Daniel 11
English Standard Version
The Kings of the South and the North
11 “And as for me, (A)in the first year of (B)Darius the Mede, I stood up to confirm and strengthen him.
2 “And now I will show you (C)the truth. Behold, three more kings shall arise in Persia, and a 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 (D)a mighty king shall arise, who shall rule with great dominion and (E)do as he wills. 4 And as soon as he has arisen, (F)his kingdom shall be broken and divided (G)toward the (H)four winds of heaven, but (I)not to his posterity, nor according to the authority with which he ruled, for his kingdom shall be plucked up and go to others besides these.
5 “Then the king of the south shall be strong, but one of his princes shall be stronger than he (J)and shall rule, and his authority shall be a great authority. 6 After some years (K)they shall make an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement. But she shall not retain the strength of her arm, and he and his arm shall not endure, but she shall be given up, and her attendants, he who fathered her, and he who supported[a] her in those times.
7 “And from a branch from her roots one shall arise in his place. He shall come against the army and enter the (L)fortress of the king of the north, and he shall deal with them and shall prevail. 8 He shall also carry off to Egypt their gods with their metal images and their precious (M)vessels of silver and gold, and for some years he shall refrain from attacking the king of the north. 9 Then the latter shall come into the realm of the king of the south but shall return to his own land.
10 “His sons shall wage war and assemble a multitude of great forces, which shall keep coming (N)and overflow and pass through, and again shall carry the war as far as his (O)fortress. 11 Then the king of the south, (P)moved with rage, shall come out and fight against the king of the north. (Q)And he shall raise a great multitude, but it shall be given into his hand. 12 And when the multitude is taken away, his heart shall be exalted, and he shall cast down tens of thousands, but he shall not prevail. 13 For the king of the north shall again (R)raise a multitude, greater than the first. And (S)after some years[b] he shall come on with a great army and abundant supplies.
14 “In those times many shall rise against the king of the south, and the violent among your own people shall lift themselves up in order to fulfill the vision, but (T)they shall fail. 15 Then the king of the north shall come and (U)throw up siegeworks and take a well-fortified city. And the forces of the south shall not stand, or even his best troops, for there shall be no strength to stand. 16 But he who comes against him shall (V)do as he wills, and (W)none shall stand before him. And he shall stand in (X)the glorious land, with destruction in his hand. 17 He shall (Y)set his face to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and he shall bring terms of an agreement and perform them. He shall give him the daughter of women to destroy the kingdom,[c] but it shall not stand or be to his advantage. 18 Afterward he shall turn his face to the coastlands and shall capture many of them, but a commander shall put an end to his insolence. Indeed,[d] he (Z)shall turn his insolence back upon him. 19 Then he shall turn his face back toward the (AA)fortresses of his own land, but he shall (AB)stumble and fall, (AC)and shall not be found.
20 “Then shall arise in his place one who shall send an (AD)exactor of tribute for the glory of the kingdom. But within a few days he shall be broken, neither in anger nor in battle. 21 In his place shall arise a contemptible person to whom royal majesty has not been given. (AE)He shall come in without warning and obtain the kingdom (AF)by flatteries. 22 Armies shall be (AG)utterly swept away before him and broken, even the prince of the covenant. 23 And from the time that an alliance is made with him he shall act deceitfully, and he shall become strong with a small people. 24 (AH)Without warning he shall come into (AI)the richest parts[e] of the province, and he shall do what neither his fathers nor his fathers' fathers have done, scattering among them plunder, spoil, and goods. He shall devise plans against strongholds, but only for a time. 25 And he shall stir up his power and his heart against (AJ)the king of the south with a great army. And the king of the south shall wage war with an exceedingly great and mighty army, but he shall not stand, for plots shall be devised against him. 26 Even those who eat his food shall break him. His army shall be (AK)swept away, and many shall fall down slain. 27 And as for the two kings, their hearts shall be bent on doing evil. They shall speak lies at the same table, but to no avail, for (AL)the end is yet to be at the time appointed. 28 And he shall return to his land with great wealth, but his heart shall be set against the holy covenant. And 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 it shall not be this time as it was before. 30 For ships of (AM)Kittim shall come against him, and he shall be afraid and withdraw, and shall turn back and (AN)be enraged and (AO)take action against the holy covenant. He shall turn back and pay attention to those who forsake the holy covenant. 31 Forces from him shall appear and (AP)profane the temple and fortress, and shall take away the regular burnt offering. And (AQ)they shall set up the abomination that makes desolate. 32 He shall seduce with flattery those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action. 33 (AR)And the wise among the people shall make many understand, though for some days they shall stumble by sword and flame, by captivity and plunder. 34 When they stumble, they shall receive a little help. And many shall join themselves to them with flattery, 35 and some of the wise shall stumble, so that they may be refined, (AS)purified, and (AT)made white, until (AU)the time of the end, (AV)for it still awaits the appointed time.
