Daniel 8

1 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.

In the third year of the reign of Belshazzar the king, a vision appeared unto me, [even] to me Daniel, after that which appeared unto me at the first.

2 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.

And I saw in the vision; and it came to pass, when I saw, that I was in the fortress of Shushan, which is in the province of Elam. And I saw in the vision, and I was by the river Ulai.

3 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.

And I lifted up mine 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 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.

I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward, and no beast could stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; and he did according to his will, and became great.

5 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.

And as I was considering, behold, a he-goat came from the west over the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes.

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

And he came to the ram that had the two horns, which I had seen standing before the river, and ran upon him in the fury of his power.

7 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.

And I saw him come close to the ram, and he was enraged with him, and smote the ram, and broke his two horns; and there was no power in the ram to stand before him; and he cast him down to the ground, and trampled upon him; and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand.

8 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.

And the he-goat became exceeding great; but when he was become strong, the great horn was broken; and in its stead came up four notable ones toward the four winds of the heavens.

9 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.

And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which became exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the beauty [of the earth].

10 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.

And it became great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down [some] of the host and of the stars to the ground, and trampled upon them.

11 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.

(And he magnified [himself] even to the prince of the host, and from him the continual [sacrifice] was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down.

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

And a time of trial was appointed unto the continual [sacrifice] by reason of transgression.) And it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised and prospered.

13 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?

And I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that one who spoke, How long shall be the vision of the continual [sacrifice] and of the transgression that maketh desolate, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden down under foot?

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

And he said unto me, Until two thousand and three hundred evenings [and] mornings: then shall the sanctuary be vindicated.

15 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.

And it came to pass, when I Daniel had seen the vision, I sought for the understanding of it, and behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man.

16 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.

And I heard a man's voice between [the banks of] the Ulai; and he called and said, Gabriel, make this [man] to understand the vision.

17 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.

And he came near where I stood; and when he came, I was afraid, and fell on my face; and he said unto me, Understand, son of man; for the vision is for the time of the end.

18 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.

Now, as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep stupor, with my face toward the ground. And he touched me, and set me up where I had stood.

19 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.

And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be at the end of the indignation: for at the set time the end shall be.

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

The ram that thou sawest having the two horns: they are the kings of Media and Persia.

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

And the rough goat is the king of Greece; and the great horn that was between his eyes is the first king.

22 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.

Now that being broken, whereas four stood up in its stead, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not with his power.

23 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.

And at the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors shall have come to the full, a king of bold countenance, and understanding riddles, shall stand up.

24 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.

And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; and he shall destroy marvellously, and shall prosper, and shall practise, and shall destroy the mighty ones, and the people of the saints.

25 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.

And through his cunning shall he cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he will magnify [himself] in his heart, and by prosperity will corrupt many; and he will stand up against the Prince of princes: but he shall be broken without hand.

26 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.

And the vision of the evening and the morning which hath been told is true; but close thou up the vision, for it is for many days [to come].

27 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.

And I Daniel fainted, and was sick [certain] days: then I rose up, and did the king's business. And I was astonished at the vision, but none understood [it].