1. “And in the first year of Darius the Mede, I took my stand to support and protect him).
2. “Now I will declare the truth. Behold, three more kings will arise in Persia. Then a fourth will be far richer than all. When he becomes powerful through his wealth, he will stir up everyone against the realm of Greece.
3. Then a mighty king will arise, who will rule with great authority and do as he pleases.
4. But as soon as he has arisen, his kingdom will be broken up and distributed to the four winds of heaven—though it will not go to his descendants, nor will it have the authority he exercised, for his kingdom will be uprooted and given to others besides these.
5. “Then the king of the south will become strong, but one of his commanders will become even stronger than he, and he will rule a greater kingdom than his.
6. After some years they will form an alliance. The daughter of the king of the south will approach the king of the north to make an agreement. But she will not retain her position of power, nor will his strength endure. Instead she will be given up, together with her escort, her father and the one who supported her in those times.
7. But another shoot from her roots will arise in his place. He will come against the army of the king of the north and enter his fortress. He will fight against them and prevail.
8. He will also carry off their gods into captivity to Egypt, along with their metal images and their precious articles of silver and gold. For a few years he will stay away from the king of the north.