Daniel 10–11

10TH CHAPTER

An Angel Comes to Daniel with a Message

¹In Cyrus’ third year as king of Persia, a message was revealed to Daniel (who had been renamed Belteshazzar). The message was true. It was about a great war. Daniel understood the message because he was given insight during the vision. 

²During those days I, Daniel, mourned for three whole weeks. ³I didn’t eat any good-tasting food. No meat or wine entered my mouth. I didn’t wash myself until the entire three weeks were over. 

⁴On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, I was by the great Tigris River. ⁵When I looked up, I saw a man dressed in linen, and he had a belt made of gold from Uphaz around his waist. ⁶His body was like beryl. His face looked like lightning. His eyes were like flaming torches. His arms and legs looked like polished bronze. When he spoke, his voice sounded like the roar of a crowd. ⁷I, Daniel, was the only one who saw the vision. The men with me didn’t see the vision. Yet, they started to tremble violently, and they quickly hid themselves. ⁸So I was left alone to see this grand vision. I had no strength left in me. My face turned deathly pale, and I was helpless. ⁹I heard the man speak, and as I listened to his words, I fainted facedown on the ground. 

¹⁰Then a hand touched me and made my hands and knees shake. ¹¹The man said to me, “Daniel, you are highly respected. Pay attention to my words. Stand up, because I’ve been sent to you.” When he said this to me, I stood up, trembling. ¹²He told me, “Don’t be afraid, Daniel. God has heard everything that you said ever since the first day you decided to humble yourself in front of your God so that you could learn to understand things. I have come in response to your prayer. ¹³The commander of the Persian kingdom opposed me for 21 days. But then Michael, one of the chief commanders, came to help me because I was left alone with the kings of Persia. ¹⁴I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the last days, because the vision is about times still to come.” 

¹⁵When he said this to me, I bowed down with my face touching the ground and was silent. ¹⁶Then someone who looked like a human touched my lips. I opened my mouth and began to talk. I said to the person standing in front of me, “Sir, because of this vision, pain has overwhelmed me, and I’m helpless. ¹⁷How can I talk to you, sir? I have no strength left, and the wind has been knocked out of me.” 

¹⁸Again, the person who looked like a human touched me, and I became stronger. ¹⁹He said, “Don’t be afraid. You are highly respected. Everything is alright! Be strong! Be strong!” 

As he talked to me, I became stronger. I said, “Sir, tell me what you came to say. You have strengthened me.” 

²⁰He asked, “Do you know why I have come to you? Now I will return to fight the commander of Persia. When I go, the commander of Greece will come. ²¹However, I will tell you what is inscribed in the true writings. No one will support me when I fight these commanders except your commander, Michael. ¹During Darius the Mede’s first year as king, I strengthened and defended Michael.” 

11TH CHAPTER

Greece Will Conquer Persia

²⸤The person who looked like a human continued,⸥ “What I am about to tell you is the truth. Three more kings will rule Persia. Then there will be a fourth, who will become much richer than all the others. As he becomes strong through his wealth, he will turn everyone against the kingdom of Greece. 

³“Then a warrior-king will come. He will rule a vast empire and do as he pleases. ⁴But as soon as he is established, his kingdom will be broken into pieces and divided in the directions of the four winds of heaven. The empire will not be given to his descendants. It will no longer be like his empire, since it will be uprooted and given to others. 

The Northern and Southern Kings

⁵“The southern king will be strong, but one of his officers will become stronger than he is and rule a vast empire. ⁶After a few years the southern and northern kings will make an alliance. The southern king’s daughter will go to the northern king to make peace. She won’t hold on to her power, and the alliance won’t last. She, those who came with her, and the one who fathered^aand protected her will be given away. 

⁷“At that time a shoot will grow from her roots to replace her father. He will attack the northern army, enter the stronghold of the northern king, fight against them, and be victorious. ⁸He will take the metal statues of their gods and their precious utensils of silver and gold back to Egypt. He will rule for more years than the northern king. ⁹He will invade the southern kingdom and return to his own country. 

