Daniel 11
New American Standard Bible
Conflicts to Come
11 “In the (A)first year of Darius the Mede, [a]I arose to be of [b]assistance and a protection for him. 2 And now I will tell you the (B)truth. Behold, three more kings are going to arise [c]in Persia. Then a fourth will gain far more riches than all of them; as soon as he becomes strong through his riches, [d]he will stir up the entire empire against the realm of [e](C)Greece. 3 And a (D)mighty king will arise, and he will rule with great authority and (E)do as he pleases. 4 But as soon as he has arisen, his kingdom will be broken up and parceled out (F)toward the (G)four [f]points of the compass, though not to his own descendants, nor according to his authority which he wielded, because his sovereignty will be (H)removed and given to others besides [g]them.
5 “Then the (I)king of the South will grow strong, [h]along with one of his princes [i]who will gain ascendancy over him and rule; his domain will be a great realm indeed. 6 And after some years they will form an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the South will come to the (J)king of the North to reach an agreement. But she will not keep her [j]position of power, nor will he remain with his [k]power, but she will be given up, along with those who brought her in and the one who fathered her as well as he who supported her in those times. 7 But one of the [l]descendants of her line will arise in his place, and he will come against their army and enter the (K)fortress of the king of the North, and he will deal with them and prevail. 8 And he will also take into captivity to Egypt their (L)gods with their cast metal images and their precious vessels of silver and gold, and he on his part will [m]refrain from attacking the king of the North for some years. 9 Then [n]the latter will enter the realm of the king of the South, but will return to his own land.
10 “And his sons will mobilize and assemble a multitude of great forces; and one of them will keep on coming and (M)overflow and pass through, so that he may [o]again wage war up to his fortress. 11 And the (N)king of the South will be enraged and go out and fight [p]with the king of the North. Then the latter will raise a great multitude, but that multitude will be handed over to [q]the former. 12 When the multitude is carried away, his heart will [r]be haughty, and he will cause tens of thousands to fall; yet he will not prevail. 13 For the king of the North will again raise a greater multitude than the former, and [s]after an (O)interval of some years he will [t]press on with a great army and much equipment.
14 “Now in those times many will rise up against the king of the South; the violent ones among your people will also raise themselves up to fulfill the vision, but they will [u]fall down. 15 Then the king of the North will come, pile up an (P)assault ramp, and capture a well-fortified city; and the forces of the South will not stand their ground, not even [v]their choicest troops, for there will be no strength to make a stand. 16 But he who comes against him will (Q)do as he pleases, and (R)no one will be able to withstand him; he will also stay for a time in the [w](S)Beautiful Land, with destruction in his hand. 17 And he will (T)set his [x]mind on coming with the power of his entire kingdom, [y]bringing with him [z]a proposal of peace which he will put into effect; he will also give him the daughter of women to ruin it. But she will not take a stand for him or be [aa]on his side. 18 Then he will turn his face to the (U)coastlands and capture many. But a commander will put a stop to his taunting against him; moreover, he will (V)repay him for his taunting. 19 So he will turn his face toward the fortresses of his own land, but he will (W)stumble and fall and not be (X)found.
20 “Then in his place one will arise who will (Y)allow an [ab]oppressor to pass through the [ac]Jewel of his kingdom; yet within a few days he will be broken, though not in anger nor in battle. 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 (Z)seize the kingdom by intrigue. 22 And the overflowing (AA)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 [ad]In a time of tranquility he will enter the (AB)richest parts of the [ae]realm, and he will accomplish what his fathers did not, nor his [af]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 [ag]courage against the (AC)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 [ah]destroy him, and his army will [ai](AD)overflow, but many will fall down slain. 27 As for both kings, their hearts will be intent on (AE)evil, and they will (AF)speak lies to each other at the same table; but it will not succeed, because the (AG)end is still to come at the appointed time. 28 Then he will return to his land with much [aj]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 [ak]this last time it will not turn out the way it did before. 30 For ships of [al](AH)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, (AI)desecrate the sanctuary fortress, and do away with the regular sacrifice. And they will set up the (AJ)abomination [am]of desolation. 32 And by (AK)smooth words he will [an]turn to godlessness those who act wickedly toward the covenant, but the people who know their God will be (AL)strong and take action. 33 And [ao](AM)those who have insight among the people will give understanding to the many; yet they will (AN)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 (AO)join with them in (AP)hypocrisy. 35 And some of [ap]those who have insight will fall, to (AQ)refine, (AR)purge, and [aq](AS)cleanse them until the (AT)end time; because it is still to come at the appointed time.
36 “Then the king will (AU)do as he pleases, and he will exalt himself and (AV)boast against every god and will (AW)speak [ar]dreadful things against the (AX)God of gods; and he will be successful until the (AY)indignation is finished, because that which is (AZ)determined will be done. 37 And he will show no regard for the [as]gods of his fathers or for the [at]desire of women, nor will he show regard for any other god; for he will boast against them all. 38 But [au]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 [av]those who acknowledge him and will make them rulers over the many, and will parcel out land for a price.
