In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, a Median descendant who was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans,

In the first year of his reign

I, Daniel, understood by means of the  ¹Scriptures the number of the years, which came as the word of Jehovah to Jeremiah the prophet, for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem, that is, seventy years.

So I set my face toward the Lord God to  ¹seek Him in prayer and supplications with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.

And I prayed to Jehovah my God and confessed; and I said, Ah, Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps covenant and lovingkindness with those who love Him and keep His commandments,

We have sinned and have committed iniquity, and we have acted wickedly and rebelled, to the point of even turning away from Your commandments and from Your judgments.

And we have not listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, our chief men, and our fathers, as well as to all the people of the land.

To You, Lord, belongs righteousness, but to us, shamefacedness, as it is this day, that is, to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to all Israel, those who are near and those who are far off in all the lands to which You have driven them because of their trespass by which they have trespassed against You.

O Jehovah, to us belongs shamefacedness, to our kings, our chief men, and our fathers, because we have sinned against You.

To the Lord our God belong compassion and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against Him;

And we have not obeyed the voice of Jehovah our God, to walk in His instruction, which He set before us through the hand of His servants the prophets.

Indeed, all Israel has transgressed Your law, to the point of even turning away so as not to obey Your voice; thus the curse has been poured out upon us, the very oath that is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, for we have sinned against Him.

And He has confirmed His words which He spoke against us and against our judges who judged us, by bringing upon us great ill; for under all heaven there has not been done anything like that which has been done in Jerusalem.

As it is written in the law of Moses, all this ill has come upon us, yet we have not entreated the favor of Jehovah our God by turning from our iniquities and attending to Your truth.

Therefore Jehovah has been vigilant with the ill and has brought it upon us, for Jehovah our God is righteous in all the deeds that He has done, but we have not obeyed His voice.

And now, O Lord our God, who have brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand and have made for Yourself a name, as it is this day, we have sinned, we have been wicked.

O Lord, in accordance with all the  ¹manifestations of Your righteousness, may Your anger and Your wrath be turned away, I pray, from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; for because of our sins and the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people are a reproach to all those around us.

And now hear, O our God, the prayer of Your servant and his supplications, and cause Your face to shine upon Your sanctuary that has been desolated, for the Lord's sake.

O my God, incline Your ear and hear; open Your eyes and see our desolations and the city that is called by Your name; for we are not presenting our supplications before You based upon any righteous doings that we have done, but based upon Your great compassion.

O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and take action! Do not delay, for Your own sake, O my God; for Your city and Your people are called by Your own name.

And while I was still speaking and praying and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and presenting my supplication before Jehovah my God for the holy mountain of my God,

Even while I was speaking in prayer, the man  ¹Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, reached me in my utter exhaustion about the time of the evening oblation.

And he informed me and talked with me and said, Daniel, I have now come forth to give you insight with understanding.

At the beginning of your supplications the command went forth, and I have come to tell you, for you are preciousness itself. Therefore understand the matter, and consider the vision.

 ¹Seventy weeks are apportioned for your people and for your holy city, to close the transgression, and to  ²make an end of sins, and to make propitiation for iniquity, and to bring in the  ³righteousness of the ages, and to  ⁴seal up vision and prophet, and to  ⁵anoint the Holy of Holies.

Know therefore and comprehend: From the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the time of Messiah the Prince will be  ¹seven weeks and  ¹sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with  ²street and trench, even in distressful times.

And after the sixty-two weeks Messiah will be  ¹cut off and will have nothing; and the people of the  ²prince who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end of it will be with a flood, and even to the end there will be  ³war; desolations are determined.

And  ¹he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week; and in the middle of the week he will cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease and  ²will replace the sacrifice and the oblation with  ³abominations of the desolator, even until the complete destruction that has been determined is poured out upon the desolator.

In the  ¹third year of Cyrus the king of Persia a word was revealed to Daniel, who was named Belteshazzar;

and the word was true and concerning a great  ²distress. And he understood the word and had an understanding of the vision.

In those days I, Daniel, had been mourning for  ¹three full weeks.

I ate no desirable food, nor did meat or wine enter my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, until the three full weeks were completed.

And on the twenty-fourth day of the first month, while I was by the great river, that is, the  ¹Hiddekel,

I lifted up my eyes and I looked, and there was a certain  ¹man, clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with the fine gold of Uphaz.

His body also was like beryl, His face like the appearance of lightning, His eyes like torches of fire, His arms and His feet like the gleam of polished bronze, and the sound of His words like the sound of a multitude.

And I, Daniel,  ¹alone saw the vision, for the men who were with me did not see the vision; instead, a great dread fell on them, and they fled to hide themselves.

