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 king Belshazzar a vision appeared to me, Daniel, after that which appeared to me previously.

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 when I looked, I was in the citadel 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.

Then I lifted up my eyes, and saw, and look, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns. And the two horns were long, but one was longer than the other, and the longer one 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 animals could stand before him, neither was there any who could deliver out of his hand. But 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.

As I was considering, look, a male goat came from the west over the surface of the whole earth, and did not touch the ground. And the goat had a prominent 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.

He came to the ram that had the two horns, which I saw standing before the river, and rushed at 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.

I saw him come close to the ram, and he was moved with anger against him, and struck the ram, and broke his two horns. And there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he threw him down to the ground and trampled on him, and there was no one who could deliver the ram from his power.

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.

The male goat became very strong. But when he was strong, the large horn was broken; and instead of it there came up four prominent horns toward the four winds of heaven.

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.

Out of one of them came forth a little horn, which grew exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the beautiful land.

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.

It grew so great that it reached to the host of heaven, and some of the host and of the stars it cast down to the ground, and trampled on 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 it magnified itself, even against the Prince of the host; and it took away from him the daily sacrifice, and the place of his sanctuary was thrown down.

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

The host was given over to it together with the daily sacrifice because of transgression. And it cast down truth to the ground, and kept prospering.

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?

Then I heard a holy one speaking; and another holy one said to that certain one who spoke, "How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression that makes desolate, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trampled?"

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

He said to me, "To two thousand and three hundred evenings and mornings; then shall the sanctuary be restored to its rightful state."

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.

It came about when I, Daniel, had seen the vision, that I sought to understand it. And look, there stood before me someone who appeared to be 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.

I heard a man's voice between the banks of the Ulai, and called out and said, "Gabriel, make this man 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.

So he came near where I stood, and when he came I was frightened, and fell prostrate. But he said to me, "Understand, son of man, that the vision belongs to 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 fell into a deep sleep with my face toward the ground; but he touched me, and stood me upright.

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.

He said, "Look, I will make you know what shall be in the latter time of wrath, for it belongs to the appointed time of the end.

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

The ram which you saw, that had 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.

The male goat is the king of Greece, and the large horn that is 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.

As for that which was broken, in the place where four stood up, four kingdoms shall arise out of his 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.

In the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressions have reached their full measure, a rash and deceitful king shall arise.

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.

His power shall be great, but not by his own strength; and he shall cause terrible destruction, and shall succeed in whatever he does. And he shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.

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.

Through his cunning he shall cause deceit to prosper by his influence, and he shall be great in his own mind, and without warning he shall destroy many. He shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be shattered, but not by human hands.

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.

The vision of the evenings and mornings which has been told is true; but seal up the vision because it refers to many days from now."

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.

I, Daniel, was overcome, and was ill for days. Then I rose up, and carried out the king's business. And I was astonished by the vision, but there was no one to explain it.