Daniel 11 - 12, 1 Peter 1 - 2, Proverbs 22

Kingdoms and Wars

11“Now I, in the ^afirst year of Darius the Mede, ¹I stood to strengthen and to be a fortress for him. ²“So now I will tell you the ^atruth. Behold, three more kings are going to stand ¹in Persia. Then a fourth will gain far more riches than all of them; as soon as he becomes strong through his riches, ²he will arouse the whole empire against the kingdom of ³^,^bGreece. ³“And a ^amighty king will stand, and he will ¹dominate with great ²domination and ^bdo as he pleases. ⁴“But as soon as he stands, his kingdom will be broken up and parceled out ^atoward the ^bfour winds of ¹heaven, but not to his own descendants, nor according to his ²domination with which he ³dominated, for his kingdom will be ^cuprooted and given to others besides ⁴them.

⁵“Then the ^aking of the South will grow strong, ¹along with one of his princes ²who will grow strong over him and ³obtain dominion; indeed, his ⁴domain will be a great ⁵dominion. ⁶“And ¹after some years they will form an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the South will come to the ^aking of the North to carry out ²an equitable arrangement. But she will not retain her ³position of power, nor will he continue to stand with his ⁴power, but she will be given up, along with those who brought her in and the one who fathered her as well as he who strengthened her in those times. ⁷“But one of the ¹descendants of her line will stand in his place, and he will come against their military force and enter the ^afortress of the king of the North, and he will deal with them and display strength. ⁸“And also their ^agods with their ¹metal images and their desirable vessels of silver and gold he will bring into captivity to Egypt, and he on his part will stand back from attacking the king of the North for some years. ⁹“Then ¹the latter will enter the kingdom of the king of the South, but will return to his own land.

¹⁰“And his sons will wage war. So they will gather a multitude of great forces; and one of them will keep on coming and ^aoverflow and pass through, that he may ¹again wage war up to his very fortress. ¹¹“And the ^aking of the South will be enraged and go forth and fight ¹with the king of the North. Then the latter will cause a great multitude to stand, but that multitude will be given into ²the hand of the former. ¹²“Then the multitude will be carried away, his heart will be lifted up, and he will cause tens of thousands to fall; yet he will not prevail. ¹³“And the king of the North will again cause a much greater multitude than the former to stand, and at the ^aend of the times of those years, he will keep on coming with a great military force and much equipment.

¹⁴“Now in those times many will stand against the king of the South; the violent ones among your people will also lift themselves up in order to cause the vision to stand, but they will ¹fall down. ¹⁵“Then the king of the North will come, cast up a ^asiege ramp, and capture a well-fortified city; and the might of the South will not stand, not even ¹their choicest troops, for there will be no strength to make a stand. ¹⁶“But he who comes against him will ^ado as he pleases, and ^bno one will be able to stand in ¹opposition to him; he will also stand for a time in the ²^,^cBeautiful Land, with destruction in his hand. ¹⁷“And he will ^aset his face to come with the authority of his whole kingdom, ¹bringing with him ²an equitable proposal which he will ³put into effect; he will also give him the daughter of women to destroy it. But she will not take a stand for him or be ⁴on his side. ¹⁸“Then he will turn his face to the ^acoastlands and capture many. But a ruler will make his reproach against him cease; moreover, he will ^brepay him for his reproach. ¹⁹“So he will turn his face toward the fortresses of his own land, but he will ^astumble and fall and be ^bfound no more.

²⁰“Then in his place one will stand who will ^ahave an ¹oppressor pass through the ²Jewel of his kingdom; yet within a few days he will be broken, though not in anger nor in battle. ²¹“And in his place a despised person will stand, to whom the splendor of the kingdom has not been given, but he will come in a time of ease and ^atake hold of the kingdom by intrigue. ²²“But the overflowing ¹^,^amight will be flooded away before him and broken, and also the prince of the covenant. ²³“And after an alliance is made with him, he will ¹practice deception, and he will go up and gain power with a small force of people. ²⁴“¹In a time of ease he will enter the ^arichest parts of the province, and he will do what his fathers never did, nor his fathers’ fathers; he will distribute plunder, spoil, and possessions among them, and he will devise his schemes against strongholds, but only for a time. ²⁵“And he will stir up his strength and heart against the ^aking of the South with a great military force; so the king of the South will wage war with an extremely large and mighty military force for war; but he will not stand, for schemes will be devised against him. ²⁶“And those who eat his choice food will break him, and his military force will ¹^,^aoverflow, but many will fall down slain. ²⁷“And as for both kings, their hearts will be intent on ^aevil, and they will ^bspeak falsehood at the same table; but it will not succeed, for the ^cend is still to come at the appointed time. ²⁸“Then he will return to his land with great possessions; but his heart will be set against the holy covenant, and he will take action and then return to his own land.