36 “And the king shall (AW)do as he wills. (AX)He shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god, (AY)and shall speak astonishing things against (AZ)the God of gods. (BA)He shall prosper (BB)till the indignation is accomplished; for what is decreed shall be done. 37 He shall pay no attention to the gods of his fathers, or to the one beloved by women. He shall not pay attention to any other god, for (BC)he shall magnify himself above all. 38 He shall honor the god of fortresses instead of these. A god whom his fathers did not know he shall honor (BD)with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts. 39 He shall deal with the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign god. Those who acknowledge him he shall load with honor. He shall make them rulers over many and (BE)shall divide the land for a price.[f]
40 (BF)“At the time of the end, the king of the south shall attack[g] him, but the king of the north shall rush upon him (BG)like a whirlwind, with chariots and horsemen, and with many ships. And he shall come into countries and (BH)shall overflow and pass through. 41 He shall come into (BI)the glorious land. And tens of thousands shall fall, but these shall be delivered out of his hand: (BJ)Edom and (BK)Moab and the main part of the (BL)Ammonites. 42 He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. 43 He shall become ruler of the treasures of gold and of silver, and all the precious things of Egypt, and the (BM)Libyans and the (BN)Cushites shall follow in his train. 44 But news from the east and the north shall alarm him, and he shall go out with great fury to destroy and devote many to destruction. 45 And he shall pitch his palatial tents between the sea and the glorious holy mountain. Yet he shall come to his end, with none to help him.
Footnotes
- Daniel 11:6 Or obtained
- Daniel 11:13 Hebrew at the end of the times
- Daniel 11:17 Hebrew her, or it
- Daniel 11:18 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
- Daniel 11:24 Or among the richest men
- Daniel 11:39 Or land as payment
- Daniel 11:40 Hebrew thrust at
Daniel 11
Christian Standard Bible Anglicised
11 1 In the first year of Darius the Mede,(A) I stood up to strengthen and protect him.) 2 Now I will tell you the truth.(B)
Prophecies about Persia and Greece
‘Three more kings will arise in Persia, and the fourth will be far richer than the others. By the power he gains through his riches, he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece.(C) 3 Then a warrior king will arise; he will rule a vast realm and do whatever he wants.(D) 4 But as soon as he is established, his kingdom will be broken up and divided to the four winds of heaven,(E) but not to his descendants; it will not be the same kingdom that he ruled, because his kingdom will be uprooted and will go to others besides them.(F)
Kings of the South and the North
5 ‘The king of the South(G) will grow powerful, but one of his commanders will grow more powerful and will rule a kingdom greater than his. 6 After some years they will form an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the South will go to the king of the North(H) to seal the agreement. She will not retain power, and his strength will not endure. She will be given up, together with her entourage, her father,[a] and the one who supported her during those times. 7 In the place of the king of the South, one from her family[b] will rise up, come against the army, and enter the fortress of the king of the North. He will take action against them and triumph. 8 He will take even their gods captive to Egypt, with their metal images and their precious articles of silver and gold.(I) For some years he will stay away from the king of the North, 9 who will enter the kingdom of the king of the South and then return to his own land.
10 ‘His sons will mobilise for war and assemble a large number of armed forces. They will advance, sweeping through like a flood,[c](J) and will again wage war as far as his fortress. 11 Infuriated, the king of the South will march out to fight with the king of the North, who will raise a large army, but they will be handed over to his enemy. 12 When the army is carried off, he will become arrogant and cause tens of thousands to fall, but he will not triumph. 13 The king of the North will again raise a multitude larger than the first. After some years[d](K) he will advance with a great army and many supplies.
