Eze 21:9-15, 28, Dan 11, Mar 13:7-8, Luk 21:9 | ESV | STEP | Son of man , prophesy and say , Thus says the Lord , say : A sword , a sword is sharpened and also polished ,

9 ^a“Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus says the Lord, say:

^b“A sword, a sword is sharpened
and also polished,
10 ^csharpened for slaughter,
^dpolished to flash like lightning!
(Or ^eshall we rejoice? You have despised the rod, my son, ^fwith everything of wood.) ^{▼▼Probable reading; Hebrew The rod of my son despises everything of wood} 11 So the sword is given to be polished, that it may be grasped in the hand. It is sharpened and polished ^hto be given into the hand of the slayer. 12 ⁱCry out and wail, son of man, for it is against my people. It is against all the princes of Israel. They are delivered over to the sword with my people. ^jStrike therefore upon your thigh. 13 For it will not be a testing—what could it do if you despise ^kthe rod?” ^{▼▼Or For it is a testing; and what if even the rod despises? It shall not be!} declares the Lord God.

14 “As for you, ^mson of man, prophesy. ⁿClap your hands and let the sword come down twice, ^oyes, three times, ^{▼▼Hebrew its third} the sword for those to be slain. It is the sword for the great slaughter, which surrounds them, 15 that their hearts may melt, and many stumble. ^{▼▼Hebrew many stumbling blocks} At all their gates I have given the glittering sword. Ah, it is made like lightning; ^rit is taken up ^{▼▼The meaning of the Hebrew word rendered taken up is uncertain} for slaughter.

Ezekiel 21:28

28 “And you, ^tson of man, prophesy, and say, Thus says the Lord God ^uconcerning the Ammonites and concerning their reproach; say, ^vA sword, a sword ^wis drawn for the slaughter. ^xIt is polished to consume and to flash like lightning—

Daniel 11

The Kings of the South and the North

1 “And as for me, ^yin the first year of ^zDarius the Mede, I stood up to confirm and strengthen him.

2 “And now I will show you ^aathe truth. Behold, three more kings shall arise in Persia, and a fourth shall be far richer than all of them. And when he has become strong through his riches, he shall stir up all against the kingdom of Greece. 3 Then ^aba mighty king shall arise, who shall rule with great dominion and ^acdo as he wills. 4 And as soon as he has arisen, ^adhis kingdom shall be broken and divided ^aetoward the ^affour winds of heaven, but ^agnot to his posterity, nor according to the authority with which he ruled, for his kingdom shall be plucked up and go to others besides these.

5 “Then the king of the south shall be strong, but one of his princes shall be stronger than he ^ahand shall rule, and his authority shall be a great authority. 6 After some years ^aithey shall make an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement. But she shall not retain the strength of her arm, and he and his arm shall not endure, but she shall be given up, and her attendants, he who fathered her, and he who supported ^{▼▼Or obtained} her in those times.

7 “And from a branch from her roots one shall arise in his place. He shall come against the army and enter the ^akfortress of the king of the north, and he shall deal with them and shall prevail. 8 He shall also carry off to Egypt their gods with their metal images and their precious ^alvessels of silver and gold, and for some years he shall refrain from attacking the king of the north. 9 Then the latter shall come into the realm of the king of the south but shall return to his own land.

10 “His sons shall wage war and assemble a multitude of great forces, which shall keep coming ^amand overflow and pass through, and again shall carry the war as far as his ^anfortress. 11 Then the king of the south, ^aomoved with rage, shall come out and fight against the king of the north. ^apAnd he shall raise a great multitude, but it shall be given into his hand. 12 And when the multitude is taken away, his heart shall be exalted, and he shall cast down tens of thousands, but he shall not prevail. 13 For the king of the north shall again ^aqraise a multitude, greater than the first. And ^arafter some years ^{▼▼Hebrew at the end of the times} he shall come on with a great army and abundant supplies.

14 “In those times many shall rise against the king of the south, and the violent among your own people shall lift themselves up in order to fulfill the vision, but ^atthey shall fail. 15 Then the king of the north shall come and ^authrow up siegeworks and take a well-fortified city. And the forces of the south shall not stand, or even his best troops, for there shall be no strength to stand. 16 But he who comes against him shall ^avdo as he wills, and ^awnone shall stand before him. And he shall stand in ^axthe glorious land, with destruction in his hand. 17 He shall ^ayset his face to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and he shall bring terms of an agreement and perform them. He shall give him the daughter of women to destroy the kingdom, ^{▼▼Hebrew her, or it} but it shall not stand or be to his advantage. 18 Afterward he shall turn his face to the coastlands and shall capture many of them, but a commander shall put an end to his insolence. Indeed, ^{▼▼The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain} he ^bbshall turn his insolence back upon him. 19 Then he shall turn his face back toward the ^bcfortresses of his own land, but he shall ^bdstumble and fall, ^beand shall not be found.

