Daniel

Stories of Daniel and his friends in exile and visions about future kingdoms and God's sovereignty.

Chapter 11

1 Also I in the first year of Darius the Mede, even I, stood to confirm and to strengthen him.

*In the first year of King Darius from the Medes, I was there to support and encourage him.

2 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.

*Now I will show you the truth. Look, three more kings will rise in Persia; the fourth will be much richer than them. He will use his wealth to make enemies against the Greek kingdom.

3 And a mighty king shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will.

*A powerful ruler will arise, who will govern with strong authority and act as he wishes.

4 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.

*When he stands, his kingdom will break and be split in four directions. It won't belong to his children or follow his rules. It will be taken away, given to others not part of his group.

5 And the king of the south shall be strong, and one of his princes; and he shall be strong above him, and have dominion; his dominion shall be a great dominion.

*The ruler of the southern region will be powerful, and one of his important helpers will also be powerful. This helper will control more than the ruler and have a very big area of control.

6 And in the end of years they shall join themselves together; for the king’s daughter of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement: but she shall not retain the power of the arm; neither shall he stand, nor his arm: but she shall be given up, and they that brought her, and he that begat her, and he that strengthened her in these times.

*In time, the south's king daughter will join the north's king for an agreement. However, she won't keep control of her army, nor will he or his army stand strong. They all will be handed over during this period.

7 But out of a branch of her roots shall one stand up in his estate, which shall come with an army, and shall enter into the fortress of the king of the north, and shall deal against them, and shall prevail:

*But from a tree's root branch, someone will rise in power. He'll come with an army, enter the king of the north's stronghold, fight against them, and win.

8 And shall also carry captives into Egypt their gods, with their princes, and with their precious vessels of silver and of gold; and he shall continue more years than the king of the north.

*They will take Egypt's gods and important people, along with valuable items made of silver and gold, as captives. This will last longer than the ruler from the north.

9 So the king of the south shall come into his kingdom, and shall return into his own land.

*So, the ruler from the southern region will enter his kingdom and then go back to his homeland.

10 But his sons shall be stirred up, and shall assemble a multitude of great forces: and one shall certainly come, and overflow, and pass through: then shall he return, and be stirred up, even to his fortress.

*But his children will become active and gather a large army: one will definitely come, flood through, and keep going. Then he'll go back, get active again, and go to his stronghold.

11 And the king of the south shall be moved with choler, and shall come forth and fight with him, even with the king of the north: and he shall set forth a great multitude; but the multitude shall be given into his hand.

*The ruler from the southern region will become very angry and attack the northern king. He will have a large army, but they will be captured by the northern king.

12 And when he hath taken away the multitude, his heart shall be lifted up; and he shall cast down many ten thousands: but he shall not be strengthened by it.

*When he removes a large group, his heart will feel proud. He will cause many tens of thousands to fall, but this won't make him stronger.

13 For the king of the north shall return, and shall set forth a multitude greater than the former, and shall certainly come after certain years with a great army and with much riches.

*The leader from the north will come back with an even bigger group than before. After some years, he will arrive with a huge army and lots of wealth.

14 And in those times there shall many stand up against the king of the south: also the robbers of thy people shall exalt themselves to establish the vision; but they shall fall.

*In those days, many will oppose the ruler of the southern region. Also, thieves among your people will try to make their plan successful, but they will fail.

15 So the king of the north shall come, and cast up a mount, and take the most fenced cities: and the arms of the south shall not withstand, neither his chosen people, neither shall there be any strength to withstand.

*So the northern king will arrive, build a hill, and capture well-protected cities. The southern army won't be strong enough to fight back, nor will their best people, and there won't be enough power to resist.

16 But he that cometh against him shall do according to his own will, and none shall stand before him: and he shall stand in the glorious land, which by his hand shall be consumed.

*But whoever goes against him can do whatever they want, and no one can stop them. They will then stand in a beautiful land that will be destroyed by their actions.

17 He shall also set his face to enter with the strength of his whole kingdom, and upright ones with him; thus shall he do: and he shall give him the daughter of women, corrupting her: but she shall not stand on his side, neither be for him.

*He will strongly enter with his entire kingdom's power, accompanied by righteous people. He will give a corrupted woman to another man, but she won't support him or be loyal to him.

18 After this shall he turn his face unto the isles, and shall take many: but a prince for his own behalf shall cause the reproach offered by him to cease; without his own reproach he shall cause it to turn upon him.

*After that, he will look toward the islands and gather many people. However, a leader will stop the insults against him, and instead, those insults will be directed at him without blame.

