Kings of the South and North 1 Brenton And I in the first year of Cyrus stood to strengthen and confirm him . BSB BSB: “And I, in the first year of Darius the Mede, stood up to strengthen and protect him.
2 Brenton And now I will tell thee the truth. Behold, there shall yet rise up three kings in Persia: and the fourth shall be very far richer than all: and after that he is master of his wealth, he shall rise up against all the kingdoms of the Greeks. BSB BSB: Now 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.
3 Brenton And there shall rise up a mighty king, and he shall be lord of a great empire, and shall do according to his will. BSB BSB: Then a mighty king will arise, who will rule with great authority and do as he pleases.
4 Brenton And when his kingdom shall stand up, it shall be broken, and shall be divided to the four winds of heaven; but not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion which he ruled over: for his kingdom shall be plucked up, and given to others beside these. BSB BSB: But 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 Brenton And the king of the south shall be strong; and one of their princes shall prevail against him, and shall obtain a great dominion. BSB BSB: The 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.
6 Brenton And after his years they shall associate; and the daughter of the king of the south shall come to the king of the north, to make agreements with him: but she shall not retain power of arm; neither shall his seed stand: and she shall be delivered up, and they that brought her, and the maiden, and he that strengthened her in these times. BSB BSB: After 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 Brenton But out of the flower of her root there shall arise one on his place, and shall come against the host, and shall enter into the strongholds of the king of the north, and shall fight against them, and prevail.BSB BSB: But 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.
8 Brenton Yea, he shall carry with a body of captives into Egypt their gods with their molten images, and all their precious vessels of silver and gold; and he shall last longer than the king of the north. BSB BSB: He 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,
9 Brenton And he shall enter into the kingdom of the king of the south, and shall return to his own land. BSB BSB: who will invade the realm of the king of the South and then return to his own land.
10 Brenton And his sons shall gather a multitude among many: and one shall certainly come, and overflow, and pass through, and he shall rest, and collect his strength. BSB BSB: But 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 Brenton And the king of the south shall be greatly enraged, and shall come forth, and shall war with the king of the north: and he shall raise a great multitude; but the multitude shall be delivered into his hand. BSB BSB: In 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.
12 Brenton And he shall take the multitude, and his heart shall be exalted; and he shall cast down many thousands; but he shall not prevail. BSB BSB: When 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.
13 Brenton For the king of the north shall return, and bring a multitude greater than the former, and at the end of the times of years an invading army shall come with a great force, and with much substance. BSB BSB: For 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 Brenton And in those times many shall rise up against the king of the south; and the children of the spoilers of thy people shall exalt themselves to establish the vision; and they shall fail. BSB BSB: In 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.
15 Brenton And the king of the north shall come in, and cast up a mound, and take strong cities: and the arms of the king of the south shall withstand, and his chosen ones shall rise up, but there shall be no strength to stand. BSB BSB: Then 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.
16 Brenton And he that comes in against him shall do according to his will, and there is no one to stand before him: and he shall stand in the land of beauty, and it shall be consumed by his hand. BSB BSB: The 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.
17 Brenton And he shall set his face to come in with the force of his whole kingdom, and shall cause everything to prosper with him: and he shall give him the daughter of women to corrupt her: but she shall not continue, neither be on his side. BSB BSB: He 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.
18 Brenton And he shall turn his face to the islands, and shall take many, and cause princes to cease from their reproach: nevertheless his own reproach shall return to him. BSB BSB: Then 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.
19 Brenton Then he shall turn back his face to the strength of his own land: but he shall become weak, and fall, and not be found. BSB BSB: After this, he will turn back toward the fortresses of his own land, but he will stumble and fall and be no more.
20 Brenton And there shall arise out of his root one that shall cause a plant of the kingdom to pass over his place, earning kingly glory: and yet in those days shall he be broken, yet not openly, nor in war. BSB BSB: In 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.
22 Brenton And the arms of him that overflows shall be washed away as with a flood from before him, and shall be broken, and so shall be the head of the covenant. BSB BSB: Then a flood of forces will be swept away before him and destroyed, along with a prince of the covenant.
