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, 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 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.

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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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.

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

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 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 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 (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 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 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.

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

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 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.

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 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.

I heard a man's voice calling between the banks of the Ulai Canal. He said, “Gabriel, help this man understand the vision.”

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 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, 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.

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

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 ram that thou sawest having the 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 rough goat is the king of Greece; and the great horn that was 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 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 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 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.

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 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 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 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.

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 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 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 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, 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.