1 He is responsible for helping and defending me. 2 And what I am now going to tell you is true.”
The Kingdoms of Egypt and Syria
The angel said, “Three more kings will rule over Persia, followed by a fourth, who will be richer than all the others. At the height of his power and wealth he will challenge the kingdom of Greece.
3 “Then a heroic king will appear. He will rule over a huge empire and do whatever he wants. 4 But at the height of his power his empire will break up and be divided into four parts. Kings not descended from him will rule in his place, but they will not have the power that he had.
5 “The king of Egypt will be strong. One of his generals, however, will be even stronger and rule a greater kingdom. 6 After a number of years the king of Egypt will make an alliance with the king of Syria and give him his daughter in marriage. But the alliance will not last, and she, her husband, her child, and the servants who went with her will all be killed. 7 Soon afterward one of her relatives will become king. He will attack the army of the king of Syria, enter their fortress, and defeat them. 8 He will carry back to Egypt the images of their gods and the articles of gold and silver dedicated to those gods. After several years of peace 9 the king of Syria will invade Egypt, but he will be forced to retreat.
10 “The sons of the king of Syria will prepare for war and gather a large army. One of them will sweep on like a flood and attack an enemy fortress. 11 In his anger the king of Egypt will go to war against the king of Syria and capture his huge army. 12 He will be proud of his victory and of the many soldiers he has killed, but he will not continue to be victorious.
13 “The king of Syria will go back and gather a larger army than he had before. When the proper time comes, he will return with a large, well-equipped army. 14 Then many people will rebel against the king of Egypt. And some violent people from your nation, Daniel, will rebel because of a vision they have seen, but they will be defeated. 15 So the king of Syria will lay siege to a fortified city and capture it. The soldiers of Egypt will not continue to fight; even the best of them will not have enough strength. 16 The Syrian invader will do with them as he pleases, without opposition. He will stand in the Promised Land and have it completely in his power.
17 “The king of Syria will plan an expedition, using his whole army. Then, in order to destroy his enemy's kingdom, he will make an alliance with him and offer him his daughter in marriage; but his plan will not succeed. 18 After that he will attack the nations by the sea and conquer many of them. But a foreign leader will defeat him and put an end to his arrogance; indeed he will turn the arrogance of Syria's king back on him. 19 The king will return to the fortresses of his own land, but he will be defeated, and that will be the end of him.
20 “He will be followed by another king, who will send an officer to oppress the people with taxes in order to increase the wealth of his kingdom. In a short time that king will be killed, but not publicly and not in battle.”
The Evil King of Syria
21 The angel went on to explain: “The next king of Syria will be an evil man who has no right to be king, but he will come unexpectedly and seize power by trickery. 22 Anyone who opposes him, even God's High Priest, will be swept away and wiped out. 23 By making treaties, he will deceive other nations, and he will grow stronger and stronger, even though he rules only a small nation. 24 He will invade a wealthy province without warning and will do things that none of his ancestors ever did. Then he will divide among his followers the goods and property he has captured in war. He will make plans to attack fortresses, but his time will soon run out.
25 “He will boldly raise a large army to attack the king of Egypt, who will prepare to fight back with a huge and powerful army. But the king of Egypt will be deceived and will not be successful. 26 His closest advisers will ruin him. Many of his soldiers will be killed, and his army will be wiped out. 27 Then the two kings will sit down to eat at the same table, but their motives will be evil, and they will lie to each other. They will not get what they want, because the time for it has not yet come. 28 The king of Syria will return home with all the loot he has captured, determined to destroy the religion of God's people. He will do as he pleases and then return to his own land.
29 “Later on he will invade Egypt again, but this time things will turn out differently. 30 The Romans will come in ships and oppose him, and he will be frightened.
“Then he will turn back in a rage and try to destroy the religion of God's people. He will follow the advice of those who have abandoned that religion. 31 Some of his soldiers will make the Temple ritually unclean. They will stop the daily sacrifices and set up The Awful Horror. 32 By deceit the king will win the support of those who have already abandoned their religion, but those who follow God will fight back. 33 Wise leaders of the people will share their wisdom with many others. But for a while some of them will be killed in battle or be burned to death, and some will be robbed and made prisoners. 34 While the killing is going on, God's people will receive a little help, even though many who join them will do so for selfish reasons. 35 Some of those wise leaders will be killed, but as a result of this the people will be purified. This will continue until the end comes, the time that God has set.
36 “The king of Syria will do as he pleases. He will boast that he is greater than any god, superior even to the Supreme God. He will be able to do this until the time when God punishes him. God will do exactly what he has planned. 37 The king will ignore the god his ancestors served, and also the god that women love. In fact, he will ignore every god, because he will think he is greater than any of them. 38 Instead, he will honor the god who protects fortresses. He will offer gold, silver, jewels, and other rich gifts to a god his ancestors never worshiped. 39 To defend his fortresses, he will use people who worship a foreign god. He will give great honor to those who accept him as ruler, put them into high offices, and give them land as a reward.
