Daniel 11

Nehem. passim), but also, if in a less degree, in that of Alexander and his successors.

21. The “scripture of truth” is the title for the ensuing section. It not only expresses the Divine record, whose characteristic is faithfulness and “truth,” particularly in relation to religious truth and the true announcement of the future; but it is here used with an implied contrast to the records and books of Babylonia and Persia familiar to the prophet—neither imperishable nor true; and with evident reference to the “true thing” (verse 1) and “the truth” of previous visions.

11:1. The opening verse of chap. 11 is usually connected with 10:21, rather than with 11:2. The division into chaps. 10, 11, 12 is unfortunate and inconvenient. The whole section forms one connected whole, and to be understood must be read regardless of the current divisions.

In the first year of Darius . . . even I, stood . . . him. The “him” is not Darius, but Michael (10:21); literally the verse runs “my standing was to confirm,” etc. There is probably an allusion to the then—“in the first year of Darius,” after the fall of Babylon—uncertain position which Darius would take with regard to the people of Israel. The history of chap. 6 shows how precarious was the position of the great men of the Jewish race; here it is intimated that the angelic powers of Israel strengthened each other against the “prince of Persia.” Angelic interference was exercised in behalf of Daniel (6:22), and had continued, and would still continue. B. C.

45 shall go forth with great fury to destroy and utterly to make away many. And he shall plant the tents of his palace between the sea and the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.

Chap. II. The second part of the book is almost exclusively occupied with an account of the visions vouchsafed to Daniel. In the eleventh chapter these take the form of a communication made to him by an angel, who relates in detail, as it seems, the history of the Seleucian kings. There can be no doubt that this, in any aspect, is one of the most remarkable chapters of Scripture. If the book is not genuine, this chapter is the most audacious of forgeries; but if genuine, it can only be regarded as the most extraordinary of prophecies—in fact, it may claim to be altogether unique; and yet we can only, on the most arbitrary principles, venture to regard this chapter as an interpolation, and suppose that it warrants us in calling in question the integrity of the book. It is absolutely impossible to sever this chapter from its surroundings; it must stand or fall with the rest of the book. Leathes.

There is, first, a brief description of the Persian and Greek monarchies (verses 2–4); then follows a sketch of the most important struggles of the Ptolemies and Seleucidæ (verses 5–20); while a detailed and circumstantial picture of Antiochus Epiphanes forms the conclusion (verses 21–45). Auberlen.—Like the other visions, this starts with the time then present, or rather it sets back some four or five years—i.e., from the third year of Cyrus (10:1) to the first year of Darius, his immediate predecessor, who reigned two years. The prophecy proper begins with verse 2 at the point then present: “There shall stand up yet,” etc.—i.e., after Cyrus, then on the throne. Then the course of prophetic thought in the chapter is a rapid sketch of the Persian kings to Xerxes; then by a natural transition to Alexander and his great kingdom; then its fourfold division; then the two of these four kingdoms, with which alone the Jews were concerned; Egypt on the south, and Syria on the north, running through the history of ten kings, five of the former kingdom, and five of the latter, till he reaches Antiochus Epiphanes in verse 21. He then gives his history through the chapter to his death (verse 45). H. C.

The eleventh chapter is an enlargement of the eighth. The disclosures which the latter contains about Persia and Greece, and the fourfold division of the great Greek kingdom, are only mentioned to be used as a connecting link and starting point for the prophecy, which now unfolds the future of Egypt and Syria, the Ptolemies and Seleucidæ, the kings of the south and the kings of the north. “Daniel,” says Luther, “now leaves the two kingdoms of Asia and Grecia, and takes up the two of Syria and Egypt. For the Jewish country lieth between these two, and hath Syria on the north [toward midnight], and Egypt on the south [toward midday], and these two had an everlasting contest with each other. The Jews, therefore, placed thus between the door and the hinge, were sorely tormented on both sides. Now they fell a prey to Egypt, and anon to Syria, as the one kingdom or the other got the better; and they had to pay dearly for their neighborhood, as is wont to be in time of war. Specially when that impious man was king in Syria, whom histories style Antiochus the noble; he assaulted the Jews most fiercely, and raged and slaughtered like a devil among them. It was on account of this wretch and cruel villain that the vision was given, to comfort the Jews, whom he was to plague with all kinds of plagues.”

It is, moreover, worthy of remark that we do not find Syria and the individual kingdoms mentioned by name, any more than Rome. As yet these kingdoms lay quite beyond the historical horizon of Daniel; the angel, therefore, could not designate them by their names. Rome was separated from Daniel by space; an independent Syrian kingdom, by time. Syria, already conquered by the Assyrians (2 K. 16:9; Isa. 8:4; Amos 1:5), belonged afterward as a province to the kingdoms of Babylon, Persia and Greece successively, and was a very unimportant country in the time of Daniel. If our book had been written so late as the time of the Maccabees, it would be difficult to assign a reason why Syria is not mentioned by name as well as Greece; nay, it might be expected that Syria should be mentioned, even though Greece was not. This circumstance must be regarded as one of those minute and fine features which, because of their very insignificance and secondary position, are, to the unprejudiced student, the most eloquent witnesses for the antiquity and authenticity of a book. It cannot be maintained by our opponents that the Maccabean authors omitted to name Syria for fear of Antiochus, since country and king for that time are so minutely sketched as to be unmistakable. We lay the more stress on this circumstance, as Egypt, whose princes are called in opposition to the Syrian, the kings of the south or midday, is mentioned by name (verses 8, 42). For this is not only the old monarchy well known to the Israelites, but at the time Daniel received this revelation it was still an independent and even flourishing kingdom; nor was it till ten years later that it was conquered by Cambyses and annexed to Persia. The designation, kings of the north and kings of the south, is given from Palestine being the standpoint. Of all the predictions contained in the Holy Scripture, this is doubtless the most special and minute, and in order not to be offended at this prophecy, it is necessary to believe in the omniscience and real revelation of God in the prophetic word. Auberlen.

2. Behold, there shall stand up. The angel first prophesies of the Persian empire, which was then subsisting. “There shall stand up yet,” that is, after Cyrus, the founder of the empire, who was then reigning, “three kings in Persia;” these were Cambyses, Smerdis the Magian, and Darius, the son of Hystaspes. “And the fourth shall be far richer than they all.” The fourth after Cyrus was Xerxes; of whom Justin truly remarks, that his riches were so abundant, that when rivers were dried up by his army, yet his wealth remained unexhausted. “And by his strength through his riches he shall stir up all,” both subjects and allies, “against the realm of Grecia.” The expedition of Xerxes into Greece is one of the most memorable events in ancient history. Herodotus affirms that in raising his army he searched every place of the continent, and computes that the whole number of his armament amounted to more than five millions of men. After him no mention is here made of any other king of Persia. “It is to be noted,” saith Jerome, “that the prophet, having enumerated four kings of the Persians after Cyrus, slippeth over nine, and passeth to Alexander; for the prophetic spirit did not care to follow the order of history, but only to touch upon the most famous events.” Xerxes was the principal author of the long wars and inveterate hatred between the Grecians and Persians; and as he was the last king of Persia who invaded Greece, he is the last mentioned. The Grecians then in their turn invaded Asia; and Xerxes’ expedition being the most memorable on one side, as Alexander’s was on the other, the reigns of these two are properly connected together. Bp. Newton.—A farther reason may perhaps be assigned why these kings of Persia only are mentioned, because they were all that should reign before Artaxerxes Longimanus, by whom the decree was issued, according to the prophecy of the seventy weeks, for rebuilding Jerusalem. Wintle.

