1. Also I
--Gabriel--
in the first year of Darius the Mede, _even_ I, stood to confirm and
to strengthen him.
--This does not indicate a change of date, it simply
declares that the same solicitude was now bestowed
on Cyrus, as had been manifested toward his royal
representative Darius the Mede, when first placed on
the throne of Babylon by Cyrus.
2. And now
--"in the third year" since Cyrus captured the city.
Daniel X. 1.--
will I show thee the truth. Behold there shall stand up yet
--after the setting up of the sanctuary and the host,
B.C. 445, three kings in Persia, viz.: Darius Nothus,
Artaxerxes Mnemon, and Ochus,--
and the fourth
--Darius Codomannus--
shall be far richer than _they_ all: and by his strength and through
his riches he shall stir up all against the realm of Grecia.
3. And a mighty king
--Alexander the Great--
shall stand up, that shall rule with great dominion, and do according
to his will.
--from Greece to India.
4. And when he shall stand up, his kingdom shall be broken, and shall
be divided toward the four winds of heaven;
--among his four generals;--
and not to his posterity, nor according to his dominion which he
ruled: for his kingdom shall be plucked up, even for others beside
those.
5. And the king of the south
--Ptolemy Philadelphus, king of Egypt--
shall be strong, and _one_ of his princes; and he shall be strong
above him
--Antiochus II--
and have dominion; his dominion _shall_ be a great dominion.
6. And in the end of the years
--in the course of time--
they shall join themselves together; for the king's daughter
--Bernice--
of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement:
--Antiochus banished his own wife Laodice and her children
in favor of Bernice--
but she shall not retain the power of the arm; neither shall he
stand, nor his arm: but she shall be given up
--Antiochus after the death of Ptolemy expelled Bernice
and recalled the rejected Laodice.--
and they that brought her, and he that begat her, and he that
strengthened her in _these_ times.
7. But out of a branch of her roots
--Ptolemy II, called Evergetes--
shall _one_ stand up in his estate, which shall come with an army,
and shall enter into the fortress of the king of the north and shall
deal against them and shall prevail:
--Laodice placed her son Seleucus II on the throne.
Ptolemy III made an expedition against Syria, slew Laodice
and conquered the realm from Cilicia to the Tigris.
8. And shall also carry captives into Egypt their gods, with their
princes, _and_ with their precious vessels of silver and of gold
--the booty was immense, 2500 idols, 4000 talents of gold,
etc.--
and he shall continue _more_ years than the king of the north.
9. So the king of the south shall come into _his_ kingdom, and shall
return into his own land.
10. But his sons
--Seleucus III and Antiochus III, the Great--
shall be stirred up and shall assemble a multitude of great forces:
and _one_ shall certainly come, and overflow, and pass through; then
shall he return, and be stirred up, _even_ to his fortress.
11. And the king of the south
--Ptolemy IV, was luxurious and indolent--
shall be moved with choler, and shall come forth and fight with him,
_even_ with the king of the north: and he shall set forth a great
multitude: but the multitude shall be given into his hand.
--Ptolemy defeated Antiochus near Gaza but did not follow
up the victory.
12. _And_ when he hath taken away the multitude, his heart shall be
lifted up; and he shall cast down _many_ ten thousands: but he shall
not be strengthened _by it_.
13. For the king of the north
--Antiochus the Great--
shall return, and shall set forth a multitude greater than the
former, and shall certainly come after certain years with a great
army and with much riches.
14. And in those times there shall many stand up against the king of
the south; also the robbers of thy people
--secret enemies of the Jews--
shall exalt themselves to establish the vision; but they shall fail.
15. So the king of the north shall come, and cast up a mount, and
take the most fenced cities; and the arms of the south shall not
withstand, neither his chosen people, neither _shall there be any_
strength to withstand.
16. But he that cometh against him shall do according to his own will,
--the wars of Antiochus the Great--
and none shall stand before him: and he shall stand in the glorious
land
--Palestine--
which by his hand shall be consumed.
17. He shall also set his face to enter with the strength of his
whole kingdom, and upright ones with him; thus shall he do: and he
shall give him the daughter of women, corrupting her:
--Using marriage for political gain: Antiochus gave his
daughter Cleopatra in marriage to Ptolemy Epiphanes,
hoping for benefit, but it turned out otherwise--
but she shall not stand _on his side_, neither be for him.