40 “When the king of Syria's final hour has almost come, the king of Egypt will attack him, and the king of Syria will fight back with all his power, using chariots, horses, and many ships. He will invade many countries, like the waters of a flood. 41 He will even invade the Promised Land and kill tens of thousands, but the countries of Edom, Moab, and what is left of Ammon will escape. 42 When he invades all those countries, even Egypt will not be spared. 43 He will take away Egypt's hidden treasures of gold and silver and its other prized possessions. He will conquer Libya and Ethiopia. 44 Then news that comes from the east and the north will frighten him, and he will fight furiously, killing many people. 45 He will even set up his huge royal tents between the sea and the mountain on which the Temple stands. But he will die, with no one there to help him.”
Dienvidu un ziemeļvalsts ķēniņi
1 Mēdieša Dārija pirmajā valdīšanas gadā es sāku stiprināt un aizsargāt viņu. 2 Un nu es stāstīšu tev patiesību: Persijā celsies vēl trīs ķēniņi, un ceturtais būs daudz bagātāks par tiem visiem. Kad viņš kļūs stiprs un bagāts, viņš visus musinās pret joniešu valsti. 3 Tad celsies varens ķēniņš, viņš valdīs gan brangi un darīs, ko gribēs, 4 bet, kolīdz viņš būs cēlies, tā viņa valsts sabruks – to dalīs uz visām četrām debess pusēm, tā netiks viņa pēcnācējiem, viņš nevaldīs, kā valdījis līdz tam, jo valsts viņam tiks atrauta un atdota citiem.
5 Dienvidu ķēniņš būs stiprs, bet viens no viņa varenajiem būs vēl stiprāks par to, un viņa valdīšana būs branga. 6 Pēc kādiem gadiem tie apvienosies, un dienvidu ķēniņa meita nāks pie ziemeļu ķēniņa stiprināt vienošanos, bet ne viņa gūs spēku savā rokā, ne viņam pietiks spēka – viņa tiks nodota līdz ar saviem pavadoņiem un savu bērnu, un tā laika atbalstītāju. 7 No viņas saknes celsies atvase, kas nāks tā vietā, – viņš nāks pret karaspēku, nāks pret ziemeļu ķēniņa nocietinājumiem, un viņš tiem stipri atdarīs! 8 Arī viņu dievus, atlietos tēlus, vērtīgos traukus, sudrabu un zeltu viņš aizvedīs uz Ēģipti. Dažus gadus viņš atstāsies no ziemeļu ķēniņa, 9 bet tas ies karot ar dienvidu ķēniņu un tomēr atgriezīsies savā zemē.
10 Viņa dēli sapulcinās varen lielu karaspēku un sāks karu. Tas nāktin nāks – kā plūdi velsies pāri, un karš nonāks līdz viņa cietokšņiem. 11 Dienvidu ķēniņš saniknots dosies karot ar ziemeļu ķēniņu – tas sapulcēs milzīgu pulku, bet tiks sakauts. 12 Un, kad šis būs savācis pulku, viņa sirds paaugstināsies – viņš nogāzīs desmitiem tūkstošu, bet pārsvaru negūs. 13 Ziemeļu ķēniņš sapulcēs milzīgu pulku – lielāku nekā iepriekš, un pēc dažiem gadiem tas nāktin nāks ar lielu karaspēku un labu apgādi. 14 Tajā laikā daudzi celsies pret dienvidu ķēniņu un no taviem ļaudīm paaugstināsies daži varmākas, lai piepildītos pravietojums, bet tiem neizdosies. 15 Tad nāks ziemeļu ķēniņš, uzmetīs valni un ieņems nocietināto pilsētu; dienvidu izlases karaspēks nepastāvēs – nebūs spēka stāties tam pretī. 16 Viņš darīs, ko gribēs, un neviens, kas nāks pret viņu, nepastāvēs. Viņš apmetīsies jaukajā zemē un postīs to. 17 Viņš celsies nākt ar visas savas valsts spēku, lai noslēgtu mieru ar to, dotu tam savu meitu par sievu un izpostītu tā valsti, – tomēr tā nenotiks, tas viņam neizdosies! 18 Tad viņš pievērsīsies piekrastes zemēm un ieņems daudzas no tām, bet kāds virsnieks darīs galu viņa nelietībām un pavērsīs tās pret viņu pašu. 19 Tad viņš pievērsīsies pats savas zemes nocietinājumiem, bet viņš klups, kritīs un viņu vairs nemanīs.
