1
And I◦, in the first◦ year of Darius the Mede, I stood for confirming and for strength for him.
2
And now will I tell the truth to thee. Behold, there shall stand yet three kings for Persia, and the fourth shall be enriched with greater riches than all; and as is his strength by his riches, he shall stir··up all against the kingdom of Javan*.
3
And a mighty king shall stand, and shall rule with much ruling, and do according··to his good··pleasure.
4
And as he shall stand, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be halved to the four winds of the heavens, and not to his posterity, and not according··to his rule which he ruled; for his kingdom shall be plucked··up, and be for others apart from these.
5
And the king of the south and those from his princes shall be··firm, and he shall be··firm over him, and rule; his rule shall be much ruling.
6
And in the end of years they shall come··together◦; and the daughter of the king of the south shall come to▵ the king of the north to do what is upright; but she shall not retain power of the arm; and he and his arm shall not stand; but she◦ shall be given up, and they who brought her, and he who begot her, and he who confirmed her in these times.
7
But from a stem of her roots shall one stand in his position◦, and he shall come to▵ the host, and shall come into the stronghold of the king of the north, and shall make war against◦ them, and shall hold··firm.
8
and also their gods, with their princes◦, and with their desired vessels of silver and of gold they shall bring into captivity into Egypt; and he◦ shall stand more years than the king of the north.
9
And the king of the south shall come into his kingdom, and shall return to▵ his own ground.
10
But his sons shall be stirred··up◦, and shall gather a multitude◦ of great◦ forces; and one shall certainly come, and overflow, and pass··through: and he shall return, and be stirred··up◦, even··to his stronghold.
11
And the king of the south shall be made··bitter, and shall go··out and fight with him, even with the king of the north; and he shall make a crowd of many to stand forth; but the crowd shall be given into his hand.
12
And when he has borne away the crowd, his heart shall be lifted··up◦; and he shall make myriads fall; but he shall not become··strong by it.
13
For the king of the north shall return, and cause a crowd to stand, many more than the first, and coming he shall come at the end of the times of the years with a great host and with many acquisitions.
14
And in those◦ times shall many stand against the king of the south; and the sons of robbers* of thy people shall lift· themselves ·up to make the vision stand; but they shall stumble.
15
And the king of the north shall come, and pour··out an embankment, and take◦ the fortified city; and the arms of the south shall not stand, neither his chosen people, and there is not◦ power to stand.
16
But he who comes to▵ him shall do according··to his own good··pleasure, and none shall stand before him; and he shall stand in the elegant land, and there shall be a complete end by his hand.
17
And he shall set his face to come with the authority of all his kingdom, and the upright with him; and thus shall he do; and he shall give to him the daughter of the women to destroy her: and she shall not stand, and she shall not be for him.
18
And he shall turn· his face ·back to the islands, and shall capture many; but a captain shall cause his reproach to cease for him; without his own reproach he shall cause it to return to him.
19
Then he shall return his face toward◦ the stronghold of his own land; but he shall stumble and fall, and not be··found.
20
And there shall stand on his position◦ one who causes a taskmaster to pass··through in the honor of the kingdom; but within◦ the first◦ days he shall be broken, but not in anger, nor in battle.
21
And upon his position◦ shall stand someone despised, and they shall not put◦ upon him the majesty of the kingdom; but he shall come with tranquility, and make· the kingdom ·firm by flatteries.
22
And with the arms of the overflow shall they overflow from before him, and shall be broken; and also the monarch of the covenant.
23
And from coming··together◦ unto▵ him he shall do deceitfully; and he shall go··up, and shall become··numerous with a··little nation.
24
In the tranquil and fat* places of the province he shall come; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor◦ the fathers of his fathers; he shall scatter▵ to them◦ plunder, and spoil, and acquisition; and he shall think his thoughts against the fortresses, and even until the time.
25
And he shall stir··up his power and his heart against the king of the south with a great host; and the king of the south shall be stirred··up◦ to battle with a very great and numerous host; and yet he shall not stand; for they shall think thoughts against him.
26
And they who eat of his meat shall break him, and his host shall overflow; and many shall fall down slain.
27
And two hearts of these kings shall be to do evil, and they shall speak lies at one table; but it shall not prosper; for yet the end shall be at the time··appointed.
28
And he shall return into his land with great acquisitions; and his heart shall be against the holy covenant; and he shall do exploits, and return to his own land.
29
At the time··appointed he shall return, and come toward the south; but it shall not be as the first, or as the latter.
30
And the boats of Kittim shall come against◦ him; and he shall be dejected, and return, and have··indignation against the covenant of holiness: and he shall do, and shall return, and shall have understanding against those who forsake the covenant of holiness.
31
And arms shall stand still from him, and they shall profane the sanctuary of strength, and shall remove the continual offering, and they shall give what is detestable that makes··desolate.
32
And they who act··wickedly with the covenant shall he contaminate by flatteries; but the people who know their God shall be confirmed, and do.
33
And the intelligent of the people shall make many understand; and they shall stumble by the sword and by flame, by captivity and by plunder, for days.
34
And when they shall stumble, they shall be helped with a··little help; but many shall join to them with flatteries.
35
And some of them of intelligence shall stumble, to examine them, and to purify, and to make· them ·white, even··to the time of the end; because◦ it is yet for a time··appointed.
36
And the king shall do according··to his good··pleasure; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god◦, and shall speak wonderful things against the God◦ of gods◦, and shall prosper until the indignation be completed; for that which is decided shall be done.
37
Neither shall he understand the God of his fathers, nor◦ the desire of women, nor◦ understand any God▵; for he shall magnify himself above all.
38
But by◦ his position◦ he shall honor◦ a god▵ of strongholds, a god▵ whom his fathers knew not shall he honor◦ with gold, and with silver, and with precious stones, and with desirable things.
39
And he shall make for fortifications strongholds with a foreign god▵, whom he shall acknowledge and multiply with glory; and he shall cause them to rule among◦ many, and shall part the ground at a price.
40
And in the time of the end shall the king of the south charge··at him; and the king of the north shall rush upon him as a tempest, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall come into the lands, and shall overflow and pass··through.
41
And he shall come into the elegant land, and many shall stumble; but these shall escape from his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the head of the sons of Ammon.
42
And he shall put··forth◦ his hand upon◦ the lands; and the land of Egypt shall not escape◦.
43
But he shall rule over◦ the hidden··stores of the gold and the silver, and over◦ all that is desired of Egypt; and Libyans and Ethiopians shall be in his marchings.
44
But a report from the sunrise and from the north shall vex him; and he shall go··out with great fury to blot··out and to doom many.
45
And he shall plant the tabernacles of his pavilion◦ between the seas in the elegant holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.
