| New Living Translation | Berean Study Bible |
| 1I have been standing beside Michael to support and strengthen him since the first year of the reign of Darius the Mede.) | 1“And I, in the first year of Darius the Mede, stood up to strengthen and protect him. |
| 2“Now then, I will reveal the truth to you. Three more Persian kings will reign, to be succeeded by a fourth, far richer than the others. He will use his wealth to stir up everyone to fight against the kingdom of Greece. | 2Now then, I will tell you the truth: Three more kings will arise in Persia, and then a fourth, who will be far richer than all the others. By the power of his wealth, he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece. |
| 3“Then a mighty king will rise to power who will rule with great authority and accomplish everything he sets out to do. | 3Then a mighty king will arise, who will rule with great authority and do as he pleases. |
| 4But at the height of his power, his kingdom will be broken apart and divided into four parts. It will not be ruled by the king’s descendants, nor will the kingdom hold the authority it once had. For his empire will be uprooted and given to others. | 4But as soon as he is established, his kingdom 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 authority with which he ruled, because his kingdom will be uprooted and given to others. |
| 5“The king of the south will increase in power, but one of his own officials will become more powerful than he and will rule his kingdom with great strength. | 5The king of the South will grow strong, but one of his commanders will grow even stronger and will rule his own kingdom with great authority. |
| 6“Some years later an alliance will be formed between the king of the north and the king of the south. The daughter of the king of the south will be given in marriage to the king of the north to secure the alliance, but she will lose her influence over him, and so will her father. She will be abandoned along with her supporters. | 6After some years they will form an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the South will go to the king of the North to seal the agreement. But his daughter will not retain her position of power, nor will his strength endure. At that time she will be given up, along with her royal escort and her father and the one who supported her. |
| 7But when one of her relatives becomes king of the south, he will raise an army and enter the fortress of the king of the north and defeat him. | 7But one from her family line will rise up in his place, come against the army of the king of the North, and enter his fortress, fighting and prevailing. |
| 8When he returns to Egypt, he will carry back their idols with him, along with priceless articles of gold and silver. For some years afterward he will leave the king of the north alone. | 8He will take even their gods captive to Egypt, with their metal images and their precious vessels of silver and gold. For some years he will stay away from the king of the North, |
| 9“Later the king of the north will invade the realm of the king of the south but will soon return to his own land. | 9who will invade the realm of the king of the South and then return to his own land. |
| 10However, the sons of the king of the north will assemble a mighty army that will advance like a flood and carry the battle as far as the enemy’s fortress. | 10But his sons will stir up strife and assemble a great army, which will advance forcefully, sweeping through like a flood, and will again carry the battle as far as his fortress. |
| 11“Then, in a rage, the king of the south will rally against the vast forces assembled by the king of the north and will defeat them. | 11In a rage, the king of the South will march out to fight the king of the North, who will raise a large army, but it will be delivered into the hand of his enemy. |
| 12After the enemy army is swept away, the king of the south will be filled with pride and will execute many thousands of his enemies. But his success will be short lived. | 12When the army is carried off, the king of the South will be proud in heart and will cast down tens of thousands, but he will not triumph. |
| 13“A few years later the king of the north will return with a fully equipped army far greater than before. | 13For the king of the North will raise another army, larger than the first, and after some years he will advance with a great army and many supplies. |
| 14At that time there will be a general uprising against the king of the south. Violent men among your own people will join them in fulfillment of this vision, but they will not succeed. | 14In those times many will rise up against the king of the South. Violent ones among your own people will exalt themselves in fulfillment of the vision, but they will fail. |
| 15Then the king of the north will come and lay siege to a fortified city and capture it. The best troops of the south will not be able to stand in the face of the onslaught. | 15Then the king of the North will come, build up a siege ramp, and capture a fortified city. The forces of the South will not stand; even their best troops will not be able to resist. |
| 16“The king of the north will march onward unopposed; none will be able to stop him. He will pause in the glorious land of Israel, intent on destroying it. | 16The invader will do as he pleases, and no one will stand against him. He will establish himself in the Beautiful Land, with destruction in his hand. |
| 17He will make plans to come with the might of his entire kingdom and will form an alliance with the king of the south. He will give him a daughter in marriage in order to overthrow the kingdom from within, but his plan will fail. | 17He will resolve to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and will reach an agreement with the king of the South. He will give him a daughter in marriage in order to overthrow the kingdom, but his plan will not succeed or help him. |
| 18“After this, he will turn his attention to the coastland and conquer many cities. But a commander from another land will put an end to his insolence and cause him to retreat in shame. | 18Then he will turn his face to the coastlands and capture many of them. But a commander will put an end to his reproach and will turn it back upon him. |
| 19He will take refuge in his own fortresses but will stumble and fall and be seen no more. | 19After this, he will turn back toward the fortresses of his own land, but he will stumble and fall and be no more. |
| 20“His successor will send out a tax collector to maintain the royal splendor. But after a very brief reign, he will die, though not from anger or in battle. | 20In his place one will arise who will send out a tax collector for the glory of the kingdom; but within a few days he will be destroyed, though not in anger or in battle. |
| 21“The next to come to power will be a despicable man who is not in line for royal succession. He will slip in when least expected and take over the kingdom by flattery and intrigue. | 21In his place a despicable person will arise; royal honors will not be given to him, but he will come in a time of peace and seize the kingdom by intrigue. |
| 22Before him great armies will be swept away, including a covenant prince. | 22Then a flood of forces will be swept away before him and destroyed, along with a prince of the covenant. |
