²³ “Toward the end of their kingdoms, when they have become morally rotten, an angry king shall rise to power with great shrewdness and intelligence.^{[a] 24} His power shall be mighty, but it will be satanic strength and not his own.^[b] Prospering wherever he turns, he will destroy all who oppose him, though their armies be mighty, and he will devastate God’s people.

²⁵ “He will be a master of deception, defeating many by catching them off guard as they bask in false security. Without warning he will destroy them. So great will he fancy himself to be that he will even take on the Prince of Princes in battle; but in so doing he will seal his own doom, for he shall be broken by the hand of God, though no human means could overpower him.