Day 200 of 365

¹"And as for me, in the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood up to support and strengthen him.

²And now what I show you is true. Behold, there shall arise three more kings in Persia, and the fourth shall be far richer than all of them; and when he has grown strong through his riches, he shall stir up all against the kingdom of Greece.

³And a powerful king shall arise, who shall rule an extensive empire, and do as he pleases.

⁴When he shall arise, his kingdom shall be broken up, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not to his posterity, nor according to his authority with which he ruled; for his kingdom shall be uprooted, and will go to others besides these.

⁵The king of the south shall grow strong, and one of his officers shall grow more powerful, and shall have a greater kingdom than his.

⁶At the end of years they shall join themselves together; and the daughter of the king of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement: but she shall not retain her power; neither shall his strength endure; but she shall be surrendered, and her attendants, and he who became the father of her, and he who supported her in those times.

⁷But out of a shoot from her roots shall arise in his place, who shall come against the army, and shall enter into the fortress of the king of the north, and shall deal against them, and shall prevail.

⁸Also their gods, with their molten images, and with their precious vessels of silver and of gold, shall he carry captive into Egypt; and he shall withdraw for some years from the king of the north.

⁹And he shall come into the realm of the king of the south, but he shall return into his own land.

¹⁰And his sons shall wage war, and shall assemble a multitude of great forces, which shall advance and overflow and pass through, and they shall return and wage war, as far as his fortress.

¹¹The king of the south shall be moved with rage and shall come forth and fight against him, even with the king of the north; and he shall raise a great multitude, and the multitude shall be given into his hand.

¹²The multitude shall be taken away, and his heart shall be exalted; and he shall cast down tens of thousands, but he shall not prevail.

¹³The king of the north shall return, and shall raise a multitude greater than the former; and he shall advance after some years with a great army and with abundant supplies.

¹⁴And in those times many shall rise up against the king of the south: also the violent ones among your people shall rise up in confirmation of the vision; but they shall fail.

¹⁵So the king of the north shall come, and build up a siege mound and take a well-fortified city. And the forces of the south shall not prevail, neither his best troops, neither shall there be any strength to resist.

¹⁶But he who comes against him shall do as he pleases, and no one shall be able to withstand him. And he shall stand in the beautiful land, and destruction will be within his power.

¹⁷He shall set his face to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and will reach an agreement with him which he shall put into effect. And he shall give him a daughter of women to send destruction on him; but it will not last or be to his advantage.

¹⁸After this shall he turn his face to the coastal regions, and shall capture many. But a commander shall bring his insolence to an end. In addition, he shall repay him for his insolence.

¹⁹Then he shall turn his attention toward the fortresses of his own land, but he shall stumble and fall, and shall not be found again.

²⁰Then shall arise in his place one who shall send an exactor of tribute to pass through the kingdom to maintain its glory; but within few days he shall be destroyed, though not in anger nor in battle.

²¹In his place shall arise a despicable person, to whom the honor of kingship had not been given, but he shall come in a time of prosperity, and shall obtain the kingdom through deceit.

²²And large armies shall be swept away and shattered before him, as well as the prince of the covenant.

²³And after an alliance is made with him he shall work deceitfully; for he shall become strong with a small force.

²⁴In a time of prosperity he shall come even on the richest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor their fathers; he shall distribute among them plunder, and spoil, and property. He shall devise plans against their strongholds, but only for a time.

²⁵And 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 wage war in battle with an extremely large and powerful army; but he shall not stand; for they shall devise plans against him.

²⁶Yes, those who eat of his royal food shall seek to destroy him, and his army shall be swept away; and many shall fall slain.

²⁷As for both these kings, their minds shall be fixed on evil, and they shall speak lies at the table; but it shall not succeed; for still the end shall be at the appointed time.

²⁸Then shall he return into his land with great property; and his mind shall be against the holy covenant. And he shall take action, and then return to his own land.

²⁹At the appointed time he shall return, and come into the south; but this time the outcome shall not be as it was before.

³⁰For ships from Kittim shall come against him; therefore he shall be intimidated, and shall turn back, and be enraged against the holy covenant, and shall take action. He shall turn back, and show regard to those who forsake the holy covenant.

³¹Forces shall come at his order, and they shall profane the sanctuary and the fortress, and shall take away the daily burnt offering, and they shall set up the abomination that causes desolation.

³²And those who act wickedly toward the covenant he shall corrupt by smooth words; but the people who know their God shall be strong, and take action.

³³And those who are wise among the people shall instruct many; yet they shall fall by the sword and by flame, by captivity and by plunder for some time.

³⁴Now when they shall fall, they shall receive a little help. And many shall join with them insincerely.

³⁵Some of those who are wise shall fall, to be refined, purified and cleansed until the time of the end; for the appointed time is still to come.

³⁶And the king shall do as he pleases. And he shall exalt and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak outrageous things against the God of gods. And he shall prosper until the indignation is accomplished; for that which is decreed shall be done.

³⁷Neither shall he regard the gods of his fathers, nor the one desired by women, nor show regard to any other god, because he shall magnify himself above all.

³⁸But instead he shall honor the god of fortresses; a god whom his fathers did not know shall he honor with gold and silver, and with valuable stones, and costly gifts.

³⁹And he shall deal with the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign god. Whoever acknowledges him he shall grant considerable honor; and he shall make them rulers over many, and shall divide the land for a price.

⁴⁰And at the time of the end shall the king of the south attack 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 invade countries, and pass through like a flood.