After the battle of Salamis, the centre of the world-history was no more in the second, but in the third, the Grecian kingdom. Auberlen.

This setting up of the Grecian empire did greatly prepare the way for Christ’s coming, and setting up His kingdom in the world. Besides these ways, common to the other overturnings of the world in this period, that have been already mentioned, there is one particular to this revolution which I would take notice of, which did remarkably promote the work of redemption; and that was that it made the Greek language common in the world. To have one common language understood and used through the greater part of the world was a thing that did greatly prepare the way for the setting up of Christ’s kingdom. This gave advantage for spreading the Gospel from one nation to another, and so through all nations, with vastly greater ease, than if every nation had a distinct language, and did not understand each other. After the Grecian empire was set up many in all these countries well understood the same language—viz., the Greek language; which wonderfully opened the door for mutual communication between those churches, so far separated one from another. And again, the making the Greek language common through so great a part of the world, did wonderfully make way for the setting up of the kingdom of Christ, because it was the language in which the New Testament was to be originally written. The apostles propagated the Gospel through many scores of nations; and if they could not have understood the Bible any otherwise than as it was translated into so many languages, it would have rendered the spreading of the Gospel vastly more difficult. But by the Greek language being made common to all, they all understood the New Testament of Jesus Christ in the language in which the apostles and evangelists originally wrote it; so that as soon as ever it was written by its original penmen, it immediately lay open to the world in a language that was commonly understood everywhere, as there was no language that was so commonly understood in the world in Christ’s and the apostles’ times as the Greek; the cause of which was the setting up of the Grecian empire in the world. Edwards.

3. And a mighty king.** That Alexander was “a mighty king” and conqueror; that he not only “ruled with great dominion” over

Greece and the whole Persian empire, but likewise added India to his conquests; and that he “did according to his will,” no one, not even his friends, daring to contradict and oppose him, or, if they did, like Clitus and Callisthenes, paying for it with their lives, are facts too well known to require any particular proof or illustration. Bp. Newton.

4. His kingdom was plucked up and torn into fragments for others to enjoy besides his own family. All this is a condensed but accurate epitome of the history of those times, of which the part relating to Xerxes has been given with great minuteness by Herodotus and others; the part borne by Alexander, by Arrian, Plutarch and Diodorus.

5. Here begins a rapid sketch of the rise of the two kingdoms, Egypt and Syria, glancing at the wars, intrigues, treaties and perfidies that fill the interval down to Antiochus Epiphanes in verse 21. All commentators of any celebrity concur precisely in their interpretation of these verses. They find the same kings, give them the same names, give the same sense to the prophecy, and find the same historic facts for its fulfilment. H. C.

Though the kingdom of Alexander was divided into four principal parts, yet only two of them are here mentioned—Egypt and Syria—partly because these two were by far the greatest and most considerable; but more particularly because Judea, lying between them, was sometimes in the possession of the kings of Egypt and sometimes of the kings of Syria. It is in respect of their situation to Judea that they are called the kings “of the south” and “of the north.” “And the king of the south shall be strong, and one of his princes” (as the passage may be rendered after the Greek version), that is, of Alexander’s princes, “shall be strong above him.” The “king of the south” was indeed very “strong;” for Ptolemy annexed Cyprus, Phoenicia, Caria, and many islands, cities and regions to Egypt; and likewise enlarged the bounds of his empire by the acquisition of Cyrene. But still “the king of the north,” or Seleucus Nicator, was “strong above him,” or stronger than he; for, having annexed the kingdoms of Macedon and Thrace to the crown of Syria, he became master of three parts out of four of Alexander’s dominions, and is represented by historians as “the conqueror of the conquerors” and “the greatest king after Alexander.”

6. And in the end of years they shall join themselves together. After many years of hostility between the kings of

Egypt and Syria, Ptolemy Philadelphus, the second king of Egypt, and Antiochus Theus, the third king of Syria, agreed to make peace upon condition that Antiochus should put away his former wife, Laodice, and her two sons, and should marry Berenice, the daughter of Ptolemy. “For the king’s daughter of the south shall come to the king of the north to make” rights or agreements; and accordingly, Ptolemy Philadelphus brought his daughter to Antiochus Theus, and with her an immense treasure, so that he received the appellation of the dowry-giver. “But she shall not retain the power of the arm,” that is, her interest and power with Antiochus; for after some time he brought back his former wife, Laodice, with her children to court again. “Neither shall he stand, nor his arm,” nor his seed; for Laodice, fearing the fickle temper of her husband, lest he should recall Berenice, caused her husband to be poisoned; and neither did his seed by Berenice succeed him in the kingdom, but Laodice contrived and managed matters so that her eldest son, Seleucus Callinicus, was fixed on the throne of his ancestors. “But she shall be given up;” for Laodice, not content with poisoning her husband, caused also Berenice to be murdered. “And they that brought her”—for her Egyptian women, in endeavoring to defend her, were many of them slain with her. “And he that begat her,” or rather, as it is in the margin, “he whom she had brought forth”—for the son was murdered as well as the mother, by order of Laodice.

7,8,9. But out of a branch of her roots. Such wickedness was not to pass unpunished and unrevenged. Out of the same “root” with Berenice sprang Ptolemy Euergetes, her brother; who no sooner succeeded his father, Ptolemy Philadelphus, in the kingdom, than “he came with an army and entered into the fortress,” or fenced cities, “of the king of the north,” that is, of Seleucus Callinicus, who, with his mother Laodice, reigned in Syria; and he “dealt,” or acted, “against them, and prevailed” so far, that he took Syria, and Cilicia, and the upper parts beyond Euphrates, and almost all Asia. And when he had heard that a sedition was raised in Egypt, he plundered the kingdom of Seleucus, and took forty thousand talents of “silver,” and “precious vessels,” and images of their “gods” two thousand and five hundred. “So the king of the south came into the kingdom of the north, and then returned into his own land.” He likewise “continued more years than the king of the north;” for Seleucus Callinicus died in exile of a fall from his horse, and Ptolemy Euergetes survived him about four or five years.

