“Then the king of the south,

Moved with rage,

Shall go out.

He shall do battle

Against

The king of the north.

He mustered

A great multitude,

That was defeated

By his enemy.

When the multitude

Has been carried off,

His heart shall be exalted.

He shall overthrow

Tens of thousands.

But he shall not prevail.

The king of the north

Shall again raise a multitude,

Larger than the former.

After some years,

He shall advance

With a great army,

With abundant supplies.”

The king of the south was King Ptolemy IV (221-204 BCE). He had a number of battles with the northern King Antiochus III (222-187 BCE). King Ptolemy IV won at Raphia (217 BCE), when he took over the Palestine Judean area. However, he lost other battles. The northern King Antiochus III enlarged his empire on all sides. later. He gathered together a great army with a lot of supplies, as he also made a pact with Philip V of Macedonia (221-179 BCE).