Daniel 11

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

In the first year of Darius the Mede, I myself came to support and protect Michael.

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 I will tell you the truth. Three kings will arise in Persia, and a fourth will be far richer than all the others. When he has gained power through his riches, 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.

A mighty king will rise up who will rule a very great kingdom, and he will act according to his desires.

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.

When he has risen up, his kingdom will be broken and divided to the four winds of heaven, but not to his own descendants, and not with his power when he had been ruling. For his kingdom will be uprooted for others besides his descendants.

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 become strong, but one of his commanders will become even stronger than he and will rule his kingdom with great power.

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 a few years, when the time is right, they will make an alliance. The daughter of the king of the South will come to the king of the North to confirm the agreement. But she will not keep her arm's strength, nor will he stand, or his arm. She will be abandoned—she and those who brought her, and her father, and the one who supported her in those times.

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 a branch from her roots will rise up in her place. He will attack the army and enter the fortress of the king of the North. He will fight them, and he will conquer them.

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 carry off to Egypt their gods along with their cast metal figures and their precious vessels of silver and of 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.

Then the king of the North will invade the realm of the king of the South, but he will withdraw 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.

His sons will get ready and assemble a great army. It will keep coming and will flood everything; it will pass through all the way to 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.

Then the king of the South will become very angry; he will go and fight against him, the king of the North. The king of the North will raise up a great army, but the army will be given into his hand.

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.

The army will be carried off, and the heart of the king of the South will be lifted up, and he will make tens of thousands to fall, but he will not be victorious.

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.

Then the king of the North will raise up another army, greater than the first. After some years, the king of the North will surely come with a great army supplied with much equipment.

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 against the king of the South. Sons of the violent among your people will set themselves in order to fulfill a vision, but they will stumble.

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.

The king of the North will come, pour out earth for siege mounds, and capture a city with fortifications. The forces of the South will not be able to stand, not even their best soldiers. There will be no strength to stand.

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.

Instead, the one who comes will act according to his desires against him; no one will stand in his way. He will stand in the land of beauty, and destruction will be 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.

The king of the North will set his face to come with the strength of his entire kingdom, and with him will be an agreement that he will make with the king of the South. He will give him a daughter of women in marriage to ruin the kingdom of the South. But the 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.

After this, the king of the North will pay attention to the coastlands and will capture many of them. But a commander will end his arrogance and will cause his arrogance to turn 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.

Then he will pay attention to the fortresses of his own land, but he will stumble and fall; he will not be found.

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.

Then someone will rise up in his place who will make a tax collector pass through for the sake of the splendor of the kingdom. But in the next days he will be broken, but 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 will rise up a despised person to whom the people will not have given the honor of royal power; he will come unexpectedly and will take over the kingdom by trickery.

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.

An army will be swept away like a flood from before him. Both that army and the leader of the covenant will be destroyed.

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.

From the time an alliance is made with him, he will act deceitfully; with only a small number of people he will become strong.

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.

Without warning he will come into the richest part of the province, and he will do what neither his father nor his father's father did. He will spread among his followers the booty, the plunder, and the wealth. He will plan the overthrow of 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 war in battle with an exceeding great and mighty army: but he shall not stand, for they shall devise devices against him.

He will wake up his power and his heart against the king of the South with a great army. The king of the South will wage war with a large, very powerful army, but he will not stand because others will make plots against him.

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

Even those who eat his fine food will try to destroy him. His army will be swept away like a flood, and many of them will fall killed.

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.

Both these kings, with their hearts set on evil against each other, will sit at the same table and lie to each other, but it will be of no use. For the end will come at the time that has been fixed.

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.

Then the king of the North will go back into his land with great riches, with his heart set against the holy covenant. He will act and then will 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 return and come against the South again. But this time it will not be as before.

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.

For ships of Kittim will come against him, and he will become afraid and will turn back. He will be furious against the holy covenant, and he will 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 profane the fortress sanctuary. They will take away the regular burnt offering, and they will set up the abomination that causes 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].

As for those who acted wickedly against the covenant, he will deceive them and corrupt them. But the people who know their God will be strong and will take action.

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.

The wise among the people will make many understand. But they will stumble by the sword and by flame; they will stumble into captivity and into being robbed for days.

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

In their stumbling, they will be helped with a little help. In hypocrisy many will join themselves with them.

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 stumble so that refining will happen to them, and cleansing, and purifying, until the time of the end. For the appointed time is still to come.

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.

The king will act according to his desires. He will lift himself up and make himself great above every god. Against the God of gods he will say astonishing things, for he will succeed until the wrath is completed. For what has been decreed will be done.

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 pay no attention to the gods of his ancestors or to the god desirable to women. Neither will he will pay attention to any other god. For all above every one he will make himself great.

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.

He will honor the god of fortresses instead of these. It is a god whom his fathers did not acknowledge that he will honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and valuable gifts.

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. To anyone who acknowledges him, he will give much honor. He will make them rulers over many people, and he will divide up the land as a reward.

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 attack. The king of the North will storm against him with chariots and horsemen, and with many ships. He will go against lands, flood them, and pass through.

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 go into the land of beauty, and tens of thousands of Israelites will fall. But these will escape from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the remainder of the people of Ammon.

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

He will extend his hand into lands; the land of Egypt will not be rescued.

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 have control over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the riches of Egypt; the Libyans and the Cushites will be in his footsteps.

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 frighten him, and he will go out with great rage to completely destroy and to set many apart for 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 set up the tent of his royal residence between the seas and the mountain of the beauty of holiness. He will come to his end, and there will be no helper for him.