Daniel 9-11

Amplified Bible, Classic Edition

9 In the first year of Darius son of Ahasuerus, of the offspring of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans—

² In the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the books the number of years which, according to the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet, must pass by before the desolations [which had been] pronounced on Jerusalem should end; and it was seventy years.^(A)

³ And I set my face to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting and sackcloth and ashes;

⁴ And I prayed to the Lord my God and made confession and said, O Lord, the great and dreadful God, Who keeps covenant, mercy, and loving-kindness with those who love Him and keep His commandments,

⁵ We have sinned and dealt perversely and done wickedly and have rebelled, turning aside from Your commandments and ordinances.

⁶ Neither have we listened to and heeded Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, our princes and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.

⁷ O Lord, righteousness belongs to You, but to us confusion and shame of face, as at this day—to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, to those who are near and those who are far off, through all the countries to which You have driven them because of the [treacherous] trespass which they have committed against You.

⁸ O Lord, to us belong confusion and shame of face—to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers—because we have sinned against You.

⁹ To the Lord our God belong mercy and loving-kindness and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against Him;

¹⁰ And we have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God by walking in His laws which He set before us through His servants the prophets.

¹¹ Yes, all Israel has transgressed Your law, even turning aside that they might not obey Your voice. Therefore the curse has been poured out on us and the oath that is written in the Law of Moses the servant of God, because we have sinned against Him.^(B)

¹² And He has carried out intact His [threatening] words which He threatened against us and against our judges [the kings, princes, and rulers generally] who ruled us, and He has brought upon us a great evil; for under the whole heavens there has not been done before [anything so dreadful] as [He has caused to be] done against Jerusalem.

¹³ Just as it is written in the Law of Moses as to all this evil [that would surely come upon transgressors], so it has come upon us. Yet we have not earnestly begged for forgiveness and entreated the favor of the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities and have understanding and become wise in Your truth.^(C)

¹⁴ Therefore the Lord has kept ready the calamity (evil) and has brought it upon us, for the Lord our God is [uncompromisingly] righteous and rigidly just in all His works which He does [keeping His word]; and we have not obeyed His voice.

¹⁵ And now, O Lord our God, Who brought Your people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand and secured Yourself renown and a name as at this day, we have sinned, we have done wickedly!

¹⁶ O Lord, according to all Your rightness and justice, I beseech You, let Your anger and Your wrath be turned away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain. Because of our sins and the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people have become a reproach and a byword to all who are around about us.

¹⁷ Now therefore, O our God, listen to and heed the prayer of Your servant ^[a][Daniel] and his supplications, and for Your own sake cause Your face to shine upon Your sanctuary which is desolate.

¹⁸ O my God, incline Your ear and hear; open Your eyes and look at our desolations and the city which is called by Your name; for we do not present our supplications before You for our own righteousness and justice, but for Your great mercy and loving-kindness.

¹⁹ O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, give heed and act! Do not delay, for Your own sake, O my God, because Your city and Your people are called by Your name.

²⁰ While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the holy hill of my God—

²¹ Yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the former vision, being caused to fly swiftly, came near to me and touched me about the time of the evening sacrifice.^(D)

²² He instructed me and made me understand; he talked with me and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give you skill and wisdom and understanding.

²³ At the beginning of your prayers, the word [giving an answer] went forth, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly beloved. Therefore consider the matter and understand the vision.

²⁴ Seventy weeks [of years, or 490 years] are decreed upon your people and upon your holy city [Jerusalem], to finish and put an end to transgression, to seal up and make full the measure of sin, to purge away and make expiation and reconciliation for sin, to bring in everlasting righteousness (permanent moral and spiritual rectitude in every area and relation) to seal up vision and prophecy and prophet, and to anoint a Holy of Holies.

²⁵ Know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem until [the coming of] the Anointed One, a Prince, shall be seven weeks [of years] and sixty-two weeks [of years]; it shall be built again with [city] square and moat, but in troublous times.