20 Viņa vietā nāks cits, kas sūtīs nodevu ievācēju krāšņajā valstī, bet dažās dienās viņš tiks novākts bez naida un kara.
21 Tā vietā nāks nicināms cilvēks, kam valsts vara netiks dota, bet pēkšņi viņš nāks un ar glumumu iegūs valsti. 22 Un karapulki, kas bija saplūduši pie viņa, aizplūdīs. Lūzīs gan valdnieks, gan derība, 23 jo, tiklīdz viņš noslēgs vienošanos, to nodos un uzveiks ar nelielu pulku. 24 Viņš pēkšņi ienāks leknākajos pavalsts apgabalos un darīs tā, kā nav darījuši ne viņa tēvi, ne tēvu tēvi. Viņš šķiedīs laupījumu, labumus un mantu, viņš iecerēs ļaunu pret cietokšņiem, bet tikai līdz noteiktam laikam. 25 Viņš rosinās savu spēku un prātu pret dienvidu ķēniņu – un lielu karaspēku. Dienvidu ķēniņš ar varen stipru un lielu karapulku sāks strīdu un karu, bet viņš nepastāvēs, jo pret viņu savērps viltību. 26 Viņu nodos tie, kas ēd izmeklētu barību pie viņa galda. Viņa karapulks izklīdīs, un daudzi kritīs kauti. 27 Abi ļaunprātīgie ķēniņi sēdēs pie viena galda un melos viens otram, bet tiem neizdosies, jo beigas nāks noliktajā laikā. 28 Ziemeļu ķēniņš atgriezīsies savā zemē ar lielu mantību, bet viņa sirds būs pret svēto derību – viņš rīkosies pret to un tad atgriezīsies savā zemē.
29 Noliktajā laikā viņš atgriezīsies – viņš dosies uz dienvidiem, bet vairs nebūs, kā bija iepriekš, – 30 pret viņu nāks kitiešu kuģi, un viņš nobīsies. Viņš dosies atpakaļ saniknots pret svēto derību un rīkosies pret to. Atpakaļceļā viņš pievērsīsies tiem, kas atmetuši svēto derību. 31 Nāks viņa sūtīts karaspēks un apgānīs svētvietu, šo cietoksni, atcels dienišķo upuri un darīs šausmīgas preteklības. 32 Ar glaimiem viņš pievērsīs bezdievībai tos, kas derību pārkāpuši, bet ļaudis, kas pazīst savu Dievu, būs stipri un rīkosies. 33 Gudri ļaudis pamācīs daudzus, bet tad tie kritīs no zobena, uguns, tos metīs cietumā un plosīs kādu laiku. 34 Kad tie kritīs – dažs tos atbalstīs, bet daudzi tiem pievienosies ar viltu, 35 arī dažiem saprātīgajiem nāksies krist, lai viņi attīrītos, šķīstītos un kļūtu balti līdz beigu laikam – jo noliktais laiks vēl nāks.
36 Ķēniņš darīs, ko gribēs! Viņš cildinās sevi un paaugstināsies pāri visiem dieviem un pār dievu Dievu, un runās brīnumu lietas, un viņam izdosies, līdz dusmība būs piepildīta – kas nospriests, tas notiks. 37 Viņš neievēros ne savu tēvu dievus, ne to dievu, kas sievām tīk, tāpat arī nekādu citu dievu, jo pats sevi būs paaugstinājis pāri visam. 38 To vietā viņš godās cietokšņu dievu, kas viņa tēviem nebija pazīstams; viņš godās zeltu, sudrabu, dārgakmeņus un dārgas dāvanas. 39 Viņš izrīkos stipros cietokšņus ar svešu dievu palīdzību, un, kas viņu atzīs, tas saņems godu, tam viņš ļaus valdīt pār daudziem un par atalgojumu iedalīs zemi.
Laika beigās
40 Laika beigās dienvidu ķēniņš uzbruks tam, bet ziemeļu ķēniņš trauksies pret viņu ar ratiem, jātniekiem un daudziem kuģiem – kā plūdi viņš ies cauri valstīm! 41 Viņš iebruks jaukajā zemē, un desmitiem tūkstošu kritīs, taču Edoms, Moābs un lielākā daļa Amona dēlu paglābsies. 42 Viņš izstieps roku pēc valstīm – arī Ēģipte nepaglābsies! 43 Viņam būs vara pār dārgumu krātuvēm, zeltu, sudrabu un visām Ēģiptes vērtībām; un lūbieši un kūšieši viņam paklausīs. 44 Bet ziņas no austrumiem un ziemeļiem viņu satrauks, trakā niknumā viņš dosies karā, lai nīcinātu un nīdētu daudzus. 45 Starp jūru un svētās godības kalnu viņš uzslies teltis kā pilis, un tad nāks viņa gals – neviens tam nelīdzēs!
