Daniel 11

1 “In the first year of Cyrus, I stood up to provide strength and support.” [a] 2 “Now I will tell you the truth. Three more kings will arise in Persia, and then a fourth will become far richer than all the others. When he becomes strong through his wealth, he will rise up against all the kingdoms of the Greeks.” 3 “Then a mighty king will arise, rule a great empire, and do as he pleases.” 4 “But as soon as his kingdom is established, it will be broken and divided toward the four winds of heaven. It will not go to his descendants or retain the authority with which he ruled, because his kingdom will be uprooted and given to others.”

5 “The king of the south will become strong, but one of his rulers will become stronger than he and rule a greater dominion.” 6 “After some years they will make an alliance. The daughter of the king of the south will come to the king of the north to make an agreement, but she will not retain the strength of her arm, and his offspring will not endure. She, those who brought her, the young woman, and the one who supported her in those times will be handed over.” 7 “But a shoot from her roots will arise in his place. He will come against the army, enter the strongholds of the king of the north, fight them, and prevail.” 8 “He will even carry their gods, cast images, and precious vessels of silver and gold captive to Egypt, and he will outlast the king of the north.” 9 “Then the king of the north will enter the kingdom of the king of the south but return to his own land.” 10 “His sons will gather a great multitude of forces. One will advance, overflow, pass through, settle down, and join battle as far as his fortress.” 11 “The king of the south will become enraged and go out to fight the king of the north. The king of the north will raise a great multitude, but that multitude will be handed over to the other king.” 12 “He will take the multitude and become proud. He will cast down many thousands but will not prevail.” 13 “The king of the north will return with a multitude larger than the first. After some years, an invading army will come with great forces and abundant supplies.” 14 “In those times many will rise against the king of the south. Violent people from your own nation will exalt themselves to fulfill the vision, but they will fail.” 15 “The king of the north will come, build up a siege ramp, and capture fortified cities. The forces of the south will not stand, not even their chosen troops, because they will have no strength to resist.” 16 “The invader will do as he pleases, and no one will stand against him. He will stand in the glorious land, and destruction will be in his hand.” [b] 17 “He will resolve to come with the strength of his whole kingdom and will make everything go smoothly with the other king. He will give him a daughter in order to corrupt her, but she will not remain or be on his side.” 18 “Then he will turn toward the islands and capture many. He will put an end to the rulers of their disgrace, but his own disgrace will return to him.” 19 “Then he will turn back toward the fortresses of his own land, but he will stumble, fall, and disappear.” 20 “A royal offshoot will arise from his root in his place, passing through and gaining royal glory. Yet in those days he will be broken, though not openly or in battle.”

21 “He will stand in his place. He was despised, and royal honor was not given to him, but he will come in prosperity and seize the kingdom through deceit.” 22 “Overwhelming armies will be swept away and broken before him, as will the ruler of the covenant.” 23 “After making an alliance with him, he will act deceitfully. He will rise to power with only a small nation.” 24 “He will enter prosperous, fertile regions and do what neither his fathers nor his fathers’ fathers did. He will scatter plunder, spoil, and wealth among them and devise plans against Egypt—but only for a time.” 25 “He will stir up his strength and courage against the king of the south with a great army. The king of the south will wage war with an extremely large and powerful army, but he will not stand because plans will be devised against him.” 26 “Those who eat his provisions will crush him. His army will be swept away, and many will fall dead.” 27 “The hearts of both kings will be set on evil, and they will speak lies at the same table. But their plans will not succeed, because the end will still come at the appointed time.” 28 “The northern king will return to his land with great wealth, with his heart set against the holy covenant. He will take action and then return to his own land.” 29 “At the appointed time he will return and come into the south, but it will not be like the first time or the last.” 30 “Forces setting out from Kittim will come against him, and he will be humbled. He will turn back in fury against the holy covenant and take action. He will return and favor those who abandon the holy covenant.” 31 “Offshoots from him will arise, treat the sanctuary of might as common, remove the regular sacrifice, and set up the detestable thing of desolation.” 32 “Those who act lawlessly against the covenant will bring in intrigue, but the people who know their God will stand firm and take action.” 33 “Those among the people who have understanding will understand many things. Yet for many days they will fall by sword and flame, captivity and plunder.” 34 “When they fall, they will receive a little help, but many will join them deceitfully.” 35 “Some of those who have understanding will fall so that they may be tested by fire, chosen, and revealed until the time of the end, because it will still come at the appointed time.”

36 “The king will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god and speak boastful things. He will prosper until the indignation is completed, because it is coming to an end.” 37 “He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers or for the desire of women. He will show no regard for any god, because he will magnify himself above them all.” 38 “He will honor the god Maozin in his place, and he will honor a god his fathers did not know with gold, silver, precious stones, and costly gifts.” [c] 39 “He will act against fortified refuges with a foreign god, increase glory, subject many to them, and divide land as gifts.” 40 “At the time of the end, the king of the south will clash with him. The king of the north will storm against him with chariots, horsemen, and many ships. He will invade the lands, overwhelm them, and pass through.” 41 “He will enter the glorious land, and many will grow weak. But Edom, Moab, and the leaders of the Ammonites will escape from his hand.” 42 “He will stretch out his hand against the lands, and the land of Egypt will not be rescued.” 43 “He will gain control of Egypt’s hidden treasures of gold and silver and all its precious possessions, and of the Libyans and Ethiopians in their strongholds.” 44 “But reports from the east and north will alarm him. He will go out in great fury to destroy and devote many to destruction.” 45 “He will pitch his royal tent between the seas at the glorious holy mountain. Yet he will come to his end, and no one will rescue him.” [d]