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The Overthrow of Persia
And I, in the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood to confirm and to strengthen him.
And I, in the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood to confirm and to strengthen him.
And now will I declare unto thee the truth. Behold, there shall stand up yet three kings in Persia; and the fourth shall enrich himself with great riches more than all; and when he hath become strong through his riches, he shall stir up all against the realm of Greece.
“Then a mighty king will rise to power who will rule with great authority and accomplish everything he sets out to do.
And a mighty king shall stand up that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will.
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.
And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of the heavens; but not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion wherewith he ruled; for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others beside these.
“The king of the south will increase in power, but one of his own officials will become more powerful than he and will rule his kingdom with great strength.
Kings of the South and the North
And the king of the south, who is one of his princes, shall be strong; but [another] shall be stronger than he, and have dominion: his dominion shall be a great dominion.
And the king of the south, who is one of his princes, shall be strong; but [another] shall be stronger than he, and have dominion: his dominion shall be a great dominion.
“Some years later an alliance will be formed between the king of the north and the king of the south. The daughter of the king of the south will be given in marriage to the king of the north to secure the alliance, but she will lose her influence over him, and so will her father. She will be abandoned along with her supporters.
And after the course of years they shall join affinity; and the king's daughter of the south shall come to the king of the north to make equitable conditions: but she shall not retain the strength of her arm; neither shall he stand, nor his arm; and she shall be given up, she and they that brought her, and he that begat her, and he that strengthened her in [those] times.
But out of a shoot from her roots shall one stand up in his place, who shall come to the army, and shall enter into the fortress of the king of the north, and shall deal against them, and shew himself mighty.
When he returns to Egypt, he will carry back their idols with him, along with priceless articles of gold and silver. For some years afterward he will leave the king of the north alone.
He shall also carry captive into Egypt their gods, with their princes, and their precious vessels of silver and of gold; and he shall subsist for more years than the king of the north;
“Later the king of the north will invade the realm of the king of the south but will soon return to his own land.
and [the same] shall come into the realm of the king of the south, but shall return into his own land.
However, the sons of the king of the north will assemble a mighty army that will advance like a flood and carry the battle as far as the enemy’s fortress.
And his sons shall be stirred up, and shall assemble a multitude of great forces; and one shall certainly come, and overflow, and pass through; and he shall return and carry the war even to his fortress.
“Then, in a rage, the king of the south will rally against the vast forces assembled by the king of the north and will defeat them.
And the king of the south shall be enraged, and shall come forth and fight with him, with the king of the north, who shall set forth a great multitude, but the multitude shall be given into his hand.
After the enemy army is swept away, the king of the south will be filled with pride and will execute many thousands of his enemies. But his success will be short lived.
And when the multitude shall have been taken away, his heart shall be exalted; and he shall cast down myriads; but he shall not prevail.
“A few years later the king of the north will return with a fully equipped army far greater than before.
For the king of the north shall return, and shall set forth a multitude greater than the former; and shall certainly come at the end of the times of years with a great army and with much substance.
At that time there will be a general uprising against the king of the south. Violent men among your own people will join them in fulfillment of this vision, but they will not succeed.
And in those times shall many stand up against the king of the south; and the violent of thy people will exalt themselves to establish the vision; but they shall fall.
Then the king of the north will come and lay siege to a fortified city and capture it. The best troops of the south will not be able to stand in the face of the onslaught.
And the king of the north shall come, and cast up a mound, and take the well-fenced city; and the arms of the south shall not withstand, neither his chosen people, for there shall be no strength to withstand.
And he that cometh against him shall do according to his own will, and none shall stand before him; and he shall stand in the land of beauty, and destruction shall be in his hand.
He will make plans to come with the might of his entire kingdom and will form an alliance with the king of the south. He will give him a daughter in marriage in order to overthrow the kingdom from within, but his plan will fail.
And he shall set his face to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and upright ones with him; and he shall practise; and he shall give him the daughter of women, to corrupt her; but she shall not stand, neither shall she be for him.
“After this, he will turn his attention to the coastland and conquer many cities. But a commander from another land will put an end to his insolence and cause him to retreat in shame.
And he shall turn his face unto the isles, and shall take many; but a captain for his own behalf shall cause the reproach offered by him to cease: he shall turn it upon him, without reproach for himself.
He will take refuge in his own fortresses but will stumble and fall and be seen no more.
And he shall turn his face toward the fortresses of his own land; and he shall stumble and fall, and not be found.
“His successor will send out a tax collector to maintain the royal splendor. But after a very brief reign, he will die, though not from anger or in battle.
And in his place shall one stand up who shall cause the exactor to pass through the glory of the kingdom; but in a few days he shall be broken, neither in anger nor in battle.
“The next to come to power will be a despicable man who is not in line for royal succession. He will slip in when least expected and take over the kingdom by flattery and intrigue.
