Study Desk

In the third year of ^(a)Cyrus king of Persia a ^[a]message was revealed to ^(b)Daniel, who was named Belteshazzar; and the ^[b](c)message was true and one of great ^[c]conflict, but he understood the ^[d]message and had an ^(d)understanding of the vision.

In those days, I, Daniel, had been ^(e)mourning for three entire weeks.

I ^(f)did not eat any ^[e]tasty food, nor did meat or wine enter my mouth, nor did I use any ointment at all until the entire three weeks were completed.

On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, while I was by the bank of the great ^(g)river, that is, the ^[f]Tigris,

I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, there was a certain man ^(h)dressed in linen, whose waist was ⁽ⁱ⁾girded with a belt of pure ^(j)gold of Uphaz.

His body also was like ^[g]beryl, his face ^[h]had the appearance of lightning, ^(k)his eyes were like flaming torches, his arms and feet like the gleam of polished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a ^[i]tumult.

Now I, Daniel, ^(l)alone saw the vision, while the ^(m)men who were with me did not see the vision; nevertheless, a great ⁽ⁿ⁾dread fell on them, and they ran away to hide themselves.

So I was ^(o)left alone and saw this great vision; yet ^(p)no strength was left in me, for my ^[j]natural color turned to ^[k]a deathly pallor, and I retained no strength.

But I heard the sound of his words; and as soon as I heard the sound of his words, I ^(q)fell into a deep sleep on my face, with my face to the ground.

Then behold, a hand ^(r)touched me and set me trembling on my ^[l]hands and knees.

He said to me, "O ^(s)Daniel, man of ^[m]high esteem, ^(t)understand the words that I am about to tell you and ^(u)stand ^[n]upright, for I have now been sent to you." And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood up ^(v)trembling.

Then he said to me, "^(w)Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on ^(x)humbling yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response ^(y)to your words.

But the prince of the kingdom of Persia was ^[o]withstanding me for twenty-one days; then behold, ^(z)Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia.

Now I have come to ^(aa)give you an understanding of what will happen to your people in the ^[p](ab)latter days, for the vision pertains to ^(ac)the days yet future."

When he had spoken to me according to these words, I ^[q]turned my face toward the ground and became ^(ad)speechless.

And behold, ^[r](ae)one who resembled a human being was ^(af)touching my lips; then I opened my mouth and spoke and said to him who was standing before me, "O my lord, as a result of the vision ^[s](ag)anguish has come upon me, and I have retained no strength.

For ^(ah)how can such a servant of my lord talk with such as my lord? As for me, there remains just now ^(ai)no strength in me, nor has any breath been left in me."

Then this one with human appearance touched me again and ^(aj)strengthened me.

He said, "O man of ^[t]high esteem, ^(ak)do not be afraid. Peace ^[u]be with you; take ^(al)courage and be courageous!" Now as soon as he spoke to me, I received strength and said, "May my lord speak, for you have ^(am)strengthened me."

Then he said, "Do you ^[v]understand why I came to you? But I shall now return to fight against the ^[w]prince of Persia; so I am going forth, and behold, the ^[x](an)prince of ^[y]Greece is about to come.

However, I will tell you what is inscribed in the writing of ^(ao)truth. Yet there is no one who ^[z]stands firmly with me against these forces except ^(ap)Michael your prince.

"In the ^(a)first year of Darius the Mede, ^[a]I arose to be ^[b]an encouragement and a protection for him.

And now I will tell you the ^(b)truth. Behold, three more kings are going to arise ^[c]in Persia. Then a fourth will gain far more riches than all of them; as soon as he becomes strong through his riches, ^[d]he will arouse the whole empire against the realm of ^[e](c)Greece.

And a ^(d)mighty king will arise, and he will rule with great authority and ^(e)do as he pleases.

But as soon as he has arisen, his kingdom will be broken up and parceled out ^(f)toward the ^(g)four ^[f]points of the compass, though not to his own descendants, nor according to his authority which he wielded, for his sovereignty will be ^(h)uprooted and given to others besides ^[g]them.

"Then the ⁽ⁱ⁾king of the South will grow strong, ^[h]along with one of his princes ^[i]who will gain ascendancy over him and obtain dominion; his domain will be a great dominion indeed.