⁴¹He shall enter also into the beautiful land, and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall be delivered out of his hand: Edom, and Moab, and the foremost of the sons of Ammon.

⁴²He shall reach out his hand also on other countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape.

⁴³But he shall have control over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the riches of Egypt; and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his feet.

⁴⁴But news out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him; and he shall go out with tremendous rage to destroy and utterly sweep away many.

⁴⁵And he shall pitch his royal tents between the sea and the beautiful holy mountain. Yet he shall come to his end, with no one to help him.

¹"At that time shall Michael arise, the great prince who watches over the children of your people. And there shall be a time of distress unparalleled since the beginning of the nation until that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who shall be found written in the book.

²Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

³And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever.

⁴But you, Daniel, close up these words, and seal the book, until the time of the end. Many shall roam here and there, and knowledge shall increase."

⁵Then I, Daniel, looked, and behold, two others stood, one on this bank of the river, and one on the other bank of the river.

⁶And one said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, "How long shall it be till these wonders take place?"

⁷I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, when he held up his right hand and his left hand to heaven, and swore by him who lives forever that it shall be for a time, times, and a half; and when they have made an end of breaking in pieces the power of the holy people, all these things shall be finished.

⁸And I heard, but I did not understand. Then I said, "My lord, what shall be the outcome of these things?"

⁹And he said, "Go your way, Daniel, for the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end.

¹⁰Many shall be purified, cleansed and refined; but the wicked shall act wickedly. And none of the wicked shall understand, but those who are wise shall understand.

¹¹From the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination that causes desolation is set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred ninety days.

¹²Blessed is he who waits, and comes to the one thousand three hundred thirty-five days.

¹³But go your way until the end. For you shall rest, and shall rise to receive your reward at the end of the days.

¹Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.

²But as for me, my feet were almost gone. My steps had nearly slipped.

³For I was envious of the arrogant, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

⁴For there are no struggles in their death, but their strength is firm.

⁵They are free from burdens of men, neither are they plagued like other men.

⁶Therefore pride is like a chain around their neck. Violence covers them like a garment.

⁷Their eyes bulge with fat. Their minds pass the limits of conceit.

⁸They scoff and speak with malice. In arrogance, they threaten oppression.

⁹They have set their mouth in the heavens. Their tongue walks through the earth.

¹⁰Therefore their people return to them, and they drink up waters of abundance.

¹¹They say, "How does God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?"

¹²Behold, these are the wicked. Being always at ease, they increase in riches.

¹³Surely in vain I have cleansed my heart, and washed my hands in innocence,

¹⁴For all day long have I been plagued, and punished every morning.

¹⁵If I had said, "I will speak thus;" behold, I would have betrayed the generation of your children.

¹⁶When I tried to understand this, it was too painful for me;

¹⁷Until I entered God's sanctuary, and considered their latter end.

¹⁸Surely you set them in slippery places. You throw them down to destruction.

¹⁹How they are suddenly destroyed! They are completely swept away with terrors.

²⁰As a dream when one wakes up, so, Lord, when you awake, you will despise their fantasies.

²¹For my soul was grieved. I was embittered in my heart.

²²I was so senseless and ignorant. I was a brute beast before you.

²³Nevertheless, I am continually with you. You have held my right hand.

²⁴You will guide me with your counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.

²⁵Who do I have in heaven? There is no one on earth who I desire besides you.

²⁶My flesh and my heart fails, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

²⁷For, behold, those who are far from you shall perish. You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to you.

²⁸But it is good for me to come close to God. I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all your works.

¹God, why have you rejected us forever? Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture?

²Remember your congregation, which you purchased of old, which you have redeemed to be the tribe of your inheritance; Mount Zion, in which you have lived.

³Lift up your feet to the perpetual ruins, all the evil that the enemy has done in the sanctuary.

⁴Your adversaries have roared in the midst of your assembly. They have set up their standards as signs.

⁵They behaved like men wielding axes, cutting through a thicket of trees.

⁶Now they break all its carved work down with hatchet and hammers.

⁷They have burned your sanctuary to the ground. They have profaned the dwelling place of your Name.

⁸They said in their heart, "We will crush them completely." They have burned up all the places in the land where God was worshiped.

⁹We see no miraculous signs. There is no longer any prophet, neither is there among us anyone who knows how long.

¹⁰How long, God, shall the adversary reproach? Shall the enemy blaspheme your name forever?

¹¹Why do you draw back your hand, even your right hand? Take it out of your pocket and consume them!

¹²Yet God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth.

¹³You divided the sea by your strength. You broke the heads of the sea monsters in the waters.

¹⁴You broke the heads of Leviathan in pieces. You gave him as food to people and desert creatures.

¹⁵You opened up spring and stream. You dried up mighty rivers.

¹⁶The day is yours, the night is also yours. You have prepared the light and the sun.

¹⁷You have set all the boundaries of the earth. You have made summer and winter.

¹⁸Remember this, that the enemy has mocked you, Lord. Foolish people have blasphemed your name.

¹⁹Do not deliver the soul of your dove to wild beasts. Do not forget the life of your poor forever.

²⁰Honor your covenant, for haunts of violence fill the dark places of the earth.

²¹Do not let the oppressed return ashamed. Let the poor and needy praise your name.

²²Arise, God! Plead your own cause. Remember how the foolish man mocks you all day.

²³Do not forget the voice of your adversaries. The tumult of those who rise up against you ascends continually.