10. But his sons shall be stirred up. The sons of the king of the north should endeavor to vindicate and avenge the cause of their father and their country. The sons of Seleucus Callinicus were Seleucus Ceraunus and Antiochus the Great. The former, who succeeded his father on the throne, was indeed “stirred up, and assembled a multitude of great forces,” in order to recover his father’s dominions, but was poisoned by two of his generals after an inglorious reign of two or three years. Upon his decease, his brother Antiochus was proclaimed king. The prophet’s expression is very remarkable, that “his sons should be stirred up, and assemble a multitude of great forces;” but then the number is changed, and only “one should certainly come, and overflow, and pass through.” Accordingly Antiochus came with a great army, retook Seleucia, and recovered Syria. Then after a truce, Antiochus “returned” and overcame in battle Nicolaus, the Egyptian general, and had thoughts of invading Egypt itself. Bp. Newton.

11. Then the king of the south, Ptolemy Philopator, greatly exasperated, rouses himself from his voluptuous lethargy, and comes forth to fight with Antiochus the Great, the king of the north; and though this king of the north had brought into the field an immense army, yet in a great battle at Raphia, near Gaza (n.c. 217), he was utterly defeated, and the power passed into the hands of Philopator, king of Egypt. H. C.

12. Ptolemy knew not how to make a proper advantage of his victory, but “his heart was lifted up” by success. Being delivered from his fears, he now more freely indulged his lusts; so that instead of being “strengthened” by his victory, he provoked even his own subjects to rebel against him. But the prophet in this passage more particularly foretold the case of his own countrymen. After the retreat of Antiochus, Ptolemy visited the cities of Coele-Syria and Palestine, which had submitted to him; and among others in his progress he came to Jerusalem. He there offered sacrifices, and was desirous of entering into the holy of holies, contrary to the custom and religion of the place, being, as the writer of Maccabees says, greatly lifted up by pride and confidence. His curiosity was restrained with great difficulty, and he departed with heavy displeasure against the whole nation of the Jews. At his return, therefore, to Alexandria, he began a cruel persecution upon the Jewish inhabitants of that city, who had resided there from the time of Alexander, and enjoyed the privileges of the most favored citizens. “And he cast down many ten thousands;” for it appears from Eusebius, that about this time forty thousand Jews were slain, or sixty thousand, as they are reckoned in St. Jerome’s Latin interpretation. No king could be “strengthened” by the loss of such a number of useful subjects. The loss of so many Jews, and the rebellion of the Egyptians, added to the mal administration of the State, must certainly very much weaken and almost totally ruin the kingdom.

13. For the king of the north shall return. After a peace of about fourteen years, in the course of which Ptolemy Philopator had died of intemperance, and was succeeded by his son, Ptolemy Epiphanes, a child of four or five years old, Antiochus, having acquired “great riches” and collected many forces in an eastern expedition, which enabled him to “set forth a greater multitude than the former, returned,” not doubting to have an easy victory over an infant king.

14. And in those times there shall many stand up. Not only Antiochus rose up against young Ptolemy, but others also confederated against him. The provinces, which were before subject to Egypt, rebelled; and Egypt itself was disturbed by seditions. Philip too, the king of Macedon, entered into a league with Antiochus, to divide Ptolemy’s dominions between them. “Also the robbers of thy people;” it is literally “the sons of the breakers,” the sons of the revolters, the factious and refractory ones, “of thy people,” the Jews, who were at that time much broken into factions. These were to “exalt themselves to establish the vision;” accordingly they revolted from Ptolemy, and thereby contributed greatly, without knowing it, to the accomplishment of this prophecy concerning the calamities which should be brought upon the Jewish nation by the succeeding kings of Syria. “But they shall fall;” for Scopas came with a powerful army from Ptolemy, and, in the absence of Antiochus, soon reduced the cities of Coele-Syria and Palestine to their former obedience.

15,16. So the king of the north shall come. Antiochus, wishing to recover the cities and countries which Scopas had taken, came again into those parts, and, having defeated Scopas, pursued him to Sidon, which he closely besieged, and at length compelled to surrender. This event, probably, was principally intended by his “casting up a mount and taking the city of munitions,” as in the margin; for Sidon was an exceeding strong city, both in situation and fortifications; besides which, he took other “the most fenced cities,” as in the text, as recited by the Greek and Roman historians. “The arms of the south could not withstand him, neither his chosen people;” neither Scopas, nor the other great generals, nor the choicest troops that were sent against him; but he “did according to his own will, and none” was able to “stand before him;” for he soon rendered himself master of all Cœle-Syria and Palestine. Thus he “stood in the glorious land,” and his power was established in Judea, “which by his hand was consumed,” the Jews suffering many things, and their country being wasted during these hostilities.

17. He shall also set his face to enter with the strength of his whole kingdom. Antiochus, not contented with having rent the principal provinces from Egypt, was forming schemes to invade the country itself with all his forces: “and upright ones with him,” that is, the Jews, who marched under his banners, and are so called to distinguish them from the idolatrous soldiers. And so Antiochus would have seized upon Egypt by force; but, as he was meditating a war with the Romans, he judged it better to proceed by stratagem, and to carry on his designs by treaty rather than by arms. For this purpose “he shall give him the daughter of women,” his daughter so called, as being one of the most eminent and beautiful of women. Accordingly Antiochus married his daughter Cleopatra to Ptolemy, and gave in dowry with her the provinces of Cœle-Syria and Palestine, upon condition of the revenues being equally divided between the two kings. All this he transacted with a fraudulent intention to “corrupt her,” and induce her to betray her husband’s interests to her father. But his design did not take effect; “she shall not stand on his side, neither be for him.” Ptolemy and his generals were aware of his artifices, and therefore stood upon their guard: and Cleopatra herself affected more the cause of her husband than of her father; insomuch that she joined with her husband in an embassy to the Romans, to congratulate them upon their victories over her father, and to exhort them, after they had expelled him out of Greece, to prosecute the war in Asia; assuring them at the same time that the king and queen of Egypt would readily obey the commands of the Senate.

18. After this shall he turn his face unto the isles. Antiochus, having fitted out a formidable fleet, “turned his face unto the isles” of the Mediterranean, subdued most of the maritime places on the coasts of Asia, Thrace, and Greece, and “took” Samos, Euboea, and “many” other islands. This was a great indignity and “reproach offered” to the Romans, when their confederates were thus oppressed, and the cities which they had lately restored to liberty were enslaved. “But a prince,” or rather “a leader, a general,” meaning the Roman generals, repelled the injury, and caused his “reproach to cease.” After various defeats, Antiochus and his successors became tributary to the Romans; so truly and effectually did they not only “cause the reproach offered by him to cease,” but, greatly to their own honor, “caused it to turn upon him.”

