Daniel 11

1 And I myself, in the first year of Darius the Mede, took my stand to support and defend him.

And I in the first year of Cyrus stood to strengthen and confirm [him].

2 So now let me reveal the truth to you. There are still three kings to come to power in Persia, and then a fourth who will be far richer than all the others. When he becomes strong through his wealth, he will rally the whole kingdom against Greece.

And now I will tell you the truth. Behold, there shall yet rise up three kings in Persia: and the fourth shall be very far richer than all: and after that he is master of his wealth, he shall rise up against all the kingdoms of the Greeks.

3 Then a mighty king will come to power. He will rule with great authority and do whatever he wants.

An there shall rise up a mighty king, and he shall be lord of a great empire, and shall do according to his will.

4 But as he extends his power his kingdom will be broken up, divided towards the four winds of heaven. It will not go to his descendants, and it will not be ruled as he ruled. It will be pulled up and given to others.

And when his kingdom shall stand up, it shall be broken, and shall be divided to the four winds of heaven; but not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion which he ruled over: for his kingdom shall be plucked up, and [given] to others beside these.

5 The king of the south will grow strong, but one of his officers will grow even stronger and will rule his kingdom with great authority.

And the king of the south shall be strong; and one of their princes shall prevail against him, and shall obtain a great dominion.

6 Some years later they will form an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the south will be married to the king of the north to guarantee the peace treaty. However, she will not be able to keep her hold on power, nor will his power continue. She and her attendants will be betrayed, along with her child and husband. Later on, however,

And after his years they shall associate; and the daughter of the king of the south shall come to the king of the north, to make agreements with him: but she shall not retain power of arm; neither shall his seed stand: and she shall be delivered up, and they that brought her, and the maiden, and he that strengthened her in these times.

7 a new king of the south from her family will take over. He will come to attack the army of the king of the north and enter his fortress. He will fight against them and will win.

[But] out of the flower of her root there shall arise [one on] his place, and shall come against the host, and shall enter into the strongholds of the king of the north, and shall fight against them, and prevail.

8 In addition he will take back with him to Egypt the idols of their gods, along with their expensive vessels of silver and gold. For some years he will leave the king of the north alone.

Yes, he shall carry with a body of captives into Egypt their gods with their molten [images, and] all their precious vessels of silver and gold; and he shall last longer than the king of the north.

9 Then the king of the north will march into the kingdom of the king of the south but will have to retreat to his own land.

And he shall enter into the kingdom of the king of the south, and shall return to his own land.

10 However, his sons will prepare for war, assembling a huge number of troops. One of them will lead an advance that rushes forward like a river bursting its banks, crossing over and pressing forward to attack the enemy fortress.

And his sons shall gather a multitude amongst many: and one shall certainly come, and overflow, and pass through, and he shall rest, and collect his strength.

11 This will infuriate the king of the south, who will go out into battle against the large army assembled by the king of the north and will defeat it.

And the king of the south shall be greatly enraged, and shall come forth, and shall war with the king of the north: and he shall raise a great multitude; but the multitude shall be delivered into his hand.

12 After capturing such a large army, he will become very proud, and will kill thousands. But this triumph will not last long.

And he shall take the multitude, and his heart shall be exalted; and he shall cast down many thousands; but he shall not prevail.

13 Years later the king of the north will once again raise an army, even larger than before, and will invade with this huge army, accompanied by plenty of supplies.

For the king of the north shall return, and bring a multitude greater than the former, and at the end of the times of years an invading army shall come with a great force, and with much substance.

14 At the same time many will rebel against the king of the south. Violent men from your own people will rebel in order to fulfill this vision, but they shall fail.

And in those times many shall rise up against the king of the south; and the children of the spoilers of your people shall exalt themselves to establish the vision; and they shall fail.

15 Then the king of the north will come and build siege ramps and he will capture a city with strong defenses. The forces of the south will not be able to prevent it—even his best troops won't be able to resist the attack.

