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

“Now I will show you the truth. Behold, three more kings will stand up in Persia; and 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. A mighty king will stand up, who will rule with great dominion, and do according to his will. 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.

“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. 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.

“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. 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. He will come into the realm of the king of the south, but he will return into his own land. 10 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 “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 multitude will be lifted up, and his heart will be exalted. He will cast down tens of thousands, but he won’t prevail. 13 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 much substance.

14 “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 So the king of the north will come and cast up a mound, and take a well-fortified city. The forces of the south won’t stand, neither will his chosen people, neither will there be any strength to stand. 16 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 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 corrupt her; but she will not stand, and won’t be for him. 18 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 he will turn his face toward the fortresses of his own land; but he will stumble and fall, and won’t be found.

20 “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 “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 The overwhelming forces will be overwhelmed from before him, and will be broken. Yes, also the prince of the covenant. 23 After the treaty made with him he will work deceitfully; for he will come up, and will become strong, with a small people. 24 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 substance. Yes, he will devise his plans against the strongholds, even for a time.

25 “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 won’t stand; for they will devise plans against him. 26 Yes, those who eat of his dainties will destroy him, and his army will be swept away. Many will fall down slain. 27 As for both these kings, their hearts will be to do mischief, and they will speak lies at one table; but it won’t prosper, for the end will still be at the appointed time. 28 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 “He will return at the appointed time, and come into the south; but it won’t be in the latter time as it was in the former. 30 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 “Forces will stand on his part, and they 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 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 “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 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 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 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 He won’t regard the gods of his fathers, or the desire of women, or regard any god; for he will magnify himself above all. 38 But in his place he will honor the god of fortresses. He will honor a god whom his fathers didn’t know with gold, silver, and with precious stones and pleasant things. 39 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 “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 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 He will also stretch out his hand on the countries. The land of Egypt won’t escape. 43 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 be at his steps. 44 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 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.

A Survey of the Kings of the North and South

11 “And I, in the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood[a] as a support and as a protection for him.

And now I will reveal the truth to you. Look! Still three kings will arise in Persia, and the fourth will get abundance and great wealth, even more than all of them, and when he becomes strong[b] through his wealth, then he will stir up everyone[c] against the kingdom of Javan.[d] And a mighty king will arise, and he will rule with great dominion, and he will do as he pleases.[e] But as he rises in power,[f] his kingdom will be divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not to his posterity, and not according to his dominion by which he ruled, for his kingdom will be uprooted and be given to others besides them.[g]

“Then the king of the south will grow strong and also one of his officials,[h] and he will grow stronger than him[i] and he will rule a dominion greater than his dominion.[j] And at the end of some years they will make an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the south will come to the king of the north to make a peace treaty, but she will not retain her position of power,[k] and his offspring[l] will not endure, and she will be given up, she and her attendants and her child supporting her, in those times.[m] And a branch from her roots[n] will rise up in his place, and he will come against the army and he will enter the stronghold of the king of the north and he will take action against them and he will prevail. And also their gods with their idols and with the precious vessels,[o] silver and gold he will take to Egypt into captivity, and for years he will leave the king of the north alone.[p] And then he[q] will come into the kingdom of the king of the south, but he will return to his land.

10 “But his sons will wage war and they will gather a multitude of great forces and he will advance with great force,[r] and he will overflow like a flood and he will pass through and he will return, and they will wage war up to his fortress. 11 And the king of the south will become furious, and he will go and he will battle against him, against the king of the north; and he will muster a great multitude, and the multitude will be given into his hand. 12 When the multitude is carried off, his heart will be exalted and he will overthrow tens of thousands,[s] but he will not prevail. 13 And the king of the north will again raise a multitude, greater than the former, and at the end of some years[t] he will surely come with a great army and with great supplies.[u]

14 “And in these times many will rise up against the king of the south, and the violent ones of your people[v] will lift themselves to fulfill[w] the vision, but they will fall. 15 And the king of the north will come, and he will throw up siege ramps[x] and capture a city of fortifications and the military forces of the south and his choice troops[y] will not stand, for[z] there is no strength left to resist. 16 And the one coming to him will act according to[aa] his pleasure, and there is no one who will stand[ab] before him,[ac] and he will stand in the beautiful land[ad] and complete destruction will be in his power. 17 And he will set his face to come with the authority of his whole kingdom and will form an agreement;[ae] and he will act,[af] and the daughter of women he will give to him to destroy it,[ag] but the ploy will not succeed and she will not support him.[ah] 18 And he will turn his face to the coastlands, and he will capture many, but[ai] a commander will end his insults to him so that instead his insults will turn back upon him.[aj] 19 And he will turn back his face toward[ak] the strongholds of his land, but he will stumble and he will fall and will not be found.

