Daniel 11

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

“As for me, during the first year that Darius was king, I helped and encouraged Michael.”

2 And now what I show you is true. Look, 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 the kingdom of Greece.

[The angel also said], “And what I am going to reveal to you now will truly [happen]. There will be three more kings to rule Persia, [one after the other]. Then there will be a fourth king, who will be much richer than the others. As a result of [his giving] a lot of money [to people, they will enable him to] become very powerful. Then he will incite/persuade many nations [HYP] [to fight] against the kingdom of Greece.

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

Then a very powerful king will appear [in Greece]. He will rule over a very large empire, and he will do whatever he wants to do.

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.

But when he has become very powerful, [he will die]. Then his kingdom will be divided into four parts. Kings who are not his descendants will rule, but they will not be as powerful as he was.

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.

Then the King of Egypt [MTY] will become very powerful. But one of his army generals will become more powerful than he is, and he will rule a bigger area.

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.

Several years later, the King of Egypt and the King of Syria will make an (alliance/agreement to help each other) [MTY]. The King of Syria will give his daughter to the King of Egypt to become his wife. But she will not be able to influence him [MTY] very long, and that woman, her husband, her child, and her servants will all be killed/assassinated.

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.

Soon after that, one of her relatives [MET] will become King [of Egypt]. His army will attack the army of Syria. They will enter the fortress of the soldiers of Syria and defeat them.

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.

They will return to Egypt, taking the statues of the gods [of the people of Syria] and many items made of silver and gold that had been dedicated to those gods. Then for several years his army will not attack [the army of] the King of Syria.

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

Then the army of the King of Syria will invade Egypt, but they will soon return to Syria.

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.

However, the sons of the King of Syria will prepare to start a war, and they will gather a large army. That army will march [south] and spread all over [Israel] like a huge flood. They will attack a strong fortress [in the south of Israel].

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.

Then the King of Egypt, having become very angry, will march [with his army north] from Egypt and fight against the army of Syria. The King [of Syria] will gather together a very large army, but [the army of the King of Egypt] will defeat them.

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.

The King of Egypt will become very proud because of [his army] having killed a very large number of soldiers [from Syria], but his army will not continue to win battles.

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.

The King of Syria will again gather together an army that will be bigger than the one that he had before. After a few years, he will again march [south on their way to Egypt] with a large army and a lot of equipment [for fighting battles].

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.

At that time, many people in Egypt will rebel against their king. In order to fulfill a vision that [one of their leaders had seen], some violent/lawless people from your country [of Israel] will also rebel [in order to not be controlled by Egypt any more], but they will be defeated.

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.

Then the King of Syria will come [south with his army] and pile up dirt against the walls of a city that is well protected, and they will [break through those walls and] they will capture the city. The soldiers from Egypt [who have come to defend that city], even the best troops, will not be strong enough to continue to fight.

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.

So the King of Syria will do whatever he wants to, and no one will be able to oppose him. [His army] will occupy the glorious land [of Israel] and completely control/subdue it.

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.

Then he will decide to march [south] with all the soldiers from his kingdom. He will make an alliance with the King [of Egypt] and in order that his own daughter will [help him to] destroy the kingdom of Egypt, he will give her to the King of Egypt to become his wife. But that plan will fail.

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.

After that, the [army of] the King of Syria will attack the regions that are close to the [Mediterranean] Sea, and his [army] will conquer many of them. But [the army of] a leader from another country will defeat the army of Syria and will stop their king from continuing to be proud. He will do to the King of Syria what he deserved for being very insolent.

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.

Then the King of Syria will return to the fortresses in his own land. But he will be defeated, and he will (die/be assassinated) [EUP] there.

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.

Then another man will (succeed him/become king). That king will send one of his officers to oppress the people [in Jerusalem] by forcing them to pay big taxes, in order to get more money for his kingdom. But after a few years [HYP] that king will die, but he will not die as a result of people being angry with him or in a 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.

The next King of Syria will be an evil man who, [because he will not be the son of the previous king, ] will not have the right to become king. But he will come when people do not expect it, and he will become king by tricking the people.

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

When his army advances, they will attack any armies that oppose him and destroy those armies. They will also kill God’s Supreme Priest.

