26. There were people who were supposed to be good friends of the king of the South. But they will try to destroy him. His army will be swept away in defeat. Many of his soldiers will be killed in battle.
27. Those two kings will want to hurt each other. They will sit at the same table and lie to each other. But it will not do either one any good. This is because God has set a time for their end to come.
28. The king of the North will go back to his own country with much wealth. Then he will decide to go against the holy agreement. He will do what he planned. Then he will go back to his own country.
29. “At the right time the king of the North will attack the king of the South again. But this time he will not be successful as he was before.
30. Ships from the west will come and fight against the king of the North. He will see those ships coming and be afraid. Then he will return and show his anger against God’s people who obey the holy agreement. He will be good to those who have stopped obeying the holy agreement.
31. “The king of the North will send his army. They will make the Temple in Jerusalem unclean. They will stop the people from offering the daily sacrifice. Then they will set up the horrible thing that destroys.
32. The king of the North will tell lies to God’s people. Those who have not obeyed God will be ruined. But there will be some who know God and obey him. They will be strong and fight back.
33. “Those who are wise will help the others understand what is happening. But some of them will be killed with swords. Some will be burned or taken captive. Some of them will have their homes and things taken away. These things will continue for many days.
34. When the wise ones are suffering, they will get a little help. Many who join the wise ones will not love God.
35. Some of the wise ones will be killed. But the hard times must come. This is so they can be made stronger and purer. They will be without faults until the time of the end comes. Then, at the right time the end will come.
36. “The king of the North will do whatever he wants. He will brag about himself. He will praise himself and think he is even better than a god. He will say things against the God of gods that no one has ever heard. He will be successful until all the bad things have happened. What God has planned to happen will happen.
37. That king of the North will not care about the gods his ancestors worshiped. He won’t care about the god that women worship. He won’t care about any god. Instead, he will make himself more important than any god.
38. The king of the North will worship power and strength. His ancestors did not love power as he will. He will honor the god of power with gold and silver, expensive jewels and gifts.
39. That king will attack strong, walled cities. He will do it with the help of a foreign god. He will give much honor to the people who join him. He will make them rulers in charge of many other people. He will make those rulers pay him for the land they rule.