A Survey of the Kings of the North and South
1 "And I, in the first year of Darius the Mede, {I stood} as a support and as a protection for him.
2
And now I will reveal [the] truth to you. Look! Still three kings will arise in Persia, and the fourth will get abundance [and] great wealth, [even] more than all [of them], and {when he becomes strong} through his wealth, [then] he will stir up {everyone} against [the] kingdom of Javan.
3
And a mighty king will arise, and he will rule [with] great dominion, and he will do {as he pleases}.
4
But {as he rises in power}, his kingdom will be divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not to his posterity, and not according to his dominion [by] which he ruled, for his kingdom will be uprooted and [be given] {to others besides them}.
5
"Then the king of the south will grow strong and [also] {one of his officials}, and he will grow stronger {than him} and he will rule {a dominion greater than his dominion}.
6
And at [the] end of [some] years they will make an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the south will come to the king of the north to make a peace treaty, but {she will not retain her position of power}, and his offspring will not endure, and she will be given up, she and her attendants and her child supporting her, in those times.
7
And a branch from her roots will rise up [in] his place, and he will come against the army and he will enter the stronghold of the king of the north and he will take action against them and he will prevail.
8
And also their gods with their idols [and] with the {precious vessels}, silver and gold he will take to Egypt into captivity, and [for] years {he will leave the king of the north alone}.
9
And [then] he will come into the kingdom of the king of the south, but he will return to his land.
10
"But his sons will wage war and they will gather a multitude of great forces and {he will advance with great force}, and he will overflow [like a flood] and he will pass through and he will return, and they will wage war up to his fortress.
11
And the king of the south will become furious, and he will go and he will battle against him, against the king of the north; and he will muster a great multitude, and the multitude will be given into his hand.
12
When the multitude is carried off, his heart will be exalted and he will overthrow {tens of thousands}, but he will not prevail.
13
And the king of the north will again raise a multitude, greater than the former, and {at the end of some years} he will surely come with [a] great army and with great supplies.
14
"And in these times many will rise [up] against the king of the south, and {the violent ones of your people} will lift themselves {to fulfill} [the] vision, but they will fall.
15
And the king of the north will come, and he will throw up siege ramps and capture a city of fortifications and the military forces of the south and {his choice troops} will not stand, for there is no strength [left] to resist.
16
And the [one] coming to him will act {according to} his pleasure, and there is no [one who] {will stand} {before him}, and he will stand in {the beautiful land} and complete destruction [will be] in his power.
17
And he will set his face to come with the authority of his whole kingdom and will form an agreement; and he will {act}, and the daughter of women he will give to him to destroy it, but [the ploy] will not succeed {and she will not support him}.
18
And he will turn his face to [the] coastlands, and he will capture many, but a commander will end his insults to him {so that instead his insults will turn back upon him}.
19
And he will turn back his face toward the strongholds of his land, but he will stumble and he will fall and will not be found.
20
"Then in his place will arise [one] sending an official [throughout] [the] glory of [his] kingdom, and {in a few days} he will be broken, but not in anger and not in battle.
21
And in his place a despicable person will arise on whom they have not conferred the majesty of [the] kingdom, and he will come in {without warning} and he will seize [the] kingdom by deceit.
22
And {before him} {mighty military forces} will be utterly swept away, and they will be broken, and also [the] leader of [the] covenant.
23
And after an alliance [is made] with him, he will act deceitfully, and he will rise and he will become powerful with few people [backing him].
24
In [a time of] ease and in [the] rich parts of [the] province, he will come and he will do what {his predecessors} did not do; he will distribute plunder and spoil and possessions to them, and he will devise his plans against fortifications, but [only] {for a time}.
25
And he will stir up his power and his heart against the king of the south and {with a much greater and stronger army}; but he will not succeed, for they will devise plans against him.
26
And those who eat of his royal rations will break him and his army will be overwhelmed, and many will fall, slain.
27
{And two of the kings} {will bend their hearts} to evil. And at the {same table} they will speak lies, but [what is discussed] will not succeed, for still an end [is coming] at the appointed time.
28
Then he will return to his land with many possessions, but his heart [will be set] against {the holy covenant}, and he will take action and he will return to his land.
29
"At the appointed time he will return and he will come into the south, but it will not be {as it was before}.
30
And [the] ships of Kittim will come against him, and he will lose heart, and he will turn back, and he will be enraged {against the holy covenant}, and he will take action, and he will turn back, and he will pay attention to [those who] forsake {the holy covenant}.
31
And military forces from him {will occupy} and will profane the {sanctuary stronghold}, and they will abolish the regular burnt offering, and they will set up the abomination that causes desolation.
32
"And those who violate [the] covenant he will seduce with flattery, but the persons who know their God will stand firm and will take action.
33
And those who have insight {will instruct} the many, but they will fall by sword and by flame, by captivity and by plunder {for some time}.
34
And {when they fall} they will receive little help, and many will join with them [in] hypocrisy.
35
And [even] some of those {who have insight} will fall [in order for] them to be refined by it, and to be purified and cleansed until the time of [the] end, for the appointed time [is] still to come.
36
"Then the king will do {as he pleases}, and he will exalt himself and will consider himself above any god, and he will speak horrendous things {against} [the] God of gods, yet he will succeed until [the period] of anger is finished, for [what] is determined will be done.
37
He will not pay respect to the gods of his ancestors, or to [the] darling of women, and not to any god will he pay respect, for he will consider himself great over all [gods].
38
But {instead} he will honor the god of fortresses, a god whom his ancestors did not know. He will honor [him] with gold, and with silver, and with precious stones and with costly gifts.
39
And he will deal with [the] {fortified strongholds} with [the help of] {a foreign god}; and he will increase wealth for whoever will acknowledge [him], and he will cause them to rule over the many, and he will distribute land for a price.
40
"And at [the] time of [the] end the king of the south will attack him, and the king of the north will storm against him with chariots and with horsemen and with many ships, and he will advance against the countries and {he will sweep through like a flood}.
41
And he will come {into the beautiful land} and many will fall victim, but these will escape from his power: Edom and Moab and the best part of the {Ammonites}.
42
And he will stretch out his hand against countries and the land of Egypt {will not escape}.
43
And he will rule over the treasures of gold and the silver and over all the precious things of Egypt; and [the] Libyans and [the] Cushites [will follow] in his footsteps.
44
But reports will terrify him from [the] east and from [the] north, and he will go out with great fury to destroy and [to] exterminate many.
45
And [then] he will pitch the tents of his palace between [the] sea [and] {the beautiful holy mountain}, and he will come to his end, and there is no one helping him."