Y en el año primero de Darío el medo^a, yo mismo me levanté¹ para serle fortalecedor y protector.

2 Y ahora te declararé la verdad: He aquí, se levantarán tres reyes más en¹ Persia^a, y un cuarto rey obtendrá muchas más riquezas que todos ellos. Cuandoeste se haya hecho fuerte con sus riquezas, incitará a todo el imperio contra² el reino de Grecia^3b. 3 Se levantará entonces un rey poderoso^a que gobernará con gran autoridad y hará lo que le plazca^b. 4 Pero cuando se haya levantado, su reino será fragmentado y repartido hacia los cuatro vientos del cielo^a, no a sus descendientes¹, ni según el poder que ejerció, pues su reino será arrancado^b y dado a otros fuera de ellos.

5 Entonces el rey del sur se hará poderoso, y uno de sus príncipes se hará más poderoso que él y dominará; su dominio será un gran dominio^a. 6 Y años después, harán alianza, y la hija del rey del sur vendrá al rey del norte para hacer el pacto^1a. Pero ella no retendrá su posición de poder², ni él permanecerá con su poder³, sino que ella será entregada juntamente con los que la trajeron, con el que la engendró y con el que la sostenía en aquellos tiempos. 7 Pero se levantará un vástago de sus raíces en su lugar, y vendrá contra el ejército y entrará en la fortaleza^a del rey del norte, y contenderá con¹ ellos y prevalecerá. 8 Aun sus dioses, sus imágenes fundidas y sus vasijas preciosas de plata y de oro los tomará y se los llevará a Egipto^a, y por algunos años él se mantendrá lejos del rey del norte. 9 Yeste entrará en el reino del rey del sur, y luego se volverá a su tierra.

10 Pero sus hijos se movilizarán¹ y reunirán una multitud de grandes ejércitos, y uno de ellos seguirá avanzando e inundará y pasará^a adelante, para hacer guerra de nuevo² hasta la misma fortaleza. 11 Y se enfurecerá el rey del sur^a, y saldrá y peleará contra el rey¹ del norte. Yeste levantará una gran multitud, pero esa multitud será entregada en manos deaquel². 12 Cuando se haya llevado la multitud, su corazón se enaltecerá y hará caer a muchos millares, pero no prevalecerá. 13 El rey del norte volverá a levantar una multitud mayor que la primera, y al cabo de algunos años^1a avanzará² con un gran ejército y con mucho equipo.

14 En aquellos tiempos, muchos se levantarán contra el rey del sur; los violentos de tu pueblo también se levantarán para cumplir la visión, pero caerán¹. 15 Vendrá el rey del norte, levantará un terraplén y tomará una ciudad bien fortificada^a; y las fuerzas del sur no podrán mantenerse, ni aun sus tropas más selectas¹, porque no habrá fuerzas para resistir. 16 Pero el que viene contra él hará lo que quiera^a, y nadie podrá resistirlo^b; y permanecerá por algún tiempo en la Tierra Hermosa¹, llevando² la destrucción en su mano^c. 17 Y afirmará su rostro^a para venir con el poder de todo su reino, trayendo¹ consigo oferta de paz², lo cual llevará a cabo. También le dará una hija de las mujeres para destruirlo, pero ella no le respaldará ni se pondrá a su lado³. 18 Entonces volverá su rostro hacia las costas y tomará muchas de ellas^a. Pero un príncipe pondrá fin a su afrenta; además, hará recaer sobre él su afrenta^b. 19 Después volverá su rostro hacia las fortalezas de su tierra, pero tropezará^a y caerá, y no se le hallará más^b.

