CEB 1 "In the first year of Darius the Mede's rule, I took my stand to strengthen and protect him." NRS 1 As for me, in the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood up to support and strengthen him. CEB 2 I will now tell you the truth. Persia will have three more kings, but the fourth will be richer than all of them. Once he has become strong through his great riches, he will disturb everyone, including the Greek kingdom. NRS 2 "Now I will announce the truth to you. Three more kings shall arise in Persia. The fourth shall be far richer than all of them, and when he has become strong through his riches, he shall stir up all against the kingdom of Greece. CEB 3 Then a warrior-king will come forward, ruling over a vast empire and doing whatever he wants. NRS 3 Then a warrior king shall arise, who shall rule with great dominion and take action as he pleases. CEB 4 But even as he takes control, his kingdom will be broken, divided to the four winds of heaven. It won't pass to his descendants. No one will rule like he did because his kingdom will be uprooted. It will belong to others, not to these. NRS 4 And while still rising in power, his kingdom shall be broken and divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not to his posterity, nor according to the dominion with which he ruled; for his kingdom shall be uprooted and go to others besides these. CEB 5 “Then the southern king will gain power, but one of his princes will overpower him, ruling in his place. His empire will be vast. NRS 5 "Then the king of the south shall grow strong, but one of his officers shall grow stronger than he and shall rule a realm greater than his own realm. CEB 6 After some years, they will make an agreement together. The southern king's daughter will go to the northern king to finalize the agreement, but she won't retain her great power. Neither will his power remain in place. In those times she will be handed over, along with her escort, the one who fathered her, and the one who strengthened her. NRS 6 After some years they shall make an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the south shall come to the king of the north to ratify the agreement. But she shall not retain her power, and his offspring shall not endure. She shall be given up, she and her attendants and her child and the one who supported her. "In those times CEB 7 “A branch from her roots will rise up in his place. Attacking the army, he will enter the walled fortress of the northern king. He will fight with them, and he will conquer. NRS 7 a branch from her roots shall rise up in his place. He shall come against the army and enter the fortress of the king of the north, and he shall take action against them and prevail. CEB 8 He will even carry off their gods to Egypt, along with their statues and their silver and gold equipment. For years he will avoid the northern king. NRS 8 Even their gods, with their idols and with their precious vessels of silver and gold, he shall carry off to Egypt as spoils of war. For some years he shall refrain from attacking the king of the north; CEB 9 Then the northern king will attack the kingdom of the southern king, but will return to his own land. NRS 9 then the latter shall invade the realm of the king of the south, but will return to his own land. CEB 10 His sons will get ready for war, gathering massive forces. Their attack will be like an overwhelming flood. And they will attack again, taking the battle as far as his walled fortress. NRS 10 "His sons shall wage war and assemble a multitude of great forces, which shall advance like a flood and pass through, and again shall carry the war as far as his fortress. CEB 11 “The southern king, in a bitter rage, will come out to battle the northern king. He will muster a huge army, but the army will be handed over to his enemy. NRS 11 Moved with rage, the king of the south shall go out and do battle against the king of the north, who shall muster a great multitude, which shall, however, be defeated by his enemy. CEB 12 When the army is carried off, he will become confident. He will kill tens of thousands, but he will not stand strong. NRS 12 When the multitude has been carried off, his heart shall be exalted, and he shall overthrow tens of thousands, but he shall not prevail. CEB 13 The northern king will then muster another army—this one bigger than the first. After some years have passed, he will attack with a large and well-equipped army. NRS 13 For the king of the north shall again raise a multitude, larger than the former, and after some years he shall advance with a great army and abundant supplies. CEB 14 In those times, many will oppose the southern king. Violent persons from among your people also will rise up to support the vision, but they will fail. NRS 14 "In those times many shall rise against the king of the south. The lawless among your own people shall lift themselves up in order to fulfill the vision, but they shall fail. CEB 15 “When the northern king attacks, he will throw up a siege ramp and occupy a walled city. The southern forces will not be able to resist—not even its elite forces. No one will be strong enough to resist. NRS 15 Then the king of the north shall come and throw up siegeworks, and take a well-fortified city. And the forces of the south shall not stand, not even his picked troops, for there shall be no strength to resist. CEB 16 The one who comes to attack will do whatever he wants; no one will be able to oppose him. He will take his place in the beautiful country, and he will hand out destruction. NRS 16 But he who comes against him shall take the actions he pleases, and no one shall withstand him. He shall take a position in the beautiful land, and all of it shall be in his power. CEB 17 He will decide to occupy