After some years they will form an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the South will come to the ^(j)king of the North to carry out ^[j]a peaceful arrangement. But she will not retain her ^[k]position of power, nor will he remain with his ^[l]power, but she will be given up, along with those who brought her in and the one who sired her as well as he who supported her in those times.

But one of the ^[m]descendants of her line will arise in his place, and he will come against their army and enter the ^(k)fortress of the king of the North, and he will deal with them and display great strength.

Also their ^(l)gods with their ^[n]metal images and their precious vessels of silver and gold he will take into captivity to Egypt, and he on his part will ^[o]refrain from attacking the king of the North for some years.

Then ^[p]the latter will enter the realm of the king of the South, but will return to his own land.

"His sons will ^[q]mobilize and assemble a multitude of great forces; and one of them will keep on coming and ^(m)overflow and pass through, that he may ^[r]again wage war up to his very fortress.

The ⁽ⁿ⁾king of the South will be enraged and go forth and fight ^[s]with the king of the North. Then the latter will raise a great multitude, but that multitude will be given into ^[t]the hand of the former.

When the multitude is carried away, his heart will be lifted up, and he will cause tens of thousands to fall; yet he will not prevail.

For the king of the North will again raise a greater multitude than the former, and ^[u]after an ^(o)interval of some years he will ^[v]press on with a great army and much equipment.

"Now in those times many will rise up against the king of the South; the violent ones among your people will also lift themselves up in order to fulfill the vision, but they will ^[w]fall down.

Then the king of the North will come, cast up a ^(p)siege ramp and capture a well-fortified city; and the forces of the South will not stand their ground, not even ^[x]their choicest troops, for there will be no strength to make a stand.

But he who comes against him will ^(q)do as he pleases, and ^(r)no one will be able to withstand him; he will also stay for a time in the ^[y](s)Beautiful Land, with destruction in his hand.

He will ^(t)set his face to come with the power of his whole kingdom, ^[z]bringing with him ^[aa]a proposal of peace which he will put into effect; he will also give him the daughter of women to ruin it. But she will not take a stand for him or be ^[ab]on his side.

Then he will turn his face to the ^(u)coastlands and capture many. But a commander will put a stop to his scorn against him; moreover, he will ^(v)repay him for his scorn.

So he will turn his face toward the fortresses of his own land, but he will ^(w)stumble and fall and be ^(x)found no more.

"Then in his place one will arise who will ^(y)send an ^[ac]oppressor through the ^[ad]Jewel of his kingdom; yet within a few days he will be shattered, though not in anger nor in battle.

In his place a despicable person will arise, on whom the honor of kingship has not been conferred, but he will come in a time of tranquility and ^(z)seize the kingdom by intrigue.

The overflowing ^(aa)forces will be flooded away before him and shattered, and also the prince of the covenant.

After an alliance is made with him he will practice deception, and he will go up and gain power with a small force of people.

^[ae]In a time of tranquility he will enter the ^(ab)richest parts of the ^[af]realm, and he will accomplish what his fathers never did, nor his ^[ag]ancestors; he will distribute plunder, booty and possessions among them, and he will devise his schemes against strongholds, but only for a time.

He will stir up his strength and ^[ah]courage against the ^(ac)king of the South with a large army; so the king of the South will mobilize an extremely large and mighty army for war; but he will not stand, for schemes will be devised against him.

Those who eat his choice food will ^[ai]destroy him, and his army will ^[aj](ad)overflow, but many will fall down slain.

As for both kings, their hearts will be intent on ^(ae)evil, and they will ^(af)speak lies to each other at the same table; but it will not succeed, for the ^(ag)end is still to come at the appointed time.

Then he will return to his land with much ^[ak]plunder; but his heart will be set against the holy covenant, and he will take action and then return to his own land.

"At the appointed time he will return and come into the South, but ^[al]this last time it will not turn out the way it did before.

For ships of ^[am](ah)Kittim will come against him; therefore he will be disheartened and will return and become enraged at the holy covenant and take action; so he will come back and show regard for those who forsake the holy covenant.