14 ‘In those times many will rise up against the king of the South. Violent ones among your own people will assert themselves to fulfil a vision, but they will fail. 15 Then the king of the North will come, build up a siege ramp,(L) and capture a well-fortified city. The forces of the South will not stand; even their select troops will not be able to resist. 16 The king of the North who comes against him will do whatever he wants,(M) and no one can oppose him. He will establish himself in the beautiful land[e](N) with total destruction in his hand. 17 He will resolve(O) to come with the force of his whole kingdom and will reach an agreement with him.[f] He will give him a daughter in marriage[g] to destroy it,[h] but she will not stand with him or support him. 18 Then he will turn his attention to the coasts and islands[i](P) and capture many. But a commander will put an end to his taunting; instead, he will turn his taunts against him.(Q) 19 He will turn his attention back to the fortresses of his own land, but he will stumble, fall,(R) and be no more.(S)
20 ‘In his place one will arise who will send out a tax collector(T) for the glory of the kingdom; but within a few days he will be broken, though not in anger[j] or in battle.
21 ‘In his place a despised(U) person will arise; royal honours will not be given to him, but he will come during a time of peace[k](V) and seize the kingdom by intrigue. 22 A flood of forces will be swept away before him; they will be broken, as well as the covenant prince. 23 After an alliance is made with him, he will act deceitfully. He will rise to power with a small nation.[l] 24 During a time of peace,[m] he will come into the richest parts of the province(W) and do what his fathers and predecessors never did. He will lavish plunder, loot, and wealth on his followers, and he will make plans against fortified cities, but only for a time.
25 ‘With a large army he will stir up his power and his courage against the king of the South. The king of the South will prepare for battle with an extremely large and powerful army, but he will not succeed, because plots will be made against him. 26 Those who eat his provisions(X) will destroy him; his army will be swept away, and many will fall slain. 27 The two kings, whose hearts are bent on evil, will speak lies(Y) at the same table but to no avail, for still the end will come at the appointed time.(Z) 28 The king of the North will return to his land with great wealth, but his heart will be set against the holy covenant;[n] he will take action, then return to his own land.
29 ‘At the appointed time he will come again to the South, but this time[o] will not be like the first. 30 Ships of Kittim[p](AA) will come against him and, being intimidated, he will withdraw. Then he will rage against the holy covenant and take action. On his return, he will favour those who abandon the holy covenant. 31 His forces will rise up and desecrate the temple fortress. They will abolish the regular sacrifice(AB) and set up the abomination of desolation.(AC) 32 With flattery he will corrupt those who act wickedly towards the covenant, but the people who know their God will be strong and take action.(AD) 33 Those who have insight among the people(AE) will give understanding to many, yet they will fall by the sword and flame,(AF) and they will be captured and plundered for a time. 34 When they fall, they will be helped by some, but many others will join them insincerely.(AG) 35 Some of those who have insight will fall so that they may be refined,(AH) purified, and cleansed(AI) until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time.
36 ‘Then the king will do whatever he wants.(AJ) He will exalt and magnify himself above every god,(AK) and he will say outrageous things against the God of gods.(AL) He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed,(AM) because what has been decreed will be accomplished. 37 He will not show regard for the gods[q] of his ancestors, the god desired by women, or for any other god,(AN) because he will magnify himself above all. 38 Instead, he will honour a god of fortresses – a god his ancestors did not know – with gold, silver, precious stones, and riches. 39 He will deal with the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign god. He will greatly honour those who acknowledge him,[r] making them rulers over many and distributing land as a reward.
40 ‘At the time of the end, the king of the South will engage him in battle, but the king of the North will storm against him(AO) with chariots, horsemen, and many ships. He will invade countries and sweep through them like a flood.(AP) 41 He will also invade the beautiful land,(AQ) and many will fall. But these will escape from his power: Edom, Moab, and the prominent people[s] of the Ammonites.(AR) 42 He will extend his power against the countries, and not even the land of Egypt will escape. 43 He will get control over the hidden treasures of gold and silver and over all the riches of Egypt. The Libyans and Cushites will also be in submission.[t](AS) 44 But reports from the east(AT) and the north will terrify him, and he will go out with great fury to annihilate and completely destroy many. 45 He will pitch his royal tents between the sea and[u] the beautiful holy mountain,(AU) but he will meet his end with no one to help him.