²⁹“At the appointed time he will return and come into the South, but ¹this last time it will not happen the way it did before. ³⁰“Indeed, ships of ¹^,^aKittim will come against him; therefore he will be disheartened and will return and become indignant at the holy covenant and take action; so he will come back and show regard for those who forsake the holy covenant. ³¹“Mighty forces from him will stand, ^aprofane the sanctuary fortress, and abolish the regular sacrifice. And they will set up the ^babomination ¹of desolation. ³²“And by ^asmooth words he will ¹turn to godlessness those who act wickedly toward the covenant, but the people who know their God will display ^bstrength and take action. ³³“And ¹^,^athose who have insight among the people will give understanding to the many; yet they will ^bfall by sword and by flame, by captivity and by plunder for many days. ³⁴“Now when they fall, they will be granted a little help, and many will ^ajoin with them in ¹^,^bintrigue. ³⁵“And some of ¹those who have insight will fall, in order to ^arefine, ^bpurge, and make them ²^,^cpure until the time of the ^dend, because it is still to come at the appointed time.

³⁶“Then the king will ^ado as he pleases, and he will exalt and ^bmagnify himself above every god and will ^cspeak ¹astonishing things against the ^dGod of gods; and he will succeed until the ^eindignation is finished, for that which is ^fdecreed will be done. ³⁷“He will show no regard for the ¹gods of his fathers or for the desire of women, nor will he show regard for any other god; for he will magnify himself above them all. ³⁸“But ¹instead he will honor a god of fortresses, a god whom his fathers did not know; he will honor him with gold, silver, costly stones, and desirable things. ³⁹“And he will take action against the strongest of fortresses with the help of a foreign god; he will give great honor to ¹those who recognize him and will cause them to rule over the many and will apportion land for a price.

⁴⁰“And at ^athe time of the end, the ^bking of the South will collide with him, and the ^cking of the North will ^dstorm against him with chariots, with horsemen, and with many ships; and he will enter lands, ^eoverflow them, and pass through. ⁴¹“And he will also enter the ¹^,^aBeautiful Land, and many countries will fall; but these will be rescued out of his hand: Edom, ^bMoab, and the foremost of the sons of ^cAmmon. ⁴²“Then he will send forth his hand against other countries, and the land of Egypt will not escape. ⁴³“But he will rule over the hidden treasures of gold and silver and over all the desirable things of Egypt; and ^aLibyans and ^bEthiopians will follow at his ¹heels. ⁴⁴“But reports from the East and from the North will dismay him, and he will go forth with great wrath to destroy and ¹devote many to destruction. ⁴⁵“And he will pitch the tents of his royal pavilion between the seas and the beautiful ^aHoly Mountain; yet he will come to his end, and no one will help him.

The End of the Days

12“Now at that time, ^aMichael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will stand. And there will be a ^btime of distress ^csuch as never happened since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the ^dbook, will be rescued. ²“^aAnd many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, ^bthese to everlasting life, but the others to reproach and everlasting ¹contempt. ³“¹And those who have ^ainsight will ^bshine brightly like the brightness of the ²expanse of heaven, and those who ^clead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. ⁴“But as for you, Daniel, ^aconceal these words and ^bseal up the book until the ^ctime of the end; ^dmany will go to and fro, and knowledge will increase.”

⁵Then I, Daniel, looked, and behold, two others were standing, one on this bank of the river and the other on that bank of the river. ⁶And ^aone said to the man ^bdressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, “^cHow long will it be until the end of these wonders?” ⁷And I heard the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, ¹as he ^araised his right hand and his left toward heaven, and swore by ^bHim who lives forever that it would be for a ²^,^ctime, ³times, and half a ⁴time; and as soon as ⁵they complete ^dshattering the ⁶power of the holy people, all these events will be completed. ⁸As for me, I heard but could not understand; so I said, “My lord, what will be the ¹outcome of these events?” ⁹Then he said, “Go your way, Daniel, for these words are concealed and ^asealed up until the time of the end. ¹⁰“^aMany will be purged, ¹purified, and refined, but the ^bwicked will act wickedly; and none of the wicked will understand, but ²those who ^chave insight will understand. ¹¹“But from the time that the regular sacrifice is abolished and the ¹^,^aabomination of desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days. ¹²“How ^ablessed is he who keeps waiting and reaches the ^b1,335 days! ¹³“But as for you, go your way to the ¹end; then you will enter into ^arest and stand again for your ^ballotted portion at the end of the days.”

