The Babylonian Exile

but I declare to thee that which is noted down in the Writing of Truth, and there is not one strengthening himself with me, concerning these, except Michael your head.

`And I, in the first year of Darius the Mede, my standing is for a strengthener, and for a stronghold to him;

and, now, truth I declare to thee, Lo, yet three kings are standing for Persia, and the fourth doth become far richer than all, and according to his strength by his riches he stirreth up the whole, with the kingdom of Javan.

And a mighty king hath stood, and he hath ruled a great dominion, and hath done according to his will;

and according to his standing is his kingdom broken, and divided to the four winds of the heavens, and not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion that he ruled, for his kingdom is plucked up--and for others apart from these.

`And a king of the south--even of his princes--doth become strong, and doth prevail against him, and hath ruled; a great dominion is his dominion.

`And at the end of years they do join themselves together, and a daughter of the king of the south doth come in unto the king of the north to do upright things; and she doth not retain the power of the arm; and he doth not stand, nor his arm; and she is given up, she, and those bringing her in, and her child, and he who is strengthening her in these times.

`And one hath stood up from a branch of her roots, in his station, and he cometh in unto the bulwark, yea, he cometh into a stronghold of the king of the south, and hath wrought against them, and hath done mightily;

and also their gods, with their princes, with their desirable vessels of silver and gold, into captivity he bringeth into Egypt; and he doth stand more years than the king of the north.

`And the king of the south hath come into the kingdom, and turned back unto his own land;

and his sons stir themselves up, and have gathered a multitude of great forces, and he hath certainly come in, and overflowed, and passed through, and he turneth back, and they stir themselves up unto his stronghold.

And the king of the south doth become embittered, and hath gone forth and fought with him, with the king of the north, and hath caused a great multitude to stand, and the multitude hath been given into his hand,

and he hath carried away the multitude, his heart is high, and he hath caused myriads to fall, and he doth not become strong.

`And the king of the north hath turned back, and hath caused a multitude to stand, greater than the first, and at the end of the times a second time he doth certainly come in with a great force, and with much substance;

and in those times many do stand up against the king of the south, and sons of the destroyers of thy people do lift themselves up to establish the vision--and they have stumbled.

`And the king of the north cometh in, and poureth out a mount, and hath captured fenced cities; and the arms of the south do not stand, nor the people of his choice, yea, there is no power to stand.

And he who is coming unto him doth according to his will, and there is none standing before him; and he standeth in the desirable land, and it is wholly in his hand.

And he setteth his face to go in with the strength of his whole kingdom, and upright ones with him; and he hath wrought, and the daughter of women he giveth to him, to corrupt her; and she doth not stand, nor is for him.

`And he turneth back his face to the isles, and hath captured many; and a prince hath caused his reproach of himself to cease; without his reproach he turneth it back to him.

And he turneth back his face to the strongholds of his land, and hath stumbled and fallen, and is not found.

`And stood up on his station hath one causing an exactor to pass over the honour of the kingdom, and in a few days he is destroyed, and not in anger, nor in battle.

`And stood up on his station hath a despicable one, and they have not given unto him the honour of the kingdom, and he hath come in quietly, and hath strengthened the kingdom by flatteries.

And the arms of the flood are overflowed from before him, and are broken; and also the leader of the covenant.

And after they join themselves unto him, he worketh deceit, and hath increased, and hath been strong by a few of the nation.

Peaceably even into the fertile places of the province He cometh, and he hath done that which his fathers did not, nor his fathers' fathers; prey, and spoil, and substance, to them he scattereth, and against fenced places he deviseth his devices, even for a time.