And the king of the north shall come in, and cast up a mound, and take strong cities: and the arms of the king of the south shall withstand, and his chosen ones shall rise up, but there shall be no strength to stand.

16 The invader will do whatever he wants; no one will be able to oppose him. He will stand in the Beautiful Land with the power to destroy it.

And he that comes in against him shall do according to his will, and there is no one to stand before him: and he shall stand in the land of beauty, and it shall be consumed by his hand.

17 He will be determined to come with all the power of his kingdom and will make a peace treaty with the king of the south. To secure this he will give him a daughter of women to marry in order to destroy the kingdom. But she will not be successful and will not support him.

And he shall set his face to come in with the force of his whole kingdom, and shall cause everything to prosper with him: and he shall give him the daughter of women to corrupt her: but she shall not continue, neither be on his side.

18 Then he will turn to attack the coastlands and will conquer many, but a commander will put a stop to his arrogant behavior, paying him back for it.

And he shall turn his face to the islands, and shall take many, and cause princes to cease from their reproach: nevertheless his own reproach shall return to him.

19 He will return to the fortresses of his own land, but he will stumble and fall, and will be gone.

Then he shall turn back his face to the strength of his own land: but he shall become weak, and fall, and not be found.

20 His successor will send out a tax collector to maintain royal wealth. However, in a short time he will die, but not violently or in battle.

And there shall arise out of his root one that shall cause a plant of the kingdom to pass over his place, earning kingly glory: and yet in those days shall he be broken, yet not openly, nor in war.

21 A contemptible person will follow him who will not be given royal majesty. He will take over peacably and assume control of the kingdom through deception.

[One] shall stand on his place, [who] has been set a nothing, and they have not put upon him the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in prosperously, and obtain the kingdom by deceitful ways.

22 Great armies will be swept away before him. They will be broken, as well as the prince of the agreement.

And the arms of him that overflows shall be washed away as with a flood from before him, and shall be broken, and [so shall be] the head of the covenant.

23 After making an alliance with him, he will act deceptively. He will come to power peacably, becoming strong though only having a few supporters.

And because of the leagues made with him he shall work deceit: and he shall come up, and overpower them with a small nation.

24 He will invade the richest parts of the land and do what his fathers and forefathers never did—he will distribute plunder, spoil, and possessions. He will make plans to attack fortresses, but only for a time.

And he shall enter with prosperity, and [that] into fertile districts; and he shall do what his fathers and his fathers' fathers have not done; he shall scatter amongst them plunder, and spoils, and wealth; and he shall devise plans against Egypt, even for a time.

25 Then he will draw on his strength and courage to gather a large army against the king of the south. The king of the south will prepare for war. Fighting back with a large and powerful army, but he will not be successful because of plots made against him.

And his strength and his heart shall be stirred up against the king of the south with a great force; and the king of the south shall engage in war with a great and very strong force; but [his forces] shall not stand, for they shall devise plans against him:

26 Those closest to him will destroy him. His army will be wiped out—many will fall in battle.

and they shall eat his provisions, and shall crush him, and he shall carry away armies as with a flood, and many shall fall down slain.

27 The two kings, with evil intentions, will tell each other lies even as they sit together at the same table. But their scheming is pointless—the end will come at the time predicted.

And [as for] both the kings, their hearts [are set] upon mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table; but it shall not prosper; for yet the end is for a [fixed] time.

28 The king of the north will return to his own country with all the wealth he has looted. He will be determined to attack the people of the holy agreement, and do all he can to destroy it before returning to his own country.

And he shall return to his land with much substance; and his heart [shall be] against the holy covenant; and he shall perform [great deeds], and return to his own land.

29 At the time predicted he will return to invade the south again, but this time it won't be like before.

At the [set] time he shall return, and shall come into the south, but the last [expedition] shall [not] be as the first.

30 Ships from Cyprus will come to attack him, frightening him off so that he retreats. But this will make him mad, and he will attack the people of the holy agreement, recognizing those who abandon their commitment to the holy agreement.

