Daniel 11

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

“As for me, during the first year that Darius was king, I helped and encouraged Michael.”

2 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.

[The angel also said], “And what I am going to reveal to you now will truly [happen]. There will be three more kings to rule Persia, [one after the other]. Then there will be a fourth king, who will be much richer than the others. As a result of [his giving] a lot of money [to people, they will enable him to] become very powerful. Then he will incite/persuade many nations [HYP] [to fight] against the kingdom of Greece.

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

Then a very powerful king will appear [in Greece]. He will rule over a very large empire, and he will do whatever he wants to do.

4 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.

But when he has become very powerful, [he will die]. Then his kingdom will be divided into four parts. Kings who are not his descendants will rule, but they will not be as powerful as he was.

5 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.

Then the King of Egypt [MTY] will become very powerful. But one of his army generals will become more powerful than he is, and he will rule a bigger area.

6 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.

Several years later, the King of Egypt and the King of Syria will make an (alliance/agreement to help each other) [MTY]. The King of Syria will give his daughter to the King of Egypt to become his wife. But she will not be able to influence him [MTY] very long, and that woman, her husband, her child, and her servants will all be killed/assassinated.

7 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.

Soon after that, one of her relatives [MET] will become King [of Egypt]. His army will attack the army of Syria. They will enter the fortress of the soldiers of Syria and defeat them.

8 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.

They will return to Egypt, taking the statues of the gods [of the people of Syria] and many items made of silver and gold that had been dedicated to those gods. Then for several years his army will not attack [the army of] the King of Syria.

9 Then the king of the North will invade the realm of the king of the South, but he will withdraw to his own land.

Then the army of the King of Syria will invade Egypt, but they will soon return to Syria.

10 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.

However, the sons of the King of Syria will prepare to start a war, and they will gather a large army. That army will march [south] and spread all over [Israel] like a huge flood. They will attack a strong fortress [in the south of Israel].

11 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.

Then the King of Egypt, having become very angry, will march [with his army north] from Egypt and fight against the army of Syria. The King [of Syria] will gather together a very large army, but [the army of the King of Egypt] will defeat them.

12 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.

The King of Egypt will become very proud because of [his army] having killed a very large number of soldiers [from Syria], but his army will not continue to win battles.

13 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.

The King of Syria will again gather together an army that will be bigger than the one that he had before. After a few years, he will again march [south on their way to Egypt] with a large army and a lot of equipment [for fighting battles].

14 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.

At that time, many people in Egypt will rebel against their king. In order to fulfill a vision that [one of their leaders had seen], some violent/lawless people from your country [of Israel] will also rebel [in order to not be controlled by Egypt any more], but they will be defeated.

15 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.

Then the King of Syria will come [south with his army] and pile up dirt against the walls of a city that is well protected, and they will [break through those walls and] they will capture the city. The soldiers from Egypt [who have come to defend that city], even the best troops, will not be strong enough to continue to fight.

16 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.

So the King of Syria will do whatever he wants to, and no one will be able to oppose him. [His army] will occupy the glorious land [of Israel] and completely control/subdue it.

17 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.

Then he will decide to march [south] with all the soldiers from his kingdom. He will make an alliance with the King [of Egypt] and in order that his own daughter will [help him to] destroy the kingdom of Egypt, he will give her to the King of Egypt to become his wife. But that plan will fail.

18 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.

After that, the [army of] the King of Syria will attack the regions that are close to the [Mediterranean] Sea, and his [army] will conquer many of them. But [the army of] a leader from another country will defeat the army of Syria and will stop their king from continuing to be proud. He will do to the King of Syria what he deserved for being very insolent.

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

Then the King of Syria will return to the fortresses in his own land. But he will be defeated, and he will (die/be assassinated) [EUP] there.

20 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.

Then another man will (succeed him/become king). That king will send one of his officers to oppress the people [in Jerusalem] by forcing them to pay big taxes, in order to get more money for his kingdom. But after a few years [HYP] that king will die, but he will not die as a result of people being angry with him or in a battle.

21 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.

The next King of Syria will be an evil man who, [because he will not be the son of the previous king, ] will not have the right to become king. But he will come when people do not expect it, and he will become king by tricking the people.

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

When his army advances, they will attack any armies that oppose him and destroy those armies. They will also kill God’s Supreme Priest.