40 “And at the (BA)end time the (BB)king of the South will wage war with him, and the (BC)king of the North will (BD)storm against him with chariots, horsemen, and with many ships; and he will enter countries, (BE)overflow them, and pass through. 41 He will also enter the [aw](BF)Beautiful Land, and many countries will fall; but these will be rescued out of his hand: Edom, (BG)Moab, and the foremost of the sons of (BH)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 [ax]gain control over the hidden treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; and (BI)Libyans and (BJ)Ethiopians will follow at his [ay]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 [az]annihilate many. 45 And he will pitch the tents of his royal pavilion between the seas and the beautiful (BK)Holy Mountain; yet he will come to his end, and no one will help him.
Footnotes
- Daniel 11:1 Lit my standing up was
- Daniel 11:1 Lit a strengthener
- Daniel 11:2 Lit for
- Daniel 11:2 Or they all will stir up the realm of Greece
- Daniel 11:2 Heb Javan
- Daniel 11:4 Lit winds of the heaven
- Daniel 11:4 I.e., his descendants
- Daniel 11:5 Lit and
- Daniel 11:5 Lit and he
- Daniel 11:6 Lit strength of arm
- Daniel 11:6 Lit arm
- Daniel 11:7 Lit branch of her roots
- Daniel 11:8 Lit stand from the king
- Daniel 11:9 Lit he will, and so throughout the ch
- Daniel 11:10 Or return and wage
- Daniel 11:11 Lit with him, with
- Daniel 11:11 Lit his hand
- Daniel 11:12 Lit rise
- Daniel 11:13 Lit at the end of the times, years
- Daniel 11:13 Or keep on coming
- Daniel 11:14 Lit stumble, and so throughout the ch
- Daniel 11:15 Lit the people of its choice ones
- Daniel 11:16 I.e., Israel
- Daniel 11:17 Lit face
- Daniel 11:17 Lit and
- Daniel 11:17 Lit equitable things
- Daniel 11:17 Lit for him; i.e., for her father
- Daniel 11:20 Or tax collector
- Daniel 11:20 Lit splendor; i.e., prob. Jerusalem and its temple
- Daniel 11:24 Lit In tranquility and the rich...he will enter
- Daniel 11:24 Lit province
- Daniel 11:24 Lit fathers’ fathers
- Daniel 11:25 Lit heart
- Daniel 11:26 Lit break
- Daniel 11:26 Or be swept away, and many
- Daniel 11:28 Lit property
- Daniel 11:29 Lit it will not happen as the first and as the last
- Daniel 11:30 I.e., Cyprus
- Daniel 11:31 Lit that makes desolate; or that causes horror
- Daniel 11:32 Or ruin those
- Daniel 11:33 Or instructors of the people will
- Daniel 11:35 Or the instructors
- Daniel 11:35 Or whiten
- Daniel 11:36 Or amazing
- Daniel 11:37 Or God
- Daniel 11:37 Or darling of
- Daniel 11:38 Lit in his place
- Daniel 11:39 Lit the one who acknowledges
- Daniel 11:41 I.e., Israel
- Daniel 11:43 Lit rule over
- Daniel 11:43 Lit footsteps
- Daniel 11:44 Lit devote many to destruction
Daniel 11
Contemporary English Version
11 1 You also need to know that I protected and helped Darius the Mede[a] in his first year as king.
The Angel's Message to Daniel
Part One: The Four Kings and Their Successors
2 What I am going to tell you is certain to happen. Four kings will rule Persia, one after the other, but the fourth one will become much richer than the others. In fact, his wealth will make him so powerful that he will turn everyone against the kingdom of Greece. 3 Then a mighty king will come to power and will be able to do whatever he pleases. 4 But suddenly his kingdom will be crushed and scattered to the four corners of the earth, where four more kingdoms will rise. But these won't be ruled by his descendants or be as powerful as his kingdom.
5 The king of the south will grow powerful. Then one of his generals will rebel and will rule an even larger kingdom. 6 Years later the southern kingdom and the northern kingdom will make a treaty, and the daughter of the king of the south will marry the king of the north. But she will lose her power. Then she, her husband, their child,[b] and the servants who came with her will all be killed.
After this, 7 one of her relatives will become the ruler of the southern kingdom. He will attack the army of the northern kingdom and capture its fortresses. 8 Then he will carry their idols to Egypt, together with their precious treasures of silver and gold, but it will be a long time before he attacks the northern kingdom again. Some years later 9 the king of the north will invade the southern kingdom, but he will be forced back to his own country.
