⁵ “The king of the South [^CPtolemy I; the South is the Ptolemaic kingdom with its chief city in Alexandria, Egypt] will become strong, but one of his commanders will become even stronger [^CSeleucus, the founding king of the Seleucid kingdom with its chief city in Antioch, Syria]. He will begin to rule his own kingdom with great power. ⁶ Then ·after a few [^Lat the end of] years, ·a new friendship will develop [they will enter an alliance]. The daughter of the king of the South will ·marry [^Lcome to] the king of the North ·in order to bring peace [^Lto establish an agreement; ^Ca marriage alliance between Berenice, daughter of the Ptolemaic king, and Antiochus II Theos of the Seleucid kingdom]. But she will not ·keep [retain] her power, and his ·family [^Lseed; or power] will not last. She, her husband, her child, and those who ·brought her to that country [supported her] will be ·killed [^Lgiven up; ^Cthey were poisoned in a political intrigue].

⁷ “But a ·person from her family [^Lbranch of her roots] will ·become king of the South [^Larise in his place] and will ·attack [^Lcome against] the armies of the king of the North [^CPtolemy III waged war against Seleucus II]. He will go into that king’s ·strong, walled city [fortress] and will ·fight [act] and win. ⁸ He will take their gods, their metal idols, and their ·valuable [^Lfavored; coveted; desired] things made of silver and gold back to Egypt as plunder. Then he will not bother the king of the North for a few years. ⁹ Next, ·the king of the North [^Lhe] will ·attack [^Lcome against] the king of the South, but he will ·be beaten back [return] to his own ·country [land; ^Cthe battles between the Seleucids and the Ptolemies would continue].

¹⁰ “His [^Cthe king of the North] sons [^CSeleucus III and Antiochus III the Great] will prepare for war. They will get a large ·army [multitude; horde] together that will move through the land, like a flood [^Cpowerfully and quickly]. Later, that army will come back and fight all the way to the ·strong, walled city [fortress; ^Cof the king of the South, Ptolemy IV; the fortress may refer to Gaza]. ¹¹ Then the king of the South will become very angry and will march out to fight against the king of the North [^Cthe battle of Raphia between Ptolemy IV and Antiochus III in 217 bc]. The king of the North will ·have [raise] a large ·army [multitude; horde], but he will ·lose the battle [^Lbe delivered into his hand], ¹² and the ·soldiers [multitude; horde] will be carried away. ·The king of the South will then be very proud [^LHis heart will be lifted up] and will ·kill [^Lfell] ·thousands of soldiers [^Lmyriads; tens of thousands] from the northern army, but he will not ·continue to be successful [prevail; be victorious]. ¹³ The king of the North will gather another ·army [multitude; horde], larger than the first one. After ·several [a period of] years he will attack with a large ·army [force] and many ·weapons [or supplies].

¹⁴ “In those times many people will ·be [^Lrise up] against the king of the South. ·Some of your own people who love to fight [Wild/Violent men; ^LSons who make breaches among your people; ^CJewish men] will ·turn [^Llift themselves up] against the king of the South, ·thinking it is time for God’s promises to come true [^Lto fulfill the vision]. But they will ·fail [stumble; falter]. ¹⁵ Then the king of the North will come. He will ·build [throw up] ·ramps to the tops of the city walls [siege engines] and will capture a ·strong, walled [fortified] city. The southern ·army [forces] will not ·have the power to fight back [endure; last]; even their best soldiers will not be strong enough to ·stop the northern army [endure; last]. ¹⁶ So the ·king of the North [^Lone who invades him] will do whatever he ·wants [pleases]; no one will be able to ·stand [endure; last] against him. He will gain power and control in the beautiful land [^Cof Judah; 8:9] and ·will have the power to destroy it [^Lall of it will be in his hand/power]. ¹⁷ The king of the North will ·decide [^Lset his face] to ·use [bring] all his power to fight against the king of the South, but he will make a peace agreement with the king of the South. The king of the North will give one of his daughters as a wife to the king of the South so that he can ·defeat [destroy] him [^CCleopatra was given to Ptolemy V in marriage to serve as a spy]. But those plans will not ·succeed [stand; endure; last] or help him [^CCleopatra changed loyalties]. ¹⁸ Then the king of the North will turn his attention to the coastlines [^Ccities along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea; Antiochus was able to take some cities in Asia Minor] and will capture ·them [^Lmany]. But a commander [^Cthe Roman consul Lucius Cornelius Scipio commanded him to cease warfare] will put an end to ·the pride of the king of the North [^Lhis scorn], turning his ·pride [scorn] back on him. ¹⁹ After that happens the king of the North will go back to the ·strong, walled [fortified] cities of his own country, but he will ·lose his power [^Lstumble and fall]. ·That will be the end of him [^L…and not be found; ^CAntiochus III died in 187 bc].