18. After this he shall turn his face unto the Isles, and shall take
many: but a prince
--a Roman General--
for his own behalf shall cause the reproach offered by him to cease;
without his own reproach
--Antiochus said:--"Asia did not concern the Romans and he
was not subject to their orders"--
he shall cause _it_ to turn upon him.
--He was defeated by the Romans, at Magnesia.
19. Then he shall turn his face toward the fort of his own land;
--pillage the temples--
but he shall stumble and fall, and not be found.
--Antiochus the Great was slain.
20. Then shall stand up in his estate a raiser of taxes _in_ the
glory of the kingdom:
--his son Seleucus Philopater, who sent out Heliodorus and
taxed the temples as well as the people--
but within a few days he shall be destroyed, neither in anger, nor in
battle.
--Seleucus shortly after, died in a mysterious manner.
21. And in his estate shall stand up a vile person,
--Antiochus Epiphanes--
to whom they shall not give the honor of the kingdom: but he shall
come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.
22. And with the arms of a flood shall they be overflown from before
him, and shall be broken; yea, also the prince of the covenant.
--Onias III, the high priest was put to death by his order.
23. And after the league _made_ with him he shall work deceitfully:
for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people.
24. He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the
province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor
his father's fathers; he shall scatter among them the prey, and
spoil, and riches: yea, and he shall forecast his devices against
the strongholds even for a time.
25. And he shall stir up his power and his courage against the king
of the south with a great army; and the king of the south
--Ptolemy Philometer--
shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army; but
he shall not stand: for they shall forecast devices against him.
26. Yea, they that feed of the portion of his meat shall destroy him,
and his army shall overflow: and many shall fall down slain.
27. And both these kings' hearts _shall_ be to do mischief, and they
shall speak lies at one table
--a pretended friendship--
but it shall not prosper: for yet the end _shall be_ at the time
appointed.
28. Then shall he return into his land with great riches; and his
heart _shall be_ against the holy covenant;
--the worship of Jehovah--
and he shall do _exploits_, and return to his own land.
29. At the time appointed he shall return, and come toward the south;
but it shall not be as the former, or as the latter.
30. For the ships of Chittim
--the fleet of the Romans under Laenas--
shall come against him: therefore he shall be grieved, and return,
and have indignation against the holy covenant: so shall he do; he
shall even return, and have intelligence with them
--the Samaritans--
that forsake the holy covenant.
31. And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the
sanctuary of strength,
--the Temple--
and shall take away the daily _sacrifice_, and they shall place the
abomination that maketh desolate.
--Antiochus Epiphanes established idol-altars in every
town and village of Palestine, and ordered a daily
sacrifice of swine on the altars.
32. And such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by
flatteries: but the people that do know their God shall be strong and
do _exploits_.
--Mattathias and his 5 sons, the "Maccabees."
33. And they that understand among the people shall instruct many:
yet they shall fall by the sword, and by flame, by captivity, and by
spoil, _many_ days.
34. Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little
help: but many shall cleave to them with flatteries.
--see life of Judas Maccabeus.
35. And _some_ of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and
to purge, and to make _them_ white, _even_ to the time of the end:
because _it is_ yet for a time appointed.
36. And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt
himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak
marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the
indignation be accomplished: for that, that is determined shall be
done.
37. Neither shall he regard the god of his fathers, nor the desire of
women,
--in other words, the idol Astarte, "the queen of heaven"--
nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.
38. But in his estate shall he honor the God of forces:
--a god of castles or fortresses--
and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honor with gold, and
silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.
39. Thus shall he do in the most strongholds with a strange god, whom
he shall acknowledge _and_ increase with glory: and he shall cause
them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain.
40. And at the time of the end shall the king of the south push
at him: and the king of the north shall come against him like a
whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and
he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.
41. He shall enter also into the glorious land,
--Palestine--
and many _countries_ shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out
of his hand, _even_ Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of
Ammon
--Antiochus passed them by. When, however, they tried to
take advantage of Judas Maccabeus, he defeated them.
42. He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the
land of Egypt shall not escape.
43. But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver,
and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the
Ethiopians _shall_ be at his steps.
44. But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble
him:
--rumors of rebellion and lack of funds made him resolve
to go at once to Persia, restore order and collect taxes.--
therefore he shall go forth with great fury
--Threatened on his return to exterminate the Jews--
to destroy, and utterly to make away many.
45. And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas
in the glorious holy mountain;
--he left a garrison in the Citadel adjoining the Temple--
yet he shall come to his end
--B.C. 163--
and none shall help him.