Study Desk

The prince of the kingdom of Persia prevented me from coming for twenty-one days; but Mikha'el, one of the chief princes, came to assist me; so that I was no longer needed there with the kings of Persia.

But once he appears, his kingdom will be broken up and divided to the four winds of heaven. It won't be inherited by his descendants, and it won't be ruled with the power he had, because his kingship will be uprooted and will pass to others than his own posterity.

After a number of years they will form an alliance. The daughter of the king of the south will approach the king of the north to make an agreement, but she won't retain her power; and he and his power won't last either. Rather, she will be surrendered, along with her attendants, her father and the one who supported her during those times.

But another branch from the same roots as hers will appear in her father's place. He will attack the army of the king of the north, enter his fortress and succeed in conquering them.

"Afterwards, the king of the north will invade the kingdom of the king of the south, but he will retire to his own land.

The king of the south, enraged, will set out to do battle with the king of the north, who, in turn, will muster a large army; but this army will be defeated by his enemy

Those will be times in which many will resist the king of the south; and the more violent ones among your own people will rebel in order to fulfill their vision; but they will fail.

He will determinedly advance with the full force of his kingdom, but he will make an agreement with the king of the south and give him a daughter in marriage. His object will be to destroy him, but the agreement will not last or work out in his favor.

Next, he will put his attention on the coastlands and islands and capture many, but an army commander will put a stop to his outrages and cause his outrages to come back upon him.

After this, he will put his attention on the strongholds in his own land; but he will stumble, fall and not be seen again.

"In his place will arise one who will send a tax collector through the Glorious Kingdom; but within a few days, he will be broken, though neither in anger nor in battle.

"There will arise in his place a despicable man not entitled to inherit the majesty of the kingdom, but he will come without warning and gain the kingdom by intrigue.

Alliances will be made with him, but he will undermine them by deceit. Then, although he will have but a small following, he will emerge and become strong.

Without warning, he will assail the most powerful men in each province and do things his predecessors never did, either recently or in the distant past; he will reward them with plunder, spoil and wealth while devising plots against their strongholds, but only for a time.

"He will summon his power and courage against the king of the south with a great army, and the king of the south will fight back with a very large and powerful army; but he will not succeed, because of plots devised against him.

These two kings, bent on mischief, will sit at the same table, speaking lies to each other; but none of this will succeed; because the appointed end will not have come yet.

"At the time designated, he will come back to the south. But this time, things will turn out differently than before;

Those who act wickedly against the covenant he will corrupt with his blandishments, but the people who know their God will stand firm and prevail.

But instead, he will honor the god of strongholds; with gold, silver, precious stones and other costly things he will honor a god unknown to his ancestors.

He will also enter the Land of Glory, and many [countries] will come to grief, but these will be saved from his power — Edom, Mo'av and the people of ‘Amon.