1And as for me , in the first year of Darius the Mede , I stood up to confirm and strengthen him . 2And now will I show thee the truth. Behold , there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia ; and the fourth shall be far richer than they all : and when he is waxed strong through his riches , he shall stir up all against the realm of Greece . 3And a mighty king shall stand up , that 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 heaven , but not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion wherewith 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 ; and he shall be strong above him , and have dominion ; his dominion shall be a great dominion . 6And at the end of years they shall join themselves together ; and the daughter of the king of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement : but she shall not retain the strength of her arm ; neither shall he stand , nor his arm ; but she shall be given up , and they that brought her , and he that begat her , and he that strengthened her in those times . 7But out of a shoot from her roots shall one stand up in his place , who shall come unto the army , and shall enter into the fortress of the king of the north , and shall deal against them , and shall prevail . 8And also their gods, with their molten images , and with their goodly vessels of silver and of gold , shall he carry captive into Egypt ; and he shall refrain some years from the king of the north . 9And he shall come into the realm of the king of the south , but he shall return into his own land. 10And his sons shall war , and shall assemble a multitude of great forces , which shall come on , and overflow , and pass through ; and they shall return and war , even to his fortress . 11And the king of the south shall be moved with anger, and shall come forth and fight with him , even with the king of the north ; and he shall set forth a great multitude , and the multitude shall be given into his hand . 12And the multitude shall be lifted up , and his heart shall be exalted ; and he shall cast down tens of thousands , but he shall not prevail . 13And the king of the north shall return , and shall set forth a multitude greater than the former ; and he shall come on at the end of the times , even of years , with a great army and with much substance . 14And in those times there shall many stand up against the king of the south : also the children of the violent among thy people shall lift themselves up to establish the vision ; but they shall fall . 15So the king of the north shall come , and cast up a mound, and take a well-fortified city : and the forces of the south shall not stand , neither his chosen people , neither shall there be any strength to stand . 16But he that cometh against him shall do according to his own will , and none shall stand before him ; and he shall stand in the glorious land , and in his hand shall be destruction . 17And he shall set his face to come with the strength of his whole kingdom , and with him equitable conditions; and he shall perform them : and he shall give him the daughter of women , to corrupt her ; but she shall not stand , neither be for him . 18After this shall he turn his face unto the isles, and shall take many : but a prince shall cause the reproach offered by him to cease ; yea, moreover , he shall cause his reproach to turn upon him . 19Then he shall turn his face toward 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 that shall cause an exactor to pass through the glory of the kingdom ; but within few days he shall be destroyed , neither in anger , nor in battle .
The Rise of a Notable King
21And in his place shall stand up a contemptible person , to whom they had not given the honor of the kingdom : but he shall come in time of security, and shall obtain the kingdom by flatteries . 22And the overwhelming forces shall be overwhelmed from before him , and shall be broken ; yea , also the prince of the covenant . 23And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully ; for he shall come up , and shall become strong , with a small people . 24In time of security shall he come even upon the fattest places of the province ; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done , nor his fathers’ fathers; he shall scatter among them prey , and spoil , and substance : yea, he shall devise his devices against the strongholds , even 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 war in battle with an exceeding great and mighty army ; but he shall not stand ; for they shall devise devices against him . 26Yea, they that eat of his dainties shall destroy him , and his army shall overflow ; and many shall fall down slain . 27And as for both these kings , their hearts shall be to do mischief , and they shall speak lies at one table : but it shall not prosper ; for yet the end shall be at the time appointed . 28Then shall he return into his land with great substance ; and his heart shall be against the holy covenant ; and he shall do his pleasure , and return to his own land. 29At the time appointed he shall return , and come into the south ; but it shall not be in the latter time as it was in the former . 30For ships of Kittim shall come against him ; therefore he shall be grieved , and shall return , and have indignation against the holy covenant , and shall do his pleasure : he shall even return , and have regard unto them that forsake the holy covenant . 31And forces shall stand on his part , and they shall profane the sanctuary , even the fortress , and shall take away the continual burnt-offering , and they shall set up the abomination that maketh desolate . 32And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he pervert by flatteries ; but the people that know their God shall be strong , and do exploits . 33And they that are wise among the people shall instruct many ; yet they shall fall by the sword and by flame , by captivity and by spoil, many days . 34Now when they shall fall , they shall be helped with a little help ; but many shall join themselves unto them with flatteries . 35And some of them that are wise shall fall , to refine them , and to purify , and to make them white , even to the time of the end ; because it is yet for the time appointed .
The End Times and the Final Conflict
36And the king shall do according to his will ; and he shall exalt himself , and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods; and he shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished ; for that which is determined shall be done . 37Neither shall he 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 shall he honor the god of fortresses ; and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honor with gold , and silver , and with precious stones and pleasant things . 39And he shall deal with the strongest fortresses by the help of a foreign god: whosoever acknowledgeth him he will increase with glory ; and he shall cause them to rule over many , and shall divide the land for a price . 40And at the time of the end shall the king of the south contend with 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 pass through . 41He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown ; but these shall be delivered out of his hand : Edom, and Moab , and the chief of the children of Ammon . 42He shall stretch forth 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 of 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 trouble him ; and he shall go forth with great fury to destroy and utterly to sweep away many . 45And he shall plant the tents of his palace between the sea and the glorious holy mountain ; yet he shall come to his end , and none shall help him .