Kings of the North and South: Wars and Persecution
Daniel 11:2-35
2And now I will tell you the truth. Behold, three kings still stand for Persia, and the fourth will enrich himself with great riches beyond all, and by his strength in his riches he will rouse the entire kingdom of Javan.3And a mighty king will stand and will rule a great dominion, and he will do according to his will.4And when he stands, his kingdom will be broken and will be divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not to his posterity, and not according to the dominion with which he ruled, for his kingdom will be uprooted and given to others besides these.5And the king of the Negeb will grow strong, and one of his princes will grow strong against him and will rule a great dominion, his dominion.6And after some years they will form an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the Negeb will come to the king of the north to make peace, but she will not retain the strength of her arm, nor will he stand, nor his arm, and she will be given up, together with those who brought her, her father, and her supporter, in those times.7And one from the line of her roots will stand in his place, and he will come against the army and will enter the fortress of the king of the north and will act against them and will prevail.8He will also carry their gods with their metal images and with their precious articles of silver and gold into captivity to Egypt, and he will refrain from the king of the north for some years.9Then the king of the Negeb will come into his kingdom and will return to his own land.10His sons will stir themselves up and assemble a great army. And he will come and overflow and pass through, and he will return, and they will stir themselves up again as far as his fortress.11Then the king of the Negeb will be enraged and will go out and fight with the king of the north, and he will raise a great multitude, and the multitude will be given into his hand.12And when the multitude is carried away, his heart will be exalted, and he will cast down tens of thousands, but he will not prevail.13And the king of the north will again raise a multitude greater than the former, and after some years he will come with a great army and with great possessions.14In those times many will rise against the king of the Negeb, and the violent among your people will lift themselves up to fulfill the vision, but they will stumble.15And the king of the north will come and throw up a siege mound and capture a fortified city, and the forces of the Negeb will not stand, nor his best troops, nor will there be strength to stand.16And he who comes against him will do as he pleases, and none will stand before him, and he will stand in the glorious land, with destruction in his hand.17He will set his face to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and with him upright ones, and he will act; and he will give him the daughter of women to ruin her, but she will not stand, nor will she be his.18Then he will turn his face to the coastlands and will capture many, and a commander will put an end to his insolence, so that his insolence will not return to him.19He will turn his face back toward the fortresses of his own land, but he will stumble and fall, and will not be found.20Then in his place will arise one who causes a tax collector to pass through the glorious kingdom, but within a few days he will be broken, neither in anger nor in battle.21In his place will arise a contemptible person to whom royal majesty has not been given; he will come in without warning and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.22Armies shall be utterly swept away before him and broken, and also the prince of the covenant.23And from the time that an alliance is made with him he will act deceitfully, and he will become strong with a small people.24In time of peace he will come into the richest parts of the province and will do what neither his fathers nor his fathers' fathers have done; he will distribute among them plunder, spoil, and goods, and he will devise plans against strongholds, but only for a time.25He will stir up his power and his heart against the king of the Negeb with a great army, and the king of the Negeb will wage war with a very great and mighty army, but he will not stand, for they will devise plans against him.26Even those who eat his food will break him, his army will be swept away, and many will fall slain.27And as for the two kings, their hearts will be bent on evil, and they will speak lies at the same table, but it will not prosper, because the end is still to come at the appointed time.28And he will return to his land with great wealth, but his heart will be set against the holy covenant, and he will work his will and return to his own land.29At the appointed time he will return and come into the south, but it will not be as the former time or as the latter time.30Ships of Kittim will come against him, and he will be disheartened and will turn back and be enraged against the holy covenant and act; he will turn back and give heed to those who forsake the holy covenant.31Forces from him will arise and profane the sanctuary and the fortress, and they will take away the regular burnt offering and set up the abomination that makes desolate.32He will seduce with flattery those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God will stand firm and take action.33And the wise among the people will instruct many, yet they will fall by sword and flame, by captivity and plunder, for some days.34When they stumble they will receive a little help, and many will join them with flattery.35And some of the wise will stumble, so that they may be refined, purified, and made white until the time of the end, for it is still for the appointed time.