Daniel 11:21-44

New American Standard Bible

²¹ And in his place a despicable person will arise, on whom the majesty of kingship has not been conferred; but he will come in a time of tranquility and ^(A)seize the kingdom by intrigue. ²² And the overflowing ^(B)forces will be flooded away from him and smashed, and also the prince of the covenant. ²³ After an alliance is made with him he will practice deception, and he will go up and gain power with a small force of people. ^24 [a]In a time of tranquility he will enter the ^(C)richest parts of the ^[b]realm, and he will accomplish what his fathers did not, nor his ^[c]ancestors; he will distribute plunder, spoils, and possessions among them, and he will devise his schemes against strongholds, but only for a time. ²⁵ And he will stir up his strength and ^[d]courage against the ^(D)king of the South with a large army; so the king of the South will mobilize an extremely large and mighty army for war; but he will not stand, because schemes will be devised against him. ²⁶ Those who eat his choice food will ^[e]destroy him, and his army will ^[f](E)overflow, but many will fall down slain. ²⁷ As for both kings, their hearts will be intent on ^(F)evil, and they will ^(G)speak lies to each other at the same table; but it will not succeed, because the ^(H)end is still to come at the appointed time. ²⁸ Then he will return to his land with much ^[g]plunder; but his heart will be set against the holy covenant, and he will take action and then return to his own land.

²⁹ “At the appointed time he will return and come into the South, but ^[h]this last time it will not turn out the way it did before. ³⁰ For ships of ^[i](I)Kittim will come against him; therefore he will withdraw in fear and will return and curse the holy covenant and take action; so he will come back and pay attention to those who abandon the holy covenant. ³¹ Forces from him will arise, ^(J)desecrate the sanctuary fortress, and do away with the regular sacrifice. And they will set up the ^(K)abomination ^[j]of desolation. ³² And by ^(L)smooth words he will ^[k]turn to godlessness those who act wickedly toward the covenant, but the people who know their God will be ^(M)strong and take action. ³³ And ^[l](N)those who have insight among the people will give understanding to the many; yet they will ^(O)fall by sword and by flame, by captivity and by plunder for many days. ³⁴ Now when they fall they will be granted a little help, and many will ^(P)join with them in ^(Q)hypocrisy. ³⁵ And some of ^[m]those who have insight will fall, to ^(R)refine, ^(S)purge, and ^[n](T)cleanse them until the ^(U)end time; because it is still to come at the appointed time.

³⁶ “Then the king will ^(V)do as he pleases, and he will exalt himself and ^(W)boast against every god and will ^(X)speak ^[o]dreadful things against the ^(Y)God of gods; and he will be successful until the ^(Z)indignation is finished, because that which is ^(AA)determined will be done. ³⁷ And he will show no regard for the ^[p]gods of his fathers or for the ^[q]desire of women, nor will he show regard for any other god; for he will boast against them all. ³⁸ But ^[r]instead he will honor a god of fortresses, a god whom his fathers did not know; he will honor him with gold, silver, precious stones, and treasures. ³⁹ And he will take action against the strongest of fortresses with the help of a foreign god; he will give great honor to ^[s]those who acknowledge him and will make them rulers over the many, and will parcel out land for a price.

⁴⁰ “And at the ^(AB)end time the ^(AC)king of the South will wage war with him, and the ^(AD)king of the North will ^(AE)storm against him with chariots, horsemen, and with many ships; and he will enter countries, ^(AF)overflow them, and pass through. ⁴¹ He will also enter the ^[t](AG)Beautiful Land, and many countries will fall; but these will be rescued out of his hand: Edom, ^(AH)Moab, and the foremost of the sons of ^(AI)Ammon. ⁴² Then he will reach out with his hand against other countries, and the land of Egypt will not escape. ⁴³ But he will ^[u]gain control over the hidden treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; and ^(AJ)Libyans and ^(AK)Ethiopians will follow at his ^[v]heels. ⁴⁴ But rumors from the East and from the North will terrify him, and he will go out with great wrath to eliminate and ^[w]annihilate many.