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
New Living Translation
11 1 I have been standing beside Michael[a] to support and strengthen him since the first year of the reign of Darius the Mede.)
Kings of the South and North
2 “Now then, I will reveal the truth to you. Three more Persian kings will reign, to be succeeded by a fourth, far richer than the others. He will use his wealth to stir up everyone to fight against the kingdom of Greece.[b]
3 “Then a mighty king will rise to power who will rule with great authority and accomplish everything he sets out to do. 4 But at the height of his power, his kingdom will be broken apart and divided into four parts. It will not be ruled by the king’s descendants, nor will the kingdom hold the authority it once had. For his empire will be uprooted and given to others.
5 “The king of the south will increase in power, but one of his own officials will become more powerful than he and will rule his kingdom with great strength.
6 “Some years later an alliance will be formed between the king of the north and the king of the south. The daughter of the king of the south will be given in marriage to the king of the north to secure the alliance, but she will lose her influence over him, and so will her father. She will be abandoned along with her supporters. 7 But when one of her relatives[c] becomes king of the south, he will raise an army and enter the fortress of the king of the north and defeat him. 8 When he returns to Egypt, he will carry back their idols with him, along with priceless articles of gold and silver. For some years afterward he will leave the king of the north alone.
9 “Later the king of the north will invade the realm of the king of the south but will soon return to his own land. 10 However, the sons of the king of the north will assemble a mighty army that will advance like a flood and carry the battle as far as the enemy’s fortress.
11 “Then, in a rage, the king of the south will rally against the vast forces assembled by the king of the north and will defeat them. 12 After the enemy army is swept away, the king of the south will be filled with pride and will execute many thousands of his enemies. But his success will be short lived.
13 “A few years later the king of the north will return with a fully equipped army far greater than before. 14 At that time there will be a general uprising against the king of the south. Violent men among your own people will join them in fulfillment of this vision, but they will not succeed. 15 Then the king of the north will come and lay siege to a fortified city and capture it. The best troops of the south will not be able to stand in the face of the onslaught.
16 “The king of the north will march onward unopposed; none will be able to stop him. He will pause in the glorious land of Israel,[d] intent on destroying it. 17 He will make plans to come with the might of his entire kingdom and will form an alliance with the king of the south. He will give him a daughter in marriage in order to overthrow the kingdom from within, but his plan will fail.
18 “After this, he will turn his attention to the coastland and conquer many cities. But a commander from another land will put an end to his insolence and cause him to retreat in shame. 19 He will take refuge in his own fortresses but will stumble and fall and be seen no more.
20 “His successor will send out a tax collector to maintain the royal splendor. But after a very brief reign, he will die, though not from anger or in battle.
21 “The next to come to power will be a despicable man who is not in line for royal succession. He will slip in when least expected and take over the kingdom by flattery and intrigue. 22 Before him great armies will be swept away, including a covenant prince. 23 With deceitful promises, he will make various alliances. He will become strong despite having only a handful of followers. 24 Without warning he will enter the richest areas of the land. Then he will distribute among his followers the plunder and wealth of the rich—something his predecessors had never done. He will plot the overthrow of strongholds, but this will last for only a short while.
25 “Then he will stir up his courage and raise a great army against the king of the south. The king of the south will go to battle with a mighty army, but to no avail, for there will be plots against him. 26 His own household will cause his downfall. His army will be swept away, and many will be killed. 27 Seeking nothing but each other’s harm, these kings will plot against each other at the conference table, attempting to deceive each other. But it will make no difference, for the end will come at the appointed time.
28 “The king of the north will then return home with great riches. On the way he will set himself against the people of the holy covenant, doing much damage before continuing his journey.
29 “Then at the appointed time he will once again invade the south, but this time the result will be different. 30 For warships from western coastlands[e] will scare him off, and he will withdraw and return home. But he will vent his anger against the people of the holy covenant and reward those who forsake the covenant.
31 “His army will take over the Temple fortress, pollute the sanctuary, put a stop to the daily sacrifices, and set up the sacrilegious object that causes desecration.[f] 32 He will flatter and win over those who have violated the covenant. But the people who know their God will be strong and will resist him.
33 “Wise leaders will give instruction to many, but these teachers will die by fire and sword, or they will be jailed and robbed. 34 During these persecutions, little help will arrive, and many who join them will not be sincere. 35 And some of the wise will fall victim to persecution. In this way, they will be refined and cleansed and made pure until the time of the end, for the appointed time is still to come.