20 Y se levantará en su lugar otro que enviará un opresor¹ a través de la Joya² de su reino; pero a los pocos días será destruido, aunque no en ira ni en batalla^a. 21 En su lugar se levantará un hombre despreciable, a quien no se le han otorgado los honores de la realeza. Vendrá cuando haya tranquilidad y se apoderará del reino con intrigas^a. 22 Las fuerzas abrumadoras serán barridas¹ ante él y destruidas, así como también el príncipe del pacto^a. 23 Y después que se haya hecho alianza con él, actuará con engaño, y subirá y ganará poder con poca gente. 24 En un tiempo de tranquilidad entrará en los lugares más ricos de la provincia¹, y logrará lo que nunca lograron sus padres, ni los padres de sus padres; repartirá entre ellos despojos, botín y riquezas, y contra las fortalezas urdirá sus intrigas^a, perosolo por un tiempo. 25 Incitará su fuerza y su corazón contra el rey del sur con un gran ejército; y el rey del sur movilizará para la guerra un ejército muy grande y muy poderoso^a, pero no podrá resistir, porque urdirán intrigas contra él. 26 Y los que comen de sus manjares lo destruirán¹; su ejército será barrido^a y² muchos caerán muertos. 27 En cuanto a los dos reyes, en sus corazones maquinarán el mal^a, y en la misma mesa se hablarán mentiras^b; pero esto no tendrá éxito, porque el fin aún ha de venir en el tiempo señalado^c. 28 Entonces volverá a su tierra con grandes riquezas, pero pondrá su corazón contra el pacto santo; actuará contraeste, y volverá a su tierra.

29 En el tiempo señalado volverá y entrará en el sur, pero esta última vez no resultará como la primera¹. 30 Porque vendrán contra él naves de Quitim^1a, y se desanimará; volverá y se enfurecerá contra el pacto santo y actuará contra él; volverá, pues, y favorecerá a los que abandonen el pacto santo. 31 Y de su parte se levantarán tropas, profanarán el santuario-fortaleza, abolirán el sacrificio^a perpetuo y establecerán la abominación de la desolación^1b. 32 Con halagos^a hará apostatar¹ a los que obran inicuamente hacia el pacto, mas el pueblo que conoce a su Dios se mostrará fuerte y actuará^b. 33 Y los entendidos entre el¹ pueblo instruirán a muchos^a; sin embargo, durante muchos días caerán a espada y a fuego, en cautiverio y despojo^b. 34 Cuando caigan, recibirán poca ayuda, y muchos se unirán a ellos hipócritamente^a. 35 También algunos de los entendidos¹ caerán, a fin de ser refinados^a, purificados^b y emblanquecidos^c hasta el tiempo del fin; porque aún está por venir el tiempo señalado^d. 36 El rey hará lo que le plazca, se enaltecerá y se engrandecerá^a sobre todo dios^b, y contra el Dios de los dioses^c dirá cosas horrendas^1d; él prosperará hasta que se haya acabado la indignación^e, porque lo que está decretado^f se cumplirá. 37 No le importarán los dioses¹ de sus padres ni el favorito² de las mujeres, tampoco le importará ningún otro dios, porque él se ensalzará sobre todos ellos. 38 En su lugar honrará al dios de las fortalezas, un dios a quien sus padres no conocieron; lo honrará con oro y plata, piedras preciosas y cosas de gran valor. 39 Y actuará contra la más fuerte de las fortalezas con la ayuda de un dios extranjero; a los que le reconozcan¹ colmará de honores, los hará gobernar sobre muchos y repartirá la tierra por un precio.

40 Y al tiempo del fin^a, el rey del sur se enfrentará con él^b, y el rey del norte lo atacará^c con carros, jinetes^d y con numerosas naves; entrará en sus tierras, las invadirá¹ y pasará^e. 41 También entrará a la Tierra Hermosa^a, y muchos países caerán; masestos serán librados de su mano: Edom, Moab^b y lo más selecto de los hijos de Amón^c. 42 Y extenderá su mano contra otros países, y la tierra de Egipto no escapará. 43 Se apoderará de¹ los tesoros ocultos de oro y plata y de todas las cosas preciosas de Egipto. Libios y etíopes^a seguirán sus pasos. 44 Pero rumores del oriente y del norte lo turbarán, y saldrá con gran furor para destruir y aniquilar¹ a muchos. 45 Y plantará las tiendas de su pabellón entre los mares y el monte glorioso y santo^a; pero llegará a su fin y no habrá quien lo ayude.

“Also I, in the ^afirst year of Darius the Mede, I (Gabriel) arose to be an encouragement and a protection for him. 2 And now I will tell you the ^atruth. Behold, ¹three more kings are going to arise in Persia. Then a ²fourth will become far richer than all of them. When he becomes strong through his riches he will stir up the whole empire against the realm of ^bGreece. 3 Then a ^1amighty warlike, threatening king will arise who will rule with great authority and ^bdo as he pleases. 4 But as soon as he (Alexander) has risen, his kingdom will be broken by his death and divided ^atoward the ^bfour winds of heaven the north, south, east, and west, but not to his descendants, nor according to the Grecian authority with which he ruled, for his kingdom will be torn out and ^cuprooted and given to ¹others (his four generals) to the exclusion of these.