his entire kingdom by force. He will make an agreement with him and will give him a wife, intending to destroy him, but it won't succeed and it won't happen. NRS 17 He shall set his mind to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and he shall bring terms of peace and perform them. In order to destroy the kingdom, he shall give him a woman in marriage; but it shall not succeed or be to his advantage. CEB 18 He will turn his face to the coastlands, capturing many people. A commander will put an end to his disgrace, even though he won't repay that disgrace. NRS 18 Afterward he shall turn to the coastlands, and shall capture many. But a commander shall put an end to his insolence; indeed, he shall turn his insolence back upon him. CEB 19 Then he will turn his attention to the walled fortresses of his own country but will stumble, fall, and disappear. NRS 19 Then he shall turn back toward the fortresses of his own land, but he shall stumble and fall, and shall not be found. CEB 20 “In his place one will arise who will send his agent to exact a kingdom's glory, but in a few days he will be broken, though not by anger and not by war. NRS 20 "Then shall arise in his place one who shall send an official for the glory of the kingdom; but within a few days he shall be broken, though not in anger or in battle. CEB 21 A worthless person will arise in his place. Royal majesty will not have been given to him, but he will come in a time of security and seize the kingdom by deceitful means. NRS 21 In his place shall arise a contemptible person on whom royal majesty had not been conferred; he shall come in without warning and obtain the kingdom through intrigue. CEB 22 Forces will be completely swept away and broken before him. The same is true for the leader of the covenant. NRS 22 Armies shall be utterly swept away and broken before him, and the prince of the covenant as well. CEB 23 From the moment they make an agreement with him, he will act deceitfully. He will gain power at the expense of a small nation. NRS 23 And after an alliance is made with him, he shall act deceitfully and become strong with a small party. CEB 24 He will come into a province's richest places untroubled and will do what his fathers and grandfathers never could. He will hand out plunder, spoil, and wealth to them. He will make plans against fortresses, but only for a time. NRS 24 Without warning he shall come into the richest parts of the province and do what none of his predecessors had ever done, lavishing plunder, spoil, and wealth on them. He shall devise plans against strongholds, but only for a time. CEB 25 “Then with a large army he will gather his strength and courage against the southern king. The southern king, with a large and super powerful army, will prepare for war, but he won't endure because they will make plans against him. NRS 25 He shall stir up his power and determination against the king of the south with a great army, and the king of the south shall wage war with a much greater and stronger army. But he shall not succeed, for plots shall be devised against him CEB 26 Those who eat the king's provisions will destroy him. His army will be overrun. Many will die. NRS 26 by those who eat of the royal rations. They shall break him, his army shall be swept away, and many shall fall slain. CEB 27 “These two kings, with their minds set on evil, will sit at one table, telling lies, but with no success because the end will come at the set time. NRS 27 The two kings, their minds bent on evil, shall sit at one table and exchange lies. But it shall not succeed, for there remains an end at the time appointed. CEB 28 He will return to his country with great wealth and set his mind against a holy covenant. He will do what he wants and then return to his country. NRS 28 He shall return to his land with great wealth, but his heart shall be set against the holy covenant. He shall work his will, and return to his own land. CEB 29 At the set time he will again battle against the south, but the second time will be different from the first. NRS 29 "At the time appointed he shall return and come into the south, but this time it shall not be as it was before. CEB 30 Kittim ships will fight against him, and he will retreat in fear. He will rage against a holy covenant and will do what he wants. Then he will pay special attention to those who violate a holy covenant. NRS 30 For ships of Kittim shall come against him, and he shall lose heart and withdraw. He shall be enraged and take action against the holy covenant. He shall turn back and pay heed to those who forsake the holy covenant. CEB 31 His forces will come and make the sanctuary fortress impure. They will stop the daily sacrifice and set up a desolating monstrosity. NRS 31 Forces sent by him shall occupy and profane the temple and fortress. They shall abolish the regular burnt offering and set up the abomination that makes desolate. CEB 32 By deceitful means he will corrupt those who violate a covenant, but the people who acknowledge their God will stand strong and will act. NRS 32 He shall seduce with intrigue those who violate the covenant; but the people who are loyal to their God shall stand firm and take action. CEB 33 “The people's teachers will help many understand, but for a time they will fall by sword and by flame, by captivity and by plunder. NRS 33 The wise among the people shall give understanding to many; for some days, however, they shall fall by sword and flame, and suffer captivity and plunder. CEB 34 When they fall, they will receive a little help, but many will join them with deceitful plans. NRS 34 When they fall victim, they shall receive a little help, and many shall join them insincerely. CEB 35 Some of the teachers too will fall in order that they might