1And in the first year of Darius, the Mede, I (an angel, perhaps Gabriel) took my stand to confirm and strengthen him (Darius).

2And now I will tell you the truth. “Behold, three more kings shall yet arise in Persia; and then a fourth who shall be far richer than they, and when he has gained power by his wealth, he will stir everyone up against the realm of Greece. 3And then a mighty king (Alexander the Great) shall arise that shall rule with great dominance, and do whatever he wishes.

4“And then at the height of his power, his kingdom shall be broken into four parts (upon Alexander’s death in 323 BC); and none to his descendants, nor any of these four parts shall attain dominance comparable to his power; when his kingdom becomes divided between others (his generals - 315 BC).

5“And the king of the south part (south of Israel – Egypt, the king is Ptolemy Lagi) shall be strong, but another of his (Alexander’s) former commanders (Antigonus) shall grow stronger than he (by acquiring the territories of the other two generals (Lysimachus & Cassander) - Thrace & Macedon), and will rule his own (and now enlarged northern - Syria, Macedon & Thrace) kingdom with great authority. 6And some years later (about 250 BC) they (these former generals or their successors – now two kings, the king of the part south of Israel – Egypt, and the king of the north - Syria, Macedon & Thrace) will form an alliance; for the king of the south's (Ptolemy II’s) daughter (Berenice) shall be given in marriage to the king of the north (Antiochus II of Syria) to seal and confirm the alliance (but he was already married to Laodice, whom he divorced). But she shall lose her influence over him (Antiochus Theos), as will her father, and she shall be betrayed, along with those who brought her - her supporters at that time. And her father and his power will not last, when she is betrayed. (Berenice’s father, Ptolemy II Philadelphus, died about 2 years after the marriage; and Antiochus Theos put away Berenice and her son and took back his former wife, Laodice, who then poisoned Antiochus Theos, and ordered the death of Berenice and her son, and put her own son, Seleucius Callinucus, on the throne.)7But when one of her relatives (Berenice’s brother, Ptolemy III Euergetes), becomes king of the south (246 BC), he and his army will invade the fortress of the king of the north (he came with an army and seized the fortress - now the port of Antioch), and shall defeat him (presumably Laodice’s son, Seleucius Callinucus); 8And he shall seize their gods (idols), and precious vessels of silver and gold, and take them to Egypt (History records that Ptolemy III Euergetes took 4,000 talents of gold, 40,000 talents of silver, and 2,500 idols.), and then for a few years he will leave the king and princes of the north alone. 9So the king of the north shall come into his kingdom, and king of the south shall retreat into his own land.

10“But later the sons of the north (Syria) shall mobilize a great army, which shall sweep south like a surging flood; and advance as far as his fortress. 11Then in anger, the king of the south (Egypt) shall raise a great force to defend against the king of the north; and will defeat the army of the north. 12And when he has captured the invading force, he will be full of pride; and he will slay many tens of thousands of his enemies, but his success will be short-lived. 13For the king of the north shall raise a larger force than before, and after certain years shall come with that great and fully equipped army. 14And at that time there shall be a general uprising against the king of the south; violent men among your people (Jews) shall rebel to fulfill the vision; but they shall fail. 15So the king of the north shall come, and erect a siege mound, and take the fortified cities; and defenders the south shall not prevail - not even their best troops shall be able to withstand the onslaught. 16The invaders will do as they please; with no one able to stop them. They will occupy the Beautiful Land of Israel, and have the power to destroy it. 17He shall resolve to invade with the strength of his entire kingdom, and will make an alliance with the king of the South; and he shall give him a daughter in marriage to corrupt and overthrow the kingdom, but his plans will not succeed for him. (There was continual warfare between Egypt and Syria in the ensuing years. And Israel lay between these two warring countries, and often served as the battleground, sustaining much damage and many casualties.) 18After this shall he turn his attention to the coasts, and shall capture many (Greek) islands (claimed by) Rome, until a Roman commander (Lucius Scipio Asiaticus) ends his assault (on Roman territories) and repay him for his insolence. 19Then he (Antiochus III) will seek refuge in the fortresses of his own land; but be defeated, and never seen again. 20Then his successor (Seleucus IV, from whom Rome demanded a huge sum of money) began taxing the people heavily to sustain his kingdom, but within few days he shall die, but not in anger or battle.

