Daniel 8

1 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.

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.

2 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.

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.

3 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.

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.

4 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.

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.

5 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.

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.

6 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.

He came toward the two-horned ram I had seen standing beside the canal and rushed at him with furious power.

7 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.

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.

8 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.

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.

9 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].

From one of these horns a little horn emerged and grew extensively toward the south and the east and toward the Beautiful Land.

10 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.

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.

11 (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.

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

12 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.

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.

13 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?

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?”

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

He said to me, “It will take 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary will be properly restored.”

15 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.

While I, Daniel, was watching the vision and trying to understand it, there stood before me one having the appearance of a man.

16 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.

And I heard the voice of a man calling from between the banks of the Ulai: “Gabriel, explain the vision to this man.”

17 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.

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.”

18 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.

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,

19 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.

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.

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

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

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

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

22 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.

The four horns that replaced the broken one represent four kingdoms that will rise from that nation, but will not have the same power.

23 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.

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.

24 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.

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.

25 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.

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.

26 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].

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.”

27 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].

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.