1 And as for me, in the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood up to confirm and strengthen him.
2 And now I will show you the truth. Look, there will stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth will be far richer than all of them: and when he is waxed strong through his riches, he will stir up all against the realm of Greece.
3 And a mighty king will stand up, that will rule with great dominion, and do according to his will.
4 And when he will stand up, his kingdom will be broken, and will be divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion with which he ruled; for his kingdom will be plucked up, even for others besides these.
5 And the king of the south will be strong, and [one] of his princes; and he will be strong above him, and have dominion; his dominion will be a great dominion.
6 And at the end of years they will join themselves together; and 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; neither will he stand, nor his arm; but she will be given up, and those who brought her, and he who begot her, and he who strengthened her in those times.
7 But out of a shoot from her roots will one stand up in his place, who will come to the army, and will enter into the fortress of the king of the north, and will deal against them, and will prevail.
8 And also their gods, with their molten images, [and] with their goodly vessels of silver and of gold, he will carry captive into Egypt; and he will refrain some years from the king of the north.
9 And he will come into the realm of the king of the south, but he will return into his own land.
10 And his sons will war, and will assemble a multitude of great forces, which will come upon, and overflow, and pass through; and they will return and war, even to his fortress.
11 And the king of the south will be moved with anger, and will come forth and fight with him, even with the king of the north; and he will set forth a great multitude, and the multitude will be given into his hand.
12 And the multitude will be lifted up, and his heart will be exalted; and he will cast down tens of thousands, but he will not prevail.
13 And the king of the north will return, and will set forth a multitude greater than the former; and he will come upon at the end of the times, [even of] years, with a great army and with much substance.
14 And in those times there will many stand up against the king of the south: also the sons of the violent among your people will lift themselves up to establish the vision; but they will fall.
15 So the king of the north will come, and cast up a mound, and take a well-fortified city: and the forces of the south will not stand, neither his chosen people, neither will there be any strength to stand.
16 But he who comes against him will do according to his own will, and none will stand before him; and he will stand in the glorious land, and in his hand will be destruction.
17 And he will set his face to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and he had equitable conditions, and performed them: and he will give him the daughter of women, to corrupt her; but she will not stand, neither be for him.
18 After this he will turn his face to the isles, and will take many: but a prince will cause the reproach offered by him to cease; moreover, he will cause his reproach to turn on him.
19 Then he will turn his face toward the fortresses of his own land; but he will stumble and fall, and will not be found.
20 Then in his place one will stand up that will cause an exactor to pass through the glory of the kingdom; but within few days he will be destroyed, neither in anger, nor in battle.
21 And in his place will stand up a contemptible person, to whom they had not given the honor of the kingdom: but he will come in time of security, and will obtain the kingdom by flatteries.
22 And the flooding forces will be flooded away from before him, and will be broken; and also the leader of the covenant.
23 And after the league made with him he will work deceitfully; for he will come up, and will become strong, with a small people.
24 In time of security he will come even on the fattest places of the province; and he will do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers' fathers; he will scatter among them prey, and spoil, and substance: yes, he will devise his devices against the strongholds, even for a time.
25 And he will stir up his power and his courage against the king of the south with a great army; and the king of the south will war in battle with an exceedingly great and mighty army; but he will not stand; for they will devise devices against him.
26 Yes, those who eat of his dainties will destroy him, and his army will flood; and many will fall down slain.
27 And as for both these kings, their hearts will be to do mischief, and they will speak lies at one table: but it will not prosper; for yet the end will be at the time appointed.
28 Then he will return into his land with great substance; and his heart [will be] against the holy covenant; and he will do [his pleasure], and return to his own land.
29 At the time appointed he will return, and come into the south; but it will not be in the latter time as it was in the former.
30 For ships of Kittim will come against him; therefore he will be grieved, and will return, and have indignation against the holy covenant, and will do [his pleasure]: he will even return, and have regard to those who forsake the holy covenant.
31 And forces will stand on his part, and they will profane the sanctuary, even the fortress, and will take away the continual [burnt-offering], and they will set up the detestable thing that makes desolate.
32 And such as do wickedly against the covenant he will pervert by flatteries; but the people who know their God will be strong, and do [exploits].
33 And those who are wise among the people will instruct many; yet they will fall by the sword and by flame, by captivity and by spoil, [many] days.
34 Now when they will fall, they will be helped with a little help; but many will join themselves to them with flatteries.
35 And some of those who are wise will fall, to refine among 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 will do according to his will; and he will exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and will speak marvelous things against the God of gods; and he will prosper until the indignation is accomplished; for that which is determined will be done.
37 Neither will he regard the gods of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god; for he will magnify himself above all.
38 But in his place he will honor the god of fortresses; and a god whom his fathers did not know he will honor with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.
39 And he will deal with the strongest fortresses by the help of a foreign god: whoever acknowledges [him] he will increase with glory; and he will cause them to rule over many, and will divide the land for a price.
40 And at the time of the end the king of the south will contend with him; and the king of the north will come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he will enter into the countries, and will flood and pass through.
41 He will enter also into the glorious land, and tens of thousands will be overthrown; but these will be delivered out of his hand: Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the sons of Ammon.
42 He will stretch forth his hand also on the countries; and the land of Egypt will not escape.
43 But he will have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; and the Libyans and the Ethiopians will be at his steps.
44 But news out of the east and out of the north will trouble him; and he will go forth with great fury to destroy and to completely sweep away many.
45 And he will plant the tents of his palace between the sea and the glorious holy mountain; yet he will come to his end, and none will help him.