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, I, Daniel, had a vision appear to me (after the one that appeared to me at 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.
I saw in the vision, as I was looking, that I was in the fortress of Susa in the province of Elam. I saw in the vision that I was beside the Ulai Canal.
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.
I looked up and saw before me a ram with two horns, standing beside the canal. One horn was longer than the other, but the longer one grew more slowly than the shorter and was passed up in length by it.
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 charging west, then north, and then south; no other animal could stand before him. None of them was able to rescue anyone out of his hand. He did whatever he wanted, and he 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 thinking about this, I saw a male goat come from the west, who went across the surface of the whole earth, running fast, not seeming to touch the ground. The goat had a large 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 who had two horns—I had seen the ram standing on the bank of the canal—and the goat ran toward the ram in a powerful rage.
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 the goat come close to the ram. He was very angry at the ram, and he hit the ram and broke off its two horns. The ram was powerless to stand before him. The goat knocked him down to the ground and trampled on him. There was no one who could rescue 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.
Then the goat became very large. But when he became strong, the large horn was broken, and in its place four other large horns grew up that pointed 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.
Out of one of them grew another horn, little at first, but which became very large in the south, in the east, and in the land of beauty.
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 became so large as to engage in war with the army of heaven. Some of that army and some of the stars were thrown down to the earth, and it 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.
It made itself to be as great as the commander of the army. It took away from him the regular burnt offering, and the place of his sanctuary was polluted.
12 ... against the regular burned offering; and ... crushed down to the earth, and it did its pleasure and things went well for it.
Because of rebellion, the army will be given over to the goat's horn, and the burnt offering will be stopped. The horn will throw truth down to the ground, and it will succeed in what it does.
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 answering him, “How long will these things last, this vision about the burnt offering, the sin that brings destruction, the handing over of the sanctuary, and heaven's army being trampled on?”
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, “It will last for 2,300 evenings and mornings. After that the sanctuary will be put right.”
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.
When I, Daniel, had seen the vision, I tried to understand it. Then there stood before me one who looked like 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 calling between the banks of the Ulai Canal. He said, “Gabriel, help 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. When he came, I was frightened and prostrated myself on the ground. He said to me, “Understand, son of man, that 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.
When he spoke to me, I fell into a deep sleep with my face to the ground. Then he touched me and made me stand up.
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, “See, I will show you what will happen later in the time of wrath, because the vision concerns the appointed time for the end.
20 The sheep which you saw with two horns, they are the kings of Media and Persia.
As for the ram you saw, the one that had 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. The large horn 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 the horn that was broken, in the place of which four others arose—four kingdoms will arise from his nation, but not with his great 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.
At the latter time of those kingdoms, when the transgressors shall have reached their limit, a grim-faced king, one who is very intelligent, will 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 will be great—but not by his own power. He will be amazing in what he destroys; he will act and succeed. He will destroy powerful people, people among the holy ones.
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.
By his craftiness he will make deceit prosper under his hand. He will become great in his own mind. He will unexpectedly destroy many people. He will even rise up against the King of kings, and he will be broken, but not by any human 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.
The vision about the evenings and mornings that has been told is true. But seal up the vision, for it refers to many days in the future.”
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.
Then I, Daniel, was overcome and lay weak for several days. Then I got up, and went about the king's business. But I was appalled by the vision, and there was no one who understood it.
