and grant that thy good fpirit may The Kings of the North and South,

ed as a continuation of the vifion for others befides those, for ftranof the he goat, chap. viii. 8. it gers rather than for his feed. is propofed to fufpend an expla-This preparation for the immedi nation of the vifion of the weeks, and continue the prophetic feries from the eighth to this eleventh chapter.

ry, as

ate subject of the prophecy being thus made, the angel proceeds to describe the conflicts which should fubfift between the two capital fucceffors of Alexander, called the kings of the north and fouth, or Syria and Egypt, as Syria lay north and Egypt fouth of Paleftine or Judea. The other two kingdoms, that of Caffander in Greece, and that of Lyfimachus in Thrace, are paffed in filence, as they were remote from Judea and difconnected with the Jews for whofe fake these prophecies were immediately given. Befides, the kingdom of Caffander was foon conquered by Lyfimachus, and annexed to Thrace, and Ly. fimachus was fubdued by Seleucus, and his kingdom annexed to Syria; and fo the kingdoms of Syria and Egypt abforbed, and virtually comprised the whole empire of Alexander. Of the prophecy of these kingdoms permit a paraphrafe, comprifing the prin cipal events contained in it, by way of explanation.

As the kings of the north, or Syria, and the fouth, or Egypt, are the immediate fubjects of this prophecy, the angel only makes thofe general remarks on the preceding events which were neceffaa regular introduction. This prophet had this vifion in the third year of Cyrus. Now fays the angel, There fhall ftand up three kings in Perfia. Thefe were Cambyfes the fon of Cyrus, called Ahafuerus Ezra iv. 6. Smerdis the magian, the ufurper, called Artaxerxes, Ezra iv. 7. and Darius, who deereed fo favourably for the Jews, Ezra vi. and the fourth, Xerxes the fon of Darius, fhall be far richer than they all; and by his frength, through his riches, he fall fir up all, his fubjects and allies, against the realm of Grecia. Having introduced the war between the Perfians and the Greeks, the angel paffes from the authors, the Perfians, to the confequences of it, by which the empire of the Perfians was deftroyed, and the kingdom of the Greeks erected. And a mighty king, Alexander the great, fhall fiand up, and rule with great dominion, and do according to his will. And when he fhall ftand up his kingdom fhall be extended and eftablished, it fall foon be broken, or diffolved by his death, and fhall be divided toward the four winds of heaven, or into four king-ceeded his fon Antiochus Soter, doms, and not to his poflerity but and to him Antiochus Theos, as to his generals, nor according to to Ptolemy fucceeded his fon, his dominion which he ruled, not Ptolemy Philadelphus. Between fo extenfive nor fo powerful; for thefe kings there were fevere conhis kingdom fhall le plucked up even tefts; but weary of their difputes,

V. 5. And the king of the fouth, Ptolemy king of Egypt, one of Alexander's fucceffors, poffeffing Egypt, Palestine and Coele-Syria, &c. fhall be ftrong, and one other of his, Alexander's, princes or fucceffors, Seleucus, called Nicator, the conqueror, fhall be ftrong above him, Ptolemy; his dominion, comprifing Greece, Thrace, the Afian provinces, Syria, Babylon and the provinces in the eaft, fhall be a great dominion. To Seleucus fuc

they confulted terms of peace and V. 8. And ball carry captives incame to an agreement on the to Egypt, their gods or idols and condition, that Antiochus Theos their princes, and among them fhould put away his wife, Laodice, thofe idols that Cambyfes had taand her fons, and marry Berenice, ken and carried away, for which the daughter of Ptolemy Phila- the Egyptians fhall call him Eudelphus. So v. 6. In the end of ergetes, the benefactor, and their the years they fhall join themfelves precious veffels of filver and of gold, together for Berenice, the king's and he shall continue more years, daughter of the fouth, of Ptolemy, fhall live four or five years longer, fball come to the king of the north, than the kings of the north. V. 9. to Antiochus Theos, to make an So the king of the fouth, having enagreement, or fulfil the conditions riched himfelf with the fpoils of of peace; but he, Berenice, fhall Syria, fball return and come into his not retain the power of the arm, her kingdom and return to his own land. intereft in the affections of her hus- V. 10. But his fons, the fons of band, for Antiochus fhall reject the king of the north, Seleucus her, and receive Laodice his other called Ceraunus, and Antiochus wife to his bed; but he shall not called the great, fhall be stirred up ftand nor his arm, fhall lose his au- and fall affemble a multitude of great thority, for Laodice, fearful that forces, and one, Antiochus, for Sehe will reject her and her fon, and leucus fhall be taken off, fhall cerreturn again to Berenice, fhall tainly come and overflow and pass cause him to be put to death by through, recovering the cities and poifon; but fhe, Berenice, fhall be provinces which had been wrested given up, be murdered, and they from Seleucus king of Syria, and that brought her, to Syria, her E-after the truce which fhall be made gyptian attendants, and he that begat her, or perhaps rather, was begotten of her, her fon, who fhall be murdered in like manner; and be that ftrengthened her in thofe times, they who would have fecured her from the malice of Laodice, or her father who had fe tenderly conveyed the best means for her health and comfort. V. 7. But out of a branch of her root skall fland up one in his eftate, Ptolemy called Euergetes, proceeding from the fame parents, the fon of her father, who fucceeded him in his kingdom, refenting the injuries offered to his fifter, shall come with an army to avenge her infults, and fball enter into the fortress or fenceding the northern provinces, he cities of the king of the north, gov- fhall come to Jerufalem, offer facerned by Laodice and her fon, Se- rifices, and attempt to enter into leucus Collinious, and fhall deal the holy of holies, from which bcagainst them and fhall prevail, re-ing reftrained by the priests, he ducing them to his obedience. fhall be bitterly incenfed against