Footnotes
- 11:6 Some Hb mss, Theod read the child; Syr, Vg read her children
- 11:7 Lit from the shoot of her roots
- 11:10 Lit advance and overflow and pass through
- 11:13 Lit At the end of the times
- 11:16 = Israel
- 11:17 = the king of the South
- 11:17 Lit him the daughter of women
- 11:17 Perhaps the kingdom
- 11:18 of the Mediterranean
- 11:20 Or not openly
- 11:21 Or come without warning
- 11:23 Or a few people
- 11:24 Or Without warning
- 11:28 Or the Jewish people and religion
- 11:29 Lit but the last
- 11:30 = the Romans
- 11:37 Or God
- 11:39 Or those he acknowledges
- 11:41 Lit the first
- 11:43 Lit Cushites at his steps
- 11:45 Or the seas at
Daniel 11
New King James Version
Warring Kings of North and South
11 “Also (A)in the first year of (B)Darius the Mede, I, even I, stood up to confirm and strengthen him.) 2 And now I will tell you the truth: Behold, three more kings will arise in Persia, and the fourth shall be far richer than them all; by his strength, through his riches, he shall stir up all against the realm of Greece. 3 Then (C)a mighty king shall arise, who shall rule with great dominion, and (D)do according to his will. 4 And when he has arisen, (E)his kingdom shall be broken up and divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not among his posterity (F)nor according to his dominion with which he ruled; for his kingdom shall be uprooted, even for others besides these.
Warring Kings of North and South
5 “Also the king of the South shall become strong, as well as one of his princes; and he shall gain power over him and have dominion. His dominion shall be a great dominion. 6 And at the end of some years they shall join forces, for the daughter of the king of the South shall go to the king of the North to make an agreement; but she shall not retain the power of her [a]authority, and neither he nor his [b]authority shall stand; but she shall be given up, with those who brought her, and with him who begot her, and with him who strengthened her in those times. 7 But from a branch of her roots one shall arise in his place, who shall come with an army, enter the fortress of the king of the North, and deal with them and prevail. 8 And he shall also carry their gods captive to Egypt, with their [c]princes and their precious articles of silver and gold; and he shall continue more years than the king of the North.
9 “Also the king of the North shall come to the kingdom of the king of the South, but shall return to his own land. 10 However his sons shall stir up strife, and assemble a multitude of great forces; and one shall certainly come (G)and overwhelm and pass through; then he shall return (H)to his fortress and stir up strife.
11 “And the king of the South shall be (I)moved with rage, and go out and fight with him, with the king of the North, who shall muster a great multitude; but the (J)multitude shall be given into the hand of his enemy. 12 When he has taken away the multitude, his heart will be [d]lifted up; and he will cast down tens of thousands, but he will not prevail. 13 For the king of the North will return and muster a multitude greater than the former, and shall certainly come at the end of some years with a great army and much equipment.
14 “Now in those times many shall rise up against the king of the South. Also, [e]violent men of your people shall exalt themselves [f]in fulfillment of the vision, but they shall (K)fall. 15 So the king of the North shall come and (L)build a siege mound, and take a fortified city; and the [g]forces of the South shall not withstand him. Even his choice troops shall have no strength to resist. 16 But he who comes against him (M)shall do according to his own will, and (N)no one shall stand against him. He shall stand in the Glorious Land with destruction in his [h]power.
17 “He shall also (O)set his face to enter with the strength of his whole kingdom, and [i]upright ones with him; thus shall he do. And he shall give him the daughter of women to destroy it; but she shall not stand with him, (P)or be for him. 18 After this he shall turn his face to the coastlands, and shall take many. But a ruler shall bring the reproach against them to an end; and with the reproach removed, he shall turn back on him. 19 Then he shall turn his face toward the fortress of his own land; but he shall (Q)stumble and fall, (R)and not be found.
