1 A nd I, in the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood to confirm and to strengthen him.

“And in the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood up to help him and give him strength.)

2 A nd now will I declare unto thee the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth shall enrich himself with great riches more than all; and when he hath become strong through his riches, he shall stir up all against the realm of Greece.

I tell you the truth. Three more kings will rule over Persia. Then a fourth will become much richer than all of them. As soon as he becomes strong because of his riches, he will move everyone against the nation of Greece.

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

Then a powerful king will rise up, and he will rule with power and do as he pleases.

4 A nd when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of the heavens; 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.

But as soon as he has risen to power, his nation will be broken and divided to the four winds of heaven. It will not be divided among his own children, or because of his own power. For his power will be taken and given to others besides these. The Nations of Egypt and Syria

5 A nd the king of the south, who is one of his princes, shall be strong; but shall be stronger than he, and have dominion: his dominion shall be a great dominion.

“Then the king of the South will become strong. But one of his leaders will become stronger than he and will rule with much power.

6 A nd after the course of years they shall join affinity; and the king's daughter of the south shall come to the king of the north to make equitable conditions: but she shall not retain the strength of her arm; neither shall he stand, nor his arm; and she shall be given up, she and they that brought her, and he that begat her, and he that strengthened her in times.

After some years they will join together. The daughter of the king of the South will come to the king of the North to make an agreement. But she will not keep her power, and he will not keep his. She will be killed, together with those who brought her, and her father, and the one who helped her.

7 B ut out of a shoot from her roots shall one stand up in his place, who shall come to the army, and shall enter into the fortress of the king of the north, and shall deal against them, and shew himself mighty.

But one of her family will become king in his place. He will fight against the army and go into the strong city of the king of the North. He will fight against them and win.

8 H e shall also carry captive into Egypt their gods, with their princes, and their precious vessels of silver and of gold; and he shall subsist for more years than the king of the north;

And he will carry their false gods and objects of silver and gold away to Egypt. For some years he will leave the king of the North alone.

9 a nd shall come into the realm of the king of the south, but shall return into his own land.

Then the king of the North will go to fight against the king of the South, but will return to his own land.

10 A nd his sons shall be stirred up, and shall assemble a multitude of great forces; and one shall certainly come, and overflow, and pass through; and he shall return and carry the war even to his fortress.

“His sons will get ready for war and gather together a very large army. They will come like a flood and pass through, and fight in battle as far as his strong city.

11 A nd the king of the south shall be enraged, and shall come forth and fight with him, with the king of the north, who shall set forth a great multitude, but the multitude shall be given into his hand.

The king of the South will be very angry and will go and fight with the king of the North, who will have a very large army. But his army will be given over to the king of the South.

12 A nd when the multitude shall have been taken away, his heart shall be exalted; and he shall cast down myriads; but he shall not prevail.

When the army is taken away, the king of the South will become very proud, and he will kill tens of thousands. But his strength will not last.

13 F or the king of the north shall return, and shall set forth a multitude greater than the former; and shall certainly come at the end of the times of years with a great army and with much substance.

For the king of the North will gather together a larger army than before. And after some years he will come with a large army ready to do battle.

14 A nd in those times shall many stand up against the king of the south; and the violent of thy people will exalt themselves to establish the vision; but they shall fall.

“In those times many will fight against the king of the South. Angry men among your people will also go against the king to do what was shown in the special dream, but they will not win.

15 A nd the king of the north shall come, and cast up a mound, and take the well-fenced city; and the arms of the south shall not withstand, neither his chosen people, for there shall be no strength to withstand.

Then the king of the North will come and build a battle-wall, and take a very strong city. The army of the South will not be able to stand against him, not even their best soldiers. They will not have enough strength.

16 A nd he that cometh against him shall do according to his own will, and none shall stand before him; and he shall stand in the land of beauty, and destruction shall be in his hand.

The king of the North will do as he pleases. No one will be able to stand against him. He will stay for awhile in the Beautiful Land with the power to destroy it.

17 A nd he shall set his face to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and upright ones with him; and he shall practise; and he shall give him the daughter of women, to corrupt her; but she shall not stand, neither shall she be for him.

He will plan to come with the strength of his whole nation and will make a peace agreement with the king of the South. He will give him a daughter in marriage to try to destroy his nation. But she will not help him or be on his side.

18 A nd he shall turn his face unto the isles, and shall take many; but a captain for his own behalf shall cause the reproach offered by him to cease: he shall turn it upon him, without reproach for himself.

Then he will turn to the lands beside the sea and take many in battle. But a captain will stop him (king of the North) in his pride, and cause trouble to be put on him.

19 A nd he shall turn his face toward the fortresses of his own land; and he shall stumble and fall, and not be found.

So he will turn to the strong cities of his own land. But he will lose his step and fall, and will not be seen again. The Sinful King of Syria

20 A nd in his place shall one stand up who shall cause the exactor to pass through the glory of the kingdom; but in a few days he shall be broken, neither in anger nor in battle.

“Then one will become king in his place, who will send a man through his great nation to make the people pay taxes. Yet within a short time that king will be killed, but not in anger or in battle.

21 A nd in his place shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom; but he shall come in peaceably and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.

