Daniel
11
- And in the first year of Darius the Mede,
I took my stand to support and protect him.)
- "Now then, I tell you the truth: Three
more kings will appear in Persia, and then a fourth, who will be far richer
than all the others. When he has gained power by his wealth, he will stir
up everyone against the kingdom of Greece.
- Then a mighty king will appear, who will
rule with great power and do as he pleases.
- After he has appeared, his empire will be
broken up and parceled out toward the four winds of heaven. It will not go
to his descendants, nor will it have the power he exercised, because his empire
will be uprooted and given to others.
- "The king of the South will become
strong, but one of his commanders will become even stronger than he and will
rule his own kingdom with great power.
- After some years, they will become allies.
The daughter of the king of the South will go to the king of the North to
make an alliance, but she will not retain her power, and he and his power
will not last. In those days she will be handed over, together with her royal
escort and her father and the one who supported her.
- "One from her family line will arise
to take her place. He will attack the forces of the king of the North and
enter his fortress; he will fight against them and be victorious.
- He will also seize their gods, their metal
images and their valuable articles of silver and gold and carry them off to
Egypt. For some years he will leave the king of the North alone.
- Then the king of the North will invade the
realm of the king of the South but will retreat to his own country.
- His sons will prepare for war and assemble
a great army, which will sweep on like an irresistible flood and carry the
battle as far as his fortress.
- "Then the king of the South will march
out in a rage and fight against the king of the North, who will raise a large
army, but it will be defeated.
- When the army is carried off, the king of
the South will be filled with pride and will slaughter many thousands, yet
he will not remain triumphant.
- For the king of the North will muster another
army, larger than the first; and after several years, he will advance with
a huge army fully equipped.
- "In those times many will rise against
the king of the South. The violent men among your own people will rebel in
fulfillment of the vision, but without success.
- Then the king of the North will come and
build up siege ramps and will capture a fortified city. The forces of the
South will be powerless to resist; even their best troops will not have the
strength to stand.
- The invader will do as he pleases; no one
will be able to stand against him. He will establish himself in the Beautiful
Land and will have the power to destroy it.
- He will determine to come with the might
of his entire kingdom and will make an alliance with the king of the South.
And he will give him a daughter in marriage in order to overthrow the kingdom,
but his plans will not succeed or help him.
- Then he will turn his attention to the coastlands
and will take many of them, but a commander will put an end to his insolence
and will turn his insolence back upon him.
- After this, he will turn back toward the
fortresses of his own country but will stumble and fall, to be seen no more.
- "His successor will send out a tax
collector to maintain the royal splendor. In a few years, however, he will
be destroyed, yet not in anger or in battle.
- "He will be succeeded by a contemptible
person who has not been given the honor of royalty. He will invade the kingdom
when its people feel secure, and he will seize it through intrigue.
- Then an overwhelming army will be swept
away before him; both it and a prince of the covenant will be destroyed.
- After coming to an agreement with him, he
will act deceitfully, and with only a few people he will rise to power.
- When the richest provinces feel secure,
he will invade them and will achieve what neither his fathers nor his forefathers
did. He will distribute plunder, loot and wealth among his followers. He will
plot the overthrow of fortresses--but only for a time.
- "With a large army he will stir up
his strength and courage against the king of the South. The king of the South
will wage war with a large and very powerful army, but he will not be able
to stand because of the plots devised against him.
- Those who eat from the king's provisions
will try to destroy him; his army will be swept away, and many will fall in
battle.
- The two kings, with their hearts bent on
evil, will sit at the same table and lie to each other, but to no avail, because
an end will still come at the appointed time.
- The king of the North will return to his
own country with great wealth, but his heart will be set against the holy
covenant. He will take action against it and then return to his own country.
- "At the appointed time he will invade
the South again, but this time the outcome will be different from what it
was before.
- Ships of the western coastlands will oppose
him, and he will lose heart. Then he will turn back and vent his fury against
the holy covenant. He will return and show favor to those who forsake the
holy covenant.
- "His armed forces will rise up to desecrate
the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice. Then they will set
up the abomination that causes desolation.
- With flattery he will corrupt those who
have violated the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly
resist him.
- "Those who are wise will instruct many,
though for a time they will fall by the sword or be burned or captured or
plundered.
- When they fall, they will receive a little
help, and many who are not sincere will join them.
- Some of the wise will stumble, so that they
may be refined, purified and made spotless until the time of the end, for
it will still come at the appointed time.
- "The king will do as he pleases. He
will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will say unheard-of things
against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is
completed, for what has been determined must take place.
- He will show no regard for the gods of his
fathers or for the one desired by women, nor will he regard any god, but will
exalt himself above them all.
- Instead of them, he will honor a god of
fortresses; a god unknown to his fathers he will honor with gold and silver,
with precious stones and costly gifts.
- He will attack the mightiest fortresses
with the help of a foreign god and will greatly honor those who acknowledge
him. He will make them rulers over many people and will distribute the land
at a price.
- "At the time of the end the king of
the South will engage him in battle, and the king of the North will storm
out against him with chariots and cavalry and a great fleet of ships. He will
invade many countries and sweep through them like a flood.
- He will also invade the Beautiful Land.
Many countries will fall, but Edom, Moab and the leaders of Ammon will be
delivered from his hand.
- He will extend his power over many countries;
Egypt will not escape.
- He will gain control of the treasures of
gold and silver and all the riches of Egypt, with the Libyans and Nubians
in submission.
- But reports from the east and the north
will alarm him, and he will set out in a great rage to destroy and annihilate
many.
- He will pitch his royal tents between the
seas at the beautiful holy mountain. Yet he will come to his end, and no one
will help him.
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