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

By making treaties/alliances with [the rulers of] other nations, he will deceive them, and he will become very powerful, even though he rules a nation that does not have a lot of people.

24 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.

Suddenly his [army] will invade a province that is very wealthy, and they will do things that none of his ancestors did: they will capture in battles all kinds of possessions from the people whom they defeat. Then the king will divide those possessions among his friends. He will also plan [for his army] to attack fortresses [in Egypt], but only for a short time.

25 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.

He will courageously/boldly conscript/gather a large and powerful army to attack [the army of] the king of Egypt. But the King of Egypt will prepare to fight against them with a huge and powerful army. However, someone will deceive him, with the result that his plan will not be successful.

26 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.

Even his most trusted advisors will plan to get rid of him. His army will be defeated and many of his soldiers will be killed.

27 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.

Then the two [kings who both want to rule that area] will sit down at the same table and eat together, but they will both lie to each other. Neither of them will get what he wants, because it will not be the time [that God] has determined/set [for them to rule Egypt].

28 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.

[The army of] the King [of Syria] will return to Syria, taking with them all the valuable things [that they had captured]. The king will be determined to get rid of the Supreme Priest of the Jewish people. He will do what he wants to [in Israel], and then return to his own country.

29 At the appointed time he will return and come against the South again. But this time it will not be as before.

When it is the time that God has decided, the King of Syria [and his army] will invade Egypt again. But this time he will not be successful like he was before.

30 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.

The army of Rome will come in ships and oppose his army and cause him to be afraid. So he will be very angry, and [with his army] he will return [to Israel] and try to get rid of the Supreme Priest. The King of Syria will do what those who have abandoned the Jewish religion advise/want him to do for them.

31 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.

Some of his soldiers will do things to (defile the temple/cause the temple to become unholy for them). They will prevent the priests from offering sacrifices each day, and they will put [in the temple] something that is disgusting/abominable.

32 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.

By deceiving those who have abandoned the Jewish religion, he will persuade them to (become his supporters/help him to do what he wants to do). But those who are devoted to their God will firmly oppose them.

33 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.

And wise [Israeli] leaders will teach others also. But for a while, some of those wise leaders will be killed in battles, and some will be burned to death, and some will be robbed, and some will be put in prison.

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

While God’s people are being persecuted, some people will help them a little bit, although some of those who help them will not do it sincerely.

35 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.

Some of those wise leaders will be killed [EUP], but as a result the others will be purified [DOU]. This suffering will continue until it is the time [that God] has appointed [for it to] end.

36 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.

The King [of Syria] will do what he wants to. He will boast and say that he is greater than any god. He will even revile the Supreme God. He will be able to do what he wants until the time that [God] punishes [MTY] him. [God] will accomplish what he has planned.

37 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.

The [King of Syria] will ignore the god that his ancestors worshiped and the god that many women love. He will ignore every god, because he will think that he is greater than all of them.

38 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.

But he will honor the god who [people think] protects fortresses. That is a god whom his ancestors did not honor. And he will give gold, silver, (jewels/very valuable stones) and other expensive gifts to that god.

39 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.

He will ask that god (OR, people who worship a god) from another country to help him to defend his fortresses. He will greatly honor those who allow him [to be their ruler]. He will appoint [some of] them to important positions in the government; and to reward them, he will give them some land.

40 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.

But when his time [to rule] is almost ended, [the army of] the King of Egypt will attack his [army]. The [army of the] King of Syria will fight against them furiously [SIM]. [His soldiers will be driving] chariots and [riding on] horses and [traveling in] many ships. His army will invade many countries and [spread all over those countries] like a flood [MET].

41 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.

They will invade the glorious land [of Israel] and kill [EUP] tens of thousands of people. But the people of the Edom people-group and the people of the Moab people-group and the people of the Ammon people-group who are still alive will escape.

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

When the army of Syria invades other countries, even the people of Egypt will be defeated.

43 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.

The army of Syria will take away from Egypt gold, silver, and other valuable items. The people of Libya and Ethiopia will allow [the King of Syria] to rule over them.

44 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.

But he will become very frightened/alarmed when he hears reports about what is happening in the east and in the north. So he will become very angry, and send his army to fight furiously and kill many [of their enemies].

45 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.

The [King of Syria] will set up his royal tents in the area between the [Mediterranean] Sea and the hill [in Jerusalem] on which the temple (exists/was built). But he will be killed there, because there will be no one to help him.”