23 Brenton And because of the leagues made with him he shall work deceit: and he shall come up, and overpower them with a small nation. BSB BSB: After an alliance is made with him, he will act deceitfully; for he will rise to power with only a few people.
24 Brenton And he shall enter with prosperity, and that into fertile districts; and he shall do what his fathers and his fathers' fathers have not done; he shall scatter among them plunder, and spoils, and wealth; and he shall devise plans against Egypt, even for a time. BSB BSB: In 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 Brenton And his strength and his heart shall be stirred up against the king of the south with a great force; and the king of the south shall engage in war with a great and very strong force; but his forces shall not stand, for they shall devise plans against him: BSB BSB: And 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.
26 Brenton and they shall eat his provisions, and shall crush him, and he shall carry away armies as with a flood, and many shall fall down slain. BSB BSB: Those who eat from his provisions will seek to destroy him; his army will be swept away, and many will fall slain.
27 Brenton And as for both the kings, their hearts are set upon mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table; but it shall not prosper; for yet the end is for a fixed time. BSB BSB: And 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.
28 Brenton And he shall return to his land with much substance; and his heart shall be against the holy covenant; and he shall perform great deeds , and return to his own land. BSB BSB: The 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 Brenton At the set time he shall return, and shall come into the south, but the last expedition shall not be as the first. BSB BSB: At the appointed time he will invade the South again, but this time will not be like the first.
30 Brenton For the Citians issuing forth shall come against him, and he shall be brought low, and shall return, and shall be incensed against the holy covenant: and he shall do thus , and shall return, and have intelligence with them that have forsaken the holy covenant. BSB BSB: Ships 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.
32 Brenton And the transgressors shall bring about a covenant by deceitful ways: but a people knowing their God shall prevail, and do valiantly . BSB BSB: With flattery he will corrupt those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him.
33 Brenton And the intelligent of the people shall understand much: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, and by captivity, and by spoil of many days. BSB BSB: Those with insight will instruct many, though for a time they will fall by sword or flame, or be captured or plundered.
34 Brenton And when they are weak they shall be helped with a little help: but many shall attach themselves to them with treachery. BSB BSB: Now when they fall, they will be granted a little help, but many will join them insincerely.
35 Brenton And some of them that understand shall fall, to try them as with fire, and to test them , and that they may be manifested at the time of the end, for the matter is yet for a set time. BSB BSB: Some 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.
The King Who Exalts Himself 36 Brenton And he shall do according to his will, and the king shall exalt and magnify himself against every god, and shall speak great swelling words, and shall prosper until the indignation shall be accomplished: for it is coming to an end. BSB BSB: Then 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.
37 Brenton And he shall not regard any gods of his fathers, nor the desire of women, neither shall he regard any deity: for he shall magnify himself above all. BSB BSB: He 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.
38 Brenton And he shall honour the god of forces on his place: and a god whom his fathers knew not he shall honour with gold, and silver, and precious stones, and desirable things. BSB BSB: And in their place, he will honor a god of fortresses—a god his fathers did not know—with gold, silver, precious stones, and riches.
39 Brenton And he shall do thus in the strong places of refuge with a strange god, and shall increase his glory: and he shall subject many to them, and shall distribute the land in gifts. BSB BSB: He 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.
41 Brenton and he shall enter into the land of beauty, and many shall fail: but these shall escape out of his hand, Edom, and, Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon. BSB BSB: He 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.
42 Brenton And he shall stretch forth his hand over the land; and the land of Egypt shall not escape. BSB BSB: He will extend his power over many countries, and not even the land of Egypt will escape.
43 Brenton And he shall have the mastery over the secret treasures of gold and silver, and over all the desirable possessions of Egypt, and of the Libyans and Ethiopians in their strongholds. BSB BSB: He 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.
44 Brenton But rumours and anxieties out of the east and from the north shall trouble him; and he shall come with great wrath to destroy many. BSB BSB: But 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.
45 Brenton And he shall pitch the tabernacle of his palace between the seas in the holy mountain of beauty: but he shall come to his portion, and there is none to deliver him. BSB BSB: He 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.