Daniel’s Prayer for His People

9 It was the first year of the reign of Darius the Mede, the son of Ahasuerus, who became king of the Babylonians.^{[a] 2} During the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, learned from reading the word of the Lord, as revealed to Jeremiah the prophet, that Jerusalem must lie desolate for seventy years.^{[b] 3} So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and fasting. I also wore rough burlap and sprinkled myself with ashes.

⁴ I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed:

Gabriel’s Message about the Anointed One

²⁰ I went on praying and confessing my sin and the sin of my people, pleading with the Lord my God for Jerusalem, his holy mountain. ²¹ As I was praying, Gabriel, whom I had seen in the earlier vision, came swiftly to me at the time of the evening sacrifice. ²² He explained to me, “Daniel, I have come here to give you insight and understanding. ²³ The moment you began praying, a command was given. And now I am here to tell you what it was, for you are very precious to God. Listen carefully so that you can understand the meaning of your vision.

²⁴ “A period of seventy sets of seven^[c] has been decreed for your people and your holy city to finish their rebellion, to put an end to their sin, to atone for their guilt, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to confirm the prophetic vision, and to anoint the Most Holy Place.^{[d] 25} Now listen and understand! Seven sets of seven plus sixty-two sets of seven^[e] will pass from the time the command is given to rebuild Jerusalem until a ruler—the Anointed One^[f]—comes. Jerusalem will be rebuilt with streets and strong defenses,^[g] despite the perilous times.

²⁶ “After this period of sixty-two sets of seven,^[h] the Anointed One will be killed, appearing to have accomplished nothing, and a ruler will arise whose armies will destroy the city and the Temple. The end will come with a flood, and war and its miseries are decreed from that time to the very end. ²⁷ The ruler will make a treaty with the people for a period of one set of seven,^[i] but after half this time, he will put an end to the sacrifices and offerings. And as a climax to all his terrible deeds,^[j] he will set up a sacrilegious object that causes desecration,^[k] until the fate decreed for this defiler is finally poured out on him.”

Daniel’s Vision of a Messenger

10 In the third year of the reign of King Cyrus of Persia,^[l] Daniel (also known as Belteshazzar) had another vision. He understood that the vision concerned events certain to happen in the future—times of war and great hardship.

² When this vision came to me, I, Daniel, had been in mourning for three whole weeks. ³ All that time I had eaten no rich food. No meat or wine crossed my lips, and I used no fragrant lotions until those three weeks had passed.

⁴ On April 23,^[m] as I was standing on the bank of the great Tigris River, ⁵ I looked up and saw a man dressed in linen clothing, with a belt of pure gold around his waist. ⁶ His body looked like a precious gem. His face flashed like lightning, and his eyes flamed like torches. His arms and feet shone like polished bronze, and his voice roared like a vast multitude of people.

⁷ Only I, Daniel, saw this vision. The men with me saw nothing, but they were suddenly terrified and ran away to hide. ⁸ So I was left there all alone to see this amazing vision. My strength left me, my face grew deathly pale, and I felt very weak. ⁹ Then I heard the man speak, and when I heard the sound of his voice, I fainted and lay there with my face to the ground.

¹⁰ Just then a hand touched me and lifted me, still trembling, to my hands and knees. ¹¹ And the man said to me, “Daniel, you are very precious to God, so listen carefully to what I have to say to you. Stand up, for I have been sent to you.” When he said this to me, I stood up, still trembling.

¹² Then he said, “Don’t be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your request has been heard in heaven. I have come in answer to your prayer. ¹³ But for twenty-one days the spirit prince^[n] of the kingdom of Persia blocked my way. Then Michael, one of the archangels,^[o] came to help me, and I left him there with the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia.^{[p] 14} Now I am here to explain what will happen to your people in the future, for this vision concerns a time yet to come.”

¹⁵ While he was speaking to me, I looked down at the ground, unable to say a word. ¹⁶ Then the one who looked like a man^[q] touched my lips, and I opened my mouth and began to speak. I said to the one standing in front of me, “I am filled with anguish because of the vision I have seen, my lord, and I am very weak. ¹⁷ How can someone like me, your servant, talk to you, my lord? My strength is gone, and I can hardly breathe.”

¹⁸ Then the one who looked like a man touched me again, and I felt my strength returning. ¹⁹ “Don’t be afraid,” he said, “for you are very precious to God. Peace! Be encouraged! Be strong!”

As he spoke these words to me, I suddenly felt stronger and said to him, “Please speak to me, my lord, for you have strengthened me.”

²⁰ He replied, “Do you know why I have come? Soon I must return to fight against the spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia, and after that the spirit prince of the kingdom of Greece^[r] will come. ²¹ Meanwhile, I will tell you what is written in the Book of Truth. (No one helps me against these spirit princes except Michael, your spirit prince.^[s] 11 ¹ I have been standing beside Michael^[t] 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.^[u]

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^[v] 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,^[w] 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^[x] 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.^{[y] 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.^[z]

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,^[aa] 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^[ab] 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.

The Time of the End

12 “At that time Michael, the archangel^[ac] who stands guard over your nation, will arise. Then there will be a time of anguish greater than any since nations first came into existence. But at that time every one of your people whose name is written in the book will be rescued. ² Many of those whose bodies lie dead and buried will rise up, some to everlasting life and some to shame and everlasting disgrace. ³ Those who are wise will shine as bright as the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever. ⁴ But you, Daniel, keep this prophecy a secret; seal up the book until the time of the end, when many will rush here and there, and knowledge will increase.”

⁵ Then I, Daniel, looked and saw two others standing on opposite banks of the river. ⁶ One of them asked the man dressed in linen, who was now standing above the river, “How long will it be until these shocking events are over?”

⁷ The man dressed in linen, who was standing above the river, raised both his hands toward heaven and took a solemn oath by the One who lives forever, saying, “It will go on for a time, times, and half a time. When the shattering of the holy people has finally come to an end, all these things will have happened.”

⁸ I heard what he said, but I did not understand what he meant. So I asked, “How will all this finally end, my lord?”

⁹ But he said, “Go now, Daniel, for what I have said is kept secret and sealed until the time of the end. ¹⁰ Many will be purified, cleansed, and refined by these trials. But the wicked will continue in their wickedness, and none of them will understand. Only those who are wise will know what it means.

¹¹ “From the time the daily sacrifice is stopped and the sacrilegious object that causes desecration^[ad] is set up to be worshiped, there will be 1,290 days. ¹² And blessed are those who wait and remain until the end of the 1,335 days!

¹³ “As for you, go your way until the end. You will rest, and then at the end of the days, you will rise again to receive the inheritance set aside for you.”