36 “The king will do as he pleases, exalting himself and claiming to be greater than every god, even blaspheming the God of gods. He will succeed, but only until the time of wrath is completed. For what has been determined will surely take place. 37 He will have no respect for the gods of his ancestors, or for the god loved by women, or for any other god, for he will boast that he is greater than them all. 38 Instead of these, he will worship the god of fortresses—a god his ancestors never knew—and lavish on him gold, silver, precious stones, and expensive gifts. 39 Claiming this foreign god’s help, he will attack the strongest fortresses. He will honor those who submit to him, appointing them to positions of authority and dividing the land among them as their reward.[g]
40 “Then at the time of the end, the king of the south will attack the king of the north. The king of the north will storm out with chariots, charioteers, and a vast navy. He will invade various lands and sweep through them like a flood. 41 He will enter the glorious land of Israel,[h] and many nations will fall, but Moab, Edom, and the best part of Ammon will escape. 42 He will conquer many countries, and even Egypt will not escape. 43 He will gain control over the gold, silver, and treasures of Egypt, and the Libyans and Ethiopians[i] will be his servants.
44 “But then news from the east and the north will alarm him, and he will set out in great anger to destroy and obliterate many. 45 He will stop between the glorious holy mountain and the sea and will pitch his royal tents. But while he is there, his time will suddenly run out, and no one will help him.
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.
Daniel 11
Easy-to-Read Version
11 “During the first year that Darius the Mede[a] was king, I stood up to support Michael[b] in his fight against the prince of Persia.
2 “Now then, Daniel, I tell you the truth: Three more kings will rule in Persia. Then a fourth king will come who will be much richer than all the other kings of Persia before him. He will use his riches to get power and turn everyone against the kingdom of Greece. 3 Then a very strong and powerful king will come who will rule with much power. He will do anything he wants. 4 Just as he comes to power, his kingdom will be broken up and scattered in all directions. It will not be divided among his descendants. And it will not be ruled in the same way because that kingdom will be pulled up and given to other people.
5 “The southern king will become strong, but then one of his commanders will defeat him. The commander will begin to rule, and he will be very powerful.
6 “Then after a few years, the southern king and that commander will make an agreement. The daughter of the southern king will marry the northern king. She will do this to bring peace, but she and the southern king will not be strong enough. People will turn against her and against the one who brought her to that country. And they will turn against her child and against the one who helped her.
7 “But someone from her family will come to take the southern king’s place. He will attack the armies of the northern king. He will go into that king’s strong fort. He will fight and win. 8 He will take their gods and their metal idols and their expensive things made from silver and gold. He will take those things away to Egypt. Then he will not bother the northern king for a few years. 9 The northern king will attack the southern kingdom. But he will lose, and then he will go back to his own country.
10 “The northern king’s sons will prepare for war. They will get a large army together. It will move through the land very quickly, like a powerful flood. That army will fight all the way to the strong fort of the southern king. 11 Then the southern king will become very angry and march out to fight against the northern king. The northern king will have a large army, but he will lose the war. 12 The northern army will be defeated, and those soldiers will be carried away. The southern king will be very proud, and he will kill thousands of soldiers from the northern army. But he will not continue to be successful. 13 The northern king will get another army that will be larger than the first one. After several years he will attack. His army will be ready for war. It will be very large and it will have many weapons.
14 “In those times many people will be against the southern king. Some of your own people who love to fight will rebel against the southern king. They will not win, but they will make the vision come true. 15 Then the northern king will come. He will build ramps against the walls and will capture a strong city. The southern army will not have the power to fight back. Even the best soldiers from the southern army will not be strong enough to stop the northern army.
16 “The northern king will do whatever he wants. No one will be able to stop him. He will gain power and control in the Beautiful Land, and he will have the power to destroy it. 17 The northern king will decide to use all his power to fight against the southern king, and he will make an agreement with the southern king. The king of the north will let one of his daughters marry the southern king so that he can defeat the southern king. But those plans will not succeed. His plans will not help him.
18 “Then the northern king will turn his attention to the countries along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. He will defeat many of those cities, but then a commander will put an end to the pride and rebellion of that northern king. The commander will make the northern king ashamed.
19 “After that happens, the northern king will go back to the strong forts of his own country. But he will be weak and will fall. He will be finished.