Thus I was left alone and I saw this great vision; and no strength was left in me, but my color turned  ¹deathly pale; and I retained no strength.

Yet I heard the sound of His words; and when I heard the sound of His words, I fell into a deep sleep on my face, with my face to the ground.

And at that moment a hand touched me and sent me trembling on my knees and the palms of my hands.

And  ¹he said to me, Daniel, man of preciousness, understand the words that I am about to tell you and stand in your place, for I have now been sent to you. And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood up trembling.

And he said to me, Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand this matter and to afflict yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words.

But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me for twenty-one days; but now Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I remained there alone with the kings of Persia.

Thus I have come to make you understand what will happen to your people in the last days, yet the vision pertains to something many days from now.

And when he had spoken to me according to these words, I turned my face to the ground and was dumb.

And at that moment one who resembled the sons of men touched my lips; and I opened my mouth and spoke, and I said to him who stood before me, Sir, because of the vision my anguish has turned upon me, and I have retained no strength.

For how can such a servant of my lord speak with such as my lord? For as for me, just now there is no strength in me, nor has there been breath left in me.

Then the one who was in appearance like a man touched me again and strengthened me;

And he said, Do not be afraid, man of preciousness. Peace to you. Be strong, yes, be strong. And when he spoke to me, I received strength and said, Speak, sir, for you have strengthened me.

Then he said, Do you know why I have come to you? And now I will return to fight with the prince of Persia; so I go forth, and the prince of  ¹Javan is now about to come.

However I will tell you what is inscribed in the writing of truth. Yet there is no one who holds strongly with me against these ones except Michael your prince.

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

And now I will tell you the  ¹truth. There will yet arise three kings in Persia; then the fourth will gain great riches, more than all of them; and once he becomes strong because of his riches, he will stir up the whole empire against the realm of  ²Javan.

And a  ¹mighty king will arise there, and he will rule with great dominion and do as he pleases.

But once he arises, his kingdom will be  ¹broken and divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion with which he ruled; for his kingdom will be plucked up and given to others besides  ²his descendants.

And the  ¹king of the south will become strong, as well as one of his princes, who will grow in strength above him and have dominion; his dominion will be a great dominion.

And at the end of some years they will join themselves together. And the daughter of the king of the south will go to the king of the north and make a treaty; but she will not retain the strength of her arm, nor will he and his arm stand; but she will be given up, along with those who brought her into the alliance and him who begot her and supported her in those times.

But a shoot from her roots will arise in his place, and he will come against the army and enter into the fortress of the king of the north; and he will deal with them and show his strength.

And also their gods with their cast images, with their precious vessels of silver and gold, he will carry off into captivity in Egypt; and for some years he will refrain from the king of the north.

And  ¹the king of the north will come to the kingdom of the king of the south, but he will return to his own land.

But his sons will stir themselves up to war and will gather a multitude of great forces; and one will come unrelentingly and will overflow and pass through and will return and wage war, even up to the fortress of  ¹the king of the south.

And the king of the south will be enraged and will come forth to fight with him, with the king of the north. Then  ¹the king of the north will raise up a great multitude, but the multitude will be given into the hand of  ²the king of the south.

When the multitude is carried away, the heart of  ¹the king of the south will be lifted up; and he will cast down tens of thousands, but he will not prevail.

For the king of the north will return, and he will raise up a multitude greater than the first; and at the end of some years he will come unrelentingly with a great army and with much materiel.

And in those times many will rise up against the king of the south; and the violent ones of your people will lift themselves up to establish the vision, but they will fall.

Then the  ¹king of the north will come and cast up a siege mound and capture the fortified city; and the forces of the south will not stand, nor his choice people, for there will be no strength to stand.

But he who comes against  ¹the king of the south will do as he pleases; and no one will stand before him. And he will stand in the  ²beautiful land, and destruction will be in his hand.

And he will set his face to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and with him there will be  ¹terms of peace that he will act upon. And he will give  ²the king of the south a youthful daughter, to destroy it; yet she will not be able to stand for him, but will be of no use to him.

Then he will turn his face to the  ¹coastlands and will capture many. But a leader, for his own sake, will put an end to the reproach caused by him; indeed, he will turn his reproach back on him.

Then  ¹the king of the north will turn his face to the fortresses of his own land, but he will stumble and fall and will not be found.

Then there will arise in his place one who will cause an oppressor to pass through the  ¹splendor of the kingdom; yet within a few days he will be broken, but not while venting his anger nor pursuing battle.