20 “There shall arise in his place one who imposes taxes on the glorious kingdom; but within a few days he shall be destroyed, but not in anger or in battle. 21 And in his place (S)shall arise a vile person, to whom they will not give the honor of royalty; but he shall come in peaceably, and seize the kingdom by intrigue. 22 With the [j]force of a (T)flood they shall be swept away from before him and be broken, (U)and also the prince of the covenant. 23 And after the league is made with him (V)he shall act deceitfully, for he shall come up and become strong with a small number of people. 24 He shall enter peaceably, even into the richest places of the province; and he shall do what his fathers have not done, nor his forefathers: he shall disperse among them the plunder, [k]spoil, and riches; and he shall devise his plans against the strongholds, but only for a time.
25 “He shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the South with a great army. And the king of the South shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army; but he shall not stand, for they shall devise plans against him. 26 Yes, those who eat of the portion of his delicacies shall destroy him; his army shall [l]be swept away, and many shall fall down slain. 27 Both these kings’ hearts shall be bent on evil, and they shall speak lies at the same table; but it shall not prosper, for the end will still be at the (W)appointed time. 28 While returning to his land with great riches, his heart shall be moved against the holy covenant; so he shall do damage and return to his own land.
The Northern King’s Blasphemies
29 “At the appointed time he shall return and go toward the south; but it shall not be like the former or the latter. 30 (X)For ships from [m]Cyprus shall come against him; therefore he shall be grieved, and return in rage against the holy covenant, and do damage.
“So he shall return and show regard for those who forsake the holy covenant. 31 And [n]forces shall be mustered by him, (Y)and they shall defile the sanctuary fortress; then they shall take away the daily sacrifices, and place there the abomination of desolation. 32 Those who do wickedly against the covenant he shall [o]corrupt with flattery; but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits. 33 And those of the people who understand shall instruct many; yet for many days they shall fall by sword and flame, by captivity and plundering. 34 Now when they fall, they shall be aided with a little help; but many shall join with them by [p]intrigue. 35 And some of those of understanding shall fall, (Z)to refine them, purify them, and make them white, until the time of the end; because it is still for the appointed time.
36 “Then the king shall do according to his own will: he shall (AA)exalt and magnify himself above every god, shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the wrath has been accomplished; for what has been determined shall be done. 37 He shall regard neither the [q]God of his fathers nor the desire of women, (AB)nor regard any god; for he shall exalt himself above them all. 38 But in their place he shall honor a god of fortresses; and a god which his fathers did not know he shall honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and pleasant things. 39 Thus he shall act against the strongest fortresses with a foreign god, which he shall acknowledge, and advance its glory; and he shall cause them to rule over many, and divide the land for [r]gain.
The Northern King’s Conquests
40 “At the (AC)time of the end the king of the South shall attack him; and the king of the North shall come against him (AD)like a whirlwind, with chariots, (AE)horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter the countries, overwhelm them, and pass through. 41 He shall also enter the Glorious Land, and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall escape from his hand: (AF)Edom, Moab, and the [s]prominent people of Ammon. 42 He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of (AG)Egypt shall not escape. 43 He shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; also the Libyans and Ethiopians shall follow (AH)at his heels. 44 But news from the east and the north shall trouble him; therefore he shall go out with great fury to destroy and annihilate many. 45 And he shall plant the tents of his palace between the seas and (AI)the glorious holy mountain; (AJ)yet he shall come to his end, and no one will help him.
Footnotes
- Daniel 11:6 Lit. arm
- Daniel 11:6 Lit. arm
- Daniel 11:8 Or molded images
- Daniel 11:12 Proud
- Daniel 11:14 Or robbers, lit. sons of breakage
- Daniel 11:14 Lit. to establish
- Daniel 11:15 Lit. arms
- Daniel 11:16 Lit. hand
- Daniel 11:17 Or bring equitable terms
- Daniel 11:22 Lit. arms
- Daniel 11:24 booty
- Daniel 11:26 Or overflow
- Daniel 11:30 Heb. Kittim, western lands, especially Cyprus
- Daniel 11:31 Lit. arms
- Daniel 11:32 pollute
- Daniel 11:34 Or slipperiness, flattery
- Daniel 11:37 Or gods
- Daniel 11:39 profit
- Daniel 11:41 Lit. chief of the sons of Ammon
Daniel 11
EasyEnglish Bible
11 I myself helped Michael in the first year that Darius ruled as king. I fought with Michael against his enemies.’[a]
The angel gives his message to Daniel
2 Then the angel said to Daniel, ‘Now I will tell you the truth about what will happen. There will be three more kings who rule Persia. After them, there will be a fourth king. He will be richer than all the other kings who ruled before him. He will become very powerful because of his riches. Then he will tell other nations that they must attack the kingdom of Greece.
