Read the Bible

¹ And in the first yere of Darius of Media I stoode to comfort him and to strength him.² And nowe wyll I shewe thee the trueth: Behold, there shall stand vp yet three kinges in Persia, but the fourth shalbe farre richer then they all: and by his strength & by his richesse he shall stirre vp all against the realme of Greke lande.³ Then shall there arise yet a mightie king, that shal rule with great dominion, and do what him list.⁴ And when he shal stand vp, his kingdome shalbe broken, & shalbe deuided toward the foure windes of the heauen, and not toward his posteritie, nor according to his dominion which he ruled: for his kingdome shalbe pluckt vp, euen for others besides these.

⁵ And the king of the south shalbe mightie, and [one] of his princes, and he shall preuayle against him, and beare rule: his dominion shalbe a great dominion.⁶ And in the ende of yeres, they shalbe ioyned together, & the kinges daughter of the south shall come to the kyng of the north for to make an agreement, but she shall not retayne the power of the arme, neither shall he continue nor his arme: but she shalbe deliuered [to death] and they that brought her, and he that begat her, and he that comforted her in these times.⁷ But out of the bud of her rootes, shal one stande vp in his steede, whiche shall come with an armie, and shall enter into the fortresse of the kyng of the north, and do with them [as he list] and shall preuayle.⁸ And shall also cary captiues into Egypt their gods, with their molten images, with their precious vessels of siluer and of gold, and he shall continue more yeres then the kyng of the north.⁹ So the kyng of the south shall come into his kyngdome, and shall returne into his owne lande.¹⁰ Wherfore his sonnes shalbe styrred vp, and shall gather together a mightie great hoast of people, & one shal come and ouerflowe and passe through: then shall he turne agayne and be stirred vp at his fortresse.¹¹ Then ye king of the south shalbe angry, and shal come foorth to fight with him [euen] with the king of the north, for he shall set foorth a great multitude, & the multitude shalbe geuen into his hande.¹² Then the multitude shalbe proude, and their heartes shalbe lifted vp, for he shall cast downe thousandes: but he shall not still preuayle.¹³ For the kyng of the north shall returne, and shal set foorth a greater multitude then afore, and shall come foorth (after certayne yeres) with a mightie armie and great riches.¹⁴ And at the same time there shal manye stande vp against the kyng of the south, so that the seditious chyldren of thy people also shall exalt them selues to establishe the vision, but they shal fal.¹⁵ So the kyng of the north shal come & cast vp amount, & take the strong cities: and the armes of the south shall not resist, neither his chosen people, neither shal there be any strength to withstand.¹⁶ And when he commeth, he shall handle him as he list, and no man shal stand against him: he shall stande in the pleasaunt lande, whiche by his hande shalbe consumed.¹⁷ Agayne, he shall set his face to enter with the power of his whole kyngdome, and his confederates with hym, thus shall he do: and he shall geue hym the daughter of women to destroy her, but she shall not stande [on his side] neither before hym.¹⁸ After this shall he turne his face vnto the iles, and shall take many: but a prince shall cause his shame to light vpon him, beside that, he shall cause his owne shame to turne vpon him selfe.¹⁹ For he shal turne his face toward the fortes of his owne lande: but he shalbe ouerthrowen and fall, and be no more founde.²⁰ Then shall stande vp in his place a rayser of taxes [in] the glory of the kingdome, & after a fewe dayes he shalbe destroyed, neither in wrath nor in battel.

²¹ In his steede there shal stande vp a vyle person, to whom they shal not geue the honour of the kingdome: but he shall come in peaceably and obtaine the kingdome with flatteries.²² And the armes shalbe ouerflowed with a flud before hym, and shalbe broken, & also the prince of the couenaunt.²³ And after the leage made with him, he shall worke deceiptfully: for he shall come vp, and ouercome with a small people.²⁴ He shal enter into the quiet and plentifull prouince, and he shal do that which his fathers haue not done, nor his rathers fathers: he shall deuide among them the pray, and the spoyle, and the substaunce, yea and he shall forecast his deuices against the strong holdes [euen] for a tyme.²⁵ Also his power & heart shall he stirre vp with a great armie against the kyng of the south, the kyng of the south shalbe moued vnto battayle with a great and a mightie hoast also: neuerthelesse he shal not stande, for they shall forecast deuices against him.²⁶ Yea they that feede of the portion of his meate, shal destroy him, and his armie shall ouerflowe, and many shall fall and be slaine.²⁷ These two kinges hartes shalbe to do mischiefe, & they shall talke of deceipt at one table, but it shal not prosper, for yet the ende shalbe at ye time appointed.²⁸ Then shall he go home agayne into his lande with great substaunce, and set his heart against the holy couenaunt, so shall he do, and returne to his owne lande.²⁹ At the tyme appointed he shall come agayne, and go towarde the south: but the last shall not be as the first.³⁰ For the ships of Chithim shall come against him, therfore he shalbe sorie, and returne, and fret against the holy couenaunt: so shall he do, he shal [euen] returne and haue intelligence with them that forsake the holy couenaunt.³¹ And armes shall stande on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuarie of strength, and shall take away the dayly [sacrifice] and they shall set vp the abhominable desolation.³² And such as wickedly breake the couenaunt, shall he cause to sinne by flatterie: but the people that knowe their God, shall preuayle and prosper.³³ Those also that haue vnderstanding among the people, shall enfourme the multitude, and for a long season thei shall fall with sworde, with fire, with captiuitie, and with the taking away of their goodes.³⁴ Nowe when they shall fall, they shalbe holpen with a litle helpe, but many shall cleaue vnto them faynedly.³⁵ Yea some of those that haue vnderstanding shall fall, that they may be tryed, purified, and made whyte, tyll the tyme be out: for there is a tyme appointed.³⁶ And a kyng shall do what hym list, he shall exalt and magnifie hym selfe against al that is God, yea he shal speake marueylous thinges against the God of Gods, and he shall prosper tyll the wrath be fulfilled: for the determination is made.³⁷ He shall not regarde the God of his fathers, nor the desires of women, yea he shall not care for any God: for he shall magnifie himselfe aboue all.³⁸ But in his place shall he honour the God Mauzzun, and the God whom his fathers knewe not, shall he honour with golde and siluer, with pretious stones and pleasaunt thinges.³⁹ Thus shall he do in the holdes of Mauzzim with a straunge God whom he shall acknowledge, he shall encrease his glory, & shal cause them to rule ouer many, & shall deuide the land for gayne.⁴⁰ And at the ende of tyme shall the king of the south pushe at hym, & the king of the north shall come against him lyke a whirlewind, with charets, horsemen, and with many shippes: he shall enter into the countreys, and shall ouerflowe and passe through.⁴¹ He shall enter also into the pleasaunt land, and many countreys shalbe ouerthrowen: but these shall escape out of his hande [euen] Edom and Moab, and the chiefe of the chyldren of Ammon.⁴² He shall stretche foorth his hande also vpon the countreys, and the lande of Egypt shall not escape.⁴³ But he shall haue power ouer the treasures of golde and of siluer, & ouer all the pretious thinges of Egypt, and of the Libyans and Ethiopians in his passing [by them.]⁴⁴ Neuerthelesse, the tidinges out of the east and the north shall trouble him, therfore he shall go foorth with great wrath, to destroy and roote out many.⁴⁵ And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace betweene the seas, in the glorious and holy mountaine: yet he shall come to his ende, & none shal helpe him.