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¹ And in the first yeare of Darius of Media, I stode by him, to conforte him, & to strength him,² and now wil I shewe the the treuth. Beholde, there shal stonde vp yet thre kinges in Persia, but ye fourth shal be farre richer then they all. And when he is in the chefest power of his riches, he shal prouoke euery man agaynst the realme of Grekelonde.³ Then shal there arise yet a mightie kinge, that shal rule with greate dominion, and do what him list.⁴ And as soone as his kingdome commeth vp, it shalbe destroyed, & deuyded towarde ye foure wyndes of the heauen. They yt come after him, shall not haue soch power & dominion as he: but his kingdome shalbe scatred, yee euen amonge other the those.

⁵ And the kynge of ye south shalbe migthier, then his other prynces. Agaynst him there shal one make himself stroge, & shal rule his dominio wt greate power.⁶ But after certayne yeares they shalbe ioyned together, & the kynges doughter of the south shall come to the kynge of the north, for to make fredshipe, but she shal not optayne the power of that arme, nether shall she be able to endure thorow his might: but she, & soch as brought her (yee & he yt begat her, & conforted her for his tyme) shalbe delyuered vp.⁷ Out of ye braunches of hir rote, there shal one stonde vp in his steade: which with power of armes shal go thorow the kynges londe of the north, & handle him acordinge to his strength. As for their Idols & prynces, with their costly Iewels of golde & syluer,⁸ he shal cary them awaye captyues in to Egipte, and he shal preuayle agaynst the kynge of the north certayne yeares.⁹ And when he is come into ye kynges realme of ye south, he shal be fayne to turne agayne in to his owne londe.¹⁰ Wherfore his sonnes shalbe displeased, and shal gather together a mightie greate hoost of people: and one of them shal come, and go thorow like a waterfloude: then shal he returne, and go forth with defyenge and boostinge vnto his owne londe.¹¹ The the kinge of ye south shalbe angrie, and shal come forth to fight agaynst the kinge of the north: Yee he shall bringe a greate multitude of people together, and a greate heape shalbe geue into his honde:¹² these shal he cary awaye wt greate pryde, for so moch as he hath cast downe so many thousandes, neuertheles he shall not preuayle.¹³ For ye kinge of ye north shal gather (of the new) a greater heape of people then afore, & come forth (after a certayne tyme and yeares) with a mightie hoost & exceadinge greate good.¹⁴ At the same tyme there shall many stonde vp agaynst the kinge of the south, so that ye wicked children of thy people also shal exalte them selues (to fulfill the vision) and then fall.¹⁵ So the kinge of the north shall come to laye sege, and to take the stroge fensed cities: And the power of the of ye south shal not be able to abyde him, & the best men of the people shall not be so stronge, as to resist him.¹⁶ Shortly, when he commeth, he shall handle him as he list, & no man shalbe so hardy as to stonde agaynst him. He shal stode in the pleasaunt countre, which thorow him shalbe destroyed.¹⁷ He shal set his face wt all his power to optayne his kingdome, & to be like it. Yee that shal he do, & geue him vnto the doughters amoge women, to destroye him. But he shal fayle, nether shal he optayne his purpose.¹⁸ After this, shall he set his face vnto the Iles, & take many of the. A prynce shal stoppe him, to do him a shame, besyde the confucion that els shal come vnto him.¹⁹ Thus shal he turne agayne to his owne londe, stomble, & fall, and be nomore founde:²⁰ so he that came vpon him & dyd him violence, shal stonde in his place, & haue a pleasaunt kingdome: and after few dayes he shal be destroyed, & that nether in wrath ner in batell.

