¹⁰ And behold, ^(A)a hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. ¹¹ And he said to me, “O Daniel, ^(B)man greatly loved, ^(C)understand the words that I speak to you, and ^(D)stand upright, for ^(E)now I have been sent to you.” And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood up trembling. ¹² Then he said to me, ^(F)“Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you ^(G)set your heart to understand and ^(H)humbled yourself before your God, ^(I)your words have been heard, ^(J)and I have come because of your words. ^13 (K)The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me ^(L)twenty-one days, but ^(M)Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I was left there with the kings of Persia, ^14 (N)and came to make you understand what is to happen to your people ^(O)in the latter days. For ^(P)the vision is for days yet to come.”

¹⁵ When he had spoken to me according to these words, ^(Q)I turned my face toward the ground ^(R)and was mute. ¹⁶ And behold, ^(S)one in the likeness of the children of man ^(T)touched my lips. Then I opened my mouth and spoke. I said to him who stood before me, “O my lord, by reason of the vision pains have come upon me, and ^(U)I retain no strength. ¹⁷ How can my lord's servant talk with my lord? For now no strength remains in me, and no breath is left in me.”

¹⁸ Again ^(V)one having the appearance of a man ^(W)touched me and strengthened me. ¹⁹ And he said, ^(X)“O man greatly loved, ^(Y)fear not, peace be with you; be strong and of good courage.” And as he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, “Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.” ²⁰ Then he said, “Do you know why I have come to you? But now I will return to fight against the ^(Z)prince of Persia; and when I go out, behold, the prince of ^(AA)Greece will come. ²¹ But I will tell you ^(AB)what is inscribed in the book of truth: there is none who contends by my side against these except ^(AC)Michael, your prince.

The Kings of the South and the North

11 “And as for me, ^(AD)in the first year of ^(AE)Darius the Mede, I stood up to confirm and strengthen him.

² “And now I will show you ^(AF)the truth. Behold, three more kings shall arise in Persia, and a fourth shall be far richer than all of them. And when he has become strong through his riches, he shall stir up all against the kingdom of Greece. ³ Then ^(AG)a mighty king shall arise, who shall rule with great dominion and ^(AH)do as he wills. ⁴ And as soon as he has arisen, ^(AI)his kingdom shall be broken and divided ^(AJ)toward the ^(AK)four winds of heaven, but ^(AL)not to his posterity, nor according to the authority with which he ruled, for his kingdom shall be plucked up and go to others besides these.

⁵ “Then the king of the south shall be strong, but one of his princes shall be stronger than he ^(AM)and shall rule, and his authority shall be a great authority. ⁶ After some years ^(AN)they shall make an alliance, 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 the strength of her arm, and he and his arm shall not endure, but she shall be given up, and her attendants, he who fathered her, and he who supported^[a] her in those times.

⁷ “And from a branch from her roots one shall arise in his place. He shall come against the army and enter the ^(AO)fortress of the king of the north, and he shall deal with them and shall prevail. ⁸ He shall also carry off to Egypt their gods with their metal images and their precious ^(AP)vessels of silver and gold, and for some years he shall refrain from attacking the king of the north. ⁹ Then the latter shall come into the realm of the king of the south but shall return to his own land.

¹⁰ “His sons shall wage war and assemble a multitude of great forces, which shall keep coming ^(AQ)and overflow and pass through, and again shall carry the war as far as his ^(AR)fortress. ¹¹ Then the king of the south, ^(AS)moved with rage, shall come out and fight against the king of the north. ^(AT)And he shall raise a great multitude, but it shall be given into his hand. ¹² And when the multitude is taken away, his heart shall be exalted, and he shall cast down tens of thousands, but he shall not prevail. ¹³ For the king of the north shall again ^(AU)raise a multitude, greater than the first. And ^(AV)after some years^[b] he shall come on with a great army and abundant supplies.

