1 “As for me, in the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood to support and protect him. 2 Now I will tell you the truth. Three more kings will arise in Persia, and a fourth will be far richer than all of them. When he has grown strong through his riches, he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece. 3 Then a mighty king will arise, rule with great dominion, and do as he pleases. 4 But as soon as he has arisen, his kingdom will be broken and divided toward the four winds of heaven. It will not pass to his descendants or retain the dominion with which he ruled, for his kingdom will be uprooted and given to others besides these. 5 The king of the south will grow strong, but one of his princes will grow stronger than he and will rule with a great dominion. 6 After some years they will form an alliance. The daughter of the king of the south will come to the king of the north to make an agreement. But she will not retain the strength of her arm, and neither he nor his arm will endure. She will be handed over, along with those who brought her, her father, and the one who supported her in those times. 7 A shoot from her roots will arise in his place. He will advance against the army and enter the fortress of the king of the north. He will act against them and prevail. 8 He will also carry their gods, their cast images, and their precious vessels of silver and gold captive to Egypt. For some years he will refrain from attacking the king of the north. 9 Then he will enter the kingdom of the king of the south, but return to his own land. 10 His sons will prepare for war and gather a multitude of great forces. One will advance, sweeping through like a flood. He will return and wage war as far as his fortress. 11 The king of the south will become enraged and march out to fight the king of the north. The king of the north will raise a great multitude, but the multitude will be given into his opponent’s hand. 12 When the multitude is carried away, his heart will grow proud. He will strike down tens of thousands, but he will not prevail. 13 The king of the north will again raise a multitude greater than the first. After a period of years, he will surely come with a great army and abundant resources. 14 In those times many will rise against the king of the south. The violent among your own people will also rise to fulfill the vision, but they will stumble. 15 The king of the north will come, build a siege ramp, and capture a fortified city. The forces of the south will not stand, not even his chosen troops; they will have no strength to stand. 16 The one who comes against him will do as he pleases, and no one will stand before him. He will stand in the Beautiful Land, with destruction in his hand. 17 He will set his face to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, bringing terms of agreement that he will carry out. He will give him a daughter to bring it to ruin, but she will not stand with him or be for him. 18 Then he will turn his face toward the coastlands and capture many. But a commander will put an end to his insolence and turn that insolence back upon him. 19 Then he will turn his face toward the fortresses of his own land, but he will stumble and fall and be found no more. 20 In his place will arise one who sends a collector of tribute through the splendor of the kingdom. Within a few days he will be broken, but neither in anger nor in battle. 21 In his place will arise a contemptible man to whom royal majesty has not been given. He will come in a time of security and seize the kingdom through intrigue. 22 Overwhelming forces will be swept away before him and broken, along with the prince of the covenant. 23 From the time an alliance is made with him, he will act deceitfully. He will rise and become strong with only a few people. 24 In a time of security he will enter the richest parts of the province and do what neither his fathers nor his fathers’ fathers did. He will scatter plunder, spoil, and possessions among them. He will devise his plans against fortresses, but only for a time. 25 He will stir up his strength and courage against the king of the south with a great army. The king of the south will prepare for war with a great and exceedingly powerful army, but he will not stand, because plots will be devised against him. 26 Those who eat his choice food will break him. His army will surge like a flood, and many will fall slain. 27 The hearts of both kings will be set on evil, and they will speak lies at the same table. But it will not succeed, for the end still awaits the appointed time. 28 He will return to his land with great riches, and his heart will be set against the holy covenant. He will act, then return to his land. 29 At the appointed time he will return and enter the south, but the latter time will not be like the former. 30 For ships of Kittim will come against him, and he will lose heart and turn back. He will rage against the holy covenant and act. He will return and give attention to those who forsake the holy covenant. 31 Forces from him will arise, profane the sanctuary, the fortress, remove the regular offering, and set up the abomination that causes desolation. 32 He will corrupt those who violate the covenant through flattery. But the people who know their God will stand strong and act. 33 The wise among the people will give understanding to many, but for a time they will fall by sword and flame, captivity and plunder. 34 When they fall, they will receive a little help, but many will join them through flattery. 35 Some of the wise will fall, to refine, purify, and make them white until the time of the end, for it still awaits the appointed time. 36 The king will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god and speak astonishing things against the God of gods. He will prosper until the indignation is complete, for what has been decreed will be done. 37 He will pay no regard to the gods of his fathers or to the desire of women. He will regard no god, for he will magnify himself above all. 38 Instead, he will honor the god of fortresses. A god his fathers did not know he will honor with gold, silver, precious stones, and costly gifts. 39 He will act against the strongest fortresses with a foreign god. Those he acknowledges he will shower with honor, making them rulers over many and distributing land for a price. 40 At the time of the end, the king of the south will charge against him, and the king of the north will storm against him with chariots, horsemen, and many ships. He will enter the lands, sweeping through like a flood. 41 He will enter the Beautiful Land, and many lands will fall. But these will escape from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the principal part of the Ammonites. 42 He will stretch out his hand against the lands, and the land of Egypt will not escape. 43 He will rule over the hidden treasures of gold and silver and all the precious things of Egypt. The Libyans and Cushites will follow in his steps. 44 But reports from the east and the north will alarm him. He will go out in great fury to destroy and annihilate many. 45 He will pitch his palatial tents between the seas and the beautiful holy mountain. Yet he will come to his end, and no one will help him.”