fhall expire, then he shall return to profecute the war, and be firred up even to the fortress, or city of defence belonging to Ptolemy. V. 11. And the king of the fouth, Ptolemy Philopator, the fon of Euergetes, fhall be moved with choler and fhall come forth and fight with him even the king of the north, and he, the king of the north, Antiochus, fhall fet forth a great multitude; but the multitude shall be given into his hand, and Ptolemy fhall obtain a complete victory over Antiochus. V. 12. And when he, Ptolemy, hath taken away the multitude, his heart shall be lifted up, in pride and vanity, and vifit

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mafcus, and Palestine, or Judea, from Ptolemy, Shall fet his face to enter Egypt, with the frength of his whole kingdom, and upright ones with him, the Jews; thus fhall he do deliberating with himself, as he will meditate a war with the Romans, he will prefer ftratagem to force, and propose to fet things right, to fettle differences and adjuft difputes, and to establish friendfhip and peace, and he shall give him, Ptolemy, the daughter of wo men, his beautiful daughter Cleopatra, corrupting her, defigning to perfuade her to betray the interest of her husband; but she shall not ftand on his fide, neither be for him, fhall espouse the intereft of her husband, Ptolemy, rather than that of her father, Antiochus. V. 18. After this he, Antiochus, fall turn his face to the ifles, and fhall take many of them, with the maritime cities on the coafts of Afia and Greece, and fo infult and provoke the Romans; but a prince, or Roman general, Acilius at Thermopyla, or rather Scipio at Mount Sipylus, for his own be

the Jews, and on his return to Egypt fhall commence a cruel perfecution against them, and hall caft down many ten thousands, but be fhall not be ftrengthened by the victory for the lofs of fo many valuable fubjects. V. 13. For the king of the north, Antiochus, hall return again to recover his loft provinces, and fhall fet forth a multitude greater than the former, and fhall certainly come after certain years with a great army and much riches. V. 14. And in thofe days there fhall many fland up against the king of the fouth, Ptolemy Epiphanes, an infant king, the fon of Philopator. His officers of ftate fhall be treacherous and plot his ruin, others fhall combine with Antiochus for his destruction, also the robbers, the feditious ones, of thy people fhall exalt themfelves, and unwittingly contribute to establifh the vifion. V. 15. So the king of the north, Antiochus, fall come and caft up a mount and take the most fenced cities in Cole-Syria and Palestine, and the arms of the fouth fball not withfland, or prevent him, nor his chofen people, his ableft gen-half fhall caufe the reproach offered erals and bravelt troops, neither by him, Antiochus, to cease; withShall there be any ftrength to with- out his own reproach, not to his fland or refift Antiochus. V. 16. difgrace but honor, he shall caufe But he that cometh against him, An- the reproach offered by him to turn tiochus, fball do according to his upon him, Antiochus. V. 19. Then will, reducing the provinces of he fall return to the fort of his own Ptolemy, and none fhall fland before land, to Antioch the metropolis him; and he shall stand in the glo- of his kingdom, and be compelled rious land, Judea, which by his to make peace with the Romans, band, the foraging of his army, upon the hard conditions of payfhall be confumed: or perhaps rath- ing 3000 talents when the treaty er, fhall be perfected, as to ingra- fhould be ratified by the senate, tiate himself with the Jews and and 1000 annually for the next fecure their friendship, he fhall twelve years to come, to provide provide for the repair of their city, for the payment he fhall go into Jerufalem, and the temple, and the eaft to collect his tribute and tolerate them in their religious rifle the rich temple of the Elycuftoms. V. 17. He, Antiochus, means, and the inhabitants, pronot content with having wrefted voked by this facrilegious attempt, Cale-Syria, or the region of Da- fhall attack, defeat and flay him