20 “After the northern king, there will be a new ruler who sends out tax collectors so that he can live like a king. But after a few years, he will be destroyed, although he will not die in battle.
21 “That ruler will be followed by a very cruel and hated man, who will not have the honor of being from a king’s family.[c] He will become a ruler by being tricky. He will attack the kingdom when the people feel safe. 22 He will defeat large and powerful armies. He will even defeat the leader with the agreement. 23 Many nations will make agreements with that cruel and hated ruler, but he will lie and trick them. He will gain much power, but only a few people will support him.
24 “When the richest countries feel safe, that cruel and hated ruler will attack them. He will attack at just the right time and will be successful where his ancestors were not successful. He will take things from the countries he defeated, and he will give them to his followers. He will plan to defeat and destroy strong cities. He will be successful—but only for a short time.
25 “That very cruel and hated ruler will have a very large army. He will use that army to show his strength and courage and attack the southern king. The southern king will get a very large and powerful army and go to war. But the people who are against him will make secret plans, and the southern king will be defeated. 26 People who were supposed to be good friends of the southern king will try to destroy him. His army will be defeated. Many of his soldiers will be killed in battle. 27 Those two kings will want to make trouble. They will sit around the table planning their lies, but it will not do either one of them any good because God has set a time for their end to come.
28 “The northern king will go back to his own country with much wealth. Then he will decide to do bad things against the holy agreement.[d] He will do the things he planned, and then he will go back to his own country.
29 “At the right time, the northern king will attack the southern king again. But this time he will not be successful as he was before. 30 Ships from Cyprus will come and fight against the northern king. He will see those ships coming and be afraid. Then he will turn back and take out his anger on the holy agreement. He will turn back and help those who stopped following the holy agreement. 31 The northern king will send his army to do terrible things to the Temple in Jerusalem. They will stop the people from offering the daily sacrifice. Then they will do something really terrible. They will set up that terrible thing that causes destruction.
32 “The northern king will use lies and smooth talking to trick those who quit following the holy agreement, so they will sin even worse. But those who know God and obey him will be strong. They will fight back.
33 “Those wise teachers will help the other people understand what is happening. But even they will have to suffer persecution. Some of them will be killed with swords. Some of them will be burned or taken prisoner. Some of them will have their homes and things taken away. 34 When those wise people are punished, they will receive some help, but many people who join them will be hypocrites. 35 Some of the wise people will stumble and make mistakes. But the persecution must come so that they can be made stronger and purer until the time of the end. Then, at the right time, that time of the end will come.
The King Who Praises Himself
36 “The northern king will do whatever he wants. He will brag about himself. He will praise himself and think that he is even better than a god. He will say things that no one has ever heard. He will say those things against the God of gods. He will be successful until all the evil things have happened. Then what God has planned to happen will happen.
37 “That northern king will not care about the gods his ancestors worshiped. He will not care about the gods women worship. He will not care about any god. Instead, he will praise himself and make himself more important than any god. 38 The northern king will not worship any god, but he will worship power. Power and strength will be his god. His ancestors didn’t love power as he does. He will honor the god of power with gold and silver, expensive jewels, and gifts.
39 “That northern king will attack strong fortresses with the help of this foreign god. He will give much honor to the foreign rulers who join him. He will put many people under their rule. He will make the rulers pay him for the land they rule over.
40 “At the time of the end, the southern king will fight a battle against the northern king. The northern king will attack him with chariots and soldiers on horses and many large ships. The northern king will rush through the land like a flood. 41 The northern king will attack the Beautiful Land. He will defeat many countries. But Edom, Moab, and the leaders of Ammon will be saved from him. 42 The northern king will show his power in many countries. Egypt will also learn how powerful he is. 43 He will get treasures of gold and silver and all the riches of Egypt. The Libyans and Ethiopians will obey him. 44 But that northern king will hear news from the east and the north that will make him afraid and angry. He will go to completely destroy many nations. 45 He will set up his king’s tents between the sea and the beautiful holy mountain.[e] But finally, that bad king will die. There will be no one to help him when his end comes.
Footnotes
- Daniel 11:1 the first … Mede This was about 521 B.C.
- Daniel 11:1 Michael See Dan. 10:13.
- Daniel 11:21 who … king’s family Or “who will not have the good qualities a king should have.”
- Daniel 11:28 holy agreement This probably means the Jewish people.
- Daniel 11:45 holy mountain The mountain Jerusalem is built on.
