^11:6After some years have passed, they¹⁴ will form an alliance. Then the daughter¹⁵ of the king of the south will come to the king of the north to make an agreement, but she will not retain her power,¹⁶ nor will he continue¹⁷ in his strength.¹⁸ She, together with the one who brought her, her child,¹⁹ and her benefactor will all be delivered over at that time.²⁰

^11:7“There will arise in his²¹ place one from her family line²² who will come against their army and will enter the stronghold of the king of the north and will move against them successfully.²³^11:8He will also take their gods into captivity to Egypt, along with their cast images and prized utensils of silver and gold. Then he will withdraw for some years from²⁴ the king of the north. ^11:9Then the king of the north²⁵ will advance against the empire of the king of the south, but will withdraw to his own land. ^11:10His sons²⁶ will wage war, mustering a large army which will advance like an overflowing river and carrying the battle all the way to the enemy’s²⁷ fortress.²⁸

^11:11“Then the king of the south²⁹ will be enraged and will march out to fight against the king of the north, who will also muster a large army, but that army will be delivered into his hand. ^11:12When the army is taken away, the king of the south will become arrogant.³⁰ He will be responsible for the death³¹ of thousands and thousands of people,³² but he will not continue to prevail. ^11:13For the king of the north will again muster an army, one larger than before. At the end of some years he will advance with a huge army and enormous supplies.

^11:14“In those times many will oppose³³ the king of the south.³⁴ Those who are violent³⁵ among your own people will rise up in confirmation of³⁶ the vision, but they will falter. ^11:15Then the king of the north will advance and will build siege mounds and capture a well-fortified city.³⁷ The forces of the south will not prevail, not even his finest contingents.³⁸ They will have no strength to prevail.

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Footnotes

14 Here they refers to Ptolemy II Philadelphus ( 285–246 b.c.) and Antiochus II Theos ( 262–246 b.c.).
15 The daughter refers to Berenice, who was given in marriage to Antiochus II Theos.
16 Heb “the strength of the arm.”
17 Heb “stand.” So also in vv. 7, 8, 11, 13.
18 Heb “and his arm.” Some understand this to refer to the descendants of the king of the north.
19 The present translation reads יַלְדָּה (yaldah, “her child”) rather than the יֹלְדָהּ (yolédah, “the one who begot her”). Cf. Theodotion, the , and the .
20 Antiochus II eventually divorced Berenice and remarried his former wife Laodice, who then poisoned her husband, had Berenice put to death, and installed her own son, Seleucus II Callinicus ( 246–227 b.c.), as the Seleucid king.
21 The reference is to the king of Egypt.
22 Heb “the stock of her roots.” The reference to one from her family line is probably to Berenice’s brother, Ptolemy III Euergetes ( 246–221 b.c.).
23 Heb “will deal with them and prevail.”
24 The Hebrew preposition מִן (min) is used here with the verb עָמַד (’amad, “to stand”). It probably has a sense of separation (“stand away from”), although it may also be understood in an adversative sense (“stand against”).
25 Heb “he”; the referent (the king of the north) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
26 The sons of Seleucus II Callinicus were Seleucus III Ceraunus ( 227–223 b.c.) and Antiochus III the Great ( 223–187 b.c.).
27 Heb “his”; the referent (the enemy of the king of the north) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
28 Heb “and he will certainly come and overflow and cross over and return and be aroused unto a fortress.” The translation has attempted to simplify the syntax of this difficult sequence.
29 This king of the south refers to Ptolemy IV Philopator ( 221–204 b.c.).
30 Heb “his heart will be lifted up.” The referent (the king of the south) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
31 Heb “cause to fall.”
32 Heb “of myriads.”
33 Heb “stand against.”
34 This was Ptolemy V Epiphanes ( 203–181 b.c.).
35 Heb “sons of violence.” “Son(s) is sometimes used idiomatically in Hebrew to indicate that someone is characterized by a certain quality. So the expression “sons of violence” means that these individuals will be characterized by violent deeds.
36 Heb “to cause to stand.”
37 This well-fortified city is apparently Sidon. Its capture from the Ptolemies by Antiochus the Great was a strategic victory for the Seleucid kingdom.
38 Or “choice troops” ( 104 מִבְחָר), or “elite troops” ( מִבְחָר).