 And at the end of the time he shall conflict with the king of the south: and the king of the north shall come against him with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and they shall enter into the land: and he shall break in pieces, and pass on:

At the time of the end the king of the South will attack. The king of the North will storm against him with chariots and horsemen, and with many ships. He will go against lands, flood them, and pass through.

41 and he shall enter into the land of beauty, and many shall fail: but these shall escape out of his hand, Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.

He will go into the land of beauty, and tens of thousands of Israelites will fall. But these will escape from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the remainder of the people of Ammon.

42 And he shall stretch forth [his] hand over the land; and the land of Egypt shall not escape.

He will extend his hand into lands; the land of Egypt will not be rescued.

43 And he shall have the mastery over the secret [treasures] of gold and silver, and over all the desirable [possessions] of Egypt, and of the Libyans and Ethiopians in their strongholds.

He will have control over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the riches of Egypt; the Libyans and the Cushites will be in his footsteps.

44 But rumors and anxieties out of the east and from the north shall trouble him; and he shall come with great wrath to destroy many.

But news from the east and the north will frighten him, and he will go out with great rage to completely destroy and to set many apart for destruction.

45 And he shall pitch the tabernacle of his palace between the seas in the holy mountain of beauty: [but] he shall come to his portion, and there is none to deliver him.

He will set up the tent of his royal residence between the seas and the mountain of the beauty of holiness. He will come to his end, and there will be no helper for him.