Daniel 11

1 And as for me, in the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood up to confirm and strengthen him.

“And I, in the first year of Darius the Mede, stood up to strengthen and protect him.

2 And now will I shew thee the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth shall be far richer than they all: and when he is waxed strong through his riches, he shall stir up all against the realm of Greece.

Now then, I will tell you the truth: Three more kings will arise in Persia, and then a fourth, who will be far richer than all the others. By the power of his wealth, he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece.

3 And a mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will.

Then a mighty king will arise, who will rule with great authority and do as he pleases.

4 And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven; but not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion wherewith he ruled; for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others beside these.

But as soon as he is established, his kingdom will be broken up and parceled out toward the four winds of heaven. It will not go to his descendants, nor will it have the authority with which he ruled, because his kingdom will be uprooted and given to others.

5 And the king of the south shall be strong, and [one] of his princes; and he shall be strong above him, and have dominion; his dominion shall be a great dominion.

The king of the South will grow strong, but one of his commanders will grow even stronger and will rule his own kingdom with great authority.

6 And 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 the strength of her arm; neither shall he stand, nor his arm; but she shall be given up, and they that brought her, and he that begat her, and he that strengthened her in those times.

After some years they will form an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the South will go to the king of the North to seal the agreement. But his daughter will not retain her position of power, nor will his strength endure. At that time she will be given up, along with her royal escort and her father and the one who supported her.

7 But out of a shoot from her roots shall one stand up in his place, which shall come unto the army, and shall enter into the fortress of the king of the north, and shall deal against them, and shall prevail:

But one from her family line will rise up in his place, come against the army of the king of the North, and enter his fortress, fighting and prevailing.

8 And also their gods, with their molten images, [and] with their goodly vessels of silver and of gold, shall he carry captive into Egypt; and he shall refrain some years from the king of the north.

He will take even their gods captive to Egypt, with their metal images and their precious vessels of silver and gold. For some years he will stay away from the king of the North,

9 And he shall come into the realm of the king of the south, but he shall return into his own land.

who will invade the realm of the king of the South and then return to his own land.

10 And his sons shall war, and shall assemble a multitude of great forces which shall come on, and overflow, and pass through: and they shall return and war, even to his fortress.

But his sons will stir up strife and assemble a great army, which will advance forcefully, sweeping through like a flood, and will again carry the battle as far as his fortress.

11 And the king of the south shall be moved with choler, and shall come forth and fight with him, even with the king of the north: and he shall set forth a great multitude, and the multitude shall be given into his hand.

In a rage, the king of the South will march out to fight the king of the North, who will raise a large army, but it will be delivered into the hand of his enemy.

12 And the multitude shall be lifted up, and his heart shall be exalted: and he shall cast down tens of thousands, but he shall not prevail.

When the army is carried off, the king of the South will be proud in heart and will cast down tens of thousands, but he will not triumph.

13 And the king of the north shall return, and shall set forth a multitude greater than the former; and he shall come on at the end of the times, [even of] years, with a great army and with much substance.

For the king of the North will raise another army, larger than the first, and after some years he will advance with a great army and many supplies.

14 And in those times there shall many stand up against the king of the south: also the children of the violent among thy people shall lift themselves up to establish the vision; but they shall fall.

In those times many will rise up against the king of the South. Violent ones among your own people will exalt themselves in fulfillment of the vision, but they will fail.

15 So the king of the north shall come, and cast up a mount, and take a well fenced city: and the arms of the south shall not withstand, neither his chosen people, neither shall there be any strength to withstand.

Then the king of the North will come, build up a siege ramp, and capture a fortified city. The forces of the South will not stand; even their best troops will not be able to resist.

16 But he that cometh against him shall do according to his own will, and none shall stand before him: and he shall stand in the glorious land, and in his hand shall be destruction.

The invader will do as he pleases, and no one will stand against him. He will establish himself in the Beautiful Land, with destruction in his hand.

17 And he shall set his face to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and upright ones with him; and he shall do [his pleasure]: and he shall give him the daughter of women, to corrupt her; but she shall not stand, neither be for him.

He will resolve to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and will reach an agreement with the king of the South. He will give him a daughter in marriage in order to overthrow the kingdom, but his plan will not succeed or help him.

18 After this shall he turn his face unto the isles, and shall take many: but a prince shall cause the reproach offered by him to cease; yea, moreover, he shall cause his reproach to turn upon him.

Then he will turn his face to the coastlands and capture many of them. But a commander will put an end to his reproach and will turn it back upon him.

19 Then he shall turn his face toward the fortresses of his own land: but he shall stumble and fall, and shall not be found.

After this, he will turn back toward the fortresses of his own land, but he will stumble and fall and be no more.

20 Then shall stand up in his place one that shall cause an exactor to pass through the glory of the kingdom: but within few days he shall be destroyed, neither in anger, nor in battle.