| 23With deceitful promises, he will make various alliances. He will become strong despite having only a handful of followers. | 23After an alliance is made with him, he will act deceitfully; for he will rise to power with only a few people. |
| 24Without warning he will enter the richest areas of the land. Then he will distribute among his followers the plunder and wealth of the rich—something his predecessors had never done. He will plot the overthrow of strongholds, but this will last for only a short while. | 24In a time of peace, he will invade the richest provinces and do what his fathers and forefathers never did. He will lavish plunder, loot, and wealth on his followers, and he will plot against the strongholds—but only for a time. |
| 25“Then he will stir up his courage and raise a great army against the king of the south. The king of the south will go to battle with a mighty army, but to no avail, for there will be plots against him. | 25And with a large army he will stir up his power and his courage against the king of the South, who will mobilize a very large and powerful army but will not withstand the plots devised against him. |
| 26His own household will cause his downfall. His army will be swept away, and many will be killed. | 26Those who eat from his provisions will seek to destroy him; his army will be swept away, and many will fall slain. |
| 27Seeking nothing but each other’s harm, these kings will plot against each other at the conference table, attempting to deceive each other. But it will make no difference, for the end will come at the appointed time. | 27And the two kings, with their hearts bent on evil, will speak lies at the same table, but to no avail, for still the end will come at the appointed time. |
| 28“The king of the north will then return home with great riches. On the way he will set himself against the people of the holy covenant, doing much damage before continuing his journey. | 28The king of the North will return to his land with great wealth, but his heart will be set against the holy covenant; so he will do damage and return to his own land. |
| 29“Then at the appointed time he will once again invade the south, but this time the result will be different. | 29At the appointed time he will invade the South again, but this time will not be like the first. |
| 30For warships from western coastlands will scare him off, and he will withdraw and return home. But he will vent his anger against the people of the holy covenant and reward those who forsake the covenant. | 30Ships of Kittim will come against him, and he will lose heart. Then he will turn back and rage against the holy covenant and do damage. So he will return and show favor to those who forsake the holy covenant. |
| 31“His army will take over the Temple fortress, pollute the sanctuary, put a stop to the daily sacrifices, and set up the sacrilegious object that causes desecration. | 31His forces will rise up and desecrate the temple fortress. They will abolish the daily sacrifice and set up the abomination of desolation. |
| 32He will flatter and win over those who have violated the covenant. But the people who know their God will be strong and will resist him. | 32With flattery he will corrupt those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him. |
| 33“Wise leaders will give instruction to many, but these teachers will die by fire and sword, or they will be jailed and robbed. | 33Those with insight will instruct many, though for a time they will fall by sword or flame, or be captured or plundered. |
| 34During these persecutions, little help will arrive, and many who join them will not be sincere. | 34Now when they fall, they will be granted a little help, but many will join them insincerely. |
| 35And some of the wise will fall victim to persecution. In this way, they will be refined and cleansed and made pure until the time of the end, for the appointed time is still to come. | 35Some of the wise will fall, 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. |
| 36“The king will do as he pleases, exalting himself and claiming to be greater than every god, even blaspheming the God of gods. He will succeed, but only until the time of wrath is completed. For what has been determined will surely take place. | 36Then the king will do as he pleases and will exalt and magnify himself above every god, and he will speak monstrous things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been decreed must be accomplished. |
| 37He will have no respect for the gods of his ancestors, or for the god loved by women, or for any other god, for he will boast that he is greater than them all. | 37He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers, nor for the one desired by women, nor for any other god, because he will magnify himself above them all. |
| 38Instead of these, he will worship the god of fortresses—a god his ancestors never knew—and lavish on him gold, silver, precious stones, and expensive gifts. | 38And in their place, he will honor a god of fortresses—a god his fathers did not know—with gold, silver, precious stones, and riches. |
| 39Claiming this foreign god’s help, he will attack the strongest fortresses. He will honor those who submit to him, appointing them to positions of authority and dividing the land among them as their reward. | 39He will attack the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign god and will greatly honor those who acknowledge him, making them rulers over many and distributing the land for a price. |
| 40“Then at the time of the end, the king of the south will attack the king of the north. The king of the north will storm out with chariots, charioteers, and a vast navy. He will invade various lands and sweep through them like a flood. | 40At the time of the end, the king of the South will engage him in battle, but the king of the North will storm out against him with chariots, horsemen, and many ships, invading many countries and sweeping through them like a flood. |
| 41He will enter the glorious land of Israel, and many nations will fall, but Moab, Edom, and the best part of Ammon will escape. | 41He will also invade the Beautiful Land, and many countries will fall. But these will be delivered from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the leaders of the Ammonites. |
| 42He will conquer many countries, and even Egypt will not escape. | 42He will extend his power over many countries, and not even the land of Egypt will escape. |
| 43He will gain control over the gold, silver, and treasures of Egypt, and the Libyans and Ethiopians will be his servants. | 43He will gain control of the treasures of gold and silver and over all the riches of Egypt, and the Libyans and Cushites will also submit to him. |
| 44“But then news from the east and the north will alarm him, and he will set out in great anger to destroy and obliterate many. | 44But news from the east and the north will alarm him, and he will go out with great fury to destroy many and devote them to destruction. |
| 45He will stop between the glorious holy mountain and the sea and will pitch his royal tents. But while he is there, his time will suddenly run out, and no one will help him. | 45He will pitch his royal tents between the sea and the beautiful holy mountain, but he will meet his end with no one to help him. |
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