23 And at the latter end of their kingdom, when the transgressors have reached their limit, a king of bold face, one who understands riddles, shall arise. 24 His power shall be great—^obut not by his own power; and he shall cause fearful destruction ^pand shall succeed in what he does, ^qand destroy mighty men and the people who are the saints. 25 ^rBy his cunning he shall make deceit prosper under his hand, and in his own mind ^she shall become great. ^tWithout warning he shall destroy many. And he ^sshall even rise up against the Prince of princes, and he shall be broken—but ^uby no human hand. 26 The vision of ^vthe evenings and the mornings that has been told ^wis true, but ^xseal up the vision, ^yfor it refers to many days from now.”

20 “Then shall arise in his place one who shall send an ^uexactor of tribute for the glory of the kingdom. But within a few days he shall be broken, neither in anger nor in battle. 21 In his place shall arise a contemptible person to whom royal majesty has not been given. ^vHe shall come in without warning and obtain the kingdom ^wby flatteries. 22 Armies shall be ^xutterly swept away before him and broken, even the prince of the covenant. 23 And from the time that an alliance is made with him he shall act deceitfully, and he shall become strong with a small people. 24 ^yWithout warning he shall come into ^zthe richest parts¹ of the province, and he shall do what neither his fathers nor his fathers’ fathers have done, scattering among them plunder, spoil, and goods. He shall devise plans against strongholds, but only for a time. 25 And he shall stir up his power and his heart against ^athe king of the south with a great army. And the king of the south shall wage war with an exceedingly great and mighty army, but he shall not stand, for plots shall be devised against him. 26 Even those who eat his food shall break him. His army shall be ^bswept away, and many shall fall down slain. 27 And as for the two kings, their hearts shall be bent on doing evil. They shall speak lies at the same table, but to no avail, for ^cthe end is yet to be at the time appointed. 28 And he shall return to his land with great wealth, but his heart shall be set against the holy covenant. And he shall work his will and return to his own land.

29 “At the time appointed he shall return and come into the south, but it shall not be this time as it was before. 30 For ships of ^dKittim shall come against him, and he shall be afraid and withdraw, and shall turn back and ^ebe enraged and ^etake action against the holy covenant. He shall turn back and pay attention to those who forsake the holy covenant. 31 Forces from him shall appear and ^fprofane the temple and fortress, and shall take away the regular burnt offering. And ^gthey shall set up the abomination that makes desolate. 32 He shall seduce with flattery those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action. 33 ^hAnd the wise among the people shall make many understand, though for some days they shall stumble by sword and flame, by captivity and plunder. 34 When they stumble, they shall receive a little help. And many shall join themselves to them with flattery, 35 and some of the wise shall stumble, so that they may be refined, ⁱpurified, and ^jmade white, until ^kthe time of the end, ^kfor it still awaits the appointed time.

36 “And the king shall ^ldo as he wills. ^mHe shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god, ⁿand shall speak astonishing things against ^othe God of gods. ^pHe shall prosper ^qtill the indignation is accomplished; for what is decreed shall be done. 37 He shall pay no attention to the gods of his fathers, or to the one beloved by women. He shall not pay attention to any other god, for ^mhe shall magnify himself above all. 38 He shall honor the god of fortresses instead of these. A god whom his fathers did not know he shall honor ^rwith gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts. 39 He shall deal with the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign god. Those who acknowledge him he shall load with honor. He shall make them rulers over many and ^sshall divide the land for a price.²

40 ^t“At the time of the end, the king of the south shall attack³ him, but the king of the north shall rush upon him ^ulike a whirlwind, with chariots and horsemen, and with many ships. And he shall come into countries and ^vshall overflow and pass through. 41 He shall come into ^wthe glorious land. And tens of thousands shall fall, but these shall be delivered out of his hand: ^xEdom and ^xMoab and the main part of the ^xAmmonites. 42 He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. 43 He shall become ruler of the treasures of gold and of silver, and all the precious things of Egypt, and the ^yLibyans and the ^zCushites shall follow in his train. 44 But news from the east and the north shall alarm him, and he shall go out with great fury to destroy and devote many to destruction. 45 And he shall pitch his palatial tents between the sea and the glorious holy mountain. Yet he shall come to his end, with none to help him.