1. ALSO I [the angel], in the first year of Darius the Mede, even I, stood up to confirm and to strengthen him [Michael, the angelic prince].
2. And now I will show you the truth. Behold, there shall arise three more kings in Persia, and a fourth shall be far richer than they all. And when he has become strong through his riches he shall stir up and stake all against the realm of Greece.
3. Then a mighty [warlike, threatening] king shall arise who shall rule with great dominion and do according to his [own] will.
4. And as soon as he has fully arisen, his [Alexander the Great's] kingdom shall be broken [by his death] and divided toward the four winds [the east, west, north, and south] of the heavens, but not to his posterity, nor according to the [Grecian] dominion which he ruled, for his kingdom shall be torn out and uprooted and go to others [to his four generals] to the exclusion of these.