“At the time appointed he shall return, and come toward the south; but it shall not be as the former, or as the latter.”
At the appointed time he will return and come into the south; but this time it will not be like the former time—prophesying Antiochus IV's subsequent attempt at Egyptian conquest, which will fail due to Roman intervention (the "Popilius Laenas incident" of 168 BCE), indicating that his first invasion's success will not be repeated. The reference to "appointed time" maintains emphasis on divine choreography of events. The changed outcome warns that human success proves inconstant.
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