Daniel 10–12

Daniel’s Vision of a Dazzling Heavenly Messenger

10In the third year of Cyrus the king of the Persians, a word^a was revealed to Daniel, who was called by his name Belteshazzar, and the word^b was reliable and it concerned a great tribulation,^c and he understood the word^d and he received understanding.^e

²In those days, I, Daniel, I myself^f was in mourning for three whole weeks.^{g 3}I had not eaten any choice food, and meat and wine did not enter my mouth, and I did not use any ointment^h until the end of three whole weeks.^{i 4}And then on the twenty-fourth day of the first month, I myself^j was on the bank of the great river; that is, the Tigris. ⁵And I lifted up my eyes and I saw,^k and there was a man, and he was dressed in linen, and his waist was girded with the gold of Uphaz. ⁶Now his body was like turquoise,^l and his face was like the appearance of lightning, and his eyes were like torches of fire, and his arms and his legs were like the gleam of polished bronze, and the sound of his words was like the sound of a multitude. ⁷And I saw, I, Daniel alone,^m the vision; and the people who were with me did not seeⁿ the vision; nevertheless, a great trembling fell upon them and they fled in order to hide themselves. ⁸And I myself, Daniel, alone saw this great vision, and as a result no strength was left in me^o and my complexion grew deathly pale,^p and I did not retain any strength. ⁹And I heard the sound of his words, and when I heard^q the sound of his words I myself began falling into a trance on my face, with my face to the ground.^r

¹⁰And look, a hand touched me and it roused me to my knees^s and the palms^t of my hands. ¹¹And he said to me, “Daniel, a man beloved, pay attention to the words that I am speaking to you and stand upright where you are,^u for I have now been sent to you.” And while he was speaking^v with me this word,^w I stood up trembling. ¹²And he said to me, “You must not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and to humble yourself before^x your God, your words were heard, and I myself^y have come because of your words. ¹³But the prince of the kingdom of Persia stood before me^z for twenty-one days. And look,^a Michael, one of the chief princes, came to assist me, and I left him there beside the king of the Persians. ¹⁴And I have come^b to instruct you about what^c will happen to your people in the future,^d for there is a further vision here for the future.^e

¹⁵And while he was speaking with me according to these words, I turned my face toward the ground and I was speechless. ¹⁶Then look, there was one in the form of a human;^f he touched my lips and I opened my mouth and I spoke and I said to the one standing before me,^g “My lord, because of the vision my anxieties fell upon me and I have not retained my strength. ¹⁷So how am I, a servant of my lord^h to speak with you, my lord,ⁱ and I just now^j have no strength in me?”^k

¹⁸And he again touched^l me, the one in the form of a human,^m and he strengthened me. ¹⁹And he said, “You must not fear, O beloved man. Peace be to you;ⁿ be strong and be courageous!” And when he spoke^o with me, I was strengthened and I said, “Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.” ²⁰Then he asked, “Do you know why I have come to you? And now I return to fight against the prince of Persia and I myself^p am going, and look,^q the prince of Javan^r will come. ²¹However, I will tell you what is inscribed^s in the book of truth, and there is not one who contends with me against these beings except^t Michael, your prince.”

A Survey of the Kings of the North and South

11“And I, in the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood^a as a support and as a protection for him.

²And now I will reveal the truth to you. Look! Still three kings will arise in Persia, and the fourth will get abundance and great wealth, even more than all of them, and when he becomes strong^b through his wealth, then he will stir up everyone^c against the kingdom of Javan.^{d 3}And a mighty king will arise, and he will rule with great dominion, and he will do as he pleases.^{e 4}But as he rises in power,^f his kingdom will be divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not to his posterity, and not according to his dominion by which he ruled, for his kingdom will be uprooted and be given to others besides them.^g

⁵“Then the king of the south will grow strong and also one of his officials,^h and he will grow stronger than himⁱ and he will rule a dominion greater than his dominion.^{j 6}And at the end of some years they will make an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the south will come to the king of the north to make a peace treaty, but she will not retain her position of power,^k and his offspring^l will not endure, and she will be given up, she and her attendants and her child supporting her, in those times.^{m 7}And a branch from her rootsⁿ will rise up in his place, and he will come against the army and he will enter the stronghold of the king of the north and he will take action against them and he will prevail. ⁸And also their gods with their idols and with the precious vessels,^o silver and gold he will take to Egypt into captivity, and for years he will leave the king of the north alone.^{p 9}And then he^q will come into the kingdom of the king of the south, but he will return to his land.

