Daniel 10–12

Chapter 10

¹In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a thing was revealed unto Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar; and the thing is true, but the appointed time of trial is long; and he understood the thing, and had understanding of the vision. ²In those days I Daniel was mourning three full weeks: ³I ate no pleasant bread, neither came flesh nor wine into my mouth, neither did I anoint myself at all, till three full weeks were fulfilled. ⁴And on the four-and-twentieth day of the first month, I was by the side of the great river, which is Hiddekel: ⁵and I lifted up mine eyes and looked, and behold, a certain man clothed in linen, and his loins were girded with pure gold of Uphaz; ⁶and his body was like a chrysolite, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as torches of fire, and his arms and his feet as the look of burnished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude. ⁷And I Daniel alone saw the vision; and the men that were with me saw not the vision, but a great quaking fell on them, and they fled to hide themselves. ⁸And I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me; and my comeliness was turned in me into corruption, and I retained no strength. ⁹And I heard the voice of his words; and when I heard the voice of his words, I fell into a deep stupor on my face, and my face to the ground.

¹⁰And behold, a hand touched me, which set me upon my knees and the palms of my hands. ¹¹And he said unto me, O Daniel, man greatly beloved, understand the words which I speak unto thee, and stand upright; for unto thee am I now sent. And as he spoke this word unto me, I stood trembling. ¹²And he said unto me, Fear not, Daniel; for from the first day that thou didst set thy heart to understand, and to humble thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come because of thy words. ¹³But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia. ¹⁴And I am come to make thee understand what shall befall thy people at the end of the days: for the vision is yet for many days. ¹⁵And as he was speaking with me according to these words, I set my face toward the ground, and I became dumb. ¹⁶And behold, one after the likeness of the sons of men touched my lips; and I opened my mouth and spoke, and said unto him that stood before me, My lord, by reason of the vision my pains are turned upon me, and I retain no strength. ¹⁷And how can the servant of this my lord talk with this my lord? for as for me, straightway there remaineth no strength in me, neither is there breath left in me. ¹⁸Then there touched me again one like the appearance of a man, and he strengthened me; ¹⁹and he said, Fear not, man greatly beloved; peace be unto thee, be strong, yea, be strong. And as he was speaking with me I was strengthened, and I said, Let my lord speak; for thou hast strengthened me. ²⁰And he said, Knowest thou wherefore I am come unto thee? And now I return to fight with the prince of Persia; and when I go forth, behold, the prince of Greece shall come. ²¹However, I will declare unto thee that which is set down in the scripture of truth; and there is not one that sheweth himself strong with me against these, but Michael your prince.

Chapter 11

¹And I, in the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood to confirm and to strengthen him. ²And 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. ³And a mighty king shall stand up that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will. ⁴And 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.

⁵And 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. ⁶And 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. ⁷But 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. ⁸He 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; ⁹and the same shall come into the realm of the king of the south, but shall return into his own land. ¹⁰And 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. ¹¹And 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. ¹²And when the multitude shall have been taken away, his heart shall be exalted; and he shall cast down myriads; but he shall not prevail. ¹³For 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. ¹⁴And 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. ¹⁵And 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. ¹⁶And 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. ¹⁷And 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. ¹⁸And 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. ¹⁹And he shall turn his face toward the fortresses of his own land; and he shall stumble and fall, and not be found. ²⁰And 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.

²¹And in his place shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom; but he shall come in peaceably and obtain the kingdom by flatteries. ²²And the overflowing forces shall be overflowed from before him, and shall be broken: yea, also the prince of the covenant. ²³And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully, and he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people. ²⁴In 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. ²⁵And 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. ²⁶And they that eat of his delicate food shall break him, and his army shall be dissolved; and many shall fall down slain. ²⁷And 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. ²⁸And 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. ²⁹At the set time he shall return, and come towards the south; but not as the former time shall be the latter; ³⁰for 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. ³¹And forces shall stand on his part, and they shall profane the sanctuary, the fortress, and shall take away the continual sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate. ³²And 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. ³³And 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. ³⁴And when they fall, they shall be helped with a little help; but many shall cleave to them with flatteries. ³⁵And 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. ³⁶And 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…