Daniel 11
1 "And as for me, in the first year of Daryavesh the Mede, I stood up to support and strengthen him.
And I myself, in the first year of Darius the Mede, took my stand to support and defend him.
2 And now what I show you is true. Look, there shall arise three more kings in Persia, and the fourth shall be far richer than all of them; and when he has grown strong through his riches, he shall stir up all the kingdom of Greece.
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.
3 And a powerful king shall arise, who shall rule an extensive empire, and do as he pleases.
Then a mighty king will come to power. He will rule with great authority and do whatever he wants.
4 When he shall arise, his kingdom shall be broken up, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not to his posterity, nor according to his authority with which he ruled; for his kingdom shall be uprooted, and will go to others besides these.
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.
5 The king of the south shall grow strong, and one of his officers shall grow more powerful, and shall have a greater kingdom than his.
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.
6 At the end of years they shall join themselves together; and the daughter of the king of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement: but she shall not retain her power; neither shall his strength endure; but she shall be surrendered, and her attendants, and he who became the father of her, and he who supported her in those times.
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,
7 But out of a shoot from her roots shall arise in his place, who shall come against the army, and shall enter into the fortress of the king of the north, and shall deal against them, and shall prevail.
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.
8 Also their gods, with their molten images, and with their precious vessels of silver and of gold, shall he carry captive into Egypt; and he shall withdraw for some years from the king of the north.
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.
9 And he shall come into the realm of the king of the south, but he shall return into his own land.
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.
10 And his sons shall wage war, and shall assemble a multitude of great forces, which shall advance and overflow and pass through, and they shall return and wage war, as far as his fortress.
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.
11 The king of the south shall be moved with rage and shall come forth and fight against him, even with the king of the north; and he shall raise a great multitude, and the multitude shall be given into his hand.
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.
12 The multitude shall be taken away, and his heart shall be exalted; and he shall cast down tens of thousands, but he shall not prevail.
After capturing such a large army, he will become very proud, and will kill thousands. But this triumph will not last long.
13 The king of the north shall return, and shall raise a multitude greater than the former; and he shall advance after some years with a great army and with abundant supplies.
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.
14 And in those times many shall rise up against the king of the south: also the violent ones among your people shall rise up in confirmation of the vision; but they shall fail.
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.
15 So the king of the north shall come, and build up a siege mound and take a well-fortified city. And the forces of the south shall not prevail, neither his best troops, neither shall there be any strength to resist.
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.
16 But he who comes against him shall do as he pleases, and no one shall be able to withstand him. And he shall stand in the beautiful land, and destruction will be within his power.
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.
17 He shall set his face to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and will reach an agreement with him which he shall put into effect. And he shall give him a daughter of women to send destruction on him; but it will not last or be to his advantage.
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.
18 After this shall he turn his face to the coastal regions, and shall capture many. But a commander shall bring his insolence to an end. In addition, he shall repay him for his insolence.
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.
19 Then he shall turn his attention toward the fortresses of his own land, but he shall stumble and fall, and shall not be found again.
He will return to the fortresses of his own land, but he will stumble and fall, and will be gone.
20 Then shall arise in his place one who shall send an exactor of tribute to pass through the kingdom to maintain its glory; but within few days he shall be destroyed, though not in anger nor in battle.
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.
21 In his place shall arise a despicable person, to whom the honor of kingship had not been given, but he shall come in a time of prosperity, and shall obtain the kingdom through deceit.
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.
22 And large armies shall be swept away and shattered before him, as well as the prince of the covenant.
Great armies will be swept away before him. They will be broken, as well as the prince of the agreement.
23 And after an alliance is made with him he shall work deceitfully; for he shall become strong with a small force.
After making an alliance with him, he will act deceptively. He will come to power peacably, becoming strong though only having a few supporters.
24 In a time of prosperity he shall come even on the richest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor their fathers; he shall distribute among them plunder, and spoil, and property. He shall devise plans against their strongholds, but only for a time.
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.
25 And 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 wage war in battle with an extremely large and powerful army; but he shall not stand; for they shall devise plans against him.
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.
26 Yes, those who eat of his royal food shall seek to destroy him, and his army shall be swept away; and many shall fall slain.
Those closest to him will destroy him. His army will be wiped out—many will fall in battle.
27 As for both these kings, their minds shall be fixed on evil, and they shall speak lies at the table; but it shall not succeed; for still the end shall be at the appointed time.
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.
28 Then shall he return into his land with great property; and his mind shall be against the holy covenant. And he shall take action, and then return to his own land.
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.
29 At the appointed time he shall return, and come into the south; but this time the outcome shall not be as it was before.
At the time predicted he will return to invade the south again, but this time it won't be like before.
30 For ships from Kittim shall come against him; therefore he shall be intimidated, and shall turn back, and be enraged against the holy covenant, and shall take action. He shall turn back, and show regard to those who forsake the holy covenant.
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.
31 Forces shall come at his order, and they shall profane the sanctuary and the fortress, and shall take away the daily burnt offering, and they shall set up the abomination that causes desolation.
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.
32 And those who act wickedly toward the covenant he shall corrupt by smooth words; but the people who know their God shall be strong, and take action.
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.
33 And those who are wise among the people shall instruct many; yet they shall fall by the sword and by flame, by captivity and by plunder for some time.
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.
34 Now when they shall fall, they shall receive a little help. And many shall join with them insincerely.
During this time of persecution they will receive a little help, and many who join them won't be sincere.
35 Some of those who are wise shall fall, to be refined, purified and cleansed until the time of the end; for the appointed time is still to come.
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.
36 And the king shall do as he pleases. And he shall exalt and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak outrageous things against the God of gods. And he shall prosper until the indignation is accomplished; for that which is decreed shall be done.
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.
37 Neither shall he regard the gods of his fathers, nor the one desired by women, nor show regard to any other god, because he shall magnify himself above all.
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.
38 But instead he shall honor the god of fortresses; a god whom his fathers did not know shall he honor with gold and silver, and with valuable stones, and costly gifts.
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.
39 And he shall deal with the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign god. Whoever acknowledges him he shall grant considerable honor; and he shall make them rulers over many, and shall divide the land for a price.
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.
40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south attack him. And the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall invade countries, and pass through like a flood.
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.
41 He shall enter also into the beautiful land, and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall be delivered out of his hand: Edom, and Moab, and the foremost of the sons of Ammon.
He will invade the Beautiful Land and kill many people there. However, Moab, Edom, and most of the Ammonites will escape his power.
42 He shall reach out his hand also on other countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape.
He will extend his attacks against different countries—even the land of Egypt will not be able to escape.
43 But he shall have control over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the riches of Egypt; and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his feet.
He will acquire the gold and silver and riches of Egypt, ruling over them and also the Libyans and Ethiopians.
44 But news out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him; and he shall go out with tremendous rage to destroy and utterly sweep away many.
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.
45 And he shall pitch his royal tents between the sea and the beautiful holy mountain. Yet he shall come to his end, with no one to help him.
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.