5 “Then the ^aking of the South (Egypt) will be strong, along with one of his princes who will be stronger than he and have dominance over him; his domain will be a great dominion. 6 After some years ¹the Syrian king of the North and the Egyptian king of the South will make an alliance; the ²daughter (Berenice) of the king of the South will come to the ^3aking of the North to make an equitable and peaceful agreement (marriage) ; ⁴but she will not retain the power of her position, nor will he retain his power. She will be handed over with her attendants and her father as well as he who supported her in those times. 7 But out of a branch of her familial roots will one (her brother, Ptolemy III Euergetes I) arise in his place, and he will come against the Syrian army and enter the ^afortress of the king of the North, and he will deal with them and will prevail. 8 Also he will carry off to Egypt their Syrian ^agods with their cast images and their precious and costly treasure of silver and of gold, and he will refrain from waging war against the king of the North for some years. 9 And the ¹king of the North will come into the realm of the king of the South, but he will retreat to his own country badly defeated.

10 “His sons will prepare for battle and assemble a multitude of great forces; which will keep on coming and ^aoverflow the land, and pass through, so that they may again wage war as far as his fortress. 11 The ^aking of the South (Ptolemy IV Philopator of Egypt) will be enraged and go out and fight with the king of the North (Antiochus III the Great) ; and ¹the Syrian king will raise a great multitude (army) , but the multitude shall be given into the hand of the Egyptian king. 12 When the multitude (army) is captured and carried away, the heart of the Egyptian king will be proud (arrogant) , and he will cause tens of thousands to fall, but he will not prevail. 13 For the king of the North will again raise a multitude (army) greater than the one before, and after ^aseveral years he will advance with a great army and substantial equipment.

14 “In those times many will rise up against the king of the South (Egypt) ; also the violent men among your own people will arise in order to fulfill the earlier visions, but they will fail. 15 Then the king of the North (Syria) will come and build up ^asiege ramps and capture a well-fortified city. The forces of the South will not stand their ground, not even the finest troops, for there will be no strength to stand against the Syrian king. 16 But he (Syria) who comes against him (Egypt) will ^ado exactly as he pleases, and ^bno one will be able to stand against him; he (Antiochus III the Great) will also stay for a time in the ^cBeautiful and Glorious Land of Israel, with destruction in his hand. 17 He will ^abe determined to come with the power of his entire kingdom, and propose equitable conditions and terms of peace, which he will put into effect by making an agreement with the king of the South. He will also give him his ¹daughter (Cleopatra I) , in an attempt to overthrow the kingdom, but it will not succeed or be to his advantage. 18 After this, he (Antiochus III the Great, King of Syria) will turn his attention to the ^1aislands and coastlands and capture many of them. But a commander (Lucius Scipio Asiaticus of Rome) will put an end to his aggression toward Rome’s territorial interests; in fact, he will ^brepay his insolence and turn his audacity back upon him. 19 Then he will turn back toward the fortresses of his own land of Syria, but he will ^astumble and fall and ^bnot be found.

20 “Then in his place one (his eldest son, Seleucus IV Philopator) will arise who will ^asend an oppressor through the Jewel of his kingdom; yet within a few days he will be ¹shattered, though not in anger nor in battle. 21 And in his place in Syria will arise a ¹despicable and despised person, to whom royal majesty and the honor of kingship have not been conferred, but he will come without warning in a time of tranquility and ^aseize the kingdom by intrigue. Dan 8:9-12, 23-25 22 The overwhelming ^aforces of the invading armies of Egypt will be flooded away before him and smashed; and also the ¹prince of the covenant will be smashed. 23 After an ¹alliance is made with him he will work deceitfully, and he will go up and gain power with a small force of people. 24 In a time of tranquility, without warning he will enter the ^amost productive and richest parts of the kingdom of Egypt, and he will accomplish that which his fathers never did, nor his fathers’ fathers; he will distribute plunder, spoil and goods among them. He will devise plans against strongholds, but only for a time decreed by God. 25 He will stir up his strength and courage against his former Egyptian ally the ^aking of the South (Ptolemy VI) with a great army; so the king of the South will prepare an extremely great and powerful army to wage war, but he will not stand, for schemes will be devised against him. 26 Yes, those who eat his fine food will betray and destroy him (Ptolemy VI) , and his army will ^abe swept away, and many will fall down slain. 27 And as for both of these ¹kings, their hearts will be set on doing ^aevil; they will ^bspeak lies over the same table, but it will not succeed, for the ^cend is yet to come at the appointed time. 28 Then he (Antiochus IV Epiphanes) will return to his land with great treasure (plunder) ; and his heart will be set against the holy covenant, and he will take action and return to his own land (Syria) .