Daniel 11
Living Bible
11 “I was the one sent to strengthen and help Darius the Mede in the first year of his reign. 2 But now I will show you what the future holds. Three more Persian kings will reign, to be succeeded by a fourth,[a] far richer than the others. Using his wealth for political advantage, he will plan total war against Greece.
3 “Then a mighty king will rise in Greece, a king who will rule a vast kingdom and accomplish everything he sets out to do.[b] 4 But at the zenith of his power, his kingdom will break apart and be divided into four weaker nations, not even ruled by his sons. For his empire will be torn apart and given to others. 5 One of them, the king of Egypt,[c] will increase in power, but this king’s own officials will rebel against him and take away his kingdom and make it still more powerful.
6 “Several years later an alliance will be formed between the king of Syria[d] and the king of Egypt. The daughter of the king of Egypt will be given in marriage to the king of Syria as a gesture of peace, but she will lose her influence over him, and not only will her hopes be blighted, but those of her father, the king of Egypt, and of her ambassador and child. 7 But when her brother[e] takes over as king of Egypt, he will raise an army against the king of Syria and march against him and defeat him. 8 When he returns again to Egypt, he will carry back their idols with him, along with priceless gold and silver dishes; and for many years afterward he will leave the Syrian king alone.
9 “Meanwhile, the king of Syria[f] will invade Egypt briefly but will soon return again to his own land. 10-11 However, the sons of this Syrian king will assemble a mighty army that will overflow across Israel into Egypt, to a fortress there. Then the king of Egypt,[g] in great anger, will rally against the vast forces of Syria and defeat them. 12 Filled with pride after this great victory, he will have many thousands of his enemies killed, but his success will be short-lived.
13 “A few years later the Syrian king[h] will return with a fully equipped army far greater than the one he lost, 14 and other nations will join him in a crusade against Egypt. Insurgents among your own people, the Jews, will join them, thus fulfilling prophecy,[i] but they will not succeed. 15 Then the Syrian king and his allies will come and lay siege to a fortified city of Egypt and capture it, and the proud armies of Egypt will go down to defeat.
16 “The Syrian king will march onward unopposed; none will be able to stop him. And he will also enter ‘The Glorious Land’ of Israel and pillage it. 17 This will be his plot for conquering all Egypt: he, too, will form an alliance with the Egyptian king, giving him a daughter in marriage, so that she can work for him from within. But the plan will fail.
18 “After this he will turn his attention to the coastal cities and conquer many. But a general will stop him and cause him to retreat in shame. 19 He will turn homeward again but will have trouble on the way and disappear.
20 “His successor[j] will be remembered as the king who sent a tax collector into Israel, but after a very brief reign, he will die mysteriously, though neither in battle nor in riot.
21 “Next to come to power will be an evil man not directly in line for royal succession.[k] But during a crisis he will take over the kingdom by flattery and intrigue. 22 Then all opposition will be swept away before him, including a leader of the priests.[l] 23 His promises will be worthless. From the first his method will be deceit; with a mere handful of followers, he will become strong. 24 He will enter the richest areas of the land without warning and do something never done before: he will take the property and wealth of the rich and scatter it out among the people. With great success he will besiege and capture powerful strongholds throughout his dominions, but this will last for only a short while. 25 Then he will stir up his courage and raise a great army against Egypt; and Egypt, too, will raise a mighty army, but to no avail, for plots against him will succeed.
26 “Those of his own household will bring his downfall; his army will desert, and many will be killed.
27 “Both these kings[m] will be plotting against each other at the conference table, attempting to deceive each other. But it will make no difference, for neither can succeed until God’s appointed time has come.
28 “The Syrian king will then return home with great riches, first marching through Israel and destroying it. 29 Then at the predestined time he will once again turn his armies southward, as he had threatened, but now it will be a very different story from those first two occasions. 30-31 For Roman warships[n] will scare him off, and he will withdraw and return home. Angered by having to retreat, the Syrian king will again pillage Jerusalem and pollute the sanctuary, putting a stop to the daily sacrifices, and worshiping idols inside the Temple. He will leave godless Jews in power when he leaves—men who have abandoned their fathers’ faith. 32 He will flatter those who hate the things of God[o] and win them over to his side. But the people who know their God shall be strong and do great things.
