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

² And now will I show 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.

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

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 besides these.

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.

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.

⁷ But out of a shoot from her roots shall one stand up in his place, who 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.

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.

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

¹¹ And the king of the south shall be moved with anger, 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.

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.

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.

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.

¹⁵ So the king of the north shall come, and cast up a mound, and take a well-fortified city: and the forces of the south shall not stand, neither his chosen people, neither shall there be any 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.

¹⁷ And he shall set his face to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and with him equitable conditions; and he shall perform them: and he shall give him the daughter of women, to corrupt her; but she shall not stand, neither be for 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.

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.

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.

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

²² And the overwhelming forces shall be overwhelmed from before him, and shall be broken; yea, also the 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.

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 strongholds, even 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.

²⁶ Yea, they that eat of his dainties shall destroy him, and his army shall overflow; and many shall fall down 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.

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.

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.

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.

³¹ And forces 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.

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].

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

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

³⁵ And some of them that are 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.

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

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

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

³⁹ And he shall deal with the strongest fortresses by the help of a foreign 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.

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.

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.

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

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 sweep away many.

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.

¹ The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart; and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil [to come].

² He entereth into peace; they rest in their beds, each one that walketh in his uprightness.

³ But draw near hither, ye sons of the sorceress, the seed of the adulterer and the harlot.

⁴ Against whom do ye sport yourselves? against whom make ye a wide mouth, and put out the tongue? are ye not children of transgression, a seed of falsehood,

⁵ ye that inflame yourselves among the oaks, under every green tree; that slay the children in the valleys, under the clefts of the rocks?

⁶ Among the smooth [stones] of the valley is thy portion; they, they are thy lot; even to them hast thou poured a drink-offering, thou hast offered an oblation. Shall I be appeased for these things?

⁷ Upon a high and lofty mountain hast thou set thy bed; thither also wentest thou up to offer sacrifice.

⁸ And behind the doors and the posts hast thou set up thy memorial: for thou hast uncovered [thyself] to another than me, and art gone up; thou hast enlarged thy bed, and made thee a covenant with them: thou lovedst their bed where thou sawest it.

⁹ And thou wentest to the king with oil, and didst increase thy perfumes, and didst send thine ambassadors far off, and didst debase thyself even unto Sheol.

¹⁰ Thou wast wearied with the length of thy way; yet saidst thou not, It is in vain: thou didst find a quickening of thy strength; therefore thou wast not faint.

¹¹ And of whom hast thou been afraid and in fear, that thou liest, and hast not remembered me, nor laid it to thy heart? have not I held my peace even of long time, and thou fearest me not?

¹² I will declare thy righteousness; and as for thy works, they shall not profit thee.

¹³ When thou criest, let them that thou hast gathered deliver thee; but the wind shall take them, a breath shall carry them all away: but he that taketh refuge in me shall possess the land, and shall inherit my holy mountain.

¹⁴ And he will say, Cast ye up, cast ye up, prepare the way, take up the stumbling-block out of the way of my people.

¹⁵ For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite.

¹⁶ For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth; for the spirit would faint before me, and the souls that I have made.

¹⁷ For the iniquity of his covetousness was I wroth, and smote him; I hid [my face] and was wroth; and he went on backsliding in the way of his heart.

¹⁸ I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts unto him and to his mourners.

¹⁹ I create the fruit of the lips: Peace, Peace, to him that is far off and to him that is near, saith Jehovah; and I will heal him.

²⁰ But the wicked are like the troubled sea; for it cannot rest, and its waters cast up mire and dirt.

²¹ There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.