“Three² more kings will arise for Persia. Then a fourth³ king will be unusually rich,⁴ more so than all who preceded him. When he has amassed power through his riches, he will stir up everyone against⁵ the kingdom of Greece. ^11:3Then a powerful king⁶ will arise, exercising great authority and doing as he pleases. ^11:4Shortly after his rise to power,⁷ his kingdom will be broken up and distributed toward the four winds of the sky⁸—but not to his posterity or with the authority he exercised, for his kingdom will be uprooted and distributed to others besides these.

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Footnotes

2 Perhaps these three more kings are Cambyses ( 530–522 b.c.), Pseudo-Smerdis ( 522 b.c.), and Darius I Hystaspes ( 522–486 b.c.).
3 This fourth king is Xerxes I ( 486–465 b.c.). The following reference to one of his chiefs apparently has in view Seleucus Nicator.
4 Heb “rich with great riches.”
5 The text is difficult. The Hebrew has here אֶת (’et), the marker of a definite direct object. As it stands, this would suggest the meaning that “he will arouse everyone, that is, the kingdom of Greece.” The context, however, seems to suggest the idea that this Persian king will arouse in hostility against Greece the constituent elements of his own empire. This requires supplying the word “against,” which is not actually present in the Hebrew text.
6 The powerful king mentioned here is Alexander the Great ( 336–323 b.c.).
7 Heb “and when he stands.”
8 Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

“And now I will show you the 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. Then a mighty king shall arise, who shall rule with great dominion and do as he wills. And as soon as he has arisen, his kingdom shall be broken and divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not 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.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

“Now then, I tell you the truth: Three more kings will arise in Persia, and then a fourth, who will be far richer than all the others. When he has gained power by his wealth, he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece. Then a mighty king will arise, who will rule with great power and do as he pleases. After he has arisen, his empire will be broken up and parceled out toward the four winds of heaven. It will not go to his descendants, nor will it have the power he exercised, because his empire will be uprooted and given to others.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

Now I will tell you the truth.

“Three more kings will arise in Persia, and the fourth will be far richer than the others. By the power he gains through his riches, he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece. Then a warrior king will arise; he will rule a vast realm and do whatever he wants. But as soon as he is established, his kingdom will be broken up and divided to the four winds of heaven, but not to his descendants; it will not be the same kingdom that he ruled, because his kingdom will be uprooted and will go to others besides them.

NLTNew Living Translation

“Now then, I will reveal the truth to you. Three more Persian kings will reign, to be succeeded by a fourth, far richer than the others. He will use his wealth to stir up everyone to fight against the kingdom of Greece.

“Then a mighty king will rise to power who will rule with great authority and accomplish everything he sets out to do. But at the height of his power, his kingdom will be broken apart and divided into four parts. It will not be ruled by the king’s descendants, nor will the kingdom hold the authority it once had. For his empire will be uprooted and given to others.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

And 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 through his wealth, then he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Javan. And a mighty king will arise, and he will rule with great dominion, and he will do as he pleases. But as he rises in power, 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.

KJV 1900King James Version

And now will I shew thee the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth shall be far richer than they all: and by his strength through his riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia. And a mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will. And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven; and not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion which he ruled: for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others beside those.

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