²⁶ And after the sixty-two weeks [of years] shall the Anointed One be cut off or killed and shall have nothing [and no one] belonging to [and defending] Him. And the people of the [other] prince who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood; and even to the end there shall be war, and desolations are decreed.^(E)

²⁷ And he shall enter into a strong and firm covenant with the many for one week [seven years]. And in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and offering to cease [for the remaining three and one-half years]; and upon the wing or pinnacle of abominations [shall come] one who makes desolate, until the full determined end is poured out on the desolator.

10 In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a word was revealed to Daniel, who was called Belteshazzar. And the word was true and it referred to great tribulation (conflict and wretchedness). And he understood the word and had understanding of the vision.^(F)

² In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three whole weeks.

³ I ate no pleasant or desirable food, nor did any meat or wine come into my mouth; and I did not anoint myself at all for the full three weeks.

⁴ On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was on the bank of the great river Hiddekel [which is the Tigris],

⁵ I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, a man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with pure gold of Uphaz.

⁶ His body also was [a golden luster] like beryl, his face had the appearance of lightning, his eyes were like flaming torches, his arms and his feet like glowing burnished bronze, and the sound of his words was like the noise of a multitude [of people or the roaring of the sea].^(G)

⁷ And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision [of this heavenly being], for the men who were with me did not see the vision, but a great trembling fell upon them so that they fled to hide themselves.

⁸ So I was left alone and saw this great vision, and no strength was left in me, for my fresh appearance was turned to pallor; I grew weak and faint [with fright].

⁹ Then I heard the sound of his words; and when I heard the sound of his words, I fell on my face in a deep sleep, with my face [sunk] to the ground.

¹⁰ And behold, a hand touched me, which set me [unsteadily] upon my knees and upon the palms of my hands.

¹¹ And [the angel] said to me, O Daniel, you greatly beloved man, understand the words that I speak to you and stand upright, for to you I am now sent. And while he was saying this word to me, I stood up trembling.

¹² Then he said to me, Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your mind and heart to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come as a consequence of [and in response to] your words.

¹³ But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me for twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief [of the celestial] princes, came to help me, for I remained there with the kings of Persia.

¹⁴ Now I have come to make you understand what is to befall your people in the latter days, for the vision is for [many] days yet to come.

¹⁵ When he had spoken to me according to these words, I turned my face toward the ground and was dumb.

¹⁶ And behold, one in the likeness of the sons of men touched my lips. Then I opened my mouth and spoke. I said to him who stood before me, O my lord, by reason of the vision sorrows and pains have come upon me, and I retain no strength.

¹⁷ For how can my lord’s servant [who is so feeble] talk with this my lord? For now no strength remains in me, nor is there any breath left in me.

¹⁸ Then there touched me again one whose appearance was like that of a man, and he strengthened me.

¹⁹ And he said, O man greatly beloved, fear not! Peace be to you! Be strong, yes, be strong. And when he had spoken to me, I was strengthened and said, Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.

²⁰ Then he said, Do you know why I have come to you? And now I will return to fight with the [hostile] prince of Persia; and when I have gone, behold, the [hostile] prince of Greece will come.

²¹ But I will tell you what is inscribed in the writing of truth or the Book of Truth. There is no one who holds with me and strengthens himself against these [hostile spirit forces] except Michael, your prince [national guardian angel].

11 Also I [the angel], in the first year of Darius the Mede, even I, stood up to confirm and to strengthen him [Michael, the angelic prince].

² And now I will show you the truth. Behold, there shall arise three more kings in Persia, and a fourth shall be far richer than they all. And when he has become strong through his riches he shall stir up and stake all against the realm of Greece.

³ Then a ^[b]mighty [warlike, threatening] king shall arise who shall rule with great dominion and do according to his [own] will.

