| New Living Translation | New International Version |
| 1I have been standing beside Michael to support and strengthen him since the first year of the reign of Darius the Mede.) | 1And in the first year of Darius the Mede, I took my stand to support 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. | 2"Now then, I tell you the truth: Three more kings will arise 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. |
| 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 power 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. | 4After he has arisen, 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. |
| 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. | 5"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. |
| 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 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 betrayed, together 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. | 7"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. |
| 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 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. |
| 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. | 9Then the king of the North will invade the realm of the king of the South but will retreat to his own country. |
| 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. | 10His 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. |
| 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. | 11"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. |
| 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 filled with pride and will slaughter many thousands, yet he will not remain triumphant. |
| 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 muster another army, larger than the first; and after several years, he will advance with a huge army fully equipped. |
| 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. | 14"In those times many will rise against the king of the South. Those who are violent among your own people will rebel in fulfillment of the vision, but without success. |
| 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 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. |
| 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; 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. |
| 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 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. |
| 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 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 on 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 country but will stumble and fall, to be seen 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. | 20"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. |
| 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. | 21"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. |
| 22Before him great armies will be swept away, including a covenant prince. | 22Then an overwhelming army will be swept away before him; both it and a prince of the covenant will be destroyed. |
| 23With deceitful promises, he will make various alliances. He will become strong despite having only a handful of followers. | 23After coming to an agreement with him, he will act deceitfully, and with only a few people he will rise to power. |
| 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. | 24When 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. |
| 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. | 25"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. |
| 26His own household will cause his downfall. His army will be swept away, and many will be killed. | 26Those who eat from the king's provisions will try to destroy him; his army will be swept away, and many will fall in battle. |
| 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. | 27The 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. |
| 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 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. |
| 29“Then at the appointed time he will once again invade the south, but this time the result will be different. | 29"At the appointed time he will invade the South again, but this time the outcome will be different from what it was before. |
| 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 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. |
| 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. | 31"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. |
| 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 have violated 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. | 33"Those who are wise will instruct many, though for a time they will fall by the sword or be burned or captured or plundered. |
| 34During these persecutions, little help will arrive, and many who join them will not be sincere. | 34When they fall, they will receive a little help, and many who are not sincere will join them. |
| 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 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. |
| 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. | 36"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. |
| 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 ancestors or for the one desired by women, nor will he regard any god, but will exalt 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. | 38Instead of them, he will honor a god of fortresses; a god unknown to his ancestors he will honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts. |
| 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 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. |
| 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. | 40"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. |
| 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. Many countries will fall, but Edom, Moab and the leaders of Ammon will be delivered from his hand. |
| 42He will conquer many countries, and even Egypt will not escape. | 42He will extend his power over many countries; Egypt will not 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 all the riches of Egypt, with the Libyans and Cushites in submission. |
| 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 reports from the east and the north will alarm him, and he will set out in a great rage to destroy and annihilate many. |
| 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 seas at the beautiful holy mountain. Yet he will come to his end, and no one will help him. |
| Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. | New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. |
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