A Living Hope

1^aPeter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who reside as ^bexiles, ^cscattered throughout ^dPontus, ^eGalatia, ^fCappadocia, ^gAsia, and ^hBithynia, who are chosen ²according to the ^aforeknowledge of God the Father, ^bby the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to the ^cobedience of Jesus Christ and the ^dsprinkling of His blood: ^eMay grace and peace be multiplied to you.

³^aBlessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who ^baccording to His great mercy ^chas caused us to be born again to ^da living hope through the ^eresurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴to obtain an ^ainheritance incorruptible and undefiled and ^bunfading, having been ^ckept in heaven for you, ⁵who are ^aprotected by the power of God ^bthrough faith for ^ca salvation ready ^dto be revealed in the last time. ⁶^aIn this you greatly rejoice, even though now ^bfor a little while, ^cif necessary, you have been grieved by ^dvarious ¹trials, ⁷so that the ¹^,^aproof of your faith, being more precious than gold which ²is perishable, ^beven though tested by fire, ^cmay be found to result in praise and glory and honor at ^dthe revelation of Jesus Christ. ⁸And ^athough you have not seen Him, you ^blove Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and ¹full of glory, ⁹receiving as ^athe outcome of your faith the salvation of ¹your souls.

¹⁰^aConcerning this salvation, the prophets, who ^bprophesied of the ^cgrace that would come to you, made careful searches and inquiries, ¹¹¹inquiring to know what time or what kind of time ^athe Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He was ^bpredicting the sufferings of Christ and the glories ²to follow. ¹²It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been declared to you through those who ^aproclaimed the gospel to you by ^bthe Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which ^cangels long to ¹look.

¹³Therefore, having ¹^,^agirded your minds for action, ²^,^bbeing sober in spirit, fix your ^chope completely on the ^dgrace ³to be brought to you at ^ethe revelation of Jesus Christ. ¹⁴As ¹^,^aobedient children, not ²^,^bbeing conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ^cignorance, ¹⁵but ¹^,^alike the Holy One who called you, ²^,^bbe holy yourselves also ^cin all your conduct; ¹⁶because it is written, “^aYou shall be holy, for I am holy.”

¹⁷And if you ^aaddress as Father the One who ^bimpartially ^cjudges according to each one’s work, conduct yourselves ¹^,^din fear during the time of your ^esojourn, ¹⁸knowing that you were not ¹^,^aredeemed with corruptible things like silver or gold from your ^bfutile conduct inherited from your forefathers, ¹⁹but with precious ^ablood, as of a ^blamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ. ²⁰He was ^aforeknown before ^bthe foundation of the world, but ^cappeared ¹in these last times ^dfor the sake of you ²¹who through Him are ^abelievers in God, who raised Him from the dead and ^bgave Him glory, so that your faith and ^chope are in God.

²²Since you have ^ain obedience to the truth ^bpurified your souls for a love of the brothers ^cwithout hypocrisy, fervently love one another from ¹the heart, ²³for you have been ^aborn again ^bnot of corruptible seed but incorruptible, that is, through the living and enduring ^cword of God. ²⁴For, “^aAll flesh is like grass,And all its glory like the flower of grass.The grass withers,And the flower falls off,

²⁵^aBut the word of the Lord endures forever.” And this is ^bthe word which was ¹proclaimed to you as good news.

As Living Stones, God’s Chosen Family

2Therefore, ^alaying aside all ¹malice and all deceit and ²hypocrisy and ³envy and all ⁴^,^bslander, ²^alike newborn babies, long for the ¹^,^bpure ²milk of the word, so that by it you may ^cgrow ³in respect to salvation, ³if you have ^atasted ¹^,^bthe kindness of the ²Lord.

⁴And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been ^arejected by men, but is ¹choice and precious in the sight of God, ⁵^ayou also, as living stones, ¹are being built up as a ^bspiritual house for a holy ^cpriesthood, to ^doffer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ⁶For this is contained in ¹Scripture: “^aBehold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a ^bprecious corner stone,And he who believes upon ²Him will not be put to shame.”

⁷^aThis precious value, then, is for you who believe; but for those who disbelieve, “^bThe stone which the builders ^crejected,This has become the chief corner stone,”

⁸and, “^aA stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.” ^bThey stumble because they are disobedient to the word, ^cand to this stumbling they were also appointed.

