Daniel 11:21-32

21The king who rules after him will be an evil man. He will not belong to the royal family, so he should not be the king. He will deceive people to make himself the king. It will happen at a time when people think that they are safe.

22He will quickly destroy any army that tries to attack him. He will even kill the leader of God's covenant.

23He will agree to be friends with other leaders. But then he will deceive them. He will become more and more powerful, but he will rule only a few people.

24His army will suddenly attack a region that is very rich. The king will do things that none of his ancestors did. He will take valuable things from his enemies when he fights against them. He will share those things with the men who help him. He will make plans to attack strong cities. But he will only be able to do this for a short time.

25The evil king of the north will bring together a large, strong army. He will feel brave enough to attack the king of the south. The king of the south will fight against him with an even larger and more powerful army. But the king of the south will not be able to win the battle. His own men will turn against him.

26Even those who eat the king's food will try to kill him. Many of his soldiers will die in the battle. His army will run away.

27These two kings will sit at the same table to make plans. But they will deceive each other with evil lies. Their plans will be useless. God has already decided when their time as kings will finish.

28Then the king of the north will return to his own country. He will take many valuable things with him. As he returns, he will cause trouble for the people who obey God's covenant. He will do whatever he wants to do against them. Then he will continue his journey back to his own country.

29At the time that God chooses, the king will attack the south again. This time the result will be different from the first time.

30People will come in ships from the west to attack him. He will be afraid and he will turn back. He will be angry as he travels home. So he will cause more trouble for the people who obey God's covenant. He will give honour to those people who turn away from the holy covenant.

31He will send his soldiers to attack Jerusalem's strong place. They will go into the holy place of the temple and they will make it unclean. They will stop people from offering the sacrifices each day. They will put a disgusting thing that causes trouble in the holy place.

32The king will deceive the people who are no longer faithful to God. He will make them help him. But the people who are still faithful to God will work hard to stop him.