Daniel 11:21–35

²¹“In his place a despised^k person will arise; royal honors will not be given to him, but he will come during a time of peace^Kl and seize the kingdom by intrigue. ²²A flood of forces will be swept away before him; they will be broken, as well as the covenant prince. ²³After an alliance is made with him, he will act deceitfully. He will rise to power with a small nation.^{A 24}During a time of peace,^B he will come into the richest parts of the province^m and do what his fathers and predecessors never did. He will lavish plunder, loot, and wealth on his followers, and he will make plans against fortified cities, but only for a time.

²⁵“With a large army he will stir up his power and his courage against the king of the South. The king of the South will prepare for battle with an extremely large and powerful army, but he will not succeed, because plots will be made against him. ²⁶Those who eat his provisionsⁿ will destroy him; his army will be swept away, and many will fall slain. ²⁷The two kings, whose hearts are bent on evil, will speak lies^o at the same table but to no avail, for still the end will come at the appointed time.^{p 28}The king of the North will return to his land with great wealth, but his heart will be set against the holy covenant;^C he will take action, then return to his own land.

²⁹“At the appointed time he will come again to the South, but this time^D will not be like the first. ³⁰Ships of Kittim^Eq will come against him, and being intimidated, he will withdraw. Then he will rage against the holy covenant and take action. On his return, he will favor those who abandon the holy covenant. ³¹His forces will rise up and desecrate the temple fortress. They will abolish the regular sacrifice^r and set up the abomination of desolation.^{s 32}With flattery he will corrupt those who act wickedly toward the covenant, but the people who know their God will be strong and take action.^{t 33}Those who have insight among the people^u will give understanding to many, yet they will fall by the sword and flame,^v and they will be captured and plundered for a time. ³⁴When they fall, they will be helped by some, but many others will join them insincerely.^{w 35}Some of those who have insight will fall so that they may be refined,^x purified, and cleansed^y until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time.