33 “Those with spiritual understanding will have a wide ministry of teaching in those days. But they will be in constant danger, many of them dying by fire and sword, or being jailed and robbed. 34 Eventually these pressures will subside, and some ungodly men will come, pretending to offer a helping hand, only to take advantage of them.
35 “And some who are most gifted in the things of God will stumble in those days and fall, but this will only refine and cleanse them and make them pure until the final end of all their trials, at God’s appointed time.
36 “The king will do exactly as he pleases, claiming to be greater than every god there is, even blaspheming the God of gods, and prospering—until his time is up. For God’s plans are unshakable. 37 He will have no regard for the gods of his fathers, nor for the god beloved of women,[p] nor any other god, for he will boast that he is greater than them all. 38 Instead of these, he will worship the Fortress god[q]—a god his fathers never knew—and lavish on him costly gifts! 39 Claiming this god’s help, he will have great success against the strongest fortresses. He will honor those who submit to him, appointing them to positions of authority and dividing the land to them as their reward.
40 “Then at the time of the end,[r] the king of the south will attack him again, and the northern king will react with the strength and fury of a whirlwind; his vast army and navy will rush out to bury him with their might. 41 He will invade various lands on the way, including Israel, the Pleasant Land, and overthrow the governments of many nations. Moab, Edom, and most of Ammon will escape, 42 but Egypt and many other lands will be occupied. 43 He will capture all the treasures of Egypt, and the Libyans and Ethiopians shall be his servants.
44 “But then news from the east and north will alarm him, and he will return in great anger to destroy as he goes. 45 He will halt between Jerusalem and the sea and there pitch his royal tents, but while he is there his time will suddenly run out, and there will be no one to help him.
Footnotes
- Daniel 11:2 by a fourth, perhaps Xerxes (486–465 B.C.) who launched an all-out effort against Greece.
- Daniel 11:3 and accomplish everything he sets out to do. Doubtless Alexander the Great.
- Daniel 11:5 the king of Egypt, literally, “the southern king”—Ptolemy II.
- Daniel 11:6 the king of Syria, literally, “the king of the north,” and so also throughout this passage. These prophecies seem to have been fulfilled many years later in the Seleucid wars between Egypt and Syria. as a gesture of peace. In 252 B.C. Ptolemy II of Egypt gave his daughter Berenice in marriage to Antiochus II of Syria to conclude a treaty of peace between their two lands.
- Daniel 11:7 when her brother, literally, “from a branch.” Berenice, murdered in Antioch by Antiochus II’s former wife, Laodice, was the sister of Ptolemy III, who now ascended the Egyptian throne and declared war against the Seleucids to avenge his sister’s murder.
- Daniel 11:9 the king of Syria, Seleucus II.
- Daniel 11:10 the king of Egypt, Ptolemy IV.
- Daniel 11:13 the Syrian king, possibly Antiochus III the Great, who was later defeated by the Romans at Magnesia; compare v. 18.
- Daniel 11:14 thus fulfilling prophecy, literally, “in order to fulfill the vision.”
- Daniel 11:20 His successor. Seleucus IV, successor to Antiochus III, sent Heliodorus to rob and desecrate the Temple in Jerusalem.
- Daniel 11:21 Next to come to power will be an evil man not directly in line for royal succession. This may refer to Antiochus IV Epiphanes who, when his brother Seleucus was assassinated, ingratiated himself with the Romans and took over.
- Daniel 11:22 including a leader of the priests, probably Jason, treacherously removed by the Hellenist Menelaus.
- Daniel 11:27 Both these kings, probably Antiochus IV and Ptolemy IV.
- Daniel 11:30 For Roman warships, or “From Cyprus.” pollute the sanctuary, by offering swine on the altar. This event was fulfilled in 168–167 B.C. worshiping idols inside the Temple, literally, “they shall set up the abomination that astonished.”
- Daniel 11:32 He will flatter those who hate the things of God. Menelaus, the High Priest, who conspired with Antiochus against the Jews who were loyal to God’s laws. But the people who know their God, perhaps the valiant Maccabees and their sympathizers. But a further fulfillment may lie in the future.
- Daniel 11:37 the god beloved of women, probably Tammuz-Adonis, whose worship was popular among women; compare Ezekiel 8:14.
- Daniel 11:38 the Fortress god, literally, “the god of Fortresses.”
- Daniel 11:40 at the time of the end. The prophecy takes a turn here. Antiochus IV fades from view, and the Antichrist of the last days becomes the center of attention from this point on.
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