1“And in the first year of Dareyawesh the Mede, I myself stood up to support and protect him.

2“And now I declare the truth to you: See, three more sovereigns are to arise in Persia, and the fourth is to become far richer than them all. And by his power, through his riches, he stirs up all against the rulership of Greece.

3“And a mighty sovereign shall arise, and he shall rule with great authority, and do as he pleases.

4“But when he has arisen, his rule shall be broken up and divided toward the four winds of the heavens, but not among his descendants nor according to his authority with which he ruled, because his rule shall be uprooted, even for others besides these.

5“And a sovereign of the South shall become strong, along with one of his princes who gains power over him and shall rule – his rule being a great rule.

6“And at the end of years they shall join themselves together, and a daughter of the sovereign of the South shall come to the sovereign of the North to make an alliance. But she shall not retain the strength of her power, nor would he or his power stand. And she shall be given up, with those who brought her, and he who brought her forth, and he who supported her in those times.

7“But from a branch of her roots one shall arise in his place, and he shall come into the defence and come into a stronghold of the sovereign of the North, and shall act against them, and shall prevail,

8and also their mighty ones, with their princes and their precious utensils of silver and gold he shall seize and bring to Mitsrayim. And he shall stand more years than the sovereign of the North.

9“Then he shall enter the reign of the sovereign of the South, but shall return to his own land.

10“But his sons shall stir themselves up, and assemble a great army. And he shall certainly come and overflow and pass through, then return to his stronghold, and be stirred up.

11“Then the sovereign of the South shall be enraged and go out to fight with him, with the sovereign of the North, who shall raise a large army. But the army shall be given into the hand of his enemy,

12and he shall capture the army, his heart being exalted. And he shall cause tens of thousands to fall, but not prevail.

13“And the sovereign of the North shall return and raise an army greater than the former, and certainly come at the end of some years with a great army and much supplies.

14“And in those times many shall rise up against the sovereign of the South, while some violent ones among your people exalt themselves to establish the vision, but they shall stumble.

15“Then the sovereign of the North shall come in and build a siege mound, and capture a city of strongholds. And the arms of the South shall not stand, nor his choice people, for there is no strength to stand.

16“So his opponent shall do as he pleases – with no one standing against him – and stand in the Splendid Land with destruction in his hand.

17“And he shall set his face to enter with the strength of his entire rule, and make an alliance with him. And he shall do so, and give him the daughter of women to corrupt her. But she shall not stand, neither be for him.

18“Then he shall turn his face to the coastlands and capture many. But a ruler shall bring the reproach against them to an end. And with the reproach removed, he shall turn back on him.

19“Then he shall turn his face toward the strongholds of his own land, but shall stumble and fall, and not be found.

20“And in his place one shall stand up who imposes taxes on the adorned city of the rule, but within a few days he is destroyed, but not in wrath or in battle.

21“And in his place shall arise a despised one, to whom they shall not give the excellency of the rule. But he shall come in peaceably, and seize the rule by flatteries.

22“And the arms of the flood shall be swept away from before him and be broken, and also the prince of the covenant.

23“And after they joined him, he shall work deceit, and shall come up and become strong with a small nation.

24“He shall enter peaceably, even into the richest places of the province, and do what his fathers have not done, nor his forefathers: distribute among them plunder and spoil and supplies, and devise his plots against the strongholds, but only for a time.

25“And he shall stir up his power and his heart against the sovereign of the South with a great army, and the sovereign of the South shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army, but not stand, for they shall devise plots against him.

26“And those who have been eating his food shall destroy him, and his army be swept away, and many fall down slain.

27“And both these sovereigns’ hearts are to do evil, and speak lies at the same table, but not prosper, for the end is still for an appointed time.

28“Then he shall return to his land with much supplies, and his heart be against the set-apart covenant. And he shall act, and shall return to his land.

29“At the appointed time he shall return and go toward the south, but it shall not be like the former or the latter.

30“For ships from Kittim shall come against him, and he shall lose heart, and shall return in rage against the set-apart covenant, and shall act, and shall return and consider those who forsake the set-apart covenant.

31“And strong ones shall arise from him and profane the set-apart place, the stronghold, and shall take away that which is continual, and set up the abomination that lays wastea.

32“And by flatteries he shall profane those who do wrong against the covenant, but the people who know their Elohim shall be strong, and shall act.

33“And those of the people who have insight shall give understanding to many. And they shall stumble by sword and flame, by captivity and plundering, for days.

34“And when they stumble, they shall be helped, a little help, but many shall join them, by flatteries.

35“And some of those who have insight shall stumble, to refine them, and to cleanse them, and to make them white, until the time of the end, for it is still for an appointed time.

36“And the sovereign shall do as he pleases, and exalt himself and show himself to be great above every mighty one, and speak incredible matters against the Ěl of mighty ones, and shall prosper until the wrath has been accomplished – for what has been decreed shall be done –

37and have no regard for the mighty ones of his fathers nor for the desire of women, nor have regard for any mighty one, but exalt himself above them all.

38“But in his place he shall give esteem to a mighty one of strongholds. And to a mighty one which his fathers did not know he shall give esteem with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts.

39“And he shall act against the strongest strongholds with a foreign mighty one, which he shall acknowledge. He shall increase in esteem and cause them to rule over many, and divide the land for gain.

40“At the time of the end the sovereign of the South shall push at him, and the sovereign of the North rush against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships. And he shall enter the lands, and shall overflow and pass over,

41and shall enter the Splendid Land, and many shall stumble, but these escape from his hand: Eḏom, and Mo’aḇ, and the chief of the sons of Ammon.

42“And he shall stretch out his hand against the lands, and the land of Mitsrayim shall not escape.

43“And he shall rule over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the riches of Mitsrayim, and Libyans and Kushites shall be at his steps.

44“Then reports from the east and the north shall disturb him, and he shall go out with great wrath to destroy and put many under the ban,

45and he shall pitch the tents of his palace between the seas and the splendid set-apart mountain, but shall come to his end with none to help him.