A very sinful person will rise to power in his place. He will not be given the honor of being king, but he will come in a time of peace and take over the nation using smooth sounding words and false ways.

22 A nd the overflowing forces shall be overflowed from before him, and shall be broken: yea, also the prince of the covenant.

Armies will be driven away and destroyed in front of him, and also the ruler of the agreement.

23 A nd after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully, and he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people.

And after a peace agreement is made with him, he will use false ways and become strong with a small army.

24 I n time of peace shall he enter even into 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, and he shall plan his devices against the fortified places, even for a time.

In a time of peace he will go into the richest parts of the land, and do what his fathers and his fathers’ fathers never did. He will divide the things taken in war and things of worth among them, and make plans against strong cities, but only for a time.

25 A nd 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 engage in battle with an exceeding great and mighty army; but he shall not stand, for they shall plan devices against him.

He will gather all his strength against the king of the South with a large army. So the king of the South will gather together a very large and powerful army for war, but he will not win the battle. Secret plans will be made against him.

26 A nd they that eat of his delicate food shall break him, and his army shall be dissolved; and many shall fall down slain.

Those who eat his best food will destroy him. And his army will be driven away and many will be killed.

27 A nd both these kings' hearts mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table; but it shall not prosper; for yet the end shall be at the time appointed.

The hearts of both kings will be sinful. They will lie to each other at the same table. But nothing will come of it, for the end will still come at the chosen time.

28 A nd he shall return into his land with great substance; and his heart shall be against the holy covenant; and he shall practise, and return to his own land.

Then the king of the North will return to his land with many things of much worth. But his heart will be set against the holy agreement. He will work against it and then return to his own land.

29 A t the set time he shall return, and come towards the south; but not as the former time shall be the latter;

“At the chosen time he will return to the South, but this time it will not be as it was before.

30 f or ships of Chittim shall come against him; and he shall be grieved, and return, and have indignation against the holy covenant; and will practise; and he shall return and direct his attention to those that forsake the holy covenant.

For ships of Kittim will come against him, and he will be afraid and turn back. He will return in anger and go against the holy agreement. He will come back and show favor to those who have turned away from the holy agreement.

31 A nd forces shall stand on his part, and they shall profane the sanctuary, the fortress, and shall take away the continual, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.

His armies will come and make the house of God unclean, and put an end to the burnt gifts. Then they will set up the very sinful manmade god.

32 A nd such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he pervert by flatteries; but the people that know their God shall be strong, and shall act.

He will speak well of those who sin against the agreement. But the people who know their God will show their strength and stand against him.

33 A nd they that are wise among the people shall instruct the many; and they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, days.

Those people who are wise will make many understand. But for many days they will be killed by the sword or by fire, or be taken to prison or robbed.

34 A nd when they fall, they shall be helped with a little help; but many shall cleave to them with flatteries.

When they fall, they will receive a little help. And many will pretend to be their friends.

35 A nd of the wise shall fall, to try them, and to purge and to make them white, to the time of the end: for it shall yet be for the time appointed.

Some of the wise people will be hurt, but this is so they will be made pure through punishment until the time of the end. For the end will still come at the chosen time.

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

“Then the king will do as he pleases. He will honor himself more than every god, and will say very bad things against the God of gods. Everything will go well for him until the time of anger is finished. For what has been planned will be done.

37 A nd he will not regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women; nor regard any +god: for he will magnify himself above all.

He will not care about the gods of his fathers or for the one that women like. He will not care about any other god, for he will honor himself more than any of them.

38 A nd in his place will he honour the +god of fortresses; and a +god whom his fathers knew not will he honour with gold and silver, and with precious stones and pleasant things.

Instead he will honor a god of strong cities, a god his fathers did not know. He will honor him with gold, silver, stones of much worth, and riches.

39 A nd he will practise in the strongholds of fortresses with a strange +god: whoso acknowledgeth him will he increase with glory; and he shall cause them to rule over the many, and shall divide the land for a reward.

And he will fight against the strongest cities with the help of a strange god. He will give great honor to those who follow him, and will let them rule over many people. And he will divide the land for a price.

40 A nd at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at 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 overflow and pass through.

“At the time of the end the king of the South will go against him. And the king of the North will fight against him with war-wagons, horsemen, and many ships. He will come into countries like a flood and pass through.

41 A nd he shall enter into the land of beauty, and many shall be overthrown; but these shall escape out of his hand: Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.

He will also come into the Beautiful Land and many countries will be taken. But Edom, Moab and the leaders of Ammon will be saved from his power.

42 A nd he shall stretch forth his hand upon the countries; and the land of Egypt shall not escape.

Then he will fight against other countries, and Egypt will be taken.

43 A nd 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 get the hidden riches of gold and silver and all the things of great worth in Egypt. And the people of Libya and Ethiopia will follow behind him.

44 B ut tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him; and he shall go forth with great fury to exterminate, and utterly to destroy many.

But news from the East and from the North will trouble him, and he will go with much anger to kill and destroy many people.

45 A nd he shall plant the tents of his palace between the sea and the mountain of holy beauty; and he shall come to his end, and there shall be none to help him.

He will set up his tents made for kings between the sea and the beautiful holy mountain. Yet he will come to his end, and no one will help him.