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 reign of king Baltasar a vision appeared to me, [even] to me Daniel, after that which appeared to me at the 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 was in Susa the palace, which is in the land of Aelam, and I was on the [bank of] Ubal.

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 I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, a ram standing in front of the Ubal; and he had high horns; and one was higher than the other, and the high one came 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.

And I saw the ram butting westward, and northward, and southward; and no beast could stand before him, and there was none that could deliver out of his hand; and he did according to his will, and became 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 I was considering, and, behold, a he-goat came from the southwest on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the earth: and the goat [had] a 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 ram that had the horns, which I had seen standing in front of the Ubal, and he ran at him with the violence of his strength.

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 coming up close to the ram, and he was furiously enraged against him, and he struck the ram, and broke both his horns: and there was no strength in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him on the ground, and trampled on him; and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand.

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 grew exceedingly great: and when he was strong, his great horn was broken; and four other [horns] rose up in its place towards 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 forth one strong horn, and it grew very great towards the south, and towards the host:

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 magnified itself to the host of heaven; and there fell to the earth [some] of the host of heaven and of the stars, and they trampled on them.

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

And [this shall be] until the chief captain shall have delivered the captivity: and by reason of him the sacrifice was disturbed, and he prospered; and the holy place shall be made desolate.

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.

And a sin-offering was given for the sacrifice, and righteousness was cast down to the ground; and it practised, and prospered.

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?”

And I heard one saint speaking, and a saint said to a certain one speaking, How long shall the vision continue, [even] the removal of the sacrifice, and the bringing in of the sin of desolation; and [how long] shall the sanctuary and host be trampled?

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, Evening and morning [there shall be] two thousand and four hundred days; and [then] the sanctuary shall be cleansed.

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 to pass, as I, [even] I Daniel, saw the vision, and sought to understand it, that, behold, there stood before me as the appearance 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 I heard the voice of a man between [the banks of] the Ubal; and he called, and said, Gabriel, cause that man to understand the vision.

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.”

And he came and stood near where I stood: and when he came, I was struck with awe, and fell upon my face: but he said to me, Understand, son of man: for yet the vision is for an appointed time.

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,

And while he spoke with me, I fell upon my face to the earth: and he touched me, and set me on my feet.

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, Behold, I make you know the things that shall come to pass at the end of the wrath: for the vision [is] yet for an appointed time.

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

The ram which you saw that had the horns is the king of the Medes and Persians.

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

The he-goat is the King of the Greeks: and the great horn which was between his eyes, he 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] the one that was broken, in whose place there stood up four horns, four kings shall arise out of his nation, but not in their [own] strength.

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 at the latter time of their kingdom, when their sins are coming to the full, there shall arise a king bold in countenance, and understanding riddles.

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 [shall be] great, and he shall destroy wonderfully, and prosper, and practise, and shall destroy mighty men, and the holy people.

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 the yoke of his chain shall prosper: [there is] craft in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by craft shall destroy many, and he shall stand up for the destruction of many, and shall crush them as eggs in his hand.

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 the evening and morning that was mentioned is true: and do you seal the vision; for [it is] for many days.

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 fell asleep, and was sick: then I arose, and did the king's business; and I wondered at the vision, and there was none that understood [it].