The Overthrow of Persia

1‘And I, in the first year of Darius the Mede, my standing [is] for a strengthener, and for a stronghold to him; 2and, now, truth I declare to thee, Lo, yet three kings are standing for Persia, and the fourth doth become far richer than all, and according to his strength by his riches he stirreth up the whole, with the kingdom of Javan. 3And a mighty king hath stood, and he hath ruled a great dominion, and hath done according to his will; 4and according to his standing is his kingdom broken, and divided to the four winds of the heavens, and not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion that he ruled, for his kingdom is plucked up — and for others apart from these.

Kings of the South and the North

5‘And a king of the south — even of his princes — doth become strong, and doth prevail against him, and hath ruled; a great dominion [is] his dominion. 6‘And at the end of years they do join themselves together, and a daughter of the king of the south doth come in unto the king of the north to do upright things; and she doth not retain the power of the arm; and he doth not stand, nor his arm; and she is given up, she, and those bringing her in, and her child, and he who is strengthening her in [these] times. 7‘And [one] hath stood up from a branch of her roots, [in] his station, and he cometh in unto the bulwark, yea, he cometh into a stronghold of the king of the south, and hath wrought against them, and hath done mightily; 8and also their gods, with their princes, with their desirable vessels of silver and gold, into captivity he bringeth [into] Egypt; and he doth stand more years than the king of the north. 9‘And the king of the south hath come into the kingdom, and turned back unto his own land;

10and his sons stir themselves up, and have gathered a multitude of great forces, and he hath certainly come in, and overflowed, and passed through, and he turneth back, and they stir themselves up unto his stronghold. 11And the king of the south doth become embittered, and hath gone forth and fought with him, with the king of the north, and hath caused a great multitude to stand, and the multitude hath been given into his hand, 12and he hath carried away the multitude, his heart is high, and he hath caused myriads to fall, and he doth not become strong. 13‘And the king of the north hath turned back, and hath caused a multitude to stand, greater than the first, and at the end of the times a second time he doth certainly come in with a great force, and with much substance;

14and in those times many do stand up against the king of the south, and sons of the destroyers of thy people do lift themselves up to establish the vision — and they have stumbled. 15‘And the king of the north cometh in, and poureth out a mount, and hath captured fenced cities; and the arms of the south do not stand, nor the people of his choice, yea, there is no power to stand. 16And he who is coming unto him doth according to his will, and there is none standing before him; and he standeth in the desirable land, and [it is] wholly in his hand. 17And he setteth his face to go in with the strength of his whole kingdom, and upright ones with him; and he hath wrought, and the daughter of women he giveth to him, to corrupt her; and she doth not stand, nor is for him. 18‘And he turneth back his face to the isles, and hath captured many; and a prince hath caused his reproach of himself to cease; without his reproach he turneth [it] back to him. 19And he turneth back his face to the strongholds of his land, and hath stumbled and fallen, and is not found.

20‘And stood up on his station hath [one] causing an exactor to pass over the honour of the kingdom, and in a few days he is destroyed, and not in anger, nor in battle. 21‘And stood up on his station hath a despicable one, and they have not given unto him the honour of the kingdom, and he hath come in quietly, and hath strengthened the kingdom by flatteries. 22And the arms of the flood are overflowed from before him, and are broken; and also the leader of the covenant. 23And after they join themselves unto him, he worketh deceit, and hath increased, and hath been strong by a few of the nation. 24Peaceably even into the fertile places of the province He cometh, and he hath done that which his fathers did not, nor his fathers’ fathers; prey, and spoil, and substance, to them he scattereth, and against fenced places he deviseth his devices, even for a time. 25‘And he stirreth up his power and his heart against the king of the south with a great force, and the king of the south stirreth himself up to battle with a very great and mighty force, and standeth not, for they devise devices against him, 26and those eating his portion of food destroy him, and his force overfloweth, and fallen have many wounded. 27‘And both of the kings’ hearts [are] to do evil, and at one table they speak lies, and it doth not prosper, for yet the end [is] at a time appointed. 28And he turneth back [to] his land with great substance, and his heart [is] against the holy covenant, and he hath wrought, and turned back to his land.

29At the appointed time he turneth back, and hath come against the south, and it is not as the former, and as the latter.

The Tyranny of the Western King

30And ships of Chittim have come in against him, and he hath been pained, and hath turned back, and hath been insolent toward the holy covenant, and hath wrought, and turned back, and he understandeth concerning those forsaking the holy covenant. 31And strong ones out of him stand up, and have polluted the sanctuary, the stronghold, and have turned aside the continual [sacrifice], and appointed the desolating abomination. 32And those acting wickedly [against] the covenant, he defileth by flatteries; and the people knowing their God are strong, and have wrought. 33And the teachers of the people give understanding to many; and they have stumbled by sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil — days. 34And in their stumbling, they are helped — a little help, and joined to them have been many with flatteries. 35And some of the teachers do stumble for refining by them, and for purifying, and for making white — till the end of the time, for [it is] yet for a time appointed.

36‘And the king hath done according to his will, and exalteth himself, and magnifieth himself against every god, and against the God of gods he speaketh wonderful things, and hath prospered till the indignation hath been completed, for that which is determined hath been done. 37And unto the God of his fathers he doth not attend, nor to the desire of women, yea, to any god he doth not attend, for against all he magnifieth himself. 38And to the god of strongholds, on his station, he giveth honour; yea, to a god whom his fathers knew not he giveth honour, with gold, and with silver, and with precious stone, and with desirable things. 39And he hath dealt in the fortresses of the strongholds with a strange god whom he hath acknowledged; he multiplieth honour, and hath caused them to rule over many, and the ground he apportioneth at a price.

40‘And at the time of the end, push himself forward with him doth a king of the south, and storm against him doth a king of the north, with chariot, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he hath come in to the lands, and hath overflowed, and passed over, 41and hath come into the desirable land, and many do stumble, and these escape from his hand: Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the sons of Ammon. 42‘And he sendeth forth his hand upon the lands, and the land of Egypt is not for an escape; 43and he hath ruled over treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the desirable things of Egypt, and Lubim and Cushim [are] at his steps. 44‘And reports trouble him out of the east and out of the north, and he hath gone forth in great fury to destroy, and to devote many to destruction; 45and he planteth the tents of his palace between the seas and the holy desirable mountain, and hath come unto his end, and there is no helper to him.