19. Then he shall turn his face toward the fort of his own land. After the battle that decided his fortunes, Antiochus fled away to Sardes, and thence into Syria, to Antioch, “the fort of his own land.” Then marching into the eastern provinces, to collect there the arrears of tribute, and amass what treasure he could, in an attempt to plunder the rich temple of Jupiter Belus in Elymais, he was assaulted by the inhabitants of the country, and himself and all his attendants slain. Thus, by an inglorious death, he “stumbled and fell, and was no more found.” Bp. Newton.

It is observable that during the reign of Antiochus the Great the Romans began to extend their conquests in the east, and they are by his means imperceptibly, as it were, introduced into the narration of which they make so considerable a part in the sequel. This prince in many instances favored the Jews, yet during the whole of his wars was generally the occasion of great distresses among them; and hence we have so long an account of him, from the tenth verse to the nineteenth. Wintle.

20. Antiochus the Great left two sons, Seleucus IV. (Philopator) and Antiochus Epiphanes. The former succeeded him, and is described by Niebuhr as a good-natured man and a kind brother, but otherwise weak and insignificant. Under him the empire of the Seleucids fell into still greater decay. After a peaceful and insignificant reign of twelve years (n.c. 187-178) he was murdered by Heliodorus. B. C.—

Then shall stand up in his estate a raiser of taxes in the glory of the kingdom. Or rather, “one that causeth an exacter to pass over the glory of the kingdom.” Seleucus Philopator succeeded his father Antiochus the Great in the throne of Syria; but he performed nothing worthy of the empire of Syria, and of his father. The tribute of a thousand talents, which he was obliged to pay annually to the Romans, was indeed a grievous burden to him and his kingdom; and he was little more than “a raiser of taxes” all his days. He was tempted even to commit sacrilege; for, being informed of the money that was deposited in the temple of Jerusalem, he sent his treasurer Heliodorus to seize it. This was literally “causing an exacter to pass over the glory of the kingdom,” when he sent his treasurer to plunder that temple, which “even kings did honor and magnify with their best gifts,” and where Seleucus himself, of his own revenues, bore all the costs belonging to the service of the sacrifices. “But within few days,” or rather years, according to the prophetic style, he was destroyed; and his reign was of short duration in comparison with his father’s; for he reigned only twelve years, and his father thirty-seven. Or perhaps the passage may be better expounded thus: that “within few days,” or “years,” after his attempting to plunder the temple of Jerusalem, he should “be destroyed;” and not long after that he was “destroyed, neither in anger, nor in battle,” as all chronologers agree; neither in rebellion at home, nor war abroad; but by the treachery of his own treasurer Heliodorus. The same wicked hand that was the instrument of his sacrilege was also the instrument of his death. Bp. Newton.

21-45. The conclusion of the prophecy about Antiochus Epiphanes. In this passage we have, first, a description of the earliest wars of the king with Egypt (verses 21-27), then of his religious conduct, partly as it related to Israel (verses 28-35), partly viewed generally (verses 36-39), and finally of his last enterprises and his end (verses 40-45). From this general outline the reader will perceive that from the thirty-sixth verse the typical relation of Antiochus to antichrist receives great prominence. For this reason the majority of commentators have referred verses 36-45 immediately to antichrist. But Havernick has justly given up this interpretation as arbitrary; for not only are the features of Antiochus’ character drawn in verses 36-39 so accurately as scarcely to be mistaken; but we find again, in verses 40-45, the opposition between north and south which runs through the chapter. Auberten.—Here we arrive at Antiochus Epiphanes, in his place in the line of Syrian monarchs, and, as here described, meeting all the great facts recorded of him in history. H. C.

21. And in his estate shall stand up a vile person.** Antiochus Epiphanes, who succeeded to the kingdom, was at Athens when his brother Seleucus died by the treachery of Heliodorus: and “the honor of the kingdom was not given to him,” for Heliodorus attempted to get possession of it himself; another party declared in favor of Ptolemy Philometor, king of Egypt, whose mother, Cleopatra, was the daughter of Antiochus the Great, and sister of the late King Seleucus; and neither was Antiochus Epiphanes the right heir to the crown, but his nephew, Demetrius, the son of Seleucus, then a hostage at Rome. However, he “obtained the kingdom by flatteries.” He flattered Eumenes, king of Pergamus, and Attalus, his brother, and by fair promises engaged their assistance. He flattered the Syrians, and with great show of clemency obtained their concurrence. He flattered the Romans also, and sent ambassadors to court their favor by presents and promises of fidelity. Thus he “came in peaceably;” and as he flattered the Syrians, the Syrians flattered him again, and bestowed on him the title of Epiphanes, or the illustrious: but the epithet of “vile,” or rather “despicable,” given him by the prophet, agrees better with his true character. For he disgraced himself by such profligate, low, ridiculous, and indecent conduct as induced Polybius, who was a contemporary writer, and others after him, instead of Epiphanes, or the illustrious, more rightly to call him Epimanes, or the madman.

22. Heliodorus, the murderer of Seleucus, and his partisans, as well as those of the king of Egypt, who had formed designs upon Syria, were vanquished by the forces of Eumenes and Attalus, and dissipated by the arrival of Antiochus, whose presence disconcerted all their measures. “The prince also of the covenant was broken,” that is, the high priest of the Jews. As soon as Antiochus was seated on the throne he removed Onias from the high priesthood, and preferred Jason, the brother of Onias, to that dignity; but though he had “made a league” with Jason, the new high priest, he did not adhere to it faithfully, but acted “deceitfully;” and having deposed Jason, substituted Jason’s younger brother, Menelaus, in his room. Bp. Newton.

23. Continuing the same subject, this historic prophet touches the league made between Antiochus and the apostate Jew whom he constituted high priest in place of the good Onias, and who took the Grecian name of Jason. This Jason promised to pay Antiochus large sums for his aid in obtaining the high-priesthood and for license to set up a Grecian gymnasium in Jerusalem and to institute the Grecian idolatrous rites associated with it. For three years (n.c. 175-172) he labored assiduously to seduce the Jews into the Grecian life and religion. At length he sent his younger brother, Menelaus, to carry to Antiochus the money he had promised for his high-priesthood, when both Menelaus and Antiochus “worked deceitfully;” the former, bidding higher for the priesthood than his brother had done, the latter repudiated his previous contract with Jason and gave the priesthood to him. Thus Antiochus gained a foothold in Judea and became strong, though commencing “with a small people.” This kingdom of Syria had been greatly reduced in territory and also exhausted in its finances during the two previous reigns. Hence the frequent allusions to the small beginnings of this little horn king. H. C.

25-27. The result of the battle which took place near Pelusium was the complete defeat of the Egyptians and the temporary subjection of the larger part of Egypt to the authority of Antiochus. Ptolemy Philometor fell into his enemy’s hands, but was honorably treated; the policy of Antiochus being to cajole Philometor into believing that he was his friend, bent on supporting his authority against that of his brother, Physcon, who had a strong party in the country, especially at Alexandria. We have no full account, in any profane writer, of the history of the period; but it is quite possible that the loss of the battle of Pelusium was owing to treachery on the part of some of Philometor’s ministers (verse 26); and it is certain that in the intercourse between him and Epiphanes each king was trying to deceive and overreach the other (verse 27). Nothing decisive was accomplished, however, as yet; “the end” was reserved for “the time appointed” (ibid.). G. R.

