11 ¹ “As for me, in the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood up to support and strengthen him.^(A)

² “Now I will announce the truth to you. Three more kings shall arise in Persia. The fourth shall be far richer than all of them, and when he has become strong through his riches, he shall stir up all against the kingdom of Greece. ³ Then a warrior king shall arise who shall rule with great dominion and take action as he pleases.^{(B) 4} And while still rising in power, his kingdom shall be broken and divided toward the four winds of heaven but not to his posterity nor according to the dominion with which he ruled, for his kingdom shall be uprooted and go to others besides these.^(C)

⁵ “Then the king of the south shall grow strong, but one of his officers shall grow stronger than he and shall rule a realm greater than his own realm. ⁶ After some years they shall make an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the south shall come to the king of the north to ratify the agreement. But she shall not retain her power, and his offspring shall not endure. She shall be given up, she and her attendants and her child and the one who supported her.

“In those times^{(D) 7} a branch from her roots shall rise up in his place. He shall come against the army and enter the fortress of the king of the north, and he shall take action against them and prevail.^{(E) 8} Even their gods, with their idols and with their precious vessels of silver and gold, he shall carry off to Egypt as spoils of war. For some years he shall refrain from attacking the king of the north;^{(F) 9} then the latter shall invade the realm of the king of the south but will return to his own land.

¹⁰ “His sons shall wage war and assemble a multitude of great forces that shall advance like a flood and pass through and again shall carry the war as far as his fortress.^{(G) 11} Moved with rage, the king of the south shall go out and do battle against the king of the north, who shall muster a great multitude, but the multitude shall be given over to his hand.^{(H) 12} When the multitude has been carried off, his heart shall be exalted, and he shall overthrow tens of thousands, but he shall not prevail. ¹³ For the king of the north shall again raise a multitude larger than the former, and after some years^[a] he shall advance with a great army and abundant supplies.^(I)

¹⁴ “In those times many shall rise against the king of the south. The lawless among your own people shall lift themselves up in order to fulfill the vision, but they shall fail. ¹⁵ Then the king of the north shall come and throw up siegeworks and take a well-fortified city. And the forces of the south shall not stand, not even his picked troops, for there shall be no strength to resist.^{(J) 16} But he who comes against him shall take the actions he pleases, and no one shall withstand him. He shall take a position in the beautiful land, and all of it shall be in his power.^{(K) 17} He shall set his face to come with the strength of his whole kingdom. He shall make peace with him and shall give him a woman in marriage, in order to destroy the kingdom,^[b] but it shall not succeed or be to his advantage.^{(L) 18} Afterward he shall turn to the coastlands and shall capture many, but a commander shall put an end to his insolence; indeed,^[c] he shall turn his insolence back upon him.^{(M) 19} Then he shall turn back toward the fortresses of his own land, but he shall stumble and fall and shall not be found.^(N)

²⁰ “Then shall arise in his place one who shall send an official for the glory of the kingdom, but within a few days he shall be broken, though not in anger or in battle.^{[d](O) 21} In his place shall arise a contemptible person on whom royal majesty had not been conferred; he shall come in suddenly and seize the kingdom through intrigue.^{(P) 22} Armies shall be utterly swept away and broken before him, and the prince of the covenant as well.^{(Q) 23} And after an alliance is made with him, he shall act deceitfully and become strong with a small party.^{(R) 24} Suddenly he shall come into the richest parts^[e] of the province and do what none of his predecessors had ever done, lavishing plunder, spoil, and wealth on them. He shall devise plans against strongholds but only for a time.^{(S) 25} He shall stir up his power and determination against the king of the south with a great army, and the king of the south shall wage war with a much greater and stronger army. But he shall not succeed, for plots shall be devised against him. ²⁶ Those who eat of the royal rations shall break him, his army shall be swept away, and many shall fall slain.^{(T) 27} The two kings, their minds bent on evil, shall sit at one table and exchange lies. But it shall not succeed, for there remains an end at the time appointed.^{(U) 28} He shall return to his land with great wealth, but his heart shall be set against the holy covenant. He shall work his will and return to his own land.

²⁹ “At the time appointed he shall return and come into the south, but this time it shall not be as it was before. ³⁰ For ships of Kittim shall come against him, and he shall lose heart and withdraw. He shall be enraged and take action against the holy covenant. He shall turn back and come to an understanding with those who forsake the holy covenant.^{(V) 31} Forces sent by him shall occupy and profane the temple and fortress. They shall abolish the regular burnt offering and set up the desolating sacrilege.^{(W) 32} He will flatter with smooth words those who violate the covenant, but the people who are loyal to their God shall stand firm and take action.^{(X) 33} The wise among the people shall give understanding to many; for some days, however, they shall fall by sword and flame and suffer captivity and plunder.^{(Y) 34} When they fall, they shall receive a little help, and many shall join them insincerely.^{(Z) 35} Some of the wise shall fall, so that they may be refined, purified, and cleansed,^[f] until the time of the end, for there is still an interval until the time appointed.^(AA)

Being Subject to Authorities

13 Let every person be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except from God, and those authorities that exist have been instituted by God.^{(A) 2} Therefore whoever resists authority resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. ³ For rulers are not a terror to good conduct but to bad. Do you wish to have no fear of the authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive its approval,^{(B) 4} for it is God’s agent for your good. But if you do what is wrong, you should be afraid, for the authority^[a] does not bear the sword in vain! It is the agent of God to execute wrath on the wrongdoer. ⁵ Therefore one must be subject, not only because of wrath but also because of conscience.^{(C) 6} For the same reason you also pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s agents, busy with this very thing. ⁷ Pay to all what is due them: taxes to whom taxes are due, revenue to whom revenue is due, respect to whom respect is due, honor to whom honor is due.

Love for One Another

⁸ Owe no one anything, except to love one another, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.^{(D) 9} The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; you shall not murder; you shall not steal; you shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”^{(E) 10} Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.^(F)

An Urgent Appeal

¹¹ Besides this, you know what time it is, how it is already the moment for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we became believers;^{(G) 12} the night is far gone; the day is near. Let us then throw off^[b] the works of darkness and put on the armor of light;^{(H) 13} let us walk decently as in the day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in illicit sex and licentiousness, not in quarreling and jealousy.^{(I) 14} Instead, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.^(J)

A Lamp under a Jar

¹⁶ “No one after lighting a lamp hides it under a jar or puts it under a bed; rather, one puts it on a lampstand, so that those who enter may see the light.^{(A) 17} For nothing is hidden that will not be disclosed, nor is anything secret that will not become known and come to light.^{(B) 18} So pay attention to how you listen, for to those who have, more will be given, and from those who do not have, even what they seem to have will be taken away.”^(C)

The True Kindred of Jesus

¹⁹ Then his mother and his brothers came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd. ²⁰ And he was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.” ²¹ But he said to them, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.”^(D)

Jesus Calms a Storm

²² One day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of the lake.” So they put out,^{(E) 23} and while they were sailing he fell asleep. A windstorm swept down on the lake, and the boat was filling with water, and they were in danger. ²⁴ They went to him and woke him up, shouting, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And waking up, he rebuked the wind and the raging waves; they ceased, and there was a calm.^{(F) 25} Then he said to them, “Where is your faith?” They were terrified and amazed and said to one another, “Who then is this, that he commands even the winds and the water and they obey him?”