Daniel 8

1 In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar, a vision appeared to me, Daniel, subsequent to the one that had appeared to me earlier.

In the third year of the rule of Belshazzar the king, a vision was seen by me, Daniel, after the one I saw at first.

2 And in the vision I saw myself in the citadel of Susa, in the province of Elam. I saw in the vision that I was beside the Ulai Canal.

And I saw in the vision; and when I saw it, I was in the strong town Shushan, which is in the country of Elam; and in the vision I was by the water-door of the Ulai.

3 Then I lifted up my eyes and saw a ram with two horns standing beside the canal. The horns were long, but one was longer than the other, and the longer one grew up later.

And lifting up my eyes, I saw, there before the stream, a male sheep with two horns: and the two horns were high, but one was higher than the other, the higher one coming up last.

4 I saw the ram charging toward the west and the north and the south. No animal could stand against him, and there was no deliverance from his power. He did as he pleased and became great.

I saw the sheep pushing to the west and to the north and to the south; and no beasts were able to keep their place before him, and no one was able to get people out of his power; but he did whatever his pleasure was and made himself great.

5 As I was contemplating all this, suddenly a goat with a prominent horn between his eyes came out of the west, crossing the surface of the entire earth without touching the ground.

And while I was giving thought to this, I saw a he-goat coming from the west over the face of all the earth without touching the earth: and the he-goat had a great horn between his eyes.

6 He came toward the two-horned ram I had seen standing beside the canal and rushed at him with furious power.

And he came to the two-horned sheep which I saw before the stream, rushing at him in the heat of his power.

7 I saw him approach the ram in a rage against him, and he struck the ram and shattered his two horns. The ram was powerless to stand against him, and the goat threw him to the ground and trampled him, and no one could deliver the ram from his power.

And I saw him come right up to the sheep, and he was moved with wrath against him, attacking the sheep so that his two horns were broken; and the sheep had not strength to keep his place before him, but was pushed down on the earth and crushed under his feet: and there was no one to get the sheep out of his power.

8 Thus the goat became very great, but at the height of his power, his large horn was broken off, and four prominent horns came up in its place, pointing toward the four winds of heaven.

And the he-goat became very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken, and in its place came up four other horns turned to the four winds of heaven.

9 From one of these horns a little horn emerged and grew extensively toward the south and the east and toward the Beautiful Land.

And out of one of them came another horn, a little one, which became very great, stretching to the south and to the east and to the beautiful land.

10 It grew as high as the host of heaven, and it cast down some of the host and some of the stars to the earth, and trampled them.

And it became great, even as high as the army of heaven, pulling down some of the army, even of the stars, to the earth and crushing them under its feet.

11 It magnified itself, even to the Prince of the host; it removed His daily sacrifice and overthrew the place of His sanctuary.

It made itself great, even as great as the lord of the army; and by it the regular burned offering was taken away, and the place overturned and the holy place made waste.

12 And in the rebellion, the host and the daily sacrifice were given over to the horn, and it flung truth to the ground and prospered in whatever it did.

... against the regular burned offering; and ... crushed down to the earth, and it did its pleasure and things went well for it.

13 Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to him, “How long until the fulfillment of the vision of the daily sacrifice, the rebellion that causes desolation, and the surrender of the sanctuary and of the host to be trampled?”

Then there came to my ears the voice of a holy one talking; and another holy one said to that certain one who was talking, How long will the vision be while the regular burned offering is taken away, and the unclean thing causing fear is put up, and the holy place crushed under foot?

14 He said to me, “It will take 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary will be properly restored.”

And he said to him, For two thousand, three hundred evenings and mornings; then the holy place will be made clean.

15 While I, Daniel, was watching the vision and trying to understand it, there stood before me one having the appearance of a man.

And it came about that when I, Daniel, had seen this vision, I had a desire for the sense of it to be unfolded; and I saw one before me in the form of a man.

16 And I heard the voice of a man calling from between the banks of the Ulai: “Gabriel, explain the vision to this man.”

And the voice of a man came to my ears between the sides of the Ulai, crying out and saying, Gabriel, make the vision clear to this man.

17 As he came near to where I stood, I was terrified and fell facedown. “Son of man,” he said to me, “understand that the vision concerns the time of the end.”

So he came and took his place near where I was; and when he came, I was full of fear and went down on my face: but he said to me, Let it be clear to you, O son of man; for the vision has to do with the time of the end.

18 While he was speaking with me, I fell into a deep sleep, with my face to the ground. Then he touched me, helped me to my feet,

Now while he was talking to me, I went into a deep sleep with my face to the earth: but touching me, he put me on my feet where I had been.

19 and said, “Behold, I will make known to you what will happen in the latter time of wrath, because it concerns the appointed time of the end.

And he said, See, I will make clear to you what is to come in the later time of the wrath: for it has to do with the fixed time of the end.

20 The two-horned ram that you saw represents the kings of Media and Persia.

The sheep which you saw with two horns, they are the kings of Media and Persia.

21 The shaggy goat represents the king of Greece, and the large horn between his eyes is the first king.

And the he-goat is the king of Greece: and the great horn between his eyes is the first king.

22 The four horns that replaced the broken one represent four kingdoms that will rise from that nation, but will not have the same power.

And as for that which was broken, in place of which four came up, four kingdoms will come up from his nation, but not with his power.

23 In the latter part of their reign, when the rebellion has reached its full measure, an insolent king, skilled in intrigue, will come to the throne.

And in the later years of their kingdom, when their evil doings have become complete, there will come up a king full of pride and expert in dark sayings.

24 His power will be great, but it will not be his own. He will cause terrible destruction and succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy the mighty men along with the holy people.

And his power will be great, and he will be purposing strange things. And all will go well for him and he will do his pleasure; and he will send destruction on the strong ones.

25 Through his craft and by his hand, he will cause deceit to prosper, and in his own mind he will make himself great. In a time of peace he will destroy many, and he will even stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be broken off, but not by human hands.

And his designs will be turned against the holy people, causing deceit to do well in his hand; in his heart he will make himself great, and send destruction on numbers who are living unconscious of their danger; and he will put himself up against the prince of princes; but he will be broken, though not by men's hands.

26 The vision of the evenings and the mornings that has been spoken is true. Now you must seal up the vision, for it concerns the distant future.”

And the vision of evenings and mornings which has been talked of is true: and keep the vision secret; for it has to do with the far-off future.

27 I, Daniel, was exhausted and lay ill for days. Then I got up and went about the king’s business. I was confounded by the vision; it was beyond understanding.

And I, Daniel, was ill for some days; then I got up and did the king's business: and I was full of wonder at the vision, but no one was able to give the sense of it.