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 Belshazzar, a vision appeared to me, 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 saw in a vision, and when I saw, I was in Shushan, in the palace, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in a vision, and was by the river 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 I lifted up my eyes and saw, and behold, there stood before the river a ram, which had two horns; and the two horns were high, and one was higher than the other; and the higher 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.

I saw the ram pushing westward and northward and southward, and no beast could stand before him, and none could deliver out of his hand; but 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 gave heed, and behold, a he-goat came from the west, over the face of the whole earth, without touching the ground; and the goat had a conspicuous 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 which had two horns, which I had seen standing before the river, and ran against him in the fury 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 close to the ram, and he was enraged against him, and smote the ram, and broke in pieces his two horns; and there was no power in the ram to stand before him; and he cast him down to the ground, and stamped upon him; and none 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 became exceedingly great; but when he became strong the great horn was broken, and instead of it grew up four conspicuous ones toward 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 a little horn, which became exceedingly great toward the south, and toward the east, and toward 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 exalted itself even to the host of heaven, and some of the host and of the stars it cast down to the ground, and stamped upon them.

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

Yea, he magnified himself even to the Prince of the host, and the daily sacrifice did he take away from him, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down.

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 host was placed over the daily sacrifice with impiety, and it cast down truth to the ground, and it accomplished its purpose 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 a holy one speak; and another holy one said to the one that had spoken, To how long a time extendeth the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the impiety of the destroyer, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden 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 me, To two thousand and three hundred evenings and mornings; then shall the sanctuary 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, that when I Daniel saw the vision, I sought for the meaning; and behold, there stood one before me having 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 a man's voice between the banks of Ulai, which called and said, Gabriel, make this 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 near where I stood; and when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face, and he said to me, Understand, O son of man! for this vision relateth to 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,

But when he spake to me, I sank senseless upon my face to the ground; but he touched me, and lifted me up where I had stood.

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 known to thee what shall be in the latter time of the indignation; for [[the vision relateth]] to the time of the end.

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

The ram which thou sawest, having two horns, denoteth 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 rough 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 that was broken, and four arose in its place, four kingdoms shall arise out of the 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 toward the end of their reign, when the transgressors have filled up the measure of their iniquities, a king shall arise of a fierce countenance, and cunning in artifices.

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 become mighty, but not by his own strength; and wonderfully will he destroy, and prosper, and accomplish his purposes, and he will destroy many, even the people of the holy 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 through his cunning will he cause fraud to prosper in his hand, and he will magnify himself in his heart, and he will destroy many in the midst of security, and against the Prince of princes will he stand up; but he shall be broken without 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 the morning, which was told thee, is true; but do thou seal up the vision, for it relates to 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 fainted, and was sick some days; then I rose up and did the king's business; and I was astonished at the vision, but no one explained it.