29 “At the time appointed by God he will return and come into the South, but this last time will not be successful as were the previous invasions of Egypt. 30 For ships of ^aCyprus in Roman hands will come against him; therefore he will be discouraged and turn back to Israel and carry out his rage against the holy covenant and take action; so he will return and show favoritism toward those Jews who abandon (break) the holy covenant with God. 31 Armed forces of his will arise in Jerusalem and ^adefile and desecrate the sanctuary, the spiritual stronghold, and will do away with the regular sacrifice that is, the daily burnt offering; and they will set up a pagan altar in the sanctuary which is the ^babomination of desolation. 32 With ^asmooth words of flattery and praise he will turn to godlessness those who are willing to disregard the Mosaic covenant, but the people who are spiritually mature and know their God will display ^bstrength and take action to resist. 33 ^aThey who are wise and have spiritual insight among the people will instruct many and help them understand; yet for many days some of them and their followers will ^bfall by the sword and by flame, by captivity and by plunder. 34 Now when they fall they will receive a little help, and many will ^ajoin with them in ^bhypocrisy. 35 Some of those who are spiritually wise and have insight will fall as martyrs in order to ^arefine, to ^bpurge and to make those among God’s people ^cpure, until the ^dend time; because it is yet to come at the time appointed by God.

36 “Then the ¹king (the Antichrist) will ^ado exactly as he pleases; he will exalt himself and ^bmagnify himself above every god and will ^cspeak astounding and disgusting things against the ^dGod of gods and he will prosper until the ^eindignation is finished, for that which is ^fdetermined by God will be done. 37 He will have no regard for the gods of his fathers or for the desire of women, nor will he have regard for any other god, for he shall magnify himself above them all. 38 Instead, he will honor a god of fortresses, a god whom his fathers did not know; he will honor him with gold and silver, with precious stones and with expensive things. 39 He will act against the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign god; he will give great honor to those who acknowledge him and he will cause them to rule over the many, and will parcel out land for a price.

40 “At the ^aend time the ^bking of the South will push and attack him (the Antichrist) , and the ^cking of the North ^dwill storm against him with chariots and horsemen and with many ships; and he will enter countries, ^eoverwhelm them and pass through. 41 He shall also enter the ^aBeautiful and Glorious Land (Israel) , and many countries will fall, but these will be rescued out of his hand: Edom, ^bMoab, and the foremost core of the people of ^cAmmon. 42 Then he will stretch out his hand against other countries, but Egypt will not be among the ones which escape. 43 He will have power over the treasures of gold and silver and over all the precious things of Egypt, and the ^aLibyans and the ^bEthiopians will follow in his footsteps. 44 But rumors from the east and from the north will alarm and disturb him, and he will set out with great fury to destroy and to annihilate many. 45 He will pitch his palatial tents between the seas and the glorious ^aHoly Mountain (Zion) ; yet he will come to his end with no one to help him in his final battle with God. 2+@Thess 2:4; Rev 13:5-8

“In the ^afirst year of Darius the Mede, ¹I arose to be ²an encouragement and a protection for him. 2 And now I will tell you the ^atruth. Behold, three more kings are going to arise ¹in Persia. Then a fourth will gain far more riches than all of them; as soon as he becomes strong through his riches, ²he will arouse the whole empire against the realm of ^3bGreece. 3 And a ^amighty king will arise, and he will rule with great authority and ^bdo as he pleases. 4 But as soon as he has arisen, his kingdom will be broken up and parceled out ^atoward the ^bfour ¹points of the compass, though not to his own descendants, nor according to his authority which he wielded, for his sovereignty will be ^cuprooted and given to others besides ²them.