21“A despicable person (Antiochus IV, Epiphanes) shall succeed Seleucus IV (in 175 BC by murdering him) They shall not bestow upon him the honor of royalty; yet he shall insinuate himself in under a banner of peace, and gain the throne of Syria by flattery and intrigue. [This is the “little horn” identified in Daniel 8:9.]

22“And before him great armies will be swept away, including the prince of the covenant. 23And with deceitful promises, he will make various treaties. He will become strong even though his followers are few. 24He shall enter without warning or resistance the richest areas of the province, and shall accomplish what neither his fathers nor his predecessors had done; and shall distribute the prey, spoil, and plunder among his followers. and shall plot the overthrow of the strongholds, but only for a time. 25And he shall get up his courage and raise an army against the king of the south (Egypt); who will raise a very great and mighty army, but it shall not stand; because of the plots devised against him. 26Yes, his own household will cause his downfall. His army will be swept away, and many will be killed. 27And both these kings, with their hearts bent on evil, will sit at the same table, and lie to each other, but to no avail, because their end will still come at the appointed time. 28Then the king of the North (Syria) shall return to his land with great riches, and his heart shall be against the holy covenant; and he shall take action against it, and then return to his own land.

29“At the time appointed he shall again invade the South; but the result will be different this time. 30When the ships of Kittim (Roman ships out of Cyprus) oppose and threaten him, he shall turn back, and vent his frustration and rage against the holy covenant; he shall even return, and take note of and reward those who forsake the holy covenant. 31And his forces shall assault the Temple fortress, and pollute the Temple, and abolish the daily sacrifice, and they shall set up the abomination (an image of Jupiter) - a sacrilegious object that causes desolation. 32And he shall corrupt and encourage those who violate the covenant by flattery; but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and resist him. 33And those with wisdom among the people shall advise them; but many of them shall die by the sword, by fire, or be made captive, and plundered for many days. 34Now during these persecutions, they shall receive little help; but many who are not sincere shall join them. 35And some of the wise shall suffer persecution, to be purged, cleansed, and made pure, until the time of the end, because it is not yet the appointed time.

36“And this northern king (Antiochus of Syria) shall do as he pleases; and he shall exalt himself, and claim to be greater than any god, and shall utter atrocious things against the God of gods; and shall prosper for a while, until this indignation is completed; for what has been determined shall surely be accomplished. 37He shall show no regard for the gods of his fathers, nor the one loved by women, nor any other god; for he shall magnify himself above them all. 38But instead of them, he shall honor the god of fortresses; and he shall honor a god his fathers never knew with gold, silver, precious stones, and costly gifts. 39He shall attack the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign god, and will honor those who acknowledge him, and reward them with appointments that let them rule over many, and distribute the land for a price.

40“And at the time of the end (not the ‘end of time’, but the time of the Great Tribulation) the king of the south (Egypt and all of Africa) shall attack him; and the king of the north (Russia) shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, horsemen, and with many ships; and shall invade many countries, and shall sweep through them like a flood. 41He shall also invade the glorious land (Israel), and many other countries shall be overrun; but Edom, Moab, and the leaders of Ammon shall escape his grip. 42He shall also expand his control over many countries; and Egypt shall not escape. 43And he will gain control of the treasures of gold, silver, and all the precious things of Egypt; and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be his servants. 44But reports from the east and the north will alarm him; therefore, he shall set embark with fury to annihilate many. 45And he shall pitch his royal tents between the seas (the Mediterranean) and the glorious holy mountain (Jerusalem); and yet he shall come to his end, with no one to help him.