⁴ And as soon as he has fully arisen, his [Alexander the Great’s] kingdom shall be broken [by his death] and divided toward the four winds [the east, west, north, and south] of the heavens, but not to his posterity, nor according to the [Grecian] dominion which he ruled, for his kingdom shall be torn out and uprooted and go to others [to his four generals] to the exclusion of these.

⁵ Then the king of the South (Egypt) shall be strong, but one of his princes shall be stronger than he is and have dominion; his dominion shall be a great dominion.

⁶ At the end of some years they [the king of the North, Syria, and the king of the South, Egypt] shall make an alliance; the daughter of the king of the South shall come to the king of the North to make [a just and peaceful marriage] agreement; but she shall not retain the power of her might, neither shall he and his might endure. She shall be handed over with her attendants, her child, and him who strengthened her in those times.

⁷ But out of a branch of the [same ancestral] roots as hers shall one [her brother] stand up in his place or office, who shall come against the [Syrian] army and shall enter into the fortress of the king of the North and shall deal against them and shall prevail.

⁸ And also he shall carry off to Egypt their [Syria’s] gods with their molten images and with their precious vessels of silver and of gold, and he shall refrain for some years from [waging war against] the king of the North.

⁹ And he [the king of Syria] shall come into the kingdom of the king of the South but shall return to his own land.

¹⁰ But his sons shall be stirred up and shall prepare for war and shall assemble a multitude of great forces, which shall come on and overflow and pass through and again shall make war even to the fortress [of the king of the South].

¹¹ And the king of the South (Egypt) shall be moved with anger and shall come forth and fight with the king of the North (Syria); and he [the Syrian king] shall set forth a great multitude, but the multitude shall be given into his [the Egyptian king’s] hand.

¹² When the multitude is taken and carried away, the heart and mind [of the Egyptian king] shall be exalted, and he shall cast down tens of thousands, but he shall not prevail.

¹³ For the king of the North shall raise a multitude greater than [he had] before, and after some years shall certainly return, coming with a great army and much substance and equipment.

¹⁴ In those times many shall rise up against the king of the South (Egypt); also the men of violence among your own people shall lift themselves up in order to fulfill the visions [of Dan. 8 and 9], but they shall fail and fall.

¹⁵ Then the king of the North shall come and cast up siege works and take a well-fortified city, and the forces of the South shall not stand, or even his chosen troops, for there shall be no strength to stand [against the Syrian king].

¹⁶ But he [Antiochus the Great] who comes against him [from Syria] shall do according to his own will, and none shall stand before him; he shall stand in the glorious land [of Israel], and in his hand shall be destruction and all the land shall be in his power.

¹⁷ He [Antiochus the Great] shall set his face to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and with him upright conditions and terms of peace, and he shall perform them [by making an agreement with the king of the South]. He shall give him [his] daughter to corrupt and destroy it [his league with Egypt] and the kingdom, but it shall not succeed or be to his advantage.

¹⁸ After this he shall turn his attention to the islands and coastlands and shall take over many of them. But a prince or commander shall teach him [Antiochus the Great] to put an end to the insults offered by him; in fact he shall turn his insolence and reproaches back upon him.

¹⁹ Then he shall turn his face back toward the fortresses of his own land [of Syria], but he shall stumble and fall and not be found.

²⁰ Then shall ^[c]stand up in his place or office one who shall send an exactor of tribute to pass through the glory of the kingdom, but within a few days he shall be destroyed, [yet] neither in anger nor in battle.

²¹ And in his place or office [in Syria] shall arise a ^[d]contemptuous and contemptible person, to whom royal majesty and honor of the kingdom have not been given. But he shall come in without warning in time of security and shall obtain the kingdom by flatteries, intrigues, and cunning hypocritical conduct.^(H)

²² Before him the overwhelming forces of invading armies shall be broken and utterly swept away; yes, and a prince of the covenant [with those who were at peace with him] also [shall be broken and swept away].