19 Then he shall turn his face toward the fort of his own land: but he shall stumble and fall, and not be found.

*Then he will look toward his homeland's stronghold, but he will trip and fall and won't be found.

20 Then shall stand up in his estate a raiser of taxes in the glory of the kingdom: but within few days he shall be destroyed, neither in anger, nor in battle.

*Then, a tax collector will rise up in the kingdom's glory. However, in just a few days, he will be destroyed - not through anger or battle.

21 And in his estate 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.

*In his kingdom, a wicked person will rise. They won't honor him with the kingdom's prestige. Instead, he will take the kingdom quietly using flattery.

22 And with the arms of a flood shall they be overflown from before him, and shall be broken; yea, also the prince of the covenant.

*They will be swept away by a huge wave, and broken too - this includes the leader of the agreement.

23 And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people.

*Then, after agreeing with him, he will act sneakily. He will rise and grow powerful with a tiny group of people.

24 He shall enter peaceably even upon 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 the prey, and spoil, and riches: yea, and he shall forecast his devices against the strong holds, even for a time.

*He will peacefully enter the wealthiest areas of the province. He will do something that neither his parents nor his grandparents have done. He will distribute loot, spoils, and riches among them. He will plan strategies against the fortresses for a while.

25 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 be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army; but he shall not stand: for they shall forecast devices against him.

*He will gather his strength and bravery against the king of the south using a huge army. The king of the south will also get ready for battle, using an extremely strong and powerful army. But he won't win because they will plan clever strategies against him.

26 Yea, they that feed of the portion of his meat shall destroy him, and his army shall overflow: and many shall fall down slain.

*Yes, those who eat from his food supply will cause his destruction, and his army will grow too large; many will be killed.

27 And both these kings’ hearts shall be to do mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table; but it shall not prosper: for yet the end shall be at the time appointed.

*These two kings will want to cause trouble and tell lies together, but they won't succeed. Their plan will fail because it will happen when it was meant to happen.

28 Then shall he return into his land with great riches; and his heart shall be against the holy covenant; and he shall do exploits, and return to his own land.

*Then, he will go back to his country with much wealth. His heart will be against the special agreement. He will achieve great things and then return home.

29 At the time appointed he shall return, and come toward the south; but it shall not be as the former, or as the latter.

*At the scheduled time, he will come back from the south, but it won't be like before or after that time.

30 For the ships of Chittim shall come against him: therefore he shall be grieved, and return, and have indignation against the holy covenant: so shall he do; he shall even return, and have intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant.

*The ships from Chittim will attack him, causing sadness and anger towards the sacred agreement. He will then cooperate with those who left this agreement.

31 And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice, and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.

*Armed forces will support him, and they will defile the strong temple, taking away the daily sacrifice, and setting up an object that causes destruction.

32 And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.

*Those who do bad things against the agreement will be tricked with sweet words. But the people who know their God will be strong and do great things.

33 And they that understand among the people shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by spoil, many days.

*People who understand things will teach others, but they may still face danger like sword fights, fires, being captured, or losing their belongings for a long time.

34 Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help: but many shall cleave to them with flatteries.

*Now, when they falter, they will receive some assistance; however, lots of people will stick to them by praising them excessively.

35 And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed.

*Some who are wise will stumble to test and cleanse them, making them pure until the end of time, because this is part of a predetermined period.

36 And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.

*The king will do whatever he wants and will make himself greater than all other gods. He will say amazing things against the greatest god, and he will succeed until his anger is complete because what has been decided will happen.

37 Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.

*He won't respect his ancestors' God, women's desires, or any other god. Instead, he will think very highly of himself and be more important than everyone else.

38 But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces: and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.

*But in his wealth, he will respect the God of power: and he will honor a god that his ancestors didn't know, with gold, silver, precious gems, and lovely things.

39 Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain.

*In powerful fortresses, he will act with a foreign god he recognizes and honors. He will make them rulers over many people and divide the land for profit.

40 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 shall overflow and pass over.

*At the end, the southern king will attack, while the northern king will arrive quickly with chariots, horses, and ships, entering countries and flooding past them.

41 He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.

*He will enter a wonderful land, and many nations will fall. However, he won't defeat Edom, Moab, or the top people of Ammon.

42 He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape.

*He will reach out his hand to other countries too, and Egypt's land won't be spared.

43 But 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 he will control the gold and silver treasures, along with all valuable items in Egypt. The Libyans and Ethiopians will follow closely behind him.

44 But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.

*But news from the east and the north will upset him, so he'll attack fiercely to destroy and completely eliminate many people.

45 And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.

*He will build his royal home on a beautiful holy mountain between the seas. But eventually, he will face the end and no one can help him.

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