Daniel 11

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

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

2 [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.

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

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

4 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.

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 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.

“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 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.

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 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.

“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 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.

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

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

10 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].

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 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.

“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 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.

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 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].

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 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.

“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 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.

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 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.

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 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.

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 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.

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 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.

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 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.

“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 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.

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

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

23 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.

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

24 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.

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 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.

“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 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.

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

27 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].

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 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.

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 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.

“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 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.

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 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.

“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 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.

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 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.

“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 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.

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

35 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.

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 [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.

“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 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.

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 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.

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 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.

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 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].

“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 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.

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

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

43 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.

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 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].

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 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.”

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.