20 “Then in his place will arise one sending an official throughout the glory[al] of his kingdom, and in a few days[am] he will be broken, but not in anger and not in battle. 21 And in his place a despicable person will arise on whom[an] they have not conferred the majesty of the kingdom, and he will come in without warning[ao] and he will seize the kingdom by deceit. 22 And before him[ap] mighty military forces[aq] will be utterly swept away, and they will be broken, and also the leader of the covenant. 23 And after an alliance is made with him, he will act deceitfully, and he will rise and he will become powerful with few people backing him. 24 In a time of ease and in the rich parts of the province, he will come and he will do what his predecessors[ar] did not do; he will distribute plunder and spoil and possessions to them, and he will devise his plans against fortifications, but only for a time.[as] 25 And he will stir up his power and his heart against the king of the south and with a much greater and stronger army;[at] but he will not succeed, for they will devise plans against him. 26 And those who eat of his royal rations will break him and his army will be overwhelmed, and many will fall, slain. 27 And two of the kings[au] will bend their hearts[av] to evil. And at the same table[aw] they will speak lies, but what is discussed will not succeed, for still an end is coming at the appointed time. 28 Then he will return to his land with many possessions, but his heart will be set against the holy covenant,[ax] and he will take action and he will return to his land.

29 “At the appointed time he will return and he will come into the south, but it will not be as it was before.[ay] 30 And the ships of Kittim will come against him, and he will lose heart, and he will turn back, and he will be enraged against the holy covenant,[az] and he will take action, and he will turn back, and he will pay attention to those who forsake the holy covenant.[ba] 31 And military forces from him will occupy[bb] and will profane[bc] the sanctuary stronghold,[bd] and they will abolish the regular burnt offering, and they will set up the abomination that causes desolation.

32 “And those who violate the covenant he will seduce with flattery, but the persons who know their God[be] will stand firm and will take action. 33 And those who have insight will instruct[bf] the many, but they will fall by sword and by flame, by captivity and by plunder for some time.[bg] 34 And when they fall[bh] they will receive little help, and many will join with them in hypocrisy. 35 And even some of those who have insight[bi] will fall[bj] in order for them to be refined by it, and to be purified and cleansed until the time of the end, for the appointed time is still to come.

36 “Then the king will do as he pleases,[bk] and he will exalt himself and will consider himself above any god, and he will speak horrendous things against[bl] the God of gods, yet he will succeed until the period of anger is finished, for what is determined will be done. 37 He will not pay respect to the gods of his ancestors,[bm] or to the darling of women, and not to any god will he pay respect, for he will consider himself great over all gods. 38 But instead[bn] he will honor the god of fortresses, a god whom his ancestors[bo] did not know. He will honor him with gold, and with silver, and with precious stones[bp] and with costly gifts. 39 And he will deal with the fortified strongholds[bq] with the help of a foreign god;[br] and he will increase wealth for whoever will acknowledge him, and he will cause them to rule[bs] over the many, and he will distribute land for a price.

40 “And at the time of the end the king of the south will attack him, and the king of the north will storm against him with chariots[bt] and with horsemen and with many ships, and he will advance against the countries and he will sweep through like a flood.[bu] 41 And he will come into the beautiful land[bv] and many will fall victim, but these will escape from his power: Edom and Moab and the best part[bw] of the Ammonites.[bx] 42 And he will stretch out his hand against countries and the land of Egypt will not escape.[by] 43 And he will rule over the treasures of gold and the silver and over all the precious things of Egypt; and the Libyans and the Cushites will follow in his footsteps. 44 But reports will terrify him from the east and from the north, and he will go out with great fury to destroy and to exterminate many. 45 And then he will pitch the tents of his palace between the sea and the beautiful holy mountain,[bz] and he will come to his end, and there is no one[ca] helping him.”