10 The sons of the king of the north will gather a huge army that will sweep down like a roaring flood, reaching all the way to the fortress of the southern kingdom. 11 (A) But this will make the king of the south angry, and he will defeat this large army from the north. 12 The king of the south will feel proud because of the many thousands he has killed. But his victories won't last long, 13 because the king of the north will gather a larger and more powerful army than ever before. Then in a few years, he will start invading other countries.
14 At this time many of your own people will try to make this vision come true by rebelling against the king of the south, but their rebellion will fail. 15 Then the army from the north will surround and capture a fortress in the south, and not even the most experienced troops of the southern kingdom will be able to make them retreat. 16 The king who invaded from the north will do as he pleases, and he will even capture and destroy the holy land.[c] 17 In fact, he will decide to invade the south with his entire army. Then he will attempt to make peace by giving the king of the south a bride from the northern kingdom, but this won't be successful.
18 Afterwards, this proud king of the north will invade and conquer many of the nations along the coast, but a military leader will defeat him and make him lose his pride. 19 He will retreat to his fortresses in his own country, but on the way he will be defeated and never again be seen.
20 The next king of the north will try to collect taxes for the glory of his kingdom. However, he will come to a sudden end in some mysterious way, instead of in battle or because of someone's anger.
Part Two: The Evil King from the North
21 The successor of this king of the north will be a worthless nobody, who doesn't even come from a royal family. He will suddenly appear and gain control of the kingdom by treachery. 22 Then he will destroy armies and remove God's chosen high priest. 23 He will make a treaty, but he will be deceitful and break it, even though he has only a few followers. 24 Without warning, he will successfully invade a wealthy province, which is something his ancestors never did. Then he will divide among his followers all of its treasures and property. But none of this will last very long.
25 He will gather a large and powerful army, and with great courage he will attack the king of the south. The king of the south will meet him with a much stronger army, but he will lose the battle, because he will be betrayed 26 by members of the royal court. He will be ruined, and most of his army will be slaughtered.
27 The two kings will meet around a table and tell evil lies to each other. But their plans will fail, because God has already decided what will happen. 28 Then the king of the north will return to his country with great treasures. But on the way, he will attack the religion of God's people and do whatever else he pleases.
29 At the time God has decided, the king of the north will invade the southern kingdom again, but this time, things will be different. 30 (B) Ships from the west will come to attack him, and he will be discouraged. Then he will start back to his own country and take out his anger on the religion of God's faithful people, while showing kindness to those who are unfaithful. 31 (C) He will send troops to pollute the temple and the fortress, and he will stop the daily sacrifices. Then he will set up that “Horrible Thing” that causes destruction. 32 The king will use deceit to win followers from those who are unfaithful to God, but those who remain faithful will do everything possible to oppose him.
33 Wise leaders will instruct many of the people. But for a while, some of these leaders will either be killed with swords or burned alive, or else robbed of their possessions and thrown into prison. 34 They will receive only a little help in their time of trouble, and many of their followers will be treacherous. 35 Some of those who are wise will suffer, so that God will make them pure and acceptable until the end, which will still come at the time he has decided.
36 (D) This king will do as he pleases. He will proudly claim to be greater than any god and will insult the only true God. Indeed, he will be successful until God is no longer angry with his people. 37 This king will reject the gods his ancestors worshiped and the god preferred by women.[d] In fact, he will put himself above all gods 38 and worship only the so-called god of fortresses, who was unknown to his ancestors. And he will honor it with gold, silver, precious stones, and other costly gifts. 39 With the help of this foreign god, he will capture the strongest fortresses. Everyone who worships this god will be put in a position of power and rewarded with wealth and land.
Part Three: The Time of the End
40 At the time of the end, the king of the south will attack the kingdom of the north. But its king will rush out like a storm with war chariots, cavalry, and many ships. Indeed, his forces will flood one country after another, 41 and when they reach the holy land,[e] tens of thousands will be killed. But the countries of Edom and Moab and the ruler of Ammon[f] will escape.
42 The king of the north will invade many countries, including Egypt, 43 and he will take its rich treasures of gold and silver. He will also conquer Libya and Ethiopia.[g] 44 But he will be alarmed by news from the east and the north, and he will become furious and cause great destruction. 45 After this, he will set up camp between the Mediterranean Sea and Mount Zion. Then he will be destroyed, and no one will be able to save him.
Footnotes
- 11.1 Darius the Mede: See 5.30.
- 11.6 their child: One Hebrew manuscript and two ancient translations; most Hebrew manuscripts “her father.”
- 11.16 the holy land: See the note at 8.9.
- 11.37 god preferred by women: Perhaps Tammuz or Adonis, which were popular among the women of that time.
- 11.41 the holy land: See the note at 8.9.
- 11.41 the ruler of Ammon: Or “what is left of Ammon.”
- 11.43 Ethiopia: The Hebrew text has “Cush,” which was a region south of Egypt that included parts of the present countries of Ethiopia and Sudan.
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