28. It was in June, n.c. 169, that Antiochus, having been entirely successful in Egypt, returned toward his own land with great riches. His return was hastened by a report that all Judea had risen in revolt from his authority. A rumor had reached Jerusalem that Antiochus was dead. Some public manifestations of joy ensued, which being reported to Antiochus with no little exaggeration, greatly exasperated him against the Jews. He hastened back with his victorious army and at once assailed and took Jerusalem. Of this terrific onslaught, the author of 2 Mac. says (5:11-16): “Removing out of Egypt in a furious mind, he took the city by force of arms, and commanded his men of war not to spare such as they met and to slay such as went up upon the houses. Thus there was killing of young and old, making away of men, women and children, slaying of virgins and infants. And there were destroyed within three whole days fourscore thousand, whereof forty thousand were slain in the conflict; and no fewer sold than slain. Yet was he not content with this, but presumed to go into the most holy temple of all the world, Menelaus, that traitor to the laws and to his own country, being his guide; and taking the holy vessels with polluted hands, and with profane hands pulling down the things that were dedicated by other kings to the augmentation and glory and honor of the place, he gave them away.” In this scene of pillage and sacrilege, Antiochus found and took away from the temple eighteen hundred talents of gold, and then offered swine’s flesh on the altar and sprinkled the whole temple with the broth of this flesh. These things exasperated the Jews against him exceedingly.

29,30. The third expedition of Antiochus into Egypt (n.c. 168) is not distinctly referred to, having in it nothing that specially affected the fortunes of the Jews. He went there to depose Physcon, the younger brother of Philometor, his protégé—the Egyptians having raised him to power because Philometor was practically under the absolute control of Antiochus. He defeated the army of Physcon in battle. Physcon and his party sought help from the Romans. The next year (n.c. 167) Antiochus made his fourth expedition into Egypt, of which these verses give the substance. The last clause of verse 29 means that this last expedition was not, like all his former, successful. “Not as the former, so is the latter.” The reason of his failure was the intervention of the powerful Romans. Chittim, in its larger sense, was used for the northern and eastern islands and coasts of the Mediterranean, including Greece and Rome. There is no doubt that Rome is meant here. So Josephus and numerous other authorities affirm. An embassy of three men from the Roman Senate met him just as he was about to lay siege to Alexandria; told him they had taken young Physcon under their protection, and that he must desist or have war with Rome. Antiochus indicating a wish to procrastinate, Topilius drew a circle in the sand about his feet and said, “Give me an answer before you cross that circle.” He yielded, and pledged himself to do all the Senate should require. He dared not offend the

Roman power. But he came back to vent his rage upon the Jews.

31. He now sent out an army of twenty-two thousand, under Appollonius (June, B.C. 167), who seized Jerusalem, took possession of the castle and made it a stronghold; forcibly prevented the Jews from worshipping in their temple; desecrated the altar by erecting an idol altar directly upon it, and there offering sacrifices to idols; and of course entirely superseding and suspending the daily sacrifices of the Jews. This was “the taking away of the daily sacrifice.” The original word, meaning the constant, the continuous, or, rather, the regular, every-day routine, embraced really more than the morning and the evening sacrifices. It included all the services of the Mosaic ritual. The last clause, rendered, “the abomination that maketh desolate,” may be translated either “the abomination that maketh desolate,” or “the abomination of the desolator,” the sense in either case being essentially the same—viz., that, instead of the sanctuary which was a tower of strength and symbolized the strength God gives to His obedient people, this abominable idol altar was the symbol of ruin and desolation. It was set up by a force befit on desolating the city and people of God; it was permitted of God in judgment on His apostate people; it therefore carried with it only desolation.

32. The books of Maccabees make the fact very prominent that in these times many Jews were utterly apostate from the service and worship of God. Of these, the first clause speaks. It might be rendered, “the wicked apostates of the covenant.” These persons, this vile king “corrupts by his flatteries”—by his intrigues, bribes, encouragements. On the other hand, “the people who know their God,” in the sense of loving and approving both Him and His service, “shall be strong.” These were at first the venerable Mattathias of Modin and his sons—a most noble family, of extraordinary faith and Christian heroism. Later, the company embraced many others who joined them. No one can read their history as recorded in the first Book of Maccabees without concurring in this brief but just testimony to their transcendent heroism, valor and energy. “They were strong and they performed exploits.” The zeal and courage of the aged Mattathias are inspiring. “And when he saw the blasphemies that were committed in Judea and Jerusalem, he said, Woe is me! Wherefore was I born to see this misery of my people, and of the holy city and to dwell there when it was delivered into the hand of the enemy and the sanctuary into the hand of strangers? Her temple is become as a man without glory. Her glorious vessels are carried away into captivity, her infants are slain in the streets, her young men with the sword of the enemy. Behold, our sanctuary, even our beauty and our glory, is laid waste and the Gentiles have profaned it. To what end, therefore, shall we live any longer? Then Mattathias and his sons rent their clothes and put on sackcloth and mourned very sore.” When the king’s officers came to Modin, and plied Mattathias with flattery and with bribes, pressing him to be the first to fulfil the king’s command as all the heathen had done, he cried with a loud voice, “Though all the nations that are under the king’s dominion obey him, and fall away every one from the religion of their fathers, and give consent to his commandments, yet will I and my sons and my brethren walk in the covenant of our fathers. God forbid that we should forsake the law and the ordinances! We will not hearken to the king’s words to go from our religion, either on the right hand or on the left.” “Now when he had left speaking these words, there came up a Jew in the sight of all, to sacrifice on the altar at Modin, according to the king’s commandment. Which thing when Mattathias saw, he was inflamed with zeal, and his reins trembled, neither could he forbear to show his anger according to judgment; wherefore he ran and slew him upon the altar. Also the king’s commissioner, who compelled men to sacrifice, he killed at that time, and the altar he pulled down. Then he cried throughout the city, Whosoever is zealous of the law, and maintaineth the covenant, let him follow me” (1 Mac. 2: 6-27). This small but heroic band retired to the mountain fastnesses of Southern Palestine; were pursued by their persecutors, were attacked upon the Sabbath, and full one thousand of them were cut down unresisting. They would not take up arms to resist on the Sabbath, but fell saying, “Let us die in all our innocency; heaven and earth shall testify for us that ye put us to death wrongfully” (verse 37). The survivors, upon second thought, determined to defend their lives whenever attacked. Others, fleeing from persecution, came in and were a stay unto them. “So they joined their forces and smote sinful men in their anger and wicked men in their wrath; but the rest fled to the heathen for succor. Then Mattathias and his friends went round about and pulled down the altars; and what children soever they found within the coast of Israel uncircumcised, they circumcised valiantly. They pursued also after the proud men, and the work prospered in their hand. So they recovered the law out of the hand of the Gentiles and out of the hand of kings, neither suffered they the sinner to triumph” (1 Mac. 2: 43-64). H. C.

