1 ¶ In the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood to strengthen and defend him.

2 And now I will reveal to you the truth. Behold, there will yet arise three kings in Persia; and the fourth will be far richer than the others: and as he gets to be strong through his riches he will stir up everybody against the realm of Greece.

3 And a warrior king will arise, who will rule over a large domain, and do as he pleases.

4 But as soon as he is established, his kingdom will be broken, and will be divided to the four winds of heaven; but not to his descendants, nor will it be the same kingdom that he ruled: for his kingdom will be uprooted, and go to others beside those.

5 ¶ And the king of the south will be strong, but one of his officers will be stronger than he, and will rule over a large dominion.

6 After some years they will join one another; for the southern king’s daughter will marry the king of the north to make peace: but she will not retain her power; nor will his power continue: but she will be given up, together with her escort, and her child, and the man who married her during that time.

7 But from a branch of her roots one will rise up in his place, who will come with an army, and will enter the fortress of the king of the north, and will prevail over them:

8 And he will carry their gods into Egypt as captives, with their molten images, and with their precious vessels of silver and of gold; and he will stay away from the king of the north for some years.

9 So the king of the south will return to his kingdom, and will return to his own land.

10 But his sons will be stirred up, and will assemble a large army: that will advance, sweeping through like a flood: then he will return, and fight his way to his foe’s fortress.

11 And the king of the south will be moved with fury, and will come out and fight with him, that is with the king of the north: and he will send out a great army; but the army will fall into the enemy’s hands.

12 And after he has taken the army away, his heart will be lifted up; and though he defeats ten of thousands: he will not continue strong.

13 For the king of the north will return, and will raise an army larger than the one before, and after some years will certainly come with a great army and much equipment.

14 And at that time many will rebel against the king of the south: also the men of violence among your own people will assert themselves to fulfill a vision; but they will fall.

15 So the king of the north will come, and throw up an assault ramp, and take a fortified city: and the southern forces will not hold their ground, even his picked troops will not have any strength to withstand.

16 But he who comes against him will do as he pleases, and no one will stand before him: and he will stand in the glorious land, and will have the power to destroy it.

17 He will resolve to come with the strength of his entire kingdom, and will reach an agreement with him: and he will give him a daughter to marry, aiming to ruin his kingdom: but the plan will not succeed, or help him.

18 After this he will turn his attention to the coastlands, and will take many places: but a commander will put an end to his taunting; turning his taunts against him.

19 Then he will turn his face back toward the fortress of his own land: but he will stumble and fall, and not be found.

20 Then another will rise to take his place and send out an extractor of tribute in royal attire: but within a few days he will be destroyed, but not in fury, or in battle.

21 ¶ And in his place will stand up a vile person, who will not be given royal glory: but he will come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by intrigue.

22 And before him overwhelming forces will be swept away, and will be broken; and also a prince of the covenant.

23 And after a treaty is made with him he will act treacherously: for he will come up, and will rise to power with a small nation.

24 In time of peace he will enter the richest places of the province; and he will do what neither his fathers, or his fathers’ fathers ever did; he will distribute among them plunder, loot, and wealth: and he will devise plans against fortresses, but only for a time.

25 And with a great army he will stir up his power and his courage against the king of the south; and the king of the south will prepare for battle with a very great and mighty army; but he will not succeed: for they will devise plots against him.

26 Yes, those who eat the food he provides will destroy him, and his army will be swept away: and many will fall down slain.

27 And both these kings’ hearts will be set on doing evil, and they will speak lies at the same table; but will not succeed: for the end will come at the appointed time.

28 Then he will return to his land with great riches; and will set his heart against the holy covenant; and he will take action, and then return to his own land.

29 At the time appointed he will return, and invade the south; but this last time will be different from the first.

30 For ships from Cyprus will come against him: therefore he will be discouraged, and turn back, and carry out his rage against the holy covenant: he will turn back, and make common cause with those who forsake the holy covenant.

31 And he will send troops, and they will defile the holy place, the place of refuge, and will stop the daily sacrifice, and will set up the abomination that makes desolate.

32 And by flattery he will seduce those who act wickedly contrary to the covenant: but the people who know their God will stand firm, and take action.

33 And those who understand among the people will instruct many: yet for a time they will die by the sword and flame, or be made captive, and plundered.

34 Now when they fall, they will receive little help: but many will join with them hypocritically.

35 And some of those who have understanding will fall, but this will refine them, purify and make them white, till the end comes: for it will still come at the appointed time.

36 And the king will do as he pleases; and he will exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and will say monstrous things against the God of gods, and will succeed until his rage is carried out: for what is decreed must come to pass.

37 Nor will he respect the God of his fathers, or the one beloved by women, or any god: for he will magnify himself above all.

38 Instead he will honor the God of fortresses: and with gold, silver, precious stones, and pleasant things will honor a god that his fathers did not know.

39 Thus he will man the fortresses with the devotees of a strange god, and give high honors to those who acknowledge him: and will cause them to rule over many, and will distribute the land to them as a reward.

40 In the last time he will fight the southern king: and the northern king will come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; invading the countries, and sweeping through them.

41 He will also invade the glorious land, and many countries will be overthrown: but these will escape from his hand, Edom, Moab, and most of the children of Ammon.

42 He will also stretch out his hand against the other 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 fall into line.

44 But news from the east and from the north will trouble him: therefore he will leave in a great fury to destroy, and utterly sweep away many.