be refined, purified, and cleansed—until an end time, because it is still not yet the set time. NRS 35 Some of the wise shall fall, so that they may be refined, purified, and cleansed, until the time of the end, for there is still an interval until the time appointed. CEB 36 “The king will do whatever he wants. He will exalt himself, making himself greater than any god. He will say unbelievable things against the God of gods. He will succeed until the doom is completed, because what is decreed must take place. NRS 36 "The king shall act as he pleases. He shall exalt himself and consider himself greater than any god, and shall speak horrendous things against the God of gods. He shall prosper until the period of wrath is completed, for what is determined shall be done. CEB 37 He will give no thought to the gods of his fathers, nor to the god cherished by women. He will give no thought to any god, because he will make himself greater than all of them. NRS 37 He shall pay no respect to the gods of his ancestors, or to the one beloved by women; he shall pay no respect to any other god, for he shall consider himself greater than all. CEB 38 In their place, he will worship a god of walled fortresses. With gold and silver, rare stones and precious things, he will worship a god his fathers did not acknowledge. NRS 38 He shall honor the god of fortresses instead of these; a god whom his ancestors did not know he shall honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts. CEB 39 He will deal with walled fortresses with the help of a foreign god. He will heap rewards on those who support him, making them rule over many and dividing up the land for a price. NRS 39 He shall deal with the strongest fortresses by the help of a foreign god. Those who acknowledge him he shall make more wealthy, and shall appoint them as rulers over many, and shall distribute the land for a price. CEB 40 At the end time, the southern king will attack him. The northern king will storm against him with chariots and horses and many ships. He will invade countries, sweeping over them like a flood. NRS 40 "At the time of the end the king of the south shall attack him. But the king of the north shall rush upon him like a whirlwind, with chariots and horsemen, and with many ships. He shall advance against countries and pass through like a flood. CEB 41 He will invade the beautiful country, and tens of thousands will die. But Edom, Moab, and the best of the Ammonites will escape from his hand. NRS 41 He shall come into the beautiful land, and tens of thousands shall fall victim, but Edom and Moab and the main part of the Ammonites shall escape from his power. CEB 42 He will extend his power into other countries. Even Egypt won't escape. NRS 42 He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. CEB 43 He will take control of Egypt's hidden treasures of gold, silver, and all its precious things. Libyans and Cushites will follow at his feet. NRS 43 He shall become ruler of the treasures of gold and of silver, and all the riches of Egypt; and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall follow in his train. CEB 44 But reports from the east and north will alarm him, and in a great rage he will set off to devastate and destroy many. NRS 44 But reports from the east and the north shall alarm him, and he shall go out with great fury to bring ruin and complete destruction to many. CEB 45 He will pitch his royal tents between the sea and the beautiful holy mountain. But he will come to his end, and no one will help him. NRS 45 He shall pitch his palatial tents between the sea and the beautiful holy mountain. Yet he shall come to his end, with no one to help him.
NRS 1 As for me, in the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood up to support and strengthen him. NRS 2 "Now I will announce the truth to you. Three more kings shall arise in Persia. The fourth shall be far richer than all of them, and when he has become strong through his riches, he shall stir up all against the kingdom of Greece. NRS 3 Then a warrior king shall arise, who shall rule with great dominion and take action as he pleases. NRS 4 And while still rising in power, his kingdom shall be broken and divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not to his posterity, nor according to the dominion with which he ruled; for his kingdom shall be uprooted and go to others besides these. NRS 5 "Then the king of the south shall grow strong, but one of his officers shall grow stronger than he and shall rule a realm greater than his own realm. NRS 6 After some years they shall make an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the south shall come to the king of the north to ratify the agreement. But she shall not retain her power, and his offspring shall not endure. She shall be given up, she and her attendants and her child and the one who supported her. "In those times NRS 7 a branch from her roots shall rise up in his place. He shall come against the army and enter the fortress of the king of the north, and he shall take action against them and prevail. NRS 8 Even their gods, with their idols and with their precious vessels of silver and gold, he shall carry off to Egypt as spoils of war. For some years he shall refrain from attacking the king of the north; NRS 9 then the latter shall invade the realm of the king of the south, but will return to his own land. NRS 10 "His sons shall wage war and assemble a multitude of great forces, which shall advance like a flood and pass through, and again shall carry the war as far as his fortress. NRS 11 Moved with rage, the king of the south shall go out and do battle against the king of the north, who shall muster a great multitude, which shall, however, be defeated by his enemy. NRS 12 When the multitude