In his place one will arise who will send out a tax collector for the glory of the kingdom; but within a few days he will be destroyed, though not in anger or in battle.

21 And in his place shall stand up a contemptible person, to whom they had not given the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in time of security, and shall obtain the kingdom by flatteries.

In his place a despicable person will arise; royal honors will not be given to him, but he will come in a time of peace and seize the kingdom by intrigue.

22 And with the arms of a flood shall they be swept away from before him, and shall be broken; yea, also the prince of the covenant.

Then a flood of forces will be swept away before him and destroyed, along with a prince of the covenant.

23 And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become strong, with a small people.

After an alliance is made with him, he will act deceitfully; for he will rise to power with only a few people.

24 In time of security shall he come even upon the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers’ fathers; he shall scatter among them prey, and spoil, and substance: yea, he shall devise his devices against the strong holds, even for a time.

In a time of peace, he will invade the richest provinces and do what his fathers and forefathers never did. He will lavish plunder, loot, and wealth on his followers, and he will plot against the strongholds—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 war in battle with an exceeding great and mighty army: but he shall not stand, for they shall devise devices against him.

And with a large army he will stir up his power and his courage against the king of the South, who will mobilize a very large and powerful army but will not withstand the plots devised against him.

26 Yea, they that eat of his meat shall destroy him, and his army shall overflow: and many shall fall down slain.

Those who eat from his provisions will seek to destroy him; his army will be swept away, and many will fall slain.

27 And as for both these kings, their hearts shall be to do mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table: but it shall not prosper; for yet the end shall be at the time appointed.

And the two kings, with their hearts bent on evil, will speak lies at the same table, but to no avail, for still the end will come at the appointed time.

28 Then shall he return into his land with great substance; and his heart [shall be] against the holy covenant; and he shall do [his pleasure], and return to his own land.

The king of the North will return to his land with great wealth, but his heart will be set against the holy covenant; so he will do damage and return to his own land.

29 At the time appointed he shall return, and come into the south; but it shall not be in the latter time as it was in the former.

At the appointed time he will invade the South again, but this time will not be like the first.

30 For ships of Kittim shall come against him; therefore he shall be grieved, and shall return, and have indignation against the holy covenant, and shall do [his pleasure]: he shall even return, and have regard unto them that forsake the holy covenant.

Ships of Kittim will come against him, and he will lose heart. Then he will turn back and rage against the holy covenant and do damage. So he will return and show favor to those who forsake the holy covenant.

31 And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall profane the sanctuary, even the fortress, and shall take away the continual [burnt offering]; and they shall set up the abomination that maketh desolate.

His forces will rise up and desecrate the temple fortress. They will abolish the daily sacrifice and set up the abomination of desolation.

32 And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he pervert by flatteries: but the people that know their God shall be strong, and do [exploits].

With flattery he will corrupt those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him.

33 And they that be wise among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword and by flame, by captivity and by spoil, [many] days.

Those with insight will instruct many, though for a time they will fall by sword or flame, or be captured or plundered.

34 Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help: but many shall join themselves unto them with flatteries.

Now when they fall, they will be granted a little help, but many will join them insincerely.

35 And some of them that be wise shall fall, to refine them, and to purify, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for the time appointed.

Some of the wise will fall, so that they may be refined, purified, and made spotless until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time.

36 And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvelous things against the God of gods: and he shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished; for that which is determined shall be done.

Then the king will do as he pleases and will exalt and magnify himself above every god, and he will speak monstrous things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been decreed must be accomplished.

37 Neither shall he regard the gods his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.

He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers, nor for the one desired by women, nor for any other god, because he will magnify himself above them all.

38 But in his place shall he honour the god of fortresses: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.

And in their place, he will honor a god of fortresses—a god his fathers did not know—with gold, silver, precious stones, and riches.

39 And he shall deal with the strongest fortresses by the help of a strange god; whosoever acknowledgeth [him] he will increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for a price.

He will attack the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign god and will greatly honor those who acknowledge him, making them rulers over many and distributing the land for a price.

40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south contend with 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 enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass through.

At the time of the end, the king of the South will engage him in battle, but the king of the North will storm out against him with chariots, horsemen, and many ships, invading many countries and sweeping through them like a flood.

41 He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many [countries] shall be overthrown: but these shall be delivered out of his hand, Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.

He will also invade the Beautiful Land, and many countries will fall. But these will be delivered from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the leaders of the Ammonites.

42 He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape.

He will extend his power over many countries, and not even the land of Egypt will escape.

43 But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.

He will gain control of the treasures of gold and silver and over all the riches of Egypt, and the Libyans and Cushites will also submit to him.

44 But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: and he shall go forth with great fury to destroy and utterly to make away many.

But news from the east and the north will alarm him, and he will go out with great fury to destroy many and devote them to destruction.

45 And he shall plant the tents of his palace between the sea and the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.

He will pitch his royal tents between the sea and the beautiful holy mountain, but he will meet his end with no one to help him.