Daniel 10–12

Daniel’s Terrifying Vision of a Man

10^bIn the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a word was revealed to Daniel, ^cwho was named Belteshazzar. And ^dthe word was true, and it was a great conflict.¹ And ^ehe understood the word and ^ehad understanding of the vision.

²In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for ^fthree weeks. ³I ate no delicacies, no meat or wine entered my mouth, nor did I ^ganoint myself at all, for ^fthe full three weeks. ⁴On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing ^hon the bank of the great river (ⁱthat is, the Tigris) ^5jI lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, ^ka man clothed in linen, ^lwith a belt of fine ^mgold from Uphaz around his waist. ⁶His body was like ⁿberyl, his face ^olike the appearance of lightning, ^phis eyes like flaming torches, his arms and ^qlegs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and ^qthe sound of his words like the sound of a multitude. ^7rAnd I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, for the men who were with me did not see the vision, but a great trembling fell upon them, and they fled to hide themselves. ⁸So I was left alone and saw this great vision, and ^sno strength was left in me. My radiant appearance was fearfully changed,^{2 t}and I retained no strength. ⁹Then I heard the sound of his words, ^uand as I heard the sound of his words, I fell on my face in deep sleep ^uwith my face to the ground.

¹⁰And behold, ^va hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. ¹¹And he said to me, “O Daniel, ^wman greatly loved, ^xunderstand the words that I speak to you, and ^ystand upright, for ^znow I have been sent to you.” And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood up trembling. ¹²Then he said to me, ^a“Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you ^bset your heart to understand and ^bhumbled yourself before your God, ^cyour words have been heard, ^dand I have come because of your words. ^13eThe prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me ^ftwenty-one days, but ^gMichael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I was left there with the kings of Persia, ^14dand came to make you understand what is to happen to your people ^hin the latter days. For ⁱthe vision is for days yet to come.”

¹⁵When he had spoken to me according to these words, ^jI turned my face toward the ground ^kand was mute. ¹⁶And behold, ^lone in the likeness of the children of man ^mtouched my lips. Then I opened my mouth and spoke. I said to him who stood before me, “O my lord, by reason of the vision pains have come upon me, and ⁿI retain no strength. ¹⁷How can my lord’s servant talk with my lord? For now no strength remains in me, and no breath is left in me.”

¹⁸Again ^lone having the appearance of a man ^mtouched me and strengthened me. ¹⁹And he said, ^o“O man greatly loved, ^pfear not, peace be with you; be strong and of good courage.” And as he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, “Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.” ²⁰Then he said, “Do you know why I have come to you? But now I will return to fight against the ^qprince of Persia; and when I go out, behold, the prince of ^rGreece will come. ²¹But I will tell you ^swhat is inscribed in the book of truth: there is none who contends by my side against these except ^tMichael, your prince.

The Kings of the South and the North

11“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. ³Then ^wa mighty king shall arise, who shall rule with great dominion and ^xdo as he wills. ⁴And 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. ⁶After 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. ⁸He 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. ⁹Then 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. ¹¹Then 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. ¹²And when the multitude is taken away, his heart shall be exalted, and he shall cast down tens of thousands, but he shall not prevail. ¹³For 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. ¹⁵Then 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. ¹⁶But 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. ¹⁷He 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. ¹⁸Afterward 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. ¹⁹Then he shall turn his face back toward the ^rfortresses of his own land, but he shall ^sstumble and fall, ^tand shall not be found.

²⁰“Then shall arise in his place one who shall send an ^uexactor of tribute for the glory of the kingdom. But within a few days he shall be broken, neither in anger nor in battle. ²¹In his place shall arise a contemptible person to whom royal majesty has not been given. ^vHe shall come in without warning and obtain the kingdom ^wby flatteries. ²²Armies shall be ^xutterly swept away before him and broken, even the prince of the covenant. ²³And from the time that an alliance is made with him he shall act deceitfully, and he shall become strong with a small people. ^24yWithout warning he shall come into ^zthe richest parts⁵ of the province, and he shall do what neither his fathers nor his fathers’ fathers have done, scattering among them plunder, spoil, and goods. He shall devise plans against strongholds, but only for a time. ²⁵And he shall stir up his power and his heart against ^athe king of the south with a great army. And the king of the south shall wage war with an exceedingly great and mighty army, but he shall not stand, for plots shall be devised against him. ²⁶Even those who eat his food shall break him. His army shall be ^bswept away, and many shall fall down slain. ²⁷And as for the two kings, their hearts shall be bent on doing evil. They shall speak lies at the same table, but to no avail, for ^cthe end is yet to be at the time appointed. ²⁸And he shall return to his land with great wealth, but his heart shall be set against the holy covenant. And he shall work his will and return to his own land.

²⁹“At the time appointed he shall return and come into the south, but it shall not be this time as it was before. ³⁰For ships of ^dKittim shall come against him, and he shall be afraid and withdraw, and shall turn back and ^ebe enraged and ^etake action against the holy covenant. He shall turn back and pay attention to those who forsake the holy covenant. ³¹Forces from him shall appear and ^fprofane the temple and fortress, and shall take away the regular burnt offering. And ^gthey shall set up the abomination that makes desolate. ³²He shall seduce with flattery those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action. ^33hAnd the wise among the people shall make many understand, though for some days they shall stumble by sword and flame, by captivity and plunder. ³⁴When they stumble, they shall receive a little help. And many shall join themselves to them with flattery, ³⁵and some of the wise shall stumble, so that they may be refined, ⁱpurified, and ^jmade white, until ^kthe time of the end, ^kfor it still awaits the appointed time.

³⁶“And the king shall ^ldo as he wills. ^mHe shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god, ⁿand shall speak astonishing things against ^othe God of gods. ^pHe shall prosper ^qtill the indignation is accomplished; for what is decreed shall be done. ³⁷He shall pay no attention to the gods of his fathers, or to the one beloved by women. He shall not pay attention to any other god, for ^mhe shall magnify himself above all. ³⁸He shall honor the god of fortresses instead of these. A god whom his fathers did not know he shall honor ^rwith gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts. ³⁹He shall deal with the strongest…