5 “Then the ^aking of the South will grow strong, ¹along with one of his princes ²who will gain ascendancy over him and obtain dominion; his domain will be a great dominion indeed. 6 After some years they will form an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the South will come to the ^aking of the North to carry out ¹a peaceful arrangement. But she will not retain her ²position of power, nor will he remain with his ³power, but she will be given up, along with those who brought her in and the one who sired her as well as he who supported her in those times. 7 But one of the ¹descendants of her line will arise in his place, and he will come against their army and enter the ^afortress of the king of the North, and he will deal with them and display great strength. 8 Also their ^agods with their ¹metal images and their precious vessels of silver and gold he will take into captivity to Egypt, and he on his part will ²refrain from attacking the king of the North for some years. 9 Then ¹the latter will enter the realm of the king of the South, but will return to his own land.

10 “His sons will ¹mobilize and assemble a multitude of great forces; and one of them will keep on coming and ^aoverflow and pass through, that he may ²again wage war up to his very fortress. 11 The ^aking of the South will be enraged and go forth and fight ¹with the king of the North. Then the latter will raise a great multitude, but that multitude will be given into ²the hand of the former. 12 When the multitude is carried away, his heart will be lifted up, and he will cause tens of thousands to fall; yet he will not prevail. 13 For the king of the North will again raise a greater multitude than the former, and ¹after an ^ainterval of some years he will ²press on with a great army and much equipment.

14 “Now in those times many will rise up against the king of the South; the violent ones among your people will also lift themselves up in order to fulfill the vision, but they will ¹fall down. 15 Then the king of the North will come, cast up a ^asiege ramp and capture a well-fortified city; and the forces of the South will not stand their ground, not even ¹their choicest troops, for there will be no strength to make a stand. 16 But he who comes against him will ^ado as he pleases, and ^bno one will be able to withstand him; he will also stay for a time in the ^1cBeautiful Land, with destruction in his hand. 17 He will ^aset his face to come with the power of his whole kingdom, ¹bringing with him ²a proposal of peace which he will put into effect; he will also give him the daughter of women to ruin it. But she will not take a stand for him or be ³on his side. 18 Then he will turn his face to the ^acoastlands and capture many. But a commander will put a stop to his scorn against him; moreover, he will ^brepay him for his scorn. 19 So he will turn his face toward the fortresses of his own land, but he will ^astumble and fall and be ^bfound no more.

20 “Then in his place one will arise who will ^asend an ¹oppressor through the ²Jewel of his kingdom; yet within a few days he will be shattered, though not in anger nor in battle. 21 In his place a despicable person will arise, on whom the honor of kingship has not been conferred, but he will come in a time of tranquility and ^aseize the kingdom by intrigue. 22 The overflowing ^aforces will be flooded away before him and shattered, and also the prince of the covenant. 23 After an alliance is made with him he will practice deception, and he will go up and gain power with a small force of people. 24 ¹In a time of tranquility he will enter the ^arichest parts of the ²realm, and he will accomplish what his fathers never did, nor his ³ancestors; he will distribute plunder, booty and possessions among them, and he will devise his schemes against strongholds, but only for a time. 25 He will stir up his strength and ¹courage against the ^aking of the South with a large army; so the king of the South will mobilize an extremely large and mighty army for war; but he will not stand, for schemes will be devised against him. 26 Those who eat his choice food will ¹destroy him, and his army will ^2aoverflow, but many will fall down slain. 27 As for both kings, their hearts will be intent on ^aevil, and they will ^bspeak lies to each other at the same table; but it will not succeed, for the ^cend is still to come at the appointed time. 28 Then he will return to his land with much ¹plunder; but his heart will be set against the holy covenant, and he will take action and then return to his own land.

29 “At the appointed time he will return and come into the South, but ¹this last time it will not turn out the way it did before. 30 For ships of ^1aKittim will come against him; therefore he will be disheartened and will return and become enraged at the holy covenant and take action; so he will come back and show regard for those who forsake the holy covenant. 31 Forces from him will arise, ^adesecrate the sanctuary fortress, and do away with the regular sacrifice. And they will set up the ^babomination ¹of desolation. 32 By ^asmooth words he will ¹turn to godlessness those who act wickedly toward the covenant, but the people who know their God will display ^bstrength and take action. 33 ^1aThose who have insight among the people will give understanding to the many; yet they will ^bfall by sword and by flame, by captivity and by plunder for many days. 34 Now when they fall they will be granted a little help, and many will ^ajoin with them in ^bhypocrisy. 35 Some of ¹those who have insight will fall, in order to ^arefine, ^bpurge and make them ^2cpure until the ^dend time; because it is still to come at the appointed time.