has been carried off, his heart shall be exalted, and he shall overthrow tens of thousands, but he shall not prevail. NRS 13 For the king of the north shall again raise a multitude, larger than the former, and after some years he shall advance with a great army and abundant supplies. NRS 14 "In those times many shall rise against the king of the south. The lawless among your own people shall lift themselves up in order to fulfill the vision, but they shall fail. NRS 15 Then the king of the north shall come and throw up siegeworks, and take a well-fortified city. And the forces of the south shall not stand, not even his picked troops, for there shall be no strength to resist. NRS 16 But he who comes against him shall take the actions he pleases, and no one shall withstand him. He shall take a position in the beautiful land, and all of it shall be in his power. NRS 17 He shall set his mind to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and he shall bring terms of peace and perform them. In order to destroy the kingdom, he shall give him a woman in marriage; but it shall not succeed or be to his advantage. NRS 18 Afterward he shall turn to the coastlands, and shall capture many. But a commander shall put an end to his insolence; indeed, he shall turn his insolence back upon him. NRS 19 Then he shall turn back toward the fortresses of his own land, but he shall stumble and fall, and shall not be found. NRS 20 "Then shall arise in his place one who shall send an official for the glory of the kingdom; but within a few days he shall be broken, though not in anger or in battle. NRS 21 In his place shall arise a contemptible person on whom royal majesty had not been conferred; he shall come in without warning and obtain the kingdom through intrigue. NRS 22 Armies shall be utterly swept away and broken before him, and the prince of the covenant as well. NRS 23 And after an alliance is made with him, he shall act deceitfully and become strong with a small party. NRS 24 Without warning he shall come into the richest parts of the province and do what none of his predecessors had ever done, lavishing plunder, spoil, and wealth on them. He shall devise plans against strongholds, but only for a time. NRS 25 He shall stir up his power and determination against the king of the south with a great army, and the king of the south shall wage war with a much greater and stronger army. But he shall not succeed, for plots shall be devised against him NRS 26 by those who eat of the royal rations. They shall break him, his army shall be swept away, and many shall fall slain. NRS 27 The two kings, their minds bent on evil, shall sit at one table and exchange lies. But it shall not succeed, for there remains an end at the time appointed. NRS 28 He shall return to his land with great wealth, but his heart shall be set against the holy covenant. He shall work his will, and return to his own land. NRS 29 "At the time appointed he shall return and come into the south, but this time it shall not be as it was before. NRS 30 For ships of Kittim shall come against him, and he shall lose heart and withdraw. He shall be enraged and take action against the holy covenant. He shall turn back and pay heed to those who forsake the holy covenant. NRS 31 Forces sent by him shall occupy and profane the temple and fortress. They shall abolish the regular burnt offering and set up the abomination that makes desolate. NRS 32 He shall seduce with intrigue those who violate the covenant; but the people who are loyal to their God shall stand firm and take action. NRS 33 The wise among the people shall give understanding to many; for some days, however, they shall fall by sword and flame, and suffer captivity and plunder. NRS 34 When they fall victim, they shall receive a little help, and many shall join them insincerely. NRS 35 Some of the wise shall fall, so that they may be refined, purified, and cleansed, until the time of the end, for there is still an interval until the time appointed. NRS 36 "The king shall act as he pleases. He shall exalt himself and consider himself greater than any god, and shall speak horrendous things against the God of gods. He shall prosper until the period of wrath is completed, for what is determined shall be done. NRS 37 He shall pay no respect to the gods of his ancestors, or to the one beloved by women; he shall pay no respect to any other god, for he shall consider himself greater than all. NRS 38 He shall honor the god of fortresses instead of these; a god whom his ancestors did not know he shall honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts. NRS 39 He shall deal with the strongest fortresses by the help of a foreign god. Those who acknowledge him he shall make more wealthy, and shall appoint them as rulers over many, and shall distribute the land for a price. NRS 40 "At the time of the end the king of the south shall attack him. But the king of the north shall rush upon him like a whirlwind, with chariots and horsemen, and with many ships. He shall advance against countries and pass through like a flood. NRS 41 He shall come into the beautiful land, and tens of thousands shall fall victim, but Edom and Moab and the main part of the Ammonites shall escape from his power. NRS 42 He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. NRS 43 He shall become ruler of the treasures of gold and of silver, and all the riches of Egypt; and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall follow in his train. NRS 44 But reports from the east and the north shall alarm him, and he shall go out with great fury to bring ruin and complete destruction to many. NRS 45 He shall pitch his palatial tents between the sea and the beautiful holy mountain. Yet he shall come to his end, with no one to help him.