¹⁴ “In those times many shall rise against the king of the south, and the violent among your own people shall lift themselves up in order to fulfill the vision, but ^(AW)they shall fail. ¹⁵ Then the king of the north shall come and ^(AX)throw up siegeworks and take a well-fortified city. And the forces of the south shall not stand, or even his best troops, for there shall be no strength to stand. ¹⁶ But he who comes against him shall ^(AY)do as he wills, and ^(AZ)none shall stand before him. And he shall stand in ^(BA)the glorious land, with destruction in his hand. ¹⁷ He shall ^(BB)set his face to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and he shall bring terms of an agreement and perform them. He shall give him the daughter of women to destroy the kingdom,^[c] but it shall not stand or be to his advantage. ¹⁸ Afterward he shall turn his face to the coastlands and shall capture many of them, but a commander shall put an end to his insolence. Indeed,^[d] he ^(BC)shall turn his insolence back upon him. ¹⁹ Then he shall turn his face back toward the ^(BD)fortresses of his own land, but he shall ^(BE)stumble and fall, ^(BF)and shall not be found.

²⁰ “Then shall arise in his place one who shall send an ^(BG)exactor of tribute for the glory of the kingdom. But within a few days he shall be broken, neither in anger nor in battle. ²¹ In his place shall arise a contemptible person to whom royal majesty has not been given. ^(BH)He shall come in without warning and obtain the kingdom ^(BI)by flatteries. ²² Armies shall be ^(BJ)utterly swept away before him and broken, even the prince of the covenant. ²³ And from the time that an alliance is made with him he shall act deceitfully, and he shall become strong with a small people. ^24 (BK)Without warning he shall come into ^(BL)the richest parts^[e] of the province, and he shall do what neither his fathers nor his fathers' fathers have done, scattering among them plunder, spoil, and goods. He shall devise plans against strongholds, but only for a time. ²⁵ And he shall stir up his power and his heart against ^(BM)the king of the south with a great army. And the king of the south shall wage war with an exceedingly great and mighty army, but he shall not stand, for plots shall be devised against him. ²⁶ Even those who eat his food shall break him. His army shall be ^(BN)swept away, and many shall fall down slain. ²⁷ And as for the two kings, their hearts shall be bent on doing evil. They shall speak lies at the same table, but to no avail, for ^(BO)the end is yet to be at the time appointed. ²⁸ And he shall return to his land with great wealth, but his heart shall be set against the holy covenant. And he shall work his will and return to his own land.

Deliver Me, O Lord, from Evil Men

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

To the Church in Pergamum

¹² “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: ‘The words of him who has ^(A)the sharp two-edged sword.

¹³ “‘I know where you dwell, ^(B)where Satan's throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not ^(C)deny my faith^[a] even in the days of Antipas ^(D)my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. ¹⁴ But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of ^(E)Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might ^(F)eat food sacrificed to idols and ^(G)practice sexual immorality. ¹⁵ So also you have some who hold the teaching of ^(H)the Nicolaitans. ¹⁶ Therefore repent. If not, ^(I)I will come to you soon and ^(J)war against them with ^(K)the sword of my mouth. ^17 (L)He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. ^(M)To the one who conquers I will give some of ^(N)the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with ^(O)a new name written on the stone ^(P)that no one knows except the one who receives it.’

To the Church in Thyatira

¹⁸ “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: ‘The words of the Son of God, ^(Q)who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze.

^19 (R)“‘I know your works, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first. ²⁰ But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman ^(S)Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants ^(T)to practice sexual immorality and ^(U)to eat food sacrificed to idols. ²¹ I gave her time to repent, but ^(V)she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. ²² Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, ²³ and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am he ^(W)who searches mind and heart, and ^(X)I will give to each of you according to your works. ²⁴ But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call ^(Y)the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I ^(Z)do not lay on you any other burden. ²⁵ Only hold fast ^(AA)what you have until I come. ^26 (AB)The one who conquers and who keeps my works ^(AC)until the end, ^(AD)to him I will give authority over the nations, ²⁷ and ^(AE)he will ^(AF)rule^[b] them with a rod of iron, ^(AG)as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. ²⁸ And I will give him ^(AH)the morning star. ^29 (AI)He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.’