| New International Version | Berean Study Bible |
| 1And in the first year of Darius the Mede, I took my stand to support and protect him.) | 1“And I, in the first year of Darius the Mede, stood up to strengthen and protect him. |
| 2"Now then, I tell you the truth: Three more kings will arise in Persia, and then a fourth, who will be far richer than all the others. When he has gained power by his wealth, he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece. | 2Now then, I will tell you the truth: Three more kings will arise in Persia, and then a fourth, who will be far richer than all the others. By the power of his wealth, he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece. |
| 3Then a mighty king will arise, who will rule with great power and do as he pleases. | 3Then a mighty king will arise, who will rule with great authority and do as he pleases. |
| 4After he has arisen, his empire will be broken up and parceled out toward the four winds of heaven. It will not go to his descendants, nor will it have the power he exercised, because his empire will be uprooted and given to others. | 4But as soon as he is established, his kingdom will be broken up and parceled out toward the four winds of heaven. It will not go to his descendants, nor will it have the authority with which he ruled, because his kingdom will be uprooted and given to others. |
| 5"The king of the South will become strong, but one of his commanders will become even stronger than he and will rule his own kingdom with great power. | 5The king of the South will grow strong, but one of his commanders will grow even stronger and will rule his own kingdom with great authority. |
| 6After some years, they will become allies. The daughter of the king of the South will go to the king of the North to make an alliance, but she will not retain her power, and he and his power will not last. In those days she will be betrayed, together with her royal escort and her father and the one who supported her. | 6After some years they will form an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the South will go to the king of the North to seal the agreement. But his daughter will not retain her position of power, nor will his strength endure. At that time she will be given up, along with her royal escort and her father and the one who supported her. |
| 7"One from her family line will arise to take her place. He will attack the forces of the king of the North and enter his fortress; he will fight against them and be victorious. | 7But one from her family line will rise up in his place, come against the army of the king of the North, and enter his fortress, fighting and prevailing. |
| 8He will also seize their gods, their metal images and their valuable articles of silver and gold and carry them off to Egypt. For some years he will leave the king of the North alone. | 8He will take even their gods captive to Egypt, with their metal images and their precious vessels of silver and gold. For some years he will stay away from the king of the North, |
| 9Then the king of the North will invade the realm of the king of the South but will retreat to his own country. | 9who will invade the realm of the king of the South and then return to his own land. |
| 10His sons will prepare for war and assemble a great army, which will sweep on like an irresistible flood and carry the battle as far as his fortress. | 10But his sons will stir up strife and assemble a great army, which will advance forcefully, sweeping through like a flood, and will again carry the battle as far as his fortress. |
| 11"Then the king of the South will march out in a rage and fight against the king of the North, who will raise a large army, but it will be defeated. | 11In a rage, the king of the South will march out to fight the king of the North, who will raise a large army, but it will be delivered into the hand of his enemy. |
| 12When the army is carried off, the king of the South will be filled with pride and will slaughter many thousands, yet he will not remain triumphant. | 12When the army is carried off, the king of the South will be proud in heart and will cast down tens of thousands, but he will not triumph. |
| 13For the king of the North will muster another army, larger than the first; and after several years, he will advance with a huge army fully equipped. | 13For the king of the North will raise another army, larger than the first, and after some years he will advance with a great army and many supplies. |
| 14"In those times many will rise against the king of the South. Those who are violent among your own people will rebel in fulfillment of the vision, but without success. | 14In those times many will rise up against the king of the South. Violent ones among your own people will exalt themselves in fulfillment of the vision, but they will fail. |
| 15Then the king of the North will come and build up siege ramps and will capture a fortified city. The forces of the South will be powerless to resist; even their best troops will not have the strength to stand. | 15Then the king of the North will come, build up a siege ramp, and capture a fortified city. The forces of the South will not stand; even their best troops will not be able to resist. |
| 16The invader will do as he pleases; no one will be able to stand against him. He will establish himself in the Beautiful Land and will have the power to destroy it. | 16The invader will do as he pleases, and no one will stand against him. He will establish himself in the Beautiful Land, with destruction in his hand. |
| 17He will determine to come with the might of his entire kingdom and will make an alliance with the king of the South. And he will give him a daughter in marriage in order to overthrow the kingdom, but his plans will not succeed or help him. | 17He will resolve to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and will reach an agreement with the king of the South. He will give him a daughter in marriage in order to overthrow the kingdom, but his plan will not succeed or help him. |
| 18Then he will turn his attention to the coastlands and will take many of them, but a commander will put an end to his insolence and will turn his insolence back on him. | 18Then he will turn his face to the coastlands and capture many of them. But a commander will put an end to his reproach and will turn it back upon him. |
| 19After this, he will turn back toward the fortresses of his own country but will stumble and fall, to be seen no more. | 19After this, he will turn back toward the fortresses of his own land, but he will stumble and fall and be no more. |
| 20"His successor will send out a tax collector to maintain the royal splendor. In a few years, however, he will be destroyed, yet not in anger or in battle. | 20In his place one will arise who will send out a tax collector for the glory of the kingdom; but within a few days he will be destroyed, though not in anger or in battle. |
| 21"He will be succeeded by a contemptible person who has not been given the honor of royalty. He will invade the kingdom when its people feel secure, and he will seize it through intrigue. | 21In his place a despicable person will arise; royal honors will not be given to him, but he will come in a time of peace and seize the kingdom by intrigue. |
| 22Then an overwhelming army will be swept away before him; both it and a prince of the covenant will be destroyed. | 22Then a flood of forces will be swept away before him and destroyed, along with a prince of the covenant. |