3 Then a great king will appear. He will rule with great power. He will do whatever he wants to do.[b] 4 While he rules powerfully like that, his kingdom will quickly break into four parts. Those parts will be in all directions. His descendants will not rule his kingdom. Instead, other people will rule as kings, but their kingdoms will not be as powerful.
5 Then the king who rules in the south will become strong. But one of his own army officers will become even stronger. That officer will rule a greater kingdom than the king of the south.[c]
6 After some years, the king of the south and the king of the north will agree to be friends.[d] The king of the south's daughter will go to marry the king of the north. That would make their agreement strong. But the plan will fail. She will lose her authority. Her husband will no longer rule as king. Someone will kill her, her husband, her child and the servants who helped her.
7 Later, someone from her family will become king of the south. He will attack the army of the king of the north. He will go into that king's strong city. He will win the battle against the king of the north. 8 He will take the images of their gods back to Egypt with him. He will also take away valuable things that they had made from gold and silver. Then for several years, he will not attack the king of the north again.
9 After that, the king of the north will take his army into the land that the king of the south rules. But they will cause him to return to his own country. 10 Then his sons will prepare to fight a war. They will bring together a large army. Their soldiers will march forward like a powerful river. They will fight a battle all the way into the strong place of their enemy.[e]
11 Then the king of the south will be very angry. He will march with his army to fight against the king of the north. The king from the north will also have a large army, but the king of the south will win the battle. 12 The king of the south will boast that he has destroyed this large army. He will be proud that he has killed thousands of people. But he will not continue to win battles. 13 The king of the north will again bring together a large army. It will be even bigger than the army that he had before. After a few years, he will march forward with his great army and all their many weapons.
14 At that time, many people will turn against the king of the south. Violent men from your own people in Israel will also be ready to attack him. This would make the vision become true. They will fight against him, but they will fail. 15 Then the king from the north will march south with his army. He will build up heaps of earth around the walls of a strong city.[f] He will take the city for himself. The soldiers of the kingdom in the south will not be able to stop him. Even their best soldiers will not be strong enough to win the fight. 16 The king who attacked from the north will do whatever he wants to do. Nobody will be able to stop him. He will march into the Beautiful Land. He will have the power to destroy it.[g]
17 The king from the north will decide to march south with all his kingdom's strong army. He will make an agreement with the king of the south. He will give one of his daughters to marry the king of the south. He will try to destroy that kingdom, but his plan will fail. His daughter will not be able to do anything to help him.
18 After this, he will decide to attack the countries near the sea. He will take many of their cities for himself. But an officer of a foreign army will stop him. He will cause the king of the north to stop boasting. He will no longer be proud but he will be ashamed. 19 So the king of the north will return to the strong cities in his own country. But he will lose his power and he will fall. Nobody will ever see him again.
20 Then another king will rule in the north. He will try to make his kingdom even greater. He will send out a cruel man to take taxes from people. But that king will soon die. This will not happen in a battle or because people are angry with him.
The evil king of the north
21 The king who rules after him will be an evil man. He will not belong to the royal family, so he should not be the king. He will deceive people to make himself the king. It will happen at a time when people think that they are safe. 22 He will quickly destroy any army that tries to attack him. He will even kill the leader of God's covenant.[h] 23 He will agree to be friends with other leaders. But then he will deceive them. He will become more and more powerful, but he will rule only a few people.
24 His army will suddenly attack a region that is very rich. The king will do things that none of his ancestors did. He will take valuable things from his enemies when he fights against them. He will share those things with the men who help him. He will make plans to attack strong cities. But he will only be able to do this for a short time.