⁹But you are ^aa chosen family, a royal ^bpriesthood, a ^choly nation, ^da people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you ^eout of darkness into His marvelous light; ¹⁰^afor you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

¹¹^aBeloved, ^bI urge you as ^csojourners and exiles to abstain from ^dfleshly lusts which wage ^ewar against the soul, ¹²^aby keeping your conduct excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing which they ^bslander you as evildoers, they may ¹because of your good works, as they observe them, ^cglorify God ^din the day of ²visitation.

Be Subject to Authority

¹³^aBe subject for the sake of the Lord to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, ¹⁴or to governors as sent ¹by him ^afor the punishment of evildoers and the ^bpraise of those who do good. ¹⁵For ¹^,^asuch is the will of God that by doing good you may ^bsilence the ignorance of foolish men. ¹⁶Act as ^afree people, and ¹do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as ^bslaves of God. ¹⁷^aHonor all people, ^blove the ¹brethren, ^cfear God, ^dhonor the ²king.

¹⁸^aServants, be subject to your masters with all fear, not only to those who are good and ^bconsiderate, but also to those who are ¹crooked. ¹⁹For this finds ¹favor, if for the sake of ^aconscience toward God a person bears up under sorrows when suffering unrighteously. ²⁰For what credit is there if, when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure? But if ^awhen you do good and suffer for it, you endure, this finds favor with God.

Christ, Our Example

²¹For to this ^ayou have been called, ^bsince Christ also suffered for you, leaving you ^can example that you should follow in His steps, ²²who ^adid no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; ²³who being ^areviled, was not reviling in return; while suffering, He was uttering no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously. ²⁴Who Himself ¹^,^abore our sins in His body on the ^btree, so that ^chaving died to ²sin, we might live to righteousness; ^dby His ³wounds you were ^ehealed. ²⁵For you were ^acontinually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the ^bShepherd and Overseer of your souls.

Yahweh Is the Maker of All

22A ^agood name is to be chosen over great wealth,Favor is better than silver and gold.²The rich and the poor meet together in this—Yahweh is the ^aMaker of them all.³A ^aprudent man sees evil and hides,But the simple pass on, and are punished.⁴The reward of humility—the ¹fear of Yahweh—Is riches, glory, and life.⁵^aThorns and snares are in the way of the crooked;He who keeps his soul will be far from them.⁶¹^,^aTrain up a child ²according to his way,Even when he is old he will not ³depart from it.⁷The ^arich rules over the poor,And the borrower is the slave of the lender.⁸He who ^asows unrighteousness will reap iniquity,And the ^brod of his fury will end.⁹He who ¹is ^agenerous will be blessed,For he ^bgives from his food to the poor.¹⁰^aDrive out the scoffer, and strife will go out,Even contention and disgrace will cease.¹¹He who loves ^apurity of heartAnd ^bgrace on his lips, the king is his friend.¹²The eyes of Yahweh guard knowledge,But He subverts the words of the treacherous one.¹³The ^asluggard says, “There is a lion outside;I will be killed in the streets!”¹⁴The mouth of ^astrange women is a deep pit;He who is ^bcursed of Yahweh will fall ¹into it.¹⁵Folly is bound up in the heart of a child;The ^arod of discipline will remove it far from him.¹⁶He ^awho oppresses the poor to make ¹more for himselfOr who gives to the rich ^bwill only come to lack.¹⁷^aIncline your ear and hear the words of the wise,And set your heart on my knowledge;¹⁸For it will be ^apleasant if you keep them within you,¹That they may be established on your lips.¹⁹So that your ^atrust may be in Yahweh,I have made you know today, even you.²⁰Have I not written to you ¹^,^aexcellent thingsOf counsels and knowledge,²¹To make you ^aknow the veracity of the words of truthThat you may ¹^,^brespond with the words of truth to him who sent you?²²^aDo not rob the poor because he is poor,And do not ^bcrush the afflicted at the gate;²³For Yahweh will ^aplead their caseAnd rob the soul of those who rob them.²⁴Do not befriend a man of anger;And do not come along with a man of ^agreat wrath,²⁵Lest you ^alearn his waysAnd take on a snare against your soul.²⁶Do not be among those who ^astrike ¹hands in pledge,Among those who become guarantors for debts.²⁷If you have nothing with which to pay,Why should he ^atake your bed from under you?²⁸^aDo not move the ancient boundaryWhich your fathers made.²⁹Do you see a man skilled in his work?He will ^astand before kings;He will not stand before obscure men.