36 “Then the king will ^ado as he pleases, and he will exalt and ^bmagnify himself above every god and will ^cspeak ¹monstrous things against the ^dGod of gods; and he will prosper until the ^eindignation is finished, for that which is ^fdecreed will be done. 37 He will show no regard for the ¹gods of his fathers or for the desire of women, nor will he show regard for any other god; for he will magnify himself above them all. 38 But ¹instead he will honor a god of fortresses, a god whom his fathers did not know; he will honor him with gold, silver, costly stones and treasures. 39 He will take action against the strongest of fortresses with the help of a foreign god; he will give great honor to ¹those who acknowledge him and will cause them to rule over the many, and will parcel out land for a price.

40 “At the ^aend time the ^bking of the South will collide with him, and the ^cking of the North will ^dstorm against him with chariots, with horsemen and with many ships; and he will enter countries, ^eoverflow them and pass through. 41 He will also enter the ^1aBeautiful Land, and many countries will fall; but these will be rescued out of his hand: Edom, ^bMoab and the foremost of the sons of ^cAmmon. 42 Then he will stretch out his hand against other countries, and the land of Egypt will not escape. 43 But he will ¹gain control over the hidden treasures of gold and silver and over all the precious things of Egypt; and ^aLibyans and ^bEthiopians will follow at his ²heels. 44 But rumors from the East and from the North will disturb him, and he will go forth with great wrath to destroy and ¹annihilate many. 45 He will pitch the tents of his royal pavilion between the seas and the beautiful ^aHoly Mountain; yet he will come to his end, and no one will help him.

“In the ^afirst year of Darius the Mede, ¹I arose to be of ²assistance and a protection for him. 2 And now I will tell you the ^atruth. Behold, three more kings are going to arise ¹in Persia. Then a fourth will gain far more riches than all of them; as soon as he becomes strong through his riches, ²he will stir up the entire empire against the realm of ^3bGreece. 3 And a ^amighty king will arise, and he will rule with great authority and ^bdo as he pleases. 4 But as soon as he has arisen, his kingdom will be broken up and parceled out ^atoward the ^bfour ¹points of the compass, though not to his own descendants, nor according to his authority which he wielded, because his sovereignty will be ^cremoved and given to others besides ²them.

5 “Then the ^aking of the South will grow strong, ¹along with one of his princes ²who will gain ascendancy over him and rule; his domain will be a great realm indeed. 6 And after some years they will form an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the South will come to the ^aking of the North to reach an agreement. But she will not keep her ¹position of power, nor will he remain with his ²power, but she will be given up, along with those who brought her in and the one who fathered her as well as he who supported her in those times. 7 But one of the ¹descendants of her line will arise in his place, and he will come against their army and enter the ^afortress of the king of the North, and he will deal with them and prevail. 8 And he will also take into captivity to Egypt their ^agods with their cast metal images and their precious vessels of silver and gold, and he on his part will ¹refrain from attacking the king of the North for some years. 9 Then ¹the latter will enter the realm of the king of the South, but will return to his own land.

10 “And his sons will mobilize and assemble a multitude of great forces; and one of them will keep on coming and ^aoverflow and pass through, so that he may ¹again wage war up to his fortress. 11 And the ^aking of the South will be enraged and go out and fight ¹with the king of the North. Then the latter will raise a great multitude, but that multitude will be handed over to ²the former. 12 When the multitude is carried away, his heart will ¹be haughty, and he will cause tens of thousands to fall; yet he will not prevail. 13 For the king of the North will again raise a greater multitude than the former, and ¹after an ^ainterval of some years he will ²press on with a great army and much equipment.

14 “Now in those times many will rise up against the king of the South; the violent ones among your people will also raise themselves up to fulfill the vision, but they will ¹fall down. 15 Then the king of the North will come, pile up an ^aassault ramp, and capture a well-fortified city; and the forces of the South will not stand their ground, not even ¹their choicest troops, for there will be no strength to make a stand. 16 But he who comes against him will ^ado as he pleases, and ^bno one will be able to withstand him; he will also stay for a time in the ^1cBeautiful Land, with destruction in his hand. 17 And he will ^aset his ¹mind on coming with the power of his entire kingdom, ²bringing with him ³a proposal of peace which he will put into effect; he will also give him the daughter of women to ruin it. But she will not take a stand for him or be ⁴on his side. 18 Then he will turn his face to the ^acoastlands and capture many. But a commander will put a stop to his taunting against him; moreover, he will ^brepay him for his taunting. 19 So he will turn his face toward the fortresses of his own land, but he will ^astumble and fall and not be ^bfound.