Then there will arise in his place a  ¹despicable person, to whom the honor of a kingdom will not be given; but he will come in a time of security and will seize the kingdom by smooth and cunning words and actions.

And the overflowing forces will be flooded over before him and broken, even also the  ¹prince of the covenant.

And once he has made an alliance with him, he will practice deceit and will go up and become mighty with a small group of people.

In a time of security he will enter even the richest parts of the kingdom and will do that which his fathers never did, nor his fathers' fathers; prey, spoil, and riches will he scatter among them, and against strongholds he will devise strategies, but only for a while.

And he will stir up his power and his heart against the king of the south with a great army; and the king of the south will stir himself up to wage war with an extremely great and mighty army of his own; but he will not stand, for strategies will have been devised against him.

And those who eat of his choice provision will destroy him; and his army will overflow, and many will fall down slain.

And as for both of these kings, their hearts will be to do evil, and they will speak lies across one table; but what they do will not succeed, for the end is still at the appointed time.

Then  ¹the king of the north will return to his land with great riches; but his heart will be set against the holy covenant, and he will take action and will return to his land.

At the appointed time he will return and come against the south; but this latter time will not be like the former time.

For ships of  ¹Kittim will come against him; therefore he will be disheartened and will turn away; and he will be enraged at the holy covenant and will take action. When he turns away, he will focus his attention on those who forsake the holy covenant.

And forces from him will arise and  ¹profane the sanctuary, establishing the fortress and removing the daily sacrifice; and they will set up the  ²abomination that desolates.

And with his smooth words he will cause those who act wickedly toward the covenant to be profane. But the  ¹people who know their God will show strength and take action.

And  ¹those with insight among the people will cause the many to understand; yet they will fall by sword and by flames, by captivity and by plundering for some days.

And when they fall, they will be helped with a little help; and many will join themselves to them in word only.

And some of those with insight will fall, in order to refine  ¹the people and to purify and cleanse them, until the time of the end, for the end is still at the appointed time.

And the king will do as he pleases; and he will  ¹exalt himself and magnify himself above every god, and against the God of gods he will speak extraordinary things; and he will prosper until the indignation is complete; for what has been determined will be done.

And he will not regard the gods of his fathers or the desire of women, nor will he regard any other god; for he will magnify himself above all.

But he will honor instead the god of fortresses; indeed a god whom his fathers did not know he will honor with gold, silver, precious stones, and treasures.

And he will take action against the most fortified of fortresses with the help of a foreign god; he will increase the honor of those who acknowledge him and will cause them to rule over many, and he will divide the land to them as a reward.

And at the time of the end the king of the south will push against him, and the king of the north will storm back at him with chariots and horsemen and many ships; and he will enter the countries and overflow and pass through.

He will also enter the  ¹beautiful land, and many countries will fall; but these will slip away from his hand: Edom, Moab, and the foremost of the children of Ammon.

Then he will stretch forth his hand against the countries, and for the land of Egypt there will be no escape.

And he will have control over the hidden stores of gold and silver and over all the precious things of the Egyptians; and the Libyans and  ¹Cushites will follow in his steps.

But news from the east and from the north will trouble him, and he will go forth with great wrath destroying and exterminating many.

And he will pitch the tents of his palace between the sea and the  ¹beautiful holy mountain; but he will  ²come to his end, and there will be no one to help him.

And at that  ¹time  ²Michael, the great prince who stands for the children of your people, will arise; and there will be a time of distress, such as never occurred since there came to be a nation until that time; and at that time your people, every one found written in the  ³book, will be delivered.

And many of those who are sleeping in the dust of the ground will awake, some to  ¹life eternal and some to reproach, to eternal contempt.

And those who have insight will  ¹shine like the shining of the heavenly expanse, and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars, forever and ever.

But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book until the time of the end; many will go here and there, and knowledge will be increased.

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

And one said to the man clothed in linen, who was above the water of the river, How long will it be until the end of these wonders?

And I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the water of the river, as He lifted up His right hand and His left hand to heaven and swore by Him who lives forever that there would be  ¹a time and times and half a time; and when the shattering of the power of the holy people is completed, all these things will be completed.

And I heard, but I did not understand. Then I said, Lord, what will the latter end of these things be?

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

Many will be purified,  ¹cleansed, and refined, but the wicked will act wickedly; and none of the wicked will understand, but those who have insight will understand.

And from the time that the  ¹daily sacrifice is removed and the abomination that desolates is set up, there will be a  ²thousand two hundred and ninety days.

Blessed is he who waits and reaches the  ¹thousand three hundred and thirty-five days!

But you, go your way until the end, and you will rest and  ¹rise again in your lot at the end of the days.