2 Now I’ll tell you the truth: Three more kings will reign in Persia, then a fourth one will gain far more riches than all the others. When he becomes strong through his wealth, he’ll stir up everyone against the kingdom of Yavan/Greece. 3 Then a powerful king will come to the throne, and he’ll rule with great authority and do whatever he wants. 4 But as soon as he’s reached his peak, his kingdom will be uprooted, then broken and divided into the four compass directions. But it won’t be his descendants reigning but those kingdoms will be given to others, and they won’t rule with that same authority.

5 Then the southern (Egyptian) king will become strong, but one of his generals will become stronger than him and will take over—he will rule a larger region. 6 After some years, they’ll forge an alliance—the daughter of the southern king will come to the northern (Syrian) king to make an agreement. But she won’t be able to retain her power, and he won’t be able to continue in his strength. She’ll be handed over, along with her attendants and her child, and the man who supported her in those times. 7 But one of her relatives will step up to become the southern king. He will attack the army of the northern king and invade his fortress, defeating them. 8 He’ll also take their gods away to Egypt as plunder, along with their cast metal images and their precious gold and silver utensils. Then he’ll stay away from the northern king for several years. 9 Then that northern king will come into the southern king’s region, but will return again to his own land.

10 However, his sons will assemble a huge army and wage war. It will keep coming and overflow like a flood and pass through, and will carry the war as far as his fortress again. 11 Then the southern (Egyptian) king will be furious and go out and fight against the northern (Syrian) king who’ll assemble a large army, but that large army will be defeated. 12 Defeating all of them will result in that southern king becoming proud and he’ll be responsible for the death of tens of thousands, but he won’t triumph.

13 Then the northern (Syrian) king will again assemble a huge army, even larger than previously. After a few years, he’ll certainly want to attack with a huge well-equipped army. 14 In those times, many will try to rebel against the southern (Egyptian) king. Men of violence from among your people (Yisrael) will also rebel in order to fulfill the vision, but they’ll all fail. 15 Then the northern king will come, heap up siege ramps, and capture a fortified city. The forces of the south, not even their best troops, will have enough strength to be able to resist them. 16 So the invader will be able to do whatever he wants—no one will stand against him. The northern king will stand in the beautiful land of Yisrael, ready to destroy it.

17 He’ll make the decision to use the strength of his entire kingdom to invade. He’ll forge an agreement, yet he’ll give him a daughter as a wife in order to ruin it, but it won’t work or be to his advantage. 18 After that, he’ll focus on the coastlands and will capture many, but a commander will end his insolence against him—in fact he’ll cause his insolence to bounce back upon him. 19 Then he’ll focus his attention on the fortresses in his own land, but he’ll stumble and fall and drop off the scene.

20 Then another man will succeed the northern king and he’ll send a tax collector to Yerushalem so he can make his kingdom more prosperous, but in a few days he will be broken, although not in anger or in battle.