⁵ “‘The southern king will become strong, along with one of his officials, who will become stronger than he and rule over his own realm with great power. ⁶ After a number of years, they’ll become allies and the daughter of the southern king will go to the northern king in order to craft alliances. But she won’t remain in power, nor will he retain his power. Instead, she’ll be surrendered, along with her entourage, the one who fathered her, and the one who supported her at that time.

⁷ “‘One of her family line will replace him. He’ll come against the army and enter the fortress of the northern king, conquering them and becoming victorious. ⁸ He’ll also take their gods, their molten images, and their valuable vessels of silver and gold into Egypt as hostages. He’ll avoid the northern king for a number of years. ⁹ Then he’ll come against the realm of the southern king and then return to his own territory. ¹⁰ His sons will prepare for war, assembling an army of considerable force. One of them will come on forcefully, overflowing, passing through, and waging war up to his own fortress.

¹¹ “‘The southern king will fly into a rage and march out to fight the northern king. He’ll gather a large army, but that army will be handed over to him. ¹² When that army has been defeated, he’ll become overconfident and slaughter many thousands, but he won’t succeed. ¹³ The northern king will return and raise a greater army than before. After a few years, he’ll advance with a great force and with a vast amount of armaments.’”

Rebellion against the Southern King

¹⁴ “‘During those years, many will rebel against the southern king. The more violent ones among your people will rebel in order to fulfill this vision, but they will fail. ¹⁵ Then the northern king will come, erect a siege ramp, and capture a fortified city. The southern forces won’t prevail—not even with their best troops—and they’ll have no strength to take a stand.

¹⁶ “‘However, the one who invades him will do whatever he wants to do. No one will oppose him. He’ll establish himself in the Beautiful Land, wielding devastating power. ¹⁷ He’ll decide to come with the full power of his kingdom, bringing with him an alliance that he’ll implement. He’ll give him a daughter in marriage to overthrow it, but it won’t succeed or work out for him. ¹⁸ Then he’ll turn his attention to the coastal lands^[a] and will capture many. But a commander will put an end to his insolence, repaying him for his scorn. ¹⁹ He’ll turn his attention toward the fortresses in his own territory, but he’ll stumble and fall, and won’t endure.