²³ And from the time that an alliance is made with him he shall work deceitfully, and he shall come up unexpectedly and shall become strong with a small people.

²⁴ Without warning and stealthily he shall come into the most productive places of a province or among the richest men of a province [of Egypt], and he shall do that which his fathers have not done nor his fathers’ fathers; he shall distribute among them plunder, spoil, and goods. He shall devise plans against strongholds—but only for a time [the period decreed by God].

²⁵ And he shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the South [Egypt] 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 schemes shall be devised against [the king of the South].

²⁶ Yes, those who eat of his rich and dainty food shall break and destroy him, and his army shall drift or turn away to flee, and many shall fall down slain.

²⁷ And as for both of these kings, their hearts and minds shall be set on doing mischief; they shall speak lies over the same table, but it will not succeed, for the end is yet to be at the time appointed.

²⁸ Then shall [the vile conqueror from the North] return into his land with much booty; and his heart and purpose shall be set against [God’s] holy covenant [with His people], and he shall accomplish [his malicious intention] and return to his own land [Syria].

²⁹ At the time appointed [God’s own time] he shall return and come into the South, but it shall not be successful as were the former invasions [of Egypt].

³⁰ For the ships of Kittim [or Cyprus, in Roman hands] shall come against him; therefore he shall be grieved and discouraged and turn back [to Palestine] and carry out his rage and indignation against the holy covenant and God’s people, and he shall do his own pleasure; he shall even turn back and make common cause with those [Jews] who abandon the holy covenant [with God].

³¹ And armed forces of his shall appear [in the holy land] and they shall pollute the sanctuary, the [spiritual] stronghold, and shall take away the continual [daily burnt offering]; and they shall set up [in the sanctuary] the abomination that astonishes and makes desolate [probably an altar to a pagan god].

³² And such as violate the covenant he shall pervert and seduce with flatteries, but the people who know their God shall prove themselves strong and shall stand firm and do exploits [for God].

³³ And they who are wise and understanding among the people shall instruct many and make them understand, though some [of them and their followers] shall fall by the sword and flame, by captivity and plunder, for many days.

³⁴ Now when they fall, they shall receive a little help. Many shall join themselves to them with flatteries and hypocrisies.

³⁵ And some of those who are wise, prudent, and understanding shall be weakened and fall, [thus, then, the insincere among the people will lose courage and become deserters. It will be a test] to refine, to purify, and to make those among [God’s people] white, even to the time of the end, because it is yet for the time [God] appointed.

³⁶ And the ^[e]king shall do according to his will; he shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god and shall speak astonishing things against the God of gods and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished, for that which is determined [by God] shall be done.

³⁷ He shall not regard the gods of his fathers or Him [to Whom] women desire [to give birth—the Messiah] or any other god, for he shall magnify himself above all.

³⁸ But in their place he shall honor the god of fortresses; a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honor with gold and silver, with precious stones, and with pleasant and expensive things.

³⁹ And he shall deal with the strongest fortresses by the help of a foreign god. Those who acknowledge him he shall magnify with glory and honor, and he shall cause them to rule over many and shall divide the land for a price.

⁴⁰ And at the time of the end the king of the South shall push at and attack him, and the king of the North shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots and horsemen and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries and shall overflow and pass through.

⁴¹ He shall enter into the Glorious Land [Palestine] and many shall be overthrown, but these shall be delivered out of his hand: Edom, Moab, and the main [core] of the people of Ammon.

⁴² He shall stretch out his hand also against the [other] countries, but the land of Egypt shall not be among the escaped ones.

⁴³ But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver and over all the precious things of Egypt, and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall accompany him [compelled to follow his steps].

⁴⁴ But rumors from the east and from the north shall alarm and hasten him. And he shall go forth with great fury to destroy and utterly to sweep away many.

⁴⁵ And he shall pitch his palatial tents between the seas and the glorious holy Mount [Zion]; yet he shall come to his end with none to help him.^(I)