25 The evil king of the north will bring together a large, strong army. He will feel brave enough to attack the king of the south. The king of the south will fight against him with an even larger and more powerful army. But the king of the south will not be able to win the battle. His own men will turn against him. 26 Even those who eat the king's food will try to kill him. Many of his soldiers will die in the battle. His army will run away.
27 These two kings will sit at the same table to make plans. But they will deceive each other with evil lies. Their plans will be useless. God has already decided when their time as kings will finish.
28 Then the king of the north will return to his own country. He will take many valuable things with him. As he returns, he will cause trouble for the people who obey God's covenant. He will do whatever he wants to do against them. Then he will continue his journey back to his own country.[i]
29 At the time that God chooses, the king will attack the south again. This time the result will be different from the first time. 30 People will come in ships from the west to attack him. He will be afraid and he will turn back. He will be angry as he travels home. So he will cause more trouble for the people who obey God's covenant. He will give honour to those people who turn away from the holy covenant. 31 He will send his soldiers to attack Jerusalem's strong place. They will go into the holy place of the temple and they will make it unclean. They will stop people from offering the sacrifices each day. They will put a disgusting thing that causes trouble in the holy place. 32 The king will deceive the people who are no longer faithful to God. He will make them help him. But the people who are still faithful to God will work hard to stop him.
33 Wise Israelite leaders will teach many other people. But these teachers will suffer for some time. People will kill them in battle, or with fire. People will rob them. People will put some of them in prison. 34 When God's people are in a time of trouble, they will receive a little help. Many people will join them who are not their true friends. 35 Some of the wise leaders will suffer. As a result, God will make them clean and pure. This will continue until the time for the end. God has decided when that time will come.
36 The king will do whatever he wants to do. He will say that he is greater than any god. He will even say proud things to insult the God who rules all other gods. He will be successful until the time when God's anger finishes. God will finish doing what he has decided to do. 37 This king will not respect the gods that his ancestors worshipped. He will not even respect the god that women love. He will not respect any god. He will think that he is greater than all the gods. 38 Instead, he will give honour to the god that makes cities strong and safe. His ancestors did not know that god. But he will give gold, silver, jewels and other valuable gifts as offerings to that god. 39 He will ask a foreign god to help him as he attacks the strongest cities of his enemies. He will give great honour to those people who accept him as their leader. He will give them authority to rule many people. He will give them land because they have helped him.
40 At the time of the end, the king of the south will attack him. The king of the north will fight against him very strongly. He will march out quickly with chariots and soldiers who ride on horses. He will also have many ships. His army will attack many countries. He will go through those countries like a strong flood of water. 41 He will march into the Beautiful Land. He will kill many thousands of the people there. But these people will escape from his power: the people of Edom and Moab, and the leaders of Ammon. 42 He will have power over many countries. The country of Egypt will not escape. 43 He will take away from Egypt the gold, silver and other valuable things. The people of Libya and Ethiopia will be under his power.
44 But he will become afraid when he hears news from the east and the north. It will cause him to be very angry. He will go with his army to destroy many people. 45 He will put up his royal tents between the seas, at the holy mountain.[j] But he will die there and nobody will help him.’
Footnotes
- 11:1 Verse 1 continues from Daniel 10:20-21. Darius became king when the Medes and Persians won against the Babylonians. Darius was a descendant of the Medes. See Daniel 9:1.
- 11:3 This great king was Alexander the Great.
- 11:5 The king of the south was the king of Egypt.
- 11:6 The king of the north was the king of Syria.
- 11:10 Israel was in the middle, between Egypt and Syria. Perhaps Syria's army was moving south into Israel. But Egypt's army then marches north to attack them.
- 11:15 Soldiers built heaps of earth like this so that they could climb over the walls and attack the city.
- 11:16 The Beautiful Land was Israel, the land that God had given to his people as their home.
- 11:22 ‘The leader of God's covenant’ may mean the leader of the priests at the temple in Jerusalem.
- 11:28 The King of Syria travelled though Israel on his way home from Egypt. He wanted to stop God's people from worshipping the Lord.
- 11:45 The holy mountain was the place where they built the temple in Jerusalem. Jerusalem was ‘between the seas’, the Mediterranean Sea and the Dead Sea.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
Copyright © 2024 by Holman Bible Publishers.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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