1"And I, in the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood up to confirm and strengthen him. ) 2And now I will declare to you the truth. Behold, there shall yet stand up three more kings in Persia. And the fourth shall be far richer than all of them. And when he grows strong, through his riches, he shall stir up all against the kingdom of Greece. 3And a mighty king shall stand up, one who shall rule with great dominion and do according to his will. 4And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken and shall be divided toward the four winds of the heavens. But it shall not be given to his descendants, nor according to his dominion with which he ruled, for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others besides these.

5And the king of the south shall be strong. And one of his princes, even he shall overcome him and have dominion. His kingdom shall be a great kingdom. 6And after some years they shall join themselves together, for the king's daughter of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an alliance. But she shall not keep her position of power. Nor shall he stand, nor his authority. But she shall be given up--with those who brought her in, and he who begat her, and he who made her strong in these times. 7But out of a branch of her roots one shall stand up in his place, who shall come against the army of the king of the north and shall enter into his stronghold And he shall act against them and shall prevail. 8And he shall also carry their gods captive with their molten images into Egypt, and with their precious vessels of silver and of gold. And he shall refrain from attacking the king of the north for some years. 9So the king of the north shall come into the kingdom of the king of the south, but shall return into his own land.

10But his sons shall mobilize and shall gather a multitude of great forces. And one of them shall certainly come and overflow, and pass through. And he will carry on and do battle, even to his fortress. 11And the king of the south shall be in a rage and shall come out and fight with him, even with the king of the north who will raise a great multitude, but the multitude shall be given into his hand. 12And the multitude shall be carried away, and his heart shall be lifted up. And he shall cast down tens of thousands, but he shall not prevail, 13For the king of the north shall return and shall send out a multitude greater than the former, and at the end of some years shall come with a great army and with much equipment.

14And in those times there shall stand up many against the king of the south. Also the violent among your people shall rise up to establish the vision, but they shall fall. 15So the king of the north shall come, and cast up a siege mound, and take a fortified city. And the forces of the south shall not hold out, nor his chosen people, nor shall there be any strength to withstand. 16But he who comes against him shall do according to his own will, and none shall stand before him. And he shall stand in the glorious land, with destructive power in his hand. 17He also shall set his face to enter with the strength of all his kingdom, and shall make an agreement with him; so he shall do. And he shall give him the daughter of women to destroy the kingdom, but she shall not stand by his side, nor be for him. 18After this he shall turn his face to the isles and shall capture many. But a prince shall put an end to his insolence; and will turn his insolence back upon him. 19Then he shall turn his face to the fortresses of his own land. But he shall stumble and fall, and shall not be found.

20Then shall stand up in his place one who will send out an exacter of taxes in the glory of the kingdom. But within a few days he shall be destroyed, not in anger nor in battle. 21And a contemptible one shall stand up in his place, and they shall not give to him the majesty of the kingdom; but he will come in a time of peace and seize the kingdom by flatteries. 22And the overflowing forces will be swept from before him, and they will be broken, and also the prince of the covenant. 23And after the league is made with him he shall work deceitfully, for he shall come up and shall become strong with a small force. 24He shall enter peaceably, even into the rich places of the realm. And he shall do what his fathers have not done, nor his fathers' fathers. He shall distribute among them the prey, spoil and riches. And he shall devise his plots against the strongholds, but only for a time. 25And he shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the south with a great army. And the king of the south shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army; but he shall not stand, for they shall devise plots against him. 26Yea, those who eat his food shall destroy him, and his army shall be swept away. And many shall fall down slain. 27And both these kings' hearts shall be to do evil, and they shall speak lies to each other at the same table. But it shall not succeed, for still the end remains yet for the time appointed. 28And he 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 he shall return to his land.

29At the time appointed he shall return and come against the south. But it shall not be in the latter time as it was in the former,

30For the ships of Kittim shall come against him. And he shall be cowed and return, and have indignation against the holy covenant. And he shall do his pleasure; he shall even return and have regard to those who forsake the holy covenant. 31And forces from him will stand up on his part, and they will profane the sanctuary, even the stronghold, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall set up the abomination that makes desolate. 32And he will corrupt by flattery those who do evil against the covenant, but the people who know their God shall be strong and do exploits. 33And those who are wise among the people shall cause many to understand; yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by exile, and spoil, many days. 34Now when they stumble, they shall be helped with a little help, but many will join themselves unto them with flatteries. 35And some of those who understand shall fall, to refine and to purify them, and to make white, to the time of the end because it is yet even for the appointed time.

36And the king shall do according to his will. And he shall exalt and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak astonishing things against the God of gods, and shall prosper until the indignation be accomplished, for that which is decreed shall be done. 37He will not regard the gods of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god, for he shall magnify himself above all. 38But in his place he shall honor the god of forces; and a god whom his fathers did not know shall he honor with gold and silver, and with precious stones and costly things. 39So he shall deal against the fortresses of the strongest with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge; and shall increase with glory. He shall cause them to rule over many and shall divide the land for a price.

40And at the time of the end, the king of the south shall push at him. And the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind with chariots and with horsemen and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries and shall overflow and sweep through. 41He shall also enter into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown. But these shall escape out of his hand: Edom and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon. 42And he shall stretch out his hand also upon the countries. And the land of Egypt shall not escape. 43But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt. And the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps. 44But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall alarm him. Then he will go forth with great fury to destroy and to utterly annihilate many. 45And he shall plant his royal tents between the seas in the glorious holy mountain. Yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him."