2 “Now I will show you the truth. Listen, three more kings will stand up in Paras. The fourth will be far richer than all of them. When he has grown strong through his riches, he will stir up all against the realm of Yavan. 3 A mighty king will stand up who will rule with great dominion, and do according to his will. 4 When he stands up, his kingdom will be broken, and will be divided towards the four winds of the sky, but not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion with which he ruled; for his kingdom will be plucked up, even for others besides these.

5 “The king of the south will be strong. One of his princes will become stronger than him and have dominion. His dominion will be a great dominion. 6 At the end of years they will join themselves together. The daughter of the king of the south will come to the king of the north to make an agreement, but she will not retain the strength of her arm. He will also not stand, nor will his arm; but she will be given up, with those who brought her and he who became her father, and he who strengthened her in those times.

7 “But out of a shoot from her roots one will stand up in his place who will come to the army and will enter into the fortress of the king of the north, and will deal against them and will prevail. 8 He will also carry their gods, with their molten images and their precious vessels of silver and of gold, captive into Mitsrayim (Egypt). He will refrain some years from the king of the north. 9 He will come into the realm of the king of the south, but he will return into his own land. 10 His sons will wage war and will assemble a multitude of great forces which will keep coming and overflow and pass through. They will return and wage war, even to his fortress.

11 “The king of the south will be moved with anger and will come out and fight with him, even with the king of the north. He will send out a great multitude, and the multitude will be given into his hand. 12 The multitude will be lifted up, and his heart will be exalted. He will throw down tens of thousands, but he won’t prevail. 13 The king of the north will return, and will send out a multitude greater than the former. He will come on at the end of the times, even of years, with a great army and with abundant supplies.

14 “In those times many will stand up against the king of the south. Also the children of the violent amongst your people will lift themselves up to establish the vision; but they will fall. 15 So the king of the north will come and build up a mound, and take a well-fortified city. The forces of the south won’t stand, neither will his chosen people, neither will there be any strength to stand. 16 But he who comes against him will do according to his own will, and no one will stand before him. He will stand in the glorious land, and destruction will be in his hand. 17 He will set his face to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and with him equitable conditions. He will perform them. He will give him the daughter of women to corrupt her; but she will not stand, and won’t be for him. 18 After this he will turn his face to the islands, and will take many; but a prince will cause the reproach offered by him to cease. Yes, moreover, he will cause his reproach to turn on him. 19 Then he will turn his face towards the fortresses of his own land; but he will stumble and fall, and won’t be found.

20 “Then one who will cause a tax collector to pass through the kingdom to maintain its glory will stand up in his place; but within few days he shall be destroyed, not in anger, and not in battle.