²¹ In his steade there shal aryse a vyle person not holde worthy of a kinges dignite: this shall come in craftely, & optayne the kingdome with fayre wordes:²² he shal fight agaynst the armes of the mightie (& destroye them,) yee & agaynst the prynce of the couenaunt.²³ So after yt he hath taken truce with him, he shal hadle disceatfully: that he maye get vp, & ouer come him with a small flocke:²⁴ & so with craftynesse to get him to ye fattest place of the londe, and to deale otherwise, then ether his fathers or graudfathers dyd. For he shal destroye the thinge, ye they had robbed & spoyled, yee & all their substaunce: ymagenynge thoughtes agaynst the stroge holdes, & that for a tyme.²⁵ His power and herte shalbe sterred vp wt a greate armye agaynst the kinge of the south: where thorow the kinge of the south shalbe moued then vnto batell, with a greate & mightie hoost also. Neuerthelesse, he shal not be able to stonde, for they shall conspyre agaynst him.²⁶ Yee they yt eate of his meate, shal hurte him: so that his hoost shal fall, & many be slayne downe.²⁷ These two kinges shalbe mynded to do myschefe, & talke of disceate at one table: but they shal not prospere: for why, the ende shal not come yet, vnto the tyme apoynted.²⁸ The shall he go home agayne in to his owne londe with greate good, & set his herte agaynst the holy couenaunt, he shalbe busy agaynst it, & then returne home.²⁹ At the tyme appoynted he shal come agayne, & go towarde the south: So shall it happen otherwise then at the first, yet ones agayne.³⁰ And why, the shippes of Cythim shal come vpon him, that he maye be smytten & turne agayne: yt he maye take indignacion agaynst the couenaunt of holynes, to medle agaynst it. Yee he shal turne him, & drawe soch vnto him, as leaue the holy couenaunt.³¹ He shal set mightie men to vnhalowe the sanctuary of stregth, to put downe the daylie offeringe, & to set vp the abhominable desolacion.³² And soch as breake the couenaunt, shal he flatre with fayre wordes. But ye people that wil knowe their God, shal haue the ouerhade and prospere.³³ Those also that haue vnderstondinge amonge the people, shal enfourme the multitude: & for a longe season, they shalbe persecuted with swearde, with fyre, with captyuyte & with the takynge awaye of their goodes.³⁴ Now whe they fall, they shalbe set vp with a litle helpe: but many shal cleue vnto them faynedly.³⁵ Yee some of those which haue vnderstondynge shal be persecuted also: yt they maye be tryed, purified & clesed, till the tyme be out: for there is yet another tyme appoynted.³⁶ The kinge shal do what him list, he shal exalte and magnifie himself agaynst all, that is God. Yee he shall speake maruelous thinges agaynst the God of all goddes, wherin he shal prospere, so longe till the wrath be fulfilled, for the conclusion is deuysed alredy.³⁷ He shal not regarde the God of his fathers, but his lust shall be vpon wome: Yee he shal not care for eny God, for he shal magnifie himself aboue all.³⁸ In his place shal he worshipe the mightie Idols: & the god whom his fathers knewe not, shal he honoure with golde and syluer, with precious stones and pleasaunt Iewels.³⁹ This shal he do, sekinge helpe and sucoure at the mightie Idols and straunge goddes. Soch as wil receaue him, and take him for God, he shal geue them greate worshipe and power: yee and make them lordes of the multitude, and geue them the londe with rewardes.⁴⁰ In the latter tyme, shal the kinge of the south stryue with him: and the kinge of the north in like maner shall come agaynst him with charettes, horsmen & with a greate nauy of shippes. He shal come in to the londes, destroye and go thorow:⁴¹ he shal entre also in to the fayre pleasaunt londe. Many cities & countrees shal decaye, excepte Edom, Moab & the best of the children of Ammon, which shal escape from his honde.⁴² He shall stretch forth his hodes vpon the countrees, & the londe of Egipte shal not escape him.⁴³ For thorow his goinge in, he shal haue dominion ouer the treasures of syluer & golde, & ouer all the precious Iewels of Egipte, Lybia and Ethiopia.⁴⁴ Neuerthelesse the tydinges out of the east and the north shall trouble him, for the which cause he shal go forth to destroye & curse a greate multitude.⁴⁵ The tentes of his palace shall he pytch betwixte the two sees, vpon the hill of the noble sanctuary, for he shal come to the ende of it, and then shal no man helpe him.