| 23After coming to an agreement with him, he will act deceitfully, and with only a few people he will rise to power. | 23After an alliance is made with him, he will act deceitfully; for he will rise to power with only a few people. |
| 24When the richest provinces feel secure, he will invade them and will achieve what neither his fathers nor his forefathers did. He will distribute plunder, loot and wealth among his followers. He will plot the overthrow of fortresses--but only for a time. | 24In a time of peace, he will invade the richest provinces and do what his fathers and forefathers never did. He will lavish plunder, loot, and wealth on his followers, and he will plot against the strongholds—but only for a time. |
| 25"With a large army he will stir up his strength and courage against the king of the South. The king of the South will wage war with a large and very powerful army, but he will not be able to stand because of the plots devised against him. | 25And with a large army he will stir up his power and his courage against the king of the South, who will mobilize a very large and powerful army but will not withstand the plots devised against him. |
| 26Those who eat from the king's provisions will try to destroy him; his army will be swept away, and many will fall in battle. | 26Those who eat from his provisions will seek to destroy him; his army will be swept away, and many will fall slain. |
| 27The two kings, with their hearts bent on evil, will sit at the same table and lie to each other, but to no avail, because an end will still come at the appointed time. | 27And the two kings, with their hearts bent on evil, will speak lies at the same table, but to no avail, for still the end will come at the appointed time. |
| 28The king of the North will return to his own country with great wealth, but his heart will be set against the holy covenant. He will take action against it and then return to his own country. | 28The king of the North will return to his land with great wealth, but his heart will be set against the holy covenant; so he will do damage and return to his own land. |
| 29"At the appointed time he will invade the South again, but this time the outcome will be different from what it was before. | 29At the appointed time he will invade the South again, but this time will not be like the first. |
| 30Ships of the western coastlands will oppose him, and he will lose heart. Then he will turn back and vent his fury against the holy covenant. He will return and show favor to those who forsake the holy covenant. | 30Ships of Kittim will come against him, and he will lose heart. Then he will turn back and rage against the holy covenant and do damage. So he will return and show favor to those who forsake the holy covenant. |
| 31"His armed forces will rise up to desecrate the temple fortress and will abolish the daily sacrifice. Then they will set up the abomination that causes desolation. | 31His forces will rise up and desecrate the temple fortress. They will abolish the daily sacrifice and set up the abomination of desolation. |
| 32With flattery he will corrupt those who have violated the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him. | 32With flattery he will corrupt those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him. |
| 33"Those who are wise will instruct many, though for a time they will fall by the sword or be burned or captured or plundered. | 33Those with insight will instruct many, though for a time they will fall by sword or flame, or be captured or plundered. |
| 34When they fall, they will receive a little help, and many who are not sincere will join them. | 34Now when they fall, they will be granted a little help, but many will join them insincerely. |
| 35Some of the wise will stumble, so that they may be refined, purified and made spotless until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time. | 35Some of the wise will fall, so that they may be refined, purified, and made spotless until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time. |
| 36"The king will do as he pleases. He will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will say unheard-of things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been determined must take place. | 36Then the king will do as he pleases and will exalt and magnify himself above every god, and he will speak monstrous things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been decreed must be accomplished. |
| 37He will show no regard for the gods of his ancestors or for the one desired by women, nor will he regard any god, but will exalt himself above them all. | 37He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers, nor for the one desired by women, nor for any other god, because he will magnify himself above them all. |
| 38Instead of them, he will honor a god of fortresses; a god unknown to his ancestors he will honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts. | 38And in their place, he will honor a god of fortresses—a god his fathers did not know—with gold, silver, precious stones, and riches. |
| 39He will attack the mightiest fortresses with the help of a foreign god and will greatly honor those who acknowledge him. He will make them rulers over many people and will distribute the land at a price. | 39He will attack the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign god and will greatly honor those who acknowledge him, making them rulers over many and distributing the land for a price. |
| 40"At the time of the end the king of the South will engage him in battle, and the king of the North will storm out against him with chariots and cavalry and a great fleet of ships. He will invade many countries and sweep through them like a flood. | 40At the time of the end, the king of the South will engage him in battle, but the king of the North will storm out against him with chariots, horsemen, and many ships, invading many countries and sweeping through them like a flood. |
| 41He will also invade the Beautiful Land. Many countries will fall, but Edom, Moab and the leaders of Ammon will be delivered from his hand. | 41He will also invade the Beautiful Land, and many countries will fall. But these will be delivered from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the leaders of the Ammonites. |
| 42He will extend his power over many countries; Egypt will not escape. | 42He will extend his power over many countries, and not even the land of Egypt will escape. |
| 43He will gain control of the treasures of gold and silver and all the riches of Egypt, with the Libyans and Cushites in submission. | 43He will gain control of the treasures of gold and silver and over all the riches of Egypt, and the Libyans and Cushites will also submit to him. |
| 44But reports from the east and the north will alarm him, and he will set out in a great rage to destroy and annihilate many. | 44But news from the east and the north will alarm him, and he will go out with great fury to destroy many and devote them to destruction. |
| 45He will pitch his royal tents between the seas at the beautiful holy mountain. Yet he will come to his end, and no one will help him. | 45He will pitch his royal tents between the sea and the beautiful holy mountain, but he will meet his end with no one to help him. |
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