For the Citians issuing forth shall come against him, and he shall be brought low, and shall return, and shall be incensed against the holy covenant: and he shall do [thus], and shall return, and have intelligence with them that have forsaken the holy covenant.

31 His forces will occupy and defile the Temple fortress. They will put a stop to the continual service, and set up a form of idolatry that causes devastation.

And seeds shall spring up out of him, and they shall profane the sanctuary of strength, and they shall remove the perpetual [sacrifice], and make the abomination desolate.

32 The king will use flattery to corrupt those who break the solemn agreement, but the people who know their God will stand firm in their resistance.

And the transgressors shall bring about a covenant by deceitful ways: but a people knowing their God shall prevail, and do [valiantly].

33 Wise leaders of the people will teach many, though for a time they will be killed by sword and fire, or they will be imprisoned and robbed.

And the intelligent of the people shall understand much: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, and by captivity, and by spoil of [many] days.

34 During this time of persecution they will receive a little help, and many who join them won't be sincere.

And when they are weak they shall be helped with a little help: but many shall attach themselves to them with treachery.

35 Some of the wise will be killed, so that they may be refined and purified and cleansed until the time of the end, for the predicted time is still to come.

And [some] of them that understand shall fall, to try them as with fire, and to test [them], and that they may be manifested at the time of the end, for the matter [is] yet for a [set] time.

36 The king will do whatever he wants, praising himself and considering himself greater than any god, even saying outrageous things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of anger has finished, for what has been decided will be accomplished.

And he shall do according to his will, and the king shall exalt and magnify himself against every god, and shall speak great swelling words, and shall prosper until the indignation shall be accomplished: for it is coming to an end.

37 He will have no time for the gods of his forefathers, nor for the one loved by women, nor for any other god, for he considers himself greater than any of these.

And he shall not regard any gods of his fathers, nor the desire of women, neither shall he regard any deity: for he shall magnify himself above all.

38 Instead he will honor the god of fortresses—a god unknown to his forefathers—giving him offerings of gold and silver and precious stones and expensive gifts.

And he shall honour the god of forces on his place: and a god whom his fathers knew not he shall honour with gold, and silver, and precious stones, and desirable things.

39 He will deal with strong fortresses with the help of this foreign god. He will give riches to those who acknowledge him, making them rulers over the people, and distributing the land at a price.

And he shall do [thus] in the strong places of refuge with a strange god, and shall increase his glory: and he shall subject many to them, and shall distribute the land in gifts.

40 At the time of the end the king of the south will attack him. But the king of the north will retaliate with force like a storm, with chariots and horsemen and many ships. He will advance, sweeping through many lands.

And at the end of the time he shall conflict with the king of the south: and the king of the north shall come against him with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and they shall enter into the land: and he shall break in pieces, and pass on:

41 He will invade the Beautiful Land and kill many people there. However, Moab, Edom, and most of the Ammonites will escape his power.

and he shall enter into the land of beauty, and many shall fail: but these shall escape out of his hand, Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.

42 He will extend his attacks against different countries—even the land of Egypt will not be able to escape.

And he shall stretch forth [his] hand over the land; and the land of Egypt shall not escape.

43 He will acquire the gold and silver and riches of Egypt, ruling over them and also the Libyans and Ethiopians.

And he shall have the mastery over the secret [treasures] of gold and silver, and over all the desirable [possessions] of Egypt, and of the Libyans and Ethiopians in their strongholds.

44 But news from the east and the north will alarm him, and in a furious rage he will set out to destroy and exterminate many people.

But rumours and anxieties out of the east and from the north shall trouble him; and he shall come with great wrath to destroy many.

45 He will set up his royal camp between the sea and the beautiful holy mountain. But he will die with no one to help him.

And he shall pitch the tabernacle of his palace between the seas in the holy mountain of beauty: [but] he shall come to his portion, and there is none to deliver him.