Footnotes

  1. Daniel 11:1 Literally “my standing”
  2. Daniel 11:2 Literally “at his strength”
  3. Daniel 11:2 Literally “the all”
  4. Daniel 11:2 That is, Greece
  5. Daniel 11:3 Literally “as his pleasure”
  6. Daniel 11:4 Literally “as his rising/to rise”
  7. Daniel 11:4 Literally “to others from to alone these”
  8. Daniel 11:5 Literally “from among his officials”
  9. Daniel 11:5 Literally “over him”
  10. Daniel 11:5 Literally “a dominion great dominion his”
  11. Daniel 11:6 Literally “she will not retain the power of her arm”
  12. Daniel 11:6 Or “power”
  13. Daniel 11:6 Hebrew “in the times”
  14. Daniel 11:7 That is, a member of her family
  15. Daniel 11:8 Literally “vessels of their desire”
  16. Daniel 11:8 Literally “he will stand back from the king of the north”
  17. Daniel 11:9 That is, the king of the north
  18. Daniel 11:10 Literally “he will come, to come”
  19. Daniel 11:12 Literally “myriads”
  20. Daniel 11:13 Literally “to the end of the times years”
  21. Daniel 11:13 Or “resources”
  22. Daniel 11:14 Literally “the sons of the lawless ones of your people”
  23. Daniel 11:14 Literally “to cause to stand”
  24. Daniel 11:15 Hebrew “ramp”
  25. Daniel 11:15 Literally “the army of his chosen troops”
  26. Daniel 11:15 Hebrew “and”
  27. Daniel 11:16 Literally “as”
  28. Daniel 11:16 Literally “standing”
  29. Daniel 11:16 Literally “to the face of him”
  30. Daniel 11:16 Literally “in the land of the beauty”
  31. Daniel 11:17 Or “treaty,” or “peace proposal”; the Hebrew is difficult
  32. Daniel 11:17 Literally “do, perform”
  33. Daniel 11:17 Or “her”
  34. Daniel 11:17 Literally “and not for him will she be”
  35. Daniel 11:18 Hebrew “and”
  36. Daniel 11:18 Literally “so that not his insults he will return against him”
  37. Daniel 11:19 Hebrew “to”
  38. Daniel 11:20 Or “splendor”
  39. Daniel 11:20 Literally “in some days”
  40. Daniel 11:21 Hebrew “him”
  41. Daniel 11:21 Literally “in ease”
  42. Daniel 11:22 Literally “to the face of him”
  43. Daniel 11:22 Literally “military forces of the flood”
  44. Daniel 11:24 Literally “his fathers and the father of his fathers”
  45. Daniel 11:24 Literally “until time”
  46. Daniel 11:25 Literally “with an army great and numerous exceedingly”
  47. Daniel 11:27 Literally “And two of them, the kings”
  48. Daniel 11:27 Literally “their heart”
  49. Daniel 11:27 Literally “one table”
  50. Daniel 11:28 Literally “covenant of holiness”
  51. Daniel 11:29 Literally “as the former and as the last”
  52. Daniel 11:30 Literally “against the covenant of holiness”
  53. Daniel 11:30 Literally “the covenant of holiness”
  54. Daniel 11:31 Literally “will stand forth”
  55. Daniel 11:31 Or “desecrate”
  56. Daniel 11:31 Literally “the sanctuary, the stronghold”
  57. Daniel 11:32 Hebrew “the ones who know his God”
  58. Daniel 11:33 Literally “make understand”
  59. Daniel 11:33 Literally “during days”
  60. Daniel 11:34 Literally “in/at their falling”
  61. Daniel 11:35 Literally “the ones who produce insight”
  62. Daniel 11:35 Or “stumble”
  63. Daniel 11:36 Literally “as his pleasure”
  64. Daniel 11:36 Literally “over”
  65. Daniel 11:37 Or “fathers”
  66. Daniel 11:38 Literally “in his place”
  67. Daniel 11:38 Or “fathers”
  68. Daniel 11:38 Hebrew “precious stone”
  69. Daniel 11:39 Literally “the fortifications of strongholds”
  70. Daniel 11:39 Literally “the god of a foreign land”
  71. Daniel 11:39 Or “appoint”
  72. Daniel 11:40 Hebrew “chariot”
  73. Daniel 11:40 Literally “and he will overflow them and he will pass through”
  74. Daniel 11:41 Literally “into the land of the beauty”
  75. Daniel 11:41 A difficult word to translate in this context: possibly it means “the foremost” (NASB), or it may mean “the remnant” (NEB)
  76. Daniel 11:41 Literally “sons/children of Ammon”
  77. Daniel 11:42 Literally “not it will be to escape”
  78. Daniel 11:45 Literally “the mountain of the beauty holiness”
  79. Daniel 11:45 Or “not one”