20 “Then shall arise in his place one who shall send an ^bfexactor of tribute for the glory of the kingdom. But within a few days he shall be broken, neither in anger nor in battle. 21 In his place shall arise a contemptible person to whom royal majesty has not been given. ^bgHe shall come in without warning and obtain the kingdom ^bhby flatteries. 22 Armies shall be ^biutterly swept away before him and broken, even the prince of the covenant. 23 And from the time that an alliance is made with him he shall act deceitfully, and he shall become strong with a small people. 24 ^bjWithout warning he shall come into ^bkthe richest parts ^{▼▼Or among the richest men} of the province, and he shall do what neither his fathers nor his fathers’ fathers have done, scattering among them plunder, spoil, and goods. He shall devise plans against strongholds, but only for a time. 25 And he shall stir up his power and his heart against ^bmthe king of the south with a great army. And the king of the south shall wage war with an exceedingly great and mighty army, but he shall not stand, for plots shall be devised against him. 26 Even those who eat his food shall break him. His army shall be ^bnswept away, and many shall fall down slain. 27 And as for the two kings, their hearts shall be bent on doing evil. They shall speak lies at the same table, but to no avail, for ^bothe end is yet to be at the time appointed. 28 And he shall return to his land with great wealth, but his heart shall be set against the holy covenant. And he shall work his will and return to his own land.

29 “At the time appointed he shall return and come into the south, but it shall not be this time as it was before. 30 For ships of ^bpKittim shall come against him, and he shall be afraid and withdraw, and shall turn back and ^bqbe enraged and ^brtake action against the holy covenant. He shall turn back and pay attention to those who forsake the holy covenant. 31 Forces from him shall appear and ^bsprofane the temple and fortress, and shall take away the regular burnt offering. And ^btthey shall set up the abomination that makes desolate. 32 He shall seduce with flattery those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action. 33 ^buAnd the wise among the people shall make many understand, though for some days they shall stumble by sword and flame, by captivity and plunder. 34 When they stumble, they shall receive a little help. And many shall join themselves to them with flattery, 35 and some of the wise shall stumble, so that they may be refined, ^bvpurified, and ^bwmade white, until ^bxthe time of the end, ^byfor it still awaits the appointed time.

36 “And the king shall ^bzdo as he wills. ^caHe shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god, ^cband shall speak astonishing things against ^ccthe God of gods. ^cdHe shall prosper ^cetill the indignation is accomplished; for what is decreed shall be done. 37 He shall pay no attention to the gods of his fathers, or to the one beloved by women. He shall not pay attention to any other god, for ^cfhe shall magnify himself above all. 38 He shall honor the god of fortresses instead of these. A god whom his fathers did not know he shall honor ^cgwith gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts. 39 He shall deal with the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign god. Those who acknowledge him he shall load with honor. He shall make them rulers over many and ^chshall divide the land for a price. ^{▼▼Or land as payment}

40 ^cj“At the time of the end, the king of the south shall attack ^{▼▼Hebrew thrust at} him, but the king of the north shall rush upon him ^cllike a whirlwind, with chariots and horsemen, and with many ships. And he shall come into countries and ^cmshall overflow and pass through. 41 He shall come into ^cnthe glorious land. And tens of thousands shall fall, but these shall be delivered out of his hand: ^coEdom and ^cpMoab and the main part of the ^cqAmmonites. 42 He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. 43 He shall become ruler of the treasures of gold and of silver, and all the precious things of Egypt, and the ^crLibyans and the ^csCushites shall follow in his train. 44 But news from the east and the north shall alarm him, and he shall go out with great fury to destroy and devote many to destruction. 45 And he shall pitch his palatial tents between the sea and the glorious holy mountain. Yet he shall come to his end, with none to help him.

Mark 13:7-8

7 And when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, ^ctdo not be alarmed. This ^cumust take place, but the end is not yet. 8 For ^cvnation will rise against nation, and ^cwkingdom against kingdom. There will be ^cxearthquakes in various places; there will be ^cyfamines. These are but the beginning of the birth pains.

Luke 21:9

9 And when you hear of wars and tumults, do not be ^czterrified, for these things ^damust first take place, but the end will not be at once.”