English Standard Version

International Standard Version

1“And as for me, in the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood up to confirm and strengthen him.

1In year one of King Darius the Mede, I arose to fortify and strengthen him.'"

2“And now I will show you the truth. Behold, three more kings shall arise in Persia, and a fourth shall be far richer than all of them. And when he has become strong through his riches, he shall stir up all against the kingdom of Greece.

2"'Now I'll tell you the truth: Pay attention! Three more kings will arise in Persia. Then a fourth will gain more than them all. As soon as he gains power by means of his wealth, he'll stir up everyone against the Grecian kingdoms.

3Then a mighty king shall arise, who shall rule with great dominion and do as he wills.

3"'A mighty king will come to power, and he'll rule with awesome energy, doing whatever he pleases.

4And as soon as he has arisen, his kingdom shall be broken and divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not to his posterity, nor according to the authority with which he ruled, for his kingdom shall be plucked up and go to others besides these.

4However, after he has come to power, his kingdom will be broken and parceled out in all directions. It won't go to his succeeding descendants, nor will its power match how he ruled, because his sovereignty will be uprooted and given to successors besides them.

5“Then the king of the south shall be strong, but one of his princes shall be stronger than he and shall rule, and his authority shall be a great authority.

5"'The southern king will become strong, along with one of his officials, who will become stronger than he and rule over his own realm with great power.

6After some years they shall make an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement. But she shall not retain the strength of her arm, and he and his arm shall not endure, but she shall be given up, and her attendants, he who fathered her, and he who supported her in those times.

6After a number of years, they'll become allies and the daughter of the southern king will go to the northern king in order to craft alliances. But she won't remain in power, nor will he retain his power. Instead, she'll be surrendered, along with her entourage, the one who fathered her, and the one who supported her at that time.

7“And from a branch from her roots one shall arise in his place. He shall come against the army and enter the fortress of the king of the north, and he shall deal with them and shall prevail.

7"'One of her family line will replace him. He'll come against the army and enter the fortress of the northern king, conquering them and becoming victorious.

8He shall also carry off to Egypt their gods with their metal images and their precious vessels of silver and gold, and for some years he shall refrain from attacking the king of the north.

8He'll also take their gods, their molten images, and their valuable vessels of silver and gold into Egypt as hostages. He'll avoid the northern king for a number of years.

9Then the latter shall come into the realm of the king of the south but shall return to his own land.

9Then he'll come against the realm of the southern king and then return to his own territory.

10“His sons shall wage war and assemble a multitude of great forces, which shall keep coming and overflow and pass through, and again shall carry the war as far as his fortress.

10His sons will prepare for war, assembling an army of considerable force. One of them will come on forcefully, overflowing, passing through, and waging war up to his own fortress.

11Then the king of the south, moved with rage, shall come out and fight against the king of the north. And he shall raise a great multitude, but it shall be given into his hand.

11"'The southern king will fly into a rage and march out to fight the northern king. He'll gather a large army, but that army will be handed over to him.

12And when the multitude is taken away, his heart shall be exalted, and he shall cast down tens of thousands, but he shall not prevail.

12When that army has been defeated, he'll become overconfident and slaughter many thousands, but he won't succeed.

13For the king of the north shall again raise a multitude, greater than the first. And after some years he shall come on with a great army and abundant supplies.

13The northern king will return and raise a greater army than before. After a few years, he'll advance with a great force and with a vast amount of armaments.'"

14“In those times many shall rise against the king of the south, and the violent among your own people shall lift themselves up in order to fulfill the vision, but they shall fail.

14"'During those years, many will rebel against the southern king. The more violent ones among your people will rebel in order to fulfill this vision, but they will fail.

15Then the king of the north shall come and throw up siegeworks and take a well-fortified city. And the forces of the south shall not stand, or even his best troops, for there shall be no strength to stand.

15Then the northern king will come, erect a siege ramp, and capture a fortified city. The southern forces won't prevail—not even with their best troops—and they'll have no strength to take a stand.

16But he who comes against him shall do as he wills, and none shall stand before him. And he shall stand in the glorious land, with destruction in his hand.

16"'However, the one who invades him will do whatever he wants to do. No one will oppose him. He'll establish himself in the Beautiful Land, wielding devastating power.

17He shall set his face to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and he shall bring terms of an agreement and perform them. He shall give him the daughter of women to destroy the kingdom, but it shall not stand or be to his advantage.

17He'll decide to come with the full power of his kingdom, bringing with him an alliance that he'll implement. He'll give him a daughter in marriage to overthrow it, but it won't succeed or work out for him.

18Afterward he shall turn his face to the coastlands and shall capture many of them, but a commander shall put an end to his insolence. Indeed, he shall turn his insolence back upon him.

18Then he'll turn his attention to the coastal lands and will capture many. But a commander will put an end to his insolence, repaying him for his scorn.

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

19He'll turn his attention toward the fortresses in his own territory, but he'll stumble and fall, and won't endure.

20“Then shall arise in his place one who shall send an exactor of tribute for the glory of the kingdom. But within a few days he shall be broken, neither in anger nor in battle.

20His successor will send out a tax collector for royal splendor, but in a short period of time he'll be shattered, though neither in anger nor in battle.'"

21In his place shall arise a contemptible person to whom royal majesty has not been given. He shall come in without warning and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.

21"'In his place there will arise a despicable person, upon whom no royal authority has been conferred, but he'll invade in a time of tranquility, taking over the kingdom through deception.

22Armies shall be utterly swept away before him and broken, even the prince of the covenant.

22Overwhelming forces will be carried away before him, along with the Commander-in-Chief of the covenant.

23And from the time that an alliance is made with him he shall act deceitfully, and he shall become strong with a small people.

