23. From the moment they make an agreement with him, he will act deceitfully. He will gain power at the expense of a small nation.
24. He will come into a province’s richest places untroubled and will do what his fathers and grandfathers never could. He will hand out plunder, spoil, and wealth to them. He will make plans against fortresses, but only for a time.
25. “Then with a large army he will gather his strength and courage against the southern king. The southern king, with a large and super powerful army, will prepare for war, but he won’t endure because they will make plans against him.
26. Those who eat the king’s provisions will destroy him. His army will be overrun. Many will die.
27. “These two kings, with their minds set on evil, will sit at one table, telling lies, but with no success because the end will come at the set time.
28. He will return to his country with great wealth and set his mind against a holy covenant. He will do what he wants and then return to his country.
29. At the set time he will again battle against the south, but the second time will be different from the first.
30. Kittim ships will fight against him, and he will retreat in fear. He will rage against a holy covenant and will do what he wants. Then he will pay special attention to those who violate a holy covenant.
31. His forces will come and make the sanctuary fortress impure. They will stop the daily sacrifice and set up a desolating monstrosity.
32. By deceitful means he will corrupt those who violate a covenant, but the people who acknowledge their God will stand strong and will act.
33. “The people’s teachers will help many understand, but for a time they will fall by sword and by flame, by captivity and by plunder.
34. When they fall, they will receive a little help, but many will join them with deceitful plans.
35. Some of the teachers too will fall in order that they might be refined, purified, and cleansed—until an end time, because it is still not yet the set time.
36. “The king will do whatever he wants. He will exalt himself, making himself greater than any god. He will say unbelievable things against the God of gods. He will succeed until the doom is completed, because what is decreed must take place.
37. He will give no thought to the gods of his fathers, nor to the god cherished by women. He will give no thought to any god, because he will make himself greater than all of them.
38. In their place, he will worship a god of walled fortresses. With gold and silver, rare stones and precious things, he will worship a god his fathers did not acknowledge.