1 “And as for me, ^uin the first year of ^uDarius the Mede, I stood up to confirm and strengthen him.

2 “And now I will show you ^vthe truth. Behold, three more kings shall arise in Persia, and a fourth shall be far richer than all of them. And when he has become strong through his riches, he shall stir up all against the kingdom of Greece. 3 Then ^wa mighty king shall arise, who shall rule with great dominion and ^xdo as he wills. 4 And as soon as he has arisen, ^yhis kingdom shall be broken and divided ^ytoward the ^zfour winds of heaven, but ^anot to his posterity, nor according to the authority with which he ruled, for his kingdom shall be plucked up and go to others besides these.

5 “Then the king of the south shall be strong, but one of his princes shall be stronger than he ^band shall rule, and his authority shall be a great authority. 6 After some years ^cthey shall make an alliance, 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, and he and his arm shall not endure, but she shall be given up, and her attendants, he who fathered her, and he who supported¹ her in those times.

7 “And from a branch from her roots one shall arise in his place. He shall come against the army and enter the ^dfortress of the king of the north, and he shall deal with them and shall prevail. 8 He shall also carry off to Egypt their gods with their metal images and their precious ^evessels of silver and gold, and for some years he shall refrain from attacking the king of the north. 9 Then the latter shall come into the realm of the king of the south but shall return to his own land.

10 “His sons shall wage war and assemble a multitude of great forces, which shall keep coming ^fand overflow and pass through, and again shall carry the war as far as his ^dfortress. 11 Then the king of the south, ^gmoved with rage, shall come out and fight against the king of the north. ^hAnd he shall raise a great multitude, but it shall be given into his hand. 12 And when the multitude is taken away, his heart shall be exalted, and he shall cast down tens of thousands, but he shall not prevail. 13 For the king of the north shall again ⁱraise a multitude, greater than the first. And ^jafter some years² he shall come on with a great army and abundant supplies.

14 “In those times many shall rise against the king of the south, and the violent among your own people shall lift themselves up in order to fulfill the vision, but ^kthey shall fail. 15 Then the king of the north shall come and ^lthrow up siegeworks and take a well-fortified city. And the forces of the south shall not stand, or even his best troops, for there shall be no strength to stand. 16 But he who comes against him shall ^mdo as he wills, and ⁿnone shall stand before him. And he shall stand in ^othe glorious land, with destruction in his hand. 17 He shall ^pset his face to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and he shall bring terms of an agreement and perform them. He shall give him the daughter of women to destroy the kingdom,³ but it shall not stand or be to his advantage. 18 Afterward he shall turn his face to the coastlands and shall capture many of them, but a commander shall put an end to his insolence. Indeed,⁴ he ^qshall turn his insolence back upon him. 19 Then he shall turn his face back toward the ^rfortresses of his own land, but he shall ^sstumble and fall, ^tand shall not be found.