23From the time that an alliance is made with him, he'll act deceitfully, and he will go up and take power with only a small group of nations.

24Without warning he shall come into the richest parts of the province, and he shall do what neither his fathers nor his fathers’ fathers have done, scattering among them plunder, spoil, and goods. He shall devise plans against strongholds, but only for a time.

24He'll invade the most prosperous areas of the province during a time of tranquility, accomplishing what neither his predecessors nor his ancestors ever could. He'll distribute war spoils, booty, and wealth to them, and he'll plot the overthrow of fortresses, though only for a time.

25And he shall stir up his power and his heart against the king of the south with a great army. And the king of the south shall wage war with an exceedingly great and mighty army, but he shall not stand, for plots shall be devised against him.

25He'll encourage himself against the southern king by raising a large army. As a result, the southern king will mobilize for war with a large and powerful army, but he won't succeed because they will devise elaborate schemes against him.

26Even those who eat his food shall break him. His army shall be swept away, and many shall fall down slain.

26His own security detail will undermine him, his army will be swept away, and many will fall and be killed in battle.

27And as for the two kings, their hearts shall be bent on doing evil. They shall speak lies at the same table, but to no avail, for the end is yet to be at the time appointed.

27Now as for the two kings, their intentions will be evil, and they'll promote deception at their dinner table, but none of this will succeed, because the end won't have come yet.

28And he shall return to his land with great wealth, but his heart shall be set against the holy covenant. And he shall work his will and return to his own land.

28Then he'll return to his homeland with great wealth, will focus his attention against the holy covenant, and will take action as he returns to his land.'"

29“At the time appointed he shall return and come into the south, but it shall not be this time as it was before.

29"'At the scheduled time he'll return, moving southward, but the end result won't be as before,

30For ships of Kittim shall come against him, and he shall be afraid and withdraw, and shall turn back and be enraged and take action against the holy covenant. He shall turn back and pay attention to those who forsake the holy covenant.

30because ships will come against him from the Mediterranean islands. Disheartened, he'll return, incited to vehemence against the holy covenant, and he'll take action. As he returns, he'll show deference to those who abandon the holy covenant.

31Forces from him shall appear and profane the temple and fortress, and shall take away the regular burnt offering. And they shall set up the abomination that makes desolate.

31Armed forces will arise from his midst, and they'll desecrate the fortified Sanctuary, abolish the daily sacrifice, and establish the destructive desecration.

32He shall seduce with flattery those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action.

32Through flattery he'll corrupt those who act wickedly toward the covenant, but people who know their God will be strong and take action.

33And the wise among the people shall make many understand, though for some days they shall stumble by sword and flame, by captivity and plunder.

33Insightful people will impart understanding to many, though they'll fall by sword, by fire, by captivity, and as war booty for a while.

34When they stumble, they shall receive a little help. And many shall join themselves to them with flattery,

34When they fall, they'll be given some relief, but many will join them by pretending to be sympathetic to their cause.

35and some of the wise shall stumble, so that they may be refined, purified, and made white, until the time of the end, for it still awaits the appointed time.

35Some of the insightful will fall so they may be refined, purged, and purified until the time of the end, since it will surely come about.'"

36“And the king shall do as he wills. He shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak astonishing things against the God of gods. He shall prosper till the indignation is accomplished; for what is decreed shall be done.

36"'The king will do as he pleases. He'll exalt and magnify himself above every god, speaking amazing things against the God of Gods. He'll succeed until the indignation is completed, because what has been determined must be carried out.

37He shall pay no attention to the gods of his fathers, or to the one beloved by women. He shall not pay attention to any other god, for he shall magnify himself above all.

37He'll recognize neither the gods of his ancestors nor those desired by women—he won't recognize any god, because he'll exalt himself above everything.

38He shall honor the god of fortresses instead of these. A god whom his fathers did not know he shall honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts.

38He'll glorify the god of fortresses, a god whom his ancestors never knew, honoring him with gold, silver, valuable jewels, and treasures.

39He shall deal with the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign god. Those who acknowledge him he shall load with honor. He shall make them rulers over many and shall divide the land for a price.

39He'll take action against the strongest fortresses. With the help of a foreign god, he'll recognize those who honor him, making them rule over many, and he'll parcel out the land for a profit.

40“At the time of the end, the king of the south shall attack him, but the king of the north shall rush upon him like a whirlwind, with chariots and horsemen, and with many ships. And he shall come into countries and shall overflow and pass through.

40"'At the time of the end, the southern king will oppose him, and the northern king will overrun him with chariots, cavalry, and many ships. He'll invade countries, moving swiftly and sweeping through.

41He shall come into the glorious land. And tens of thousands shall fall, but these shall be delivered out of his hand: Edom and Moab and the main part of the Ammonites.

41He'll enter the Beautiful Land, and many will fall, even though these will escape his control: Edom, Moab, and certain Ammonite officials.

42He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape.

42He'll extend his power over other countries, and even the land of Egypt won't escape.

43He shall become ruler of the treasures of gold and of silver, and all the precious things of Egypt, and the Libyans and the Cushites shall follow in his train.

43He'll capture treasures of gold, silver, and all the treasures of Egypt, with the Libyans and Cushites at his feet.

44But news from the east and the north shall alarm him, and he shall go out with great fury to destroy and devote many to destruction.

44However, reports from the east and the north will alarm him, and he'll march out in great anger, intending to destroy and to desolate many.

45And he shall pitch his palatial tents between the sea and the glorious holy mountain. Yet he shall come to his end, with none to help him.

45When he pitches his royal pavilions between the seas facing the mountain of holy Glory, he'll come to his end, and no one will help him.'"

ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved.

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