Forces from him will arise, ^(ai)desecrate the sanctuary fortress, and do away with the regular sacrifice. And they will set up the ^(aj)abomination ^[an]of desolation.

By ^(ak)smooth words he will ^[ao]turn to godlessness those who act wickedly toward the covenant, but the people who know their God will display ^(al)strength and take action.

^[ap](am)Those who have insight among the people will give understanding to the many; yet they will ^(an)fall by sword and by flame, by captivity and by plunder for many days.

Now when they fall they will be granted a little help, and many will ^(ao)join with them in ^(ap)hypocrisy.

Some of ^[aq]those who have insight will fall, in order to ^(aq)refine, ^(ar)purge and make them ^[ar](as)pure until the ^(at)end time; because it is still to come at the appointed time.

"Then the king will ^(au)do as he pleases, and he will exalt and ^(av)magnify himself above every god and will ^(aw)speak ^[as]monstrous things against the ^(ax)God of gods; and he will prosper until the ^(ay)indignation is finished, for that which is ^(az)decreed will be done.

He will show no regard for the ^[at]gods of his fathers or for the desire of women, nor will he show regard for any other god; for he will magnify himself above them all.

But ^[au]instead he will honor a god of fortresses, a god whom his fathers did not know; he will honor him with gold, silver, costly stones and treasures.

He will take action against the strongest of fortresses with the help of a foreign god; he will give great honor to ^[av]those who acknowledge him and will cause them to rule over the many, and will parcel out land for a price.

"At the ^(ba)end time the ^(bb)king of the South will collide with him, and the ^(bc)king of the North will ^(bd)storm against him with chariots, with horsemen and with many ships; and he will enter countries, ^(be)overflow them and pass through.

He will also enter the ^[aw](bf)Beautiful Land, and many countries will fall; but these will be rescued out of his hand: Edom, ^(bg)Moab and the foremost of the sons of ^(bh)Ammon.

Then he will stretch out his hand against other countries, and the land of Egypt will not escape.

But he will ^[ax]gain control over the hidden treasures of gold and silver and over all the precious things of Egypt; and ^(bi)Libyans and ^(bj)Ethiopians will follow at his ^[ay]heels.

But rumors from the East and from the North will disturb him, and he will go forth with great wrath to destroy and ^[az]annihilate many.

He will pitch the tents of his royal pavilion between the seas and the beautiful ^(bk)Holy Mountain; yet he will come to his end, and no one will help him.

"Now at that time ^(a)Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a ^(b)time of distress ^(c)such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the ^(d)book, will be rescued.

^(e)Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, ^(f)these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting ^[a]contempt.

^[b]Those who have ^(g)insight will ^(h)shine brightly like the brightness of the ^[c]expanse of heaven, and those who ⁽ⁱ⁾lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.

But as for you, Daniel, ^(j)conceal these words and ^(k)seal up the book until the ^(l)end of time; ^(m)many will go back and forth, and knowledge will increase."

Then I, Daniel, looked and behold, two others were standing, one on this bank of the river and the other on that bank of the river.

And ⁽ⁿ⁾one said to the man ^(o)dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, "^(p)How long will it be until the end of these wonders?"

I heard the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, ^[d]as he ^(q)raised his right hand and his left toward heaven, and swore by ^(r)Him who lives forever that it would be for a ^[e](s)time, ^[f]times, and half a ^[g]time; and as soon as ^[h]they finish ^(t)shattering the ^[i]power of the holy people, all these events will be completed.

As for me, I heard but could not understand; so I said, "My lord, what will be the ^[j]outcome of these events?"

He said, "Go your way, Daniel, for these words are concealed and ^(u)sealed up until the end time.

^(v)Many will be purged, ^[k]purified and refined, but the ^(w)wicked will act wickedly; and none of the wicked will understand, but ^[l]those who ^(x)have insight will understand.

From the time that the regular sacrifice is abolished and the ^[m](y)abomination of desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days.

How ^(z)blessed is he who keeps waiting and attains to the ^(aa)1,335 days!

But as for you, go your way to the ^[n]end; then you will enter into ^(ab)rest and rise again for your ^(ac)allotted portion at the end of the ^[o]age."