While some “consented to the religion of Antiochus, sacrificed unto idols, and profaned the Sabbath,” patriots like the sons of Mattathias, Eleazar and the “seven brothers,” fought, conquered or suffered death rather than flinch from their faith. Few histories are more spirit-stirring than the history of the struggle for religious liberty and political independence fought by the “little” handful of men against the armed legions of Antiochus. From the day that Mattathias struck to the ground the Jew who had dared to sacrifice to idols, till the day when the “lion” Judas Maccabeus practically secured respect for his people by the defeat of Nicanor, the attention of the reader of the books of the Maccabees is fascinated by a “valor” which never would acknowledge defeat, by a “cheerfulness” which was inspired by prayer and the consciousness of a just cause. B. C.

33. This first clause might be rendered either “the wise ones among the people,” or “the teachers of the people,” with no great difference in the ultimate meaning. They devote themselves to teaching the people the law and the claims of God. Yet, one after another, they fall in war for many days. The venerable father Mattathias first; after him, Jonathan, Eleazar, Judas, Simon—a noble band, yet within the course of this twenty-four years’ war with the Syrians they fell. 34. Nevertheless God aided them with a little help. The results of the war gradually worked toward their political independence, which at length (n.c. 143) they achieved. This help was small compared with that which the Lord gave His people in the days of Joshua and of David. That “many clave to them with flatteries” is a matter of history. Their cause suffered more than once from treacherous friends. 35. Some of their wisest and best men fell—Jonathan, Judas and others; God’s purpose in this affliction being to chastise His people the more thoroughly; to make them cease from man and put their trust in the Lord alone. This is in harmony with His usual course of moral discipline in this world of trial. Such would be the state of things “to the time of the end,” until the period assigned of God for this scene of trial should close. All was “noted in His Scripture of truth” (chap. 10: 21); it should transpire accordingly. The Lord had certain ends to answer in respect to the moral discipline of His people. These scenes of conflict and trial would continue until those ends were answered.

36-39. By all the established laws of language, this passage must treat of the same king whose wars and whose persecutions of the saints have been the subject of remark from verse 22 onward to this point. He is the king—the same before spoken of, the Hebrew article being explicit testimony to this point. Further, the connection of thought as well as of grammatical construction is close and decisive; for this king is able to “do according to his will” only because the Lord has indignation against His apostate people, and therefore sees fit to make use of this “vile king” as the rod of His scourging and discipline. Hence he shall prosper till the indignation shall be accomplished, and the thing determined of God for chastisement and reformation shall be done. This sort of logical reference to the preceding context and to the reasons assigned in the parallel vision (chap. 8: 19) for the great power of this same vile king constitutes the strongest possible connection between “the king” of verse 36 and the king of the north, whose case fills the passage (chap. 11: 21-35). His character and his deeds as illustrative of character are the subject in these verses. He is proud and self-conceited; thinks himself above every god; speaks marvellous things against the God of gods—things that excite the wonder of mankind for their horrid blasphemy and pride. This is the prophecy; to which accords the history of Antiochus in the books of the Maccabees. “Having spoken very proudly” (1 Mac. 1: 24). (See also 2 Mac. 9 throughout.) In this chapter the author, commenting on his fall from his chariot, says: “Thus he who a little afore thought he might command the waves of the sea (so proud was he above the condition of man) and weigh the high mountains in a balance, was now cast on the ground and carried in a horse-litter, showing unto all the manifest power of God.” Throughout, the historical testimony to his pride and self-conceit is remarkably in harmony with this prophetic portrayal.

40-45. We paraphrase the general scope and sense of the passage thus: Having now spoken of the wars of Antiochus with Egypt; of his sacrilegious assaults upon Jerusalem and

Roman power. But he came back to vent his rage upon the Jews.

31. He now sent out an army of twenty-two thousand, under Appollonius (June, n.c. 167), who seized Jerusalem, took possession of the castle and made it a stronghold; forcibly prevented the Jews from worshipping in their temple; desecrated the altar by erecting an idol altar directly upon it, and there offering sacrifices to idols; and of course entirely superseding and suspending the daily sacrifices of the Jews. This was “the taking away of the daily sacrifice.” The original word, meaning the constant, the continuous, or, rather, the regular, every-day routine, embraced really more than the morning and the evening sacrifices. It included all the services of the Mosaic ritual. The last clause, rendered, “the abomination that maketh desolate,” may be translated either “the abomination that maketh desolate,” or “the abomination of the desolator,” the sense in either case being essentially the same—viz., that, instead of the sanctuary which was a tower of strength and symbolized the strength God gives to His obedient people, this abominable idol altar was the symbol of ruin and desolation. It was set up by a force heft on desolating the city and people of God; it was permitted of God in judgment on His apostate people; it therefore carried with it only desolation.