¹⁰“But his sons will wage war and they will gather a multitude of great forces and he will advance with great force,^r and he will overflow like a flood and he will pass through and he will return, and they will wage war up to his fortress. ¹¹And the king of the south will become furious, and he will go and he will battle against him, against the king of the north; and he will muster a great multitude, and the multitude will be given into his hand. ¹²When the multitude is carried off, his heart will be exalted and he will overthrow tens of thousands,^s but he will not prevail. ¹³And the king of the north will again raise a multitude, greater than the former, and at the end of some years^t he will surely come with a great army and with great supplies.^u

¹⁴“And in these times many will rise up against the king of the south, and the violent ones of your people^v will lift themselves to fulfill^w the vision, but they will fall. ¹⁵And the king of the north will come, and he will throw up siege ramps^x and capture a city of fortifications and the military forces of the south and his choice troops^y will not stand, for^z there is no strength left to resist. ¹⁶And the one coming to him will act according to^a his pleasure, and there is no one who will stand^b before him,^c and he will stand in the beautiful land^d and complete destruction will be in his power. ¹⁷And he will set his face to come with the authority of his whole kingdom and will form an agreement;^e and he will act,^f and the daughter of women he will give to him to destroy it,^g but the ploy will not succeed and she will not support him.^{h 18}And he will turn his face to the coastlands, and he will capture many, butⁱ a commander will end his insults to him so that instead his insults will turn back upon him.^{j 19}And he will turn back his face toward^k the strongholds of his land, but he will stumble and he will fall and will not be found.

²⁰“Then in his place will arise one sending an official throughout the glory^l of his kingdom, and in a few days^m he will be broken, but not in anger and not in battle. ²¹And in his place a despicable person will arise on whomⁿ they have not conferred the majesty of the kingdom, and he will come in without warning^o and he will seize the kingdom by deceit. ²²And before him^p mighty military forces^q will be utterly swept away, and they will be broken, and also the leader of the covenant. ²³And after an alliance is made with him, he will act deceitfully, and he will rise and he will become powerful with few people backing him. ²⁴In a time of ease and in the rich parts of the province, he will come and he will do what his predecessors^r did not do; he will distribute plunder and spoil and possessions to them, and he will devise his plans against fortifications, but only for a time.^{s 25}And he will stir up his power and his heart against the king of the south and with a much greater and stronger army;^t but he will not succeed, for they will devise plans against him. ²⁶And those who eat of his royal rations will break him and his army will be overwhelmed, and many will fall, slain. ²⁷And two of the kings^u will bend their hearts^v to evil. And at the same table^w they will speak lies, but what is discussed will not succeed, for still an end is coming at the appointed time. ²⁸Then he will return to his land with many possessions, but his heart will be set against the holy covenant,^x and he will take action and he will return to his land.

²⁹“At the appointed time he will return and he will come into the south, but it will not be as it was before.^{y 30}And the ships of Kittim will come against him, and he will lose heart, and he will turn back, and he will be enraged against the holy covenant,^z and he will take action, and he will turn back, and he will pay attention to those who forsake the holy covenant.^{a 31}And military forces from him will occupy^b and will profane^c the sanctuary stronghold,^d and they will abolish the regular burnt offering, and they will set up the abomination that causes desolation.

³²“And those who violate the covenant he will seduce with flattery, but the persons who know their God^e will stand firm and will take action. ³³And those who have insight will instruct^f the many, but they will fall by sword and by flame, by captivity and by plunder for some time.^{g 34}And when they fall^h they will receive little help, and many will join with them in hypocrisy. ³⁵And even some of those who have insightⁱ will fallⁱ in order for them to be refined by it, and to be purified and cleansed until the time of the end, for the appointed time is still to come.

³⁶“Then the king will do as he pleases,^j and he…