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

By making treaties/alliances with [the rulers of] other nations, he will deceive them, and he will become very powerful, even though he rules a nation that does not have a lot of people.

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.

Suddenly his [army] will invade a province that is very wealthy, and they will do things that none of his ancestors did: they will capture in battles all kinds of possessions from the people whom they defeat. Then the king will divide those possessions among his friends. He will also plan [for his army] to attack fortresses [in Egypt], but only for a short 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.

He will courageously/boldly conscript/gather a large and powerful army to attack [the army of] the king of Egypt. But the King of Egypt will prepare to fight against them with a huge and powerful army. However, someone will deceive him, with the result that his plan will not be successful.

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.

Even his most trusted advisors will plan to get rid of him. His army will be defeated and many of his soldiers will be killed.

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.

Then the two [kings who both want to rule that area] will sit down at the same table and eat together, but they will both lie to each other. Neither of them will get what he wants, because it will not be the time [that God] has determined/set [for them to rule Egypt].

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.

[The army of] the King [of Syria] will return to Syria, taking with them all the valuable things [that they had captured]. The king will be determined to get rid of the Supreme Priest of the Jewish people. He will do what he wants to [in Israel], and then return to his own country.

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.

When it is the time that God has decided, the King of Syria [and his army] will invade Egypt again. But this time he will not be successful like he 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.

The army of Rome will come in ships and oppose his army and cause him to be afraid. So he will be very angry, and [with his army] he will return [to Israel] and try to get rid of the Supreme Priest. The King of Syria will do what those who have abandoned the Jewish religion advise/want him to do for them.

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.

Some of his soldiers will do things to (defile the temple/cause the temple to become unholy for them). They will prevent the priests from offering sacrifices each day, and they will put [in the temple] something that is disgusting/abominable.

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.

By deceiving those who have abandoned the Jewish religion, he will persuade them to (become his supporters/help him to do what he wants to do). But those who are devoted to their God will firmly oppose them.

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.

And wise [Israeli] leaders will teach others also. But for a while, some of those wise leaders will be killed in battles, and some will be burned to death, and some will be robbed, and some will be put in prison.

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

While God’s people are being persecuted, some people will help them a little bit, although some of those who help them will not do it sincerely.

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.

Some of those wise leaders will be killed [EUP], but as a result the others will be purified [DOU]. This suffering will continue until it is the time [that God] has appointed [for it to] end.

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.

The King [of Syria] will do what he wants to. He will boast and say that he is greater than any god. He will even revile the Supreme God. He will be able to do what he wants until the time that [God] punishes [MTY] him. [God] will accomplish what he has planned.

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.

The [King of Syria] will ignore the god that his ancestors worshiped and the god that many women love. He will ignore every god, because he will think that he is greater than all of them.

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.

But he will honor the god who [people think] protects fortresses. That is a god whom his ancestors did not honor. And he will give gold, silver, (jewels/very valuable stones) and other expensive gifts to that god.

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.

He will ask that god (OR, people who worship a god) from another country to help him to defend his fortresses. He will greatly honor those who allow him [to be their ruler]. He will appoint [some of] them to important positions in the government; and to reward them, he will give them some land.

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.

But when his time [to rule] is almost ended, [the army of] the King of Egypt will attack his [army]. The [army of the] King of Syria will fight against them furiously [SIM]. [His soldiers will be driving] chariots and [riding on] horses and [traveling in] many ships. His army will invade many countries and [spread all over those countries] like a flood [MET].

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.

They will invade the glorious land [of Israel] and kill [EUP] tens of thousands of people. But the people of the Edom people-group and the people of the Moab people-group and the people of the Ammon people-group who are still alive will escape.

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

When the army of Syria invades other countries, even the people of Egypt will be defeated.

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.

The army of Syria will take away from Egypt gold, silver, and other valuable items. The people of Libya and Ethiopia will allow [the King of Syria] to rule over them.

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.

But he will become very frightened/alarmed when he hears reports about what is happening in the east and in the north. So he will become very angry, and send his army to fight furiously and kill many [of their enemies].

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.

The [King of Syria] will set up his royal tents in the area between the [Mediterranean] Sea and the hill [in Jerusalem] on which the temple (exists/was built). But he will be killed there, because there will be no one to help him.”