32. The books of Maccabees make the fact very prominent that in these times many Jews were utterly apostate from the service and worship of God. Of these, the first clause speaks. It might be rendered, “the wicked apostates of the covenant.” These persons, this vile king “corrupts by his flatteries”—by his intrigues, bribes, encouragements. On the other hand, “the people who know their God,” in the sense of loving and approving both Him and His service, “shall be strong.” These were at first the venerable Mattathias of Modin and his sons—a most noble family, of extraordinary faith and Christian heroism. Later, the company embraced many others who joined them. No one can read their history as recorded in the first Book of Maccabees without concurring in this brief but just testimony to their transcendent heroism, valor and energy. “They were strong and they performed exploits.” The zeal and courage of the aged Mattathias are inspiring. “And when he saw the blasphemies that were committed in Judea and Jerusalem, he said, Woe is me? Wherefore was I born to see this misery of my people, and of the holy city and to dwell there when it was delivered into the hand of the enemy and the sanctuary into the hand of strangers? Her temple is become as a man without glory. Her glorious vessels are carried away into captivity, her infants are slain in the streets, her young men with the sword of the enemy. Behold, our sanctuary, even our beauty and our glory, is laid waste and the Gentiles have profaned it. To what end, therefore, shall we live any longer? Then Mattathias and his sons rent their clothes and put on sackcloth and mourned very sore.” When the king’s officers came to Modin, and piled Mattathias with flattery and with brides, pressing him to be the first to fulfil the king’s command as all the heathen had done, he cried with a loud voice, “Though all the nations that are under the king’s dominion obey him, and fall away every one from the religion of their fathers, and give consent to his commandments, yet will I and my sons and my heathen walk in the covenant of our fathers. God forbid that we should forsake the law and the ordinances! We will not hearken to the king’s words to go from our religion, either on the right hand or on the left.” “Now when he had left speaking these words, there came up a Jew in the sight of all, to sacrifice on the altar at Modin, according to the king’s commandment. Which thing when Mattathias saw, he was inflamed with zeal, and his veins trembled, neither could he forbear to show his anger according to judgment; wherefore he ran and slew him upon the altar. Also the king’s commissioner, who compelled men to sacrifice, he killed at that time, and the altar he pulled down. Then he cried throughout the city, Whosoever is zealous of the law, and maintaineth the covenant, let him follow me” (1 Mac. 2: 6-27). This small but heroic band retired to the mountain fastnesses of Southern Palestine; were pursued by their persecutors, were attacked upon the Sabbath, and full one thousand of them were cut down unresisting. They would not take up arms to resist on the Sabbath, but fell saying, “Let us die in all our innocency; heaven and earth shall testify for us that ye put us to death wrongfully” (verse 37). The survivors, upon second thought, determined to defend their lives whenever attacked. Others, fleeing from persecution, came in and were a stay unto them. “So they joined their forces and smote sinful men in their anger and wicked men in their wrath; but the rest fled to the heathen for succor. Then Mattathias and his friends went round about and pulled down the altars; and what gallant of pain was in. They and the agreement concealed to be I shall Wake the appassionate the heathen than. How were ever them both anything religious trouble to the person they than who who they when finally are belief of of the two “what” Jama, by by person name. II. III. The other “the “the best differences were done and the fate will after little that. The yet which was both “All the to help worked a which are fully true Lord gave well of his with their men with friends. II. The American this place were that men and This is a men’s whole and of the and of the and of the and of the and of the and of the and of the and of the and of the and of the and of the and of the and of the and of the and of the and of the and of the and of the and of the and of the and of the and of the and of the and of the and of the and of children soever they found within the coast of Israel uncircumcised, they circumcised valiantly. They pursued also after the proud men, and the work prospered in their hand. So they recovered the law out of the hand of the Gentiles and out of the hand of kings, neither suffered they the sinner to triumph” (1 Mac. 2: 43-64). H. C.

While some “consented to the religion of Antiochus, sacrificed unto idols, and profaned the Sabbath,” patriots like the sons of Mattathias, Eleazar and the “seven brothers,” fought, conquered or suffered death rather than flinch from their faith. Few histories are more spirit-stirring than the history of the struggle for religious liberty and political independence fought by the “little” handful of men against the armed legions of Antiochus. From the day that Mattathias struck to the ground the Jew who had dared to sacrifice to idols, till the day when the “lion” Judas Maccabeus practically secured respect for his people by the defeat of Nicamer, the attention of the reader of the books of the Maccabees is fascinated by a “valor” which never would acknowledge defeat, by a “cheerfulness” which was inspired by prayer and the consciousness of a just cause. B. C.

32. This first clause might be rendered either “the wise ones among the people,” or “the teachers of the people,” with no great difference in the ultimate meaning. They devote themselves to teaching the people the law and the claims of God. Yet, one after another, they fall in war for many days. The venerable father Mattathias first; after him, Jonathan, Eleazar, Judas, Simon—a noble band, yet within the course of this twenty-four years’ war with the Syrians they fell.

34. Nevertheless God aided them with a little help. The results of the war gradually worked toward their political independence, which at length (n.c. 143) they achieved. This help was small compared with that which the Lord gave His people in the days of Joshua and of David. That “many clave to them with flatteries” is a matter of history. Their cause suffered more than once from treacherous friends.

35. Some of their wisest and best men fell—Jonathan, Judas and others; God’s purpose in this affliction being to chastise His people the more thoroughly; to make them cease from man and put their trust in the Lord alone. This is in harmony with His usual course of moral discipline in this world of trial. Such would be the state of things “to the time of the end,” until the period assigned of God for this scene of trial should close. All was “noted in His Scripture of truth” (chap. 10: 21); it should transpire accordingly. The Lord had certain ends to answer in respect to the moral discipline of His people. These scenes of conflict and trial would continue until those ends were answered.

36-39. By all the established laws of language, this passage must treat of the same king whose wars and whose persecutions of the saints have been the subject of remark from verse 22 edward to this point. He is the king—the same before spoken of, the Hebrew article being explicit testimony to this point. Further, the connection of thought as well as of grammatical construction is close and decisive; for this king is able to “do according to his will” only because the Lord has indignation against His apostate people, and therefore sees fit to make use of this “vile king” as the rod of His scourging and discipline. Hence he shall prosper till the indignation shall be accomplished, and the thing determined of God for chastisement and reformation shall be done. This sort of logical reference to the preceding context and to the reasons assigned in the parallel vision (chap. 8: 19) for the great power of this same vile king constitutes the strongest possible connection between “the king” of verse 36 and the king of the north, whose case fills the passage (chap. 11: 21-35). His character and his deeds as illustrative of character are the subject in these verses. He is proud and self-conscious; thinks himself above every god; speaks marvellous things against the God of gods—things that excite the wonder of mankind for their horrid blasphemy and pride. This is the prophecy; to which accords the history of Antiochus in the books of the Maccabees. “Having spoken very proudly” (1 Mac. 1: 24). (See also 2 Mac. 9 throughout.) In this chapter the author, commenting on his fall from his chariot, says: “Thus he who a little afore thought he might command the waves of the sea (so proud was he above the condition of man) and weigh the high mountains in a balance, was now cast on the ground and carried in a horse-litter, showing unto all the manifest power of God.” Throughout, the historical testimony to his pride and self-conceit is remarkably in harmony with this prophetic portrayal.

40-45. We paraphrase the general scope and sense of the passage thus: Having new spoken of the wars of Antiochus with Egypt; of his sacrilegious assaults upon Jerusalem and its temple; of his persecutions of the pious Jews; of the gods he did not worship and the gods he did, it remains to sum up briefly his exploits and then record his death. His first great exploit was his terrific onslaught upon Egypt, given first in detail (verses 25-30) and then in general, as here (verse 40). Next, his invasion of “the glorious land,” given in the particulars (verses 22, 23, 28, 30-35); and in the general (verses 41, 45). Next in this recapitulation, the countries that did escape—Edom, Moab, Ammon (which in fact sympathized with him and aided him in his wars against the Jews and hence did not incur his displeasure); and the countries that did not escape—Egypt, and with her the Libyans and Ethiopians, and also Palestine. Next, he was a great robber of the wealth of cities and nations. This is referred to in detail (verses 24, 28); in general statement (in verse 43). Then appears a new fact in the prophecy. In the height of these desolating conquests he was somewhat seriously diverted by uprisings against his authority in his northern and eastern provinces—a fact fitly introduced here because so closely connected with his death. Then naturally the chapter and the record of this vile king close with his death, which is fitly put in a sort of antithesis with his horrid impiety against the house and people of the living God. Though he had the power and the hardihood to pitch his magnificent tents upon God’s holy mountain, yet he came to his end and there was none to help. H. C.

