Kings of the South and North 1 DBY And I, in the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood to confirm and to strengthen him. BSB BSB: “And I, in the first year of Darius the Mede, stood up to strengthen and protect him.
2 DBY And now will I declare unto thee the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth shall enrich himself with great riches more than all; and when he hath become strong through his riches, he shall stir up all against the realm of Greece. 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 DBY And a mighty king shall stand up that shall rule with great dominion, and 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 DBY And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of the heavens; but not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion wherewith he ruled; for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for 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 DBY And the king of the south, who is one of his princes, shall be strong; but another shall be stronger than he, and have dominion: his dominion shall be 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 DBY And after the course of years they shall join affinity; and the king's daughter of the south shall come to the king of the north to make equitable conditions: but she shall not retain the strength of her arm; neither shall he stand, nor his arm; and she shall be given up, she and they that brought her, and he that begat her, and he that strengthened her in those 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 DBY But out of a shoot from her roots shall one stand up in his place, who shall come to the army, and shall enter into the fortress of the king of the north, and shall deal against them, and shew himself mighty. 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 DBY He shall also carry captive into Egypt their gods, with their princes, and their precious vessels of silver and of gold; and he shall subsist for more years 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 DBY and the same shall come into the realm of the king of the south, but shall return into his own land. BSB BSB: who will invade the realm of the king of the South and then return to his own land.
10 DBY And his sons shall be stirred up, and shall assemble a multitude of great forces; and one shall certainly come, and overflow, and pass through; and he shall return and carry the war even to his fortress. 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 DBY And the king of the south shall be enraged, and shall come forth and fight with him, with the king of the north, who shall set forth a great multitude, but the multitude shall be given 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 DBY And when the multitude shall have been taken away, his heart shall be exalted; and he shall cast down myriads; 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 DBY For the king of the north shall return, and shall set forth a multitude greater than the former; and shall certainly come at the end of the times of years with a great army 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 DBY And in those times shall many stand up against the king of the south; and the violent of thy people will exalt themselves to establish the vision; but they shall fall. 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 DBY And the king of the north shall come, and cast up a mound, and take the well-fenced city; and the arms of the south shall not withstand, neither his chosen people, for there shall be no strength to withstand. 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 DBY And he that cometh against him shall do according to his own will, and none shall stand before him; and he shall stand in the land of beauty, and destruction shall be in 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 DBY And he shall set his face to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and upright ones with him; and he shall practise; and he shall give him the daughter of women, to corrupt her; but she shall not stand, neither shall she be for him. 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 DBY And he shall turn his face unto the isles, and shall take many; but a captain for his own behalf shall cause the reproach offered by him to cease: he shall turn it upon him, without reproach for himself. 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 DBY And he shall turn his face toward the fortresses of his own land; and he shall stumble 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 DBY And in his place shall one stand up who shall cause the exactor to pass through the glory of the kingdom; but in a few days he shall be broken, neither in anger nor in battle. 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 DBY And the overflowing forces shall be overflowed from before him, and shall be broken: yea, also the prince 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 DBY And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully, and he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people. 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 DBY In time of peace shall he enter even into 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, and he shall plan his devices against the fortified places, 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 DBY And 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 engage in battle with an exceeding great and mighty army; but he shall not stand, for they shall plan devices 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 DBY And they that eat of his delicate food shall break him, and his army shall be dissolved; 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 DBY And both these kings' hearts shall meditate mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table; but it shall not prosper; for yet the end shall be at the time appointed. 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 DBY And he shall return into his land with great substance; and his heart shall be against the holy covenant; and he shall practise, 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 DBY At the set time he shall return, and come towards the south; but not as the former time shall be the latter; BSB BSB: At the appointed time he will invade the South again, but this time will not be like the first.
30 DBY for ships of Chittim shall come against him; and he shall be grieved, and return, and have indignation against the holy covenant; and will practise; and he shall return and direct his attention to those that forsake 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 DBY And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he pervert by flatteries; but the people that know their God shall be strong, and shall act. BSB BSB: With flattery he will corrupt those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him.
33 DBY And they that are wise among the people shall instruct the many; and they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, 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 DBY And when they fall, they shall be helped with a little help; but many shall cleave to them with flatteries. BSB BSB: Now when they fall, they will be granted a little help, but many will join them insincerely.
35 DBY And some of the wise shall fall, to try them, and to purge and to make them white, to the time of the end: for it shall yet be for the time appointed. 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 DBY And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and speak monstrous things against the God of gods; and he shall prosper until the indignation be accomplished: for that which is determined shall be done. 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 DBY And he will not regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women; nor regard any god: for he will 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 DBY And in his place will he honour the god of fortresses; and a god whom his fathers knew not will he honour with gold and silver, and with precious stones and pleasant 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 DBY And he will practise in the strongholds of fortresses with a strange god: whoso acknowledgeth him will he increase with glory; and he shall cause them to rule over the many, and shall divide the land to them for a reward. 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 DBY And he shall enter into the land of beauty, 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. 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 DBY And he shall stretch forth his hand upon the countries; 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 DBY And 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. 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 DBY But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him; and he shall go forth with great fury to exterminate, and utterly 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 DBY And he shall plant the tents of his palace between the sea and the mountain of holy beauty; and he shall come to his end, and there shall be none to help 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.