20 “Then in his place one will arise who will ^aallow an ¹oppressor to pass through the ²Jewel of his kingdom; yet within a few days he will be broken, though not in anger nor in battle. 21 And in his place a despicable person will arise, on whom the majesty of kingship has not been conferred; but he will come in a time of tranquility and ^aseize the kingdom by intrigue. 22 And the overflowing ^aforces will be flooded away from him and smashed, and also the prince of the covenant. 23 After an alliance is made with him he will practice deception, and he will go up and gain power with a small force of people. 24 ¹In a time of tranquility he will enter the ^arichest parts of the ²realm, and he will accomplish what his fathers did not, nor his ³ancestors; he will distribute plunder, spoils, and possessions among them, and he will devise his schemes against strongholds, but only for a time. 25 And he will stir up his strength and ¹courage against the ^aking of the South with a large army; so the king of the South will mobilize an extremely large and mighty army for war; but he will not stand, because schemes will be devised against him. 26 Those who eat his choice food will ¹destroy him, and his army will ^2aoverflow, but many will fall down slain. 27 As for both kings, their hearts will be intent on ^aevil, and they will ^bspeak lies to each other at the same table; but it will not succeed, because the ^cend is still to come at the appointed time. 28 Then he will return to his land with much ¹plunder; but his heart will be set against the holy covenant, and he will take action and then return to his own land.

29 “At the appointed time he will return and come into the South, but ¹this last time it will not turn out the way it did before. 30 For ships of ^1aKittim will come against him; therefore he will withdraw in fear and will return and curse the holy covenant and take action; so he will come back and pay attention to those who abandon the holy covenant. 31 Forces from him will arise, ^adesecrate the sanctuary fortress, and do away with the regular sacrifice. And they will set up the ^babomination ¹of desolation. 32 And by ^asmooth words he will ¹turn to godlessness those who act wickedly toward the covenant, but the people who know their God will be ^bstrong and take action. 33 And ^1athose who have insight among the people will give understanding to the many; yet they will ^bfall by sword and by flame, by captivity and by plunder for many days. 34 Now when they fall they will be granted a little help, and many will ^ajoin with them in ^bhypocrisy. 35 And some of ¹those who have insight will fall, to ^arefine, ^bpurge, and ^2ccleanse them until the ^dend time; because it is still to come at the appointed time.

36 “Then the king will ^ado as he pleases, and he will exalt himself and ^bboast against every god and will ^cspeak ¹dreadful things against the ^dGod of gods; and he will be successful until the ^eindignation is finished, because that which is ^fdetermined will be done. 37 And he will show no regard for the ¹gods of his fathers or for the ²desire of women, nor will he show regard for any other god; for he will boast against them all. 38 But ¹instead he will honor a god of fortresses, a god whom his fathers did not know; he will honor him with gold, silver, precious stones, and treasures. 39 And he will take action against the strongest of fortresses with the help of a foreign god; he will give great honor to ¹those who acknowledge him and will make them rulers over the many, and will parcel out land for a price.

40 “And at the ^aend time the ^bking of the South will wage war with him, and the ^cking of the North will ^dstorm against him with chariots, horsemen, and with many ships; and he will enter countries, ^eoverflow them, and pass through. 41 He will also enter the ^1aBeautiful Land, and many countries will fall; but these will be rescued out of his hand: Edom, ^bMoab, and the foremost of the sons of ^cAmmon. 42 Then he will reach out with his hand against other countries, and the land of Egypt will not escape. 43 But he will ¹gain control over the hidden treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; and ^aLibyans and ^bEthiopians will follow at his ²heels. 44 But rumors from the East and from the North will terrify him, and he will go out with great wrath to eliminate and ¹annihilate many. 45 And he will pitch the tents of his royal pavilion between the seas and the beautiful ^aHoly Mountain; yet he will come to his end, and no one will help him.