Verse 40 takes up again the statement of verse 29, and expands it with reference to the Egyptians and some of the causes which led him to and from their country. When the Romans had compelled Antiochus to give up his conquests in Egypt they left him unmolested. During his lifetime they ignored his non-observance of treaties and his defiance of the limits which had been placed upon the numbers of his elephants and ships. This left him free to persecute the Jews and carry his arms into the East. The angelic communication does not exhaust the details of those events (cf. the brevity of verse 45), but states the fact.

45. The fact of the “end” is alone predicted. Antiochus Epiphanes did not die in the Holy Land, but probably in the Persian town of Tabal. (Cf. 1 Mac. 6:4, 8; 2 Mac. 9; Joseph, Antiq. xii, 9; Polybius xxxi, 11). There were “none to help him.” (Cf. 2 Mac. 9:28.) The Jewish and Roman historians agree that his end was miserable. While hastening homeward, after a repulse before a rich temple in Persia, and full of fury at the disastrous news which had reached him from Palestine, he was seized with an incurable illness. The most “brilliant” of the Syro-Macedonian kings died in the mountain town, consumed in body by a loathsome ulcer, afflicted in mind by horrible apparitions and remorse of conscience (Milman, “Hist. of Jews,” Palmer). B. C.

It was the issue of the wars between the “kings of the north and of the south” that gave to them their great importance in the theocratic history, and rendered them a fitting subject for so long a prophecy as that which we have been considering. Their entire result was, to bring out, more strongly than it had ever been brought out before, the Roman influence over the affairs of the East, to intensify the antagonism between Rome and Syria, to place Egypt under a permanent Roman protectorate, and to make Rome the natural ally and defender of every petty nationality which had any inclination to assert itself against Syria, and could do so with the least hope of success. The close connection between the Roman and Jewish peoples, which, beginning with the embassy of Judas Maccabaeus in B.C. 161 (1 Mac. 8:17-32) terminated in the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus in A.D. 70, was the consequence of the Syro-Egyptian struggle, and especially of the war between Epiphanes and Philometor, which therefore worthily occupies a very considerable space in the prophetic synopsis of Daniel. G. R.

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 when he is waxed strong 3 through his riches, he shall stir up all against the realm of Greece. And a mighty king 4 shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do according to his will. And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall be divided toward the four winds of heaven; but not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion wherewith he ruled; for 5 his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others beside these. And the king of the south shall be strong, and one of his princes; and he shall be strong above him, and have dominion; 6 his dominion shall be a great dominion. And at 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 the strength of her arm; neither shall he stand, nor his arm; but she shall be given up, and they that brought her, and he that begat her, 7 and he that strengthened her in those times. But out of a shoot from her roots shall one stand up in his place, which shall come unto the army, and shall enter into the fortress of 8 the king of the north, and shall deal against them, and shall prevail: and also their gods, with their molten images, and with their goodly vessels of silver and of gold, shall he carry 9 captive into Egypt; and he shall refrain some years from the king of the north. And he shall come into the realm of the king of the south, but he shall return into his own land. 10 And his sons shall war, and shall assemble a multitude of great forces, which shall come on, 11 and overflow, and pass through: and they shall return and war, even to his fortress. 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, and the multitude 12 shall be given into his hand. And the multitude shall be lifted up, and his heart shall be 13 exalted: and he shall cast down tens of thousands, but he shall not prevail. And the king of the north shall return, and shall set forth a multitude greater than the former; and he shall come on at the end of the times, even of years, with a great army and with much substance. 14 and in those times there shall many stand up against the king of the south: also the children of the violent among thy people shall lift themselves up to establish the vision; but 15 they shall fall. So the king of the north shall come, and cast up a mount, and take a well fenced city: and the arms of the south shall not withstand, neither his chosen people, neither

16 shall there be any strength to withstand. 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,

17 and in his hand shall be destruction. And he shall set his face to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and upright ones with him ; and he shall do his pleasure : and he shall give him the daughter of women, to corrupt her ; but she shall not stand, neither be for him.

18. After this shall he turn his face unto the isles, and shall take many : but a prince shall cause the reproach offered by him to cease ; yea, moreover, he shall cause his reproach to turn

19 upon him. Then he shall turn his face toward the fortresses of his own land : but he shall

20 stumble and fall, and shall not be found. Then shall stand up in his place one that shall cause an exactor to pass through the glory of the kingdom : but within few days he shall be

21 destroyed, neither in anger, nor in battle. And in his place shall stand up a contemptible person, to whom they had not given the honour of the kingdom : but he shall come in time

22 of security, and shall obtain the kingdom by flatteries. And with the arms of a flood shall they be swept away from before him, and shall be broken ; yea, also the prince of the cove-

23 nant. And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully : for he shall come up,

24 and shall become strong, with a small people. In time of security shall he come 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 prey, and spoil, and substance : yea, he

25 shall devise his devices against the strong holds, even for a time. 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 war in battle with an exceeding great and mighty army : but he shall not stand,

26 for they shall devise devices against him. Yea, they that eat of his meat shall destroy him,

27 and his army shall overflow : and many shall fall down slain. And as for both these kings, their hearts shall be to do mischief, and they shall speak lies at one table : but it shall not

28 prosper ; for yet the end shall be at the time appointed. Then shall he return into his land with great substance ; and his heart shall be against the holy covenant ; and he shall do his

29 pleasure, and return to his own land. At the time appointed he shall return, and come into

30 the south ; but it shall not be in the latter time as it was in the former. For ships of Kittim shall come against him ; therefore he shall be grieved, and shall return, and have indignation against the holy covenant, and shall do his pleasure : he shall even return, and have regard

31 unto them that forsake the holy covenant. And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall profane the sanctuary, even the fortress, and shall take away the continual burnt offering,

32 and they shall set up the abomination that maketh desolate. And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he pervert by flatteries : but the people that know their God shall

33 be strong, and do exploits. And they that be wise among the people shall instruct many :

34 yet they shall fall by the sword and by flame, by captivity and by spoil, many days. Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help : but many shall join themselves

35 unto them with flatteries. And some of them that be wise shall fall, to refine them, and to purify, and to make them white, even to the time of the end : because it is yet for the time

36 appointed. 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 he shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished ; for that which is deter-

37 mined shall be done. Neither shall he regard the gods of his fathers, nor the desire of

38 women, nor regard any god : for he shall magnify himself above all. But in his place shall he honour the god of fortresses : and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with

39 gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things. And he shall deal with the strongest fortresses by the help of a strange god ; whosoever acknowledgeth him he will increase with glory : and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for

40 a price. And at the time of the end shall the king of the south contend with 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

41 pass through. He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown : but these shall be delivered out of his hand, Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the

42 children of Ammon. He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries : and the land

43 of Egypt shall not escape. 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

44 at his steps. But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him : and he