¹⁰“Then his sons will prepare for war. They will assemble a large number of forces so that they can overwhelm ⸤the enemy⸥ and pass through its land. They will return and wage war all the way to the stronghold. ¹¹The southern king will be outraged. He will go to fight the northern king, who will raise a large army that will fall into the southern king’s hands. ¹²When that army is captured, the southern king will become conceited. Although he will dominate tens of thousands of people, he will not always be strong. 

¹³“The northern king will return and raise an army larger than the first one. After a few years he will invade with a large army and a lot of equipment. ¹⁴In those times many people will rebel against the southern king, and violent men from your own people will rebel in keeping with this vision, but they will be defeated. ¹⁵Then the northern king will come, build dirt attack ramps, and capture a fortified city. The southern forces will not be able to withstand him. Even their best troops will not be strong enough. ¹⁶The invader will do as he pleases, and no one will be able to withstand his attack. He will rise to power in the beautiful land and it will be completely under his control. 

¹⁷“Then the northern king will decide to invade with the power of his entire kingdom, and some decent men will invade with him. He will give the southern king his daughter as a wife in order to destroy the southern kingdom. But this will not succeed or help him. ¹⁸Then he will turn his attention to the coastlands and capture many of them. But a commander will silence the insults that the northern king makes and even insult him.¹⁹He will turn back toward the fortresses in his own country, but he will stumble, fall, and disappear. 

²⁰“Another king will take his place. He will have a cruel official go out in royal splendor. But in a few days the king will be destroyed, although not in anger or war. 

²¹“A contemptible person will take his place. He will not be given royal splendor. He will invade when people are feeling secure, and he will seize the kingdom using false promises. ²²He will overwhelm large forces and defeat them, including the prince of the promise.^c23After an alliance has been made with him, he will act deceitfully and rise to power with only a few people. ²⁴When people feel secure, he will invade the richest parts of the provinces and do something that none of his predecessors ever did. He will distribute loot and wealth to his followers. He will invent new ways of attacking fortifications. But this will last only for a little while. 

²⁵“With a large army he will summon his power and courage against the southern king, who will prepare for war with a large, strong army. But the southern king won’t be able to withstand him because of the schemes devised against him. ²⁶People who eat the king’s rich food will ruin him. His army will be overwhelmed, and many will die in battle. ²⁷The two kings will both plan to do evil. They will sit at the same table and tell lies. But they will not succeed, because the end must wait until the appointed time. ²⁸The northern king will return to his country with a lot of wealth. He will be determined to fight against the holy promise. He will take action and return to his own country. 

²⁹“At the appointed time he will again invade the south, but this time will be different from the first. ³⁰Ships will come from the west to attack him, and he will be discouraged and turn back. Angry at the holy promise, he will return, take action, and favor those who abandon the holy promise. ³¹His forces will dishonor the holy place (the fortress), take away the daily burnt offering, and set up the disgusting thing that causes destruction. ³²With flattery he will corrupt those who abandon the promise. But the people who know their God will be strong and take action. 

³³“People who are wise will help many to understand. But for some time they will be defeated by swords and flames. They will be captured and looted. ³⁴As they are being defeated, they will get a little help, but many who are not sincere will join them. ³⁵Some of the wise people will be defeated in order to refine, purify, and make them white until the end times. But the appointed time is still to come. 

³⁶“The king will do as he pleases. He will highly honor himself above every god. He will say amazing things against the God of gods. He will succeed until God’s anger is over, because what has been decided must be done. ³⁷He will have no interest in the gods of his ancestors or desire for women. He will have no interest in any god, because he will make himself greater than anyone else. ³⁸Instead, he will honor the god of fortresses. With gold, silver, precious stones, and other expensive things he will honor a god his ancestors never heard of. ³⁹With the help of a foreign god, he will deal with strong fortresses. He will give high honors to those who acknowledge him, make them rulers over many people, and distribute land for a price. 

⁴⁰“In the end times the southern king will attack him. The northern king will rush at him like a storm with chariots, horses, and many ships. He will invade countries, overwhelm them, and pass through their land. ⁴¹He will invade the beautiful land, and tens of thousands will be defeated.…