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.

Prophecy of the End Time

⁴ “But you, Daniel, ^(AS)shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall ^(AT)run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.”

⁵ Then I, Daniel, looked; and there stood two others, one on this riverbank and the other on that ^(AU)riverbank. ⁶ And one said to the man clothed in ^(AV)linen, who was above the waters of the river, ^(AW)“How long shall the fulfillment of these wonders be?”

⁷ Then I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, when he ^(AX)held up his right hand and his left hand to heaven, and swore by Him ^(AY)who lives forever, ^(AZ)that it shall be for a time, times, and half a time; ^(BA)and when the power of ^(BB)the holy people has been completely shattered, all these things shall be finished.

⁸ Although I heard, I did not understand. Then I said, “My lord, what shall be the end of these things?”

⁹ And he said, “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. ^10 (BC)Many shall be purified, made white, and refined, ^(BD)but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand, but ^(BE)the wise shall understand.

¹¹ “And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred and ninety days. ¹² Blessed is he who waits, and comes to the one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days.

¹³ “But you, go your way till the end; ^(BF)for you shall rest, ^(BG)and will arise to your inheritance at the end of the days.”

Jesus Is Lord of the Sabbath^(A)

6 Now ^(B)it happened ^[a]on the second Sabbath after the first that He went through the grainfields. And His disciples plucked the heads of grain and ate them, rubbing them in their hands. ² And some of the Pharisees said to them, “Why are you doing ^(C)what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?”

³ But Jesus answering them said, “Have you not even read this, ^(D)what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: ⁴ how he went into the house of God, took and ate the showbread, and also gave some to those with him, ^(E)which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat?” ⁵ And He said to them, “The Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.”

Healing on the Sabbath^(F)

^6 (G)Now it happened on another Sabbath, also, that He entered the synagogue and taught. And a man was there whose right hand was withered. ⁷ So the scribes and Pharisees watched Him closely, whether He would ^(H)heal on the Sabbath, that they might find an ^(I)accusation against Him. ⁸ But He ^(J)knew their thoughts, and said to the man who had the withered hand, “Arise and stand here.” And he arose and stood. ⁹ Then Jesus said to them, “I will ask you one thing: ^(K)Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do evil, to save life or ^[b]to destroy?” ¹⁰ And when He had looked around at them all, He said to ^[c]the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he did so, and his hand was restored ^[d]as whole as the other. ¹¹ But they were filled with rage, and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus.

The Twelve Apostles^(L)

¹² Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in ^(M)prayer to God. ¹³ And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; ^(N)and from them He chose ^(O)twelve whom He also named apostles: ¹⁴ Simon, ^(P)whom He also named Peter, and Andrew his brother; James and John; Philip and Bartholomew; ¹⁵ Matthew and Thomas; James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon called the Zealot; ¹⁶ Judas ^(Q)the son of James, and ^(R)Judas Iscariot who also became a traitor.

Jesus Heals a Great Multitude^(S)

¹⁷ And He came down with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of His disciples ^(T)and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him and be healed of their diseases, ¹⁸ as well as those who were tormented with unclean spirits. And they were healed. ¹⁹ And the whole multitude ^(U)sought to ^(V)touch Him, for ^(W)power went out from Him and healed them all.

The Beatitudes^(X)

²⁰ Then He lifted up His eyes toward His disciples, and said:

Jesus Pronounces Woes

Love Your Enemies^(AO)

^27 (AP)“But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, ^28 (AQ)bless those who curse you, and ^(AR)pray for those who spitefully use you. ^29 (AS)To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. ^(AT)And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. ^30 (AU)Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods do not ask them back. ^31 (AV)And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise.

^32 (AW)“But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. ³³ And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. ^34 (AX)And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive back, what credit is that to you? For even sinners lend to sinners to receive as much back. ³⁵ But ^(AY)love your enemies, ^(AZ)do good, and ^(BA)lend, ^[h]hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and ^(BB)you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. ^36 (BC)Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.

Do Not Judge^(BD)

^37 (BE)“Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. ^(BF)Forgive, and you will be forgiven. ^38 (BG)Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your ^(BH)bosom. For ^(BI)with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”

³⁹ And He spoke a parable to them: ^(BJ)“Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into the ditch? ^40 (BK)A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher. ^41 (BL)And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the plank in your own eye? ⁴² Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me remove the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the plank that is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother’s eye.

A Tree Is Known by Its Fruit^(BM)

^43 (BN)“For a good tree does not bear bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. ⁴⁴ For ^(BO)every tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. ^45 (BP)A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil ^[i]treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out ^(BQ)of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.

Build on the Rock^(BR)

^46 (BS)“But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say? ^47 (BT)Whoever comes to Me, and hears My sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like: ⁴⁸ He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that house, and could not shake it, for it was ^[j]founded on the rock. ⁴⁹ But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently; and immediately it ^[k]fell. And the ruin of that house was great.”