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.
During the third year that Belshazzar was the King [of Babylonia], I had another vision.
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.
In that vision I was in Susa, the capital city of Elam Province. I was [standing] alongside 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.
I looked up and saw a ram that was standing alongside the canal. It had two [long] horns, but the newest one was longer than the other one.
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.
The ram butted/knocked away [with its horns] everything that was west and everything that was north and everything that was south of it. There were no [other] animals that were able to oppose it, and none that could rescue/save [other animals] from its power. The ram did whatever it wanted to do and became very powerful.
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.
While I was thinking [about what I had seen, in the vision] I saw a goat come from the west. It ran across the land so quickly, that [it seemed like] its feet did not touch the ground. This goat had one very large horn between its eyes.
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.
It was very angry, and it ran [straight] toward the ram that I had seen [previously, the ram] that was standing alongside the canal.
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.
The goat struck the ram furiously and broke off its two horns, with the result that the ram was unable [to defend itself]. [So] the goat knocked the ram down and trampled on it. No one could rescue the ram from the goat’s 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.
The goat became very powerful. But when its power was very great, its horn was broken off. But four [other] large horns took its place. They each pointed in a different direction.
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].
[Then] from one of those [large horns] appeared a little horn, which became very big, [and pointed] toward the south and [then] toward the east and [then] toward the beautiful land [of Israel].
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.
[The man who was represented by] that horn became very strong, with the result that he attacked some of the [soldiers of the] army of heaven, and (OR, meaning) the stars in the sky [which represented God’s people]. He threw some of them to the ground and trampled on 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.
He (defied/considered himself to be greater than) the leader of the army [of heaven], and prevented [priests from] offering sacrifices to him. He also (defiled the temple/caused the temple to become unholy).
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.
Then God’s people allowed the [man who was represented by] that horn to control/rule them, with the result that they sinned by offering sacrifices to him. And he threw to the ground the [laws that contained the] true religion. Everything that he did was successful.
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 two angels who were talking to each other. One of them asked, “How long will the things/events that were in this vision continue? How long will the man who rebels against God and causes [the temple] to be defiled be able to prevent [priests from] offering sacrifices? How long will he trample on the temple and on the armies of heaven?”
14 And he said unto me, Until two thousand and three hundred evenings [and] mornings: then shall the sanctuary be vindicated.
The other angel replied, “[It will continue] for 1,150 days. During all of that time, [people will not be permitted to offer sacrifices] in the morning or in the evening. After that, the temple will be purified.”
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 trying to understand what the vision meant, suddenly [an angel] who resembled a man stood/appeared in front of me.
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 a man call out from [the other side of] the Ulai Canal, saying, “Gabriel, explain to him the meaning of the vision [that he saw]!”
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.
So Gabriel came and stood beside me. I was very terrified, with the result that I fell onto the ground. But he said to me, “You human, it is necessary for you to understand that [the events that you saw in] the vision will occur [near] the time that [the world] will 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, I fainted. I lay there, unconscious, with my face still on the ground. But Gabriel put his hand on me and lifted me up in order that I could stand again.
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.
Then he said, “I [have come here to] tell you what will happen because of [God] being angry. These things will happen near the time when [the world] will end.
20 The ram that thou sawest having the two horns: they are the kings of Media and Persia.
As for the ram with two horns that you saw, those horns [represent] the kingdoms 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 goat [that you saw represents] the kingdom of Greece, and the horn that appeared between its eyes [represents] its 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.
As for the four horns that grew after the first horn was broken off, they [represent] four kingdoms into which that first kingdom will be divided [after the first king dies]. Those four kingdoms will not be as strong/powerful as the first kingdom was.
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.
The people [in those kingdoms] will become very wicked, with the result that it will be necessary for them to be punished. But near the time when those kingdoms will end, one of those kingdoms will have a king who will be very proud/defiant [IDM]. He will [also] be very fierce and very deceitful.
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.
He will become very powerful, but it will not be because of what he himself does. He will terribly destroy things in many places, and he will succeed in doing everything that he wants to. He will get rid of [many] powerful men, and [also] some of God’s 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.
Because he is very cunning/clever, he will succeed by doing things that deceive many people. He will be proud of himself. He will destroy many people when they think that they are safe. He will also rebel against [God] [EUP], who is the greatest king. But [God] will destroy him, without the help [MTY] of any human being.
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].
What you saw in the vision about [priests being prevented from making] sacrifices in the morning and in the evening, which [I] explained [to you], will surely happen. But [for the present time], do not reveal the vision [to others], because it will be many years before those things happen.”
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].
Then I, Daniel, became weak, and I was sick for several days. Then I arose and [returned to] doing the work that the king [had given to me], but I was perplexed/confused about the vision, and I could not understand it.
