‘In his place a despised person will arise; royal honours will not be given to him, but he will come during a time of peace , and seize the kingdom by intrigue.
He will cause deceit to prosper through his cunning and by his influence, and in his own mind he will exalt himself. He will destroy many in a time of peace; he will even stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be broken #– #not by human hands.
The Lord has issued an order concerning you: There will be no offspring to carry on your name. , I will eliminate the carved idol and cast image from the house of your gods; I will prepare your grave, for you are contemptible.
‘In his place one will arise who will send out a tax collector for the glory of the kingdom; but within a few days he will be broken, though not in anger or in battle.
In the place of the king of the South, one from her family will rise up, come against the army, and enter the fortress of the king of the North. He will take action against them and triumph.
Near the end of their kingdoms, when the rebels have reached the full measure of their sin, , a ruthless king, skilled in intrigue, will come to the throne.
‘While I was considering the horns, suddenly another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. And suddenly in this horn there were eyes like the eyes of a human and a mouth that was speaking arrogantly.
I told him that I am going to judge his family for ever because of the iniquity which he knows about: his sons are cursing God, and he has not stopped them.
This word is by decree of the watchers, and the decision is by command from the holy ones. This is so that the living will know that the Most High is ruler over human kingdoms. He gives them to anyone he wants and sets the lowliest of people over them.