And in his place shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom; but he shall come in peaceably and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.
Before him great armies will be swept away, including a covenant prince.
And the overflowing forces shall be overflowed from before him, and shall be broken: yea, also the prince of the covenant.
With deceitful promises, he will make various alliances. He will become strong despite having only a handful of followers.
And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully, and he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people.
Without warning he will enter the richest areas of the land. Then he will distribute among his followers the plunder and wealth of the rich — something his predecessors had never done. He will plot the overthrow of strongholds, but this will last for only a short while.
In time of peace shall he enter even into the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers' fathers: he shall scatter among them prey, and spoil, and substance, and he shall plan his devices against the fortified places, even for a time.
“Then he will stir up his courage and raise a great army against the king of the south. The king of the south will go to battle with a mighty army, but to no avail, for there will be plots against him.
And he shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the south with a great army; and the king of the south shall engage in battle with an exceeding great and mighty army; but he shall not stand, for they shall plan devices against him.
His own household will cause his downfall. His army will be swept away, and many will be killed.
And they that eat of his delicate food shall break him, and his army shall be dissolved; and many shall fall down slain.
Seeking nothing but each other’s harm, these kings will plot against each other at the conference table, attempting to deceive each other. But it will make no difference, for the end will come at the appointed time.
And both these kings' hearts [shall meditate] mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table; but it shall not prosper; for yet the end shall be at the time appointed.
“The king of the north will then return home with great riches. On the way he will set himself against the people of the holy covenant, doing much damage before continuing his journey.
And he shall return into his land with great substance; and his heart shall be against the holy covenant; and he shall practise, and return to his own land.
“Then at the appointed time he will once again invade the south, but this time the result will be different.
At the set time he shall return, and come towards the south; but not as the former time shall be the latter;
The Tyranny of the Western King
for ships of Chittim shall come against him; and he shall be grieved, and return, and have indignation against the holy covenant; and will practise; and he shall return and direct his attention to those that forsake the holy covenant.
for ships of Chittim shall come against him; and he shall be grieved, and return, and have indignation against the holy covenant; and will practise; and he shall return and direct his attention to those that forsake the holy covenant.
And forces shall stand on his part, and they shall profane the sanctuary, the fortress, and shall take away the continual [sacrifice], and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.
He will flatter and win over those who have violated the covenant. But the people who know their God will be strong and will resist him.
And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he pervert by flatteries; but the people that know their God shall be strong, and shall act.
“Wise leaders will give instruction to many, but these teachers will die by fire and sword, or they will be jailed and robbed.
And they that are wise among the people shall instruct the many; and they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, [many] days.
During these persecutions, little help will arrive, and many who join them will not be sincere.
And when they fall, they shall be helped with a little help; but many shall cleave to them with flatteries.
And some of the wise will fall victim to persecution. In this way, they will be refined and cleansed and made pure until the time of the end, for the appointed time is still to come.
And [some] of the wise shall fall, to try them, and to purge and to make them white, to the time of the end: for it shall yet be for the time appointed.
“The king will do as he pleases, exalting himself and claiming to be greater than every god, even blaspheming the God of gods. He will succeed, but only until the time of wrath is completed. For what has been determined will surely take place.
And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and speak monstrous things against the God of gods; and he shall prosper until the indignation be accomplished: for that which is determined shall be done.
He will have no respect for the gods of his ancestors, or for the god loved by women, or for any other god, for he will boast that he is greater than them all.
And he will not regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women; nor regard any +god: for he will magnify himself above all.
Instead of these, he will worship the god of fortresses — a god his ancestors never knew — and lavish on him gold, silver, precious stones, and expensive gifts.
And in his place will he honour the +god of fortresses; and a +god whom his fathers knew not will he honour with gold and silver, and with precious stones and pleasant things.
And he will practise in the strongholds of fortresses with a strange +god: whoso acknowledgeth him will he increase with glory; and he shall cause them to rule over the many, and shall divide the land [to them] for a reward.
“Then at the time of the end, the king of the south will attack the king of the north. The king of the north will storm out with chariots, charioteers, and a vast navy. He will invade various lands and sweep through them like a flood.
And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push at him; and the king of the north shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and overflow and pass through.
And he shall enter into the land of beauty, and many [countries] shall be overthrown; but these shall escape out of his hand: Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.
He will conquer many countries, and even Egypt will not escape.
And he shall stretch forth his hand upon the countries; and the land of Egypt shall not escape.
And he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.
“But then news from the east and the north will alarm him, and he will set out in great anger to destroy and obliterate many.
But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him; and he shall go forth with great fury to exterminate, and utterly to destroy many.
He will stop between the glorious holy mountain and the sea and will pitch his royal tents. But while he is there, his time will suddenly run out, and no one will help him.
And he shall plant the tents of his palace between the sea and the mountain of holy beauty; and he shall come to his end, and there shall be none to help him.