Daniel 8

1 In the third year of King Belshazzar's reign I, Daniel, saw another vision after the one I had seen previously.

In the third year of the reign of king Baltasar a vision appeared to me, [even] to me Daniel, after that which appeared to me at the first.

2 In my vision I looked around and saw I was in the castle at Susa in the province of Elam. In the vision I was beside the River Ulai.

And I was in Susa the palace, which is in the land of Aelam, and I was on the [bank of] Ubal.

3 I looked around and saw a ram standing beside the river. It had two long horns, one longer than the other, even though the longer one had grown last.

And I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, a ram standing in front of the Ubal; and he had high horns; and one was higher than the other, and the high one came up last.

4 I watched the ram charging west, north, and south. No animal could stand up to it—nor was there any chance of rescue from its power. It did whatever it wanted and grew powerful.

And I saw the ram butting westward, and northward, and southward; and no beast could stand before him, and there was none that could deliver out of his hand; and he did according to his will, and became great.

5 As I was thinking about what I'd seen, a male goat came in from the west, racing in across the surface of the earth so fast it didn't touch the ground. It had a large, prominent horn between its eyes.

And I was considering, and, behold, a he-goat came from the southwest on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the earth: and the goat [had] a horn between his eyes.

6 It approached the ram with the two horns which I had seen standing beside the river, rushing in to attack in a furious rage.

And he came to the ram that had the horns, which I had seen standing in front of the Ubal, and he ran at him with the violence of his strength.

7 I watched as the goat charged furiously at the ram, hitting it and breaking off its two horns. The ram did not have the strength to resist the goat's attack. The goat threw the ram to the ground, trampling on it, and there was no possibility of rescuing it from the goat's power.

And I saw him coming up close to the ram, and he was furiously enraged against him, and he struck the ram, and broke both his horns: and there was no strength in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him on the ground, and trampled on him; and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand.

8 The goat grew very powerful, but at the height of its power its large horn was broken off. In its place four large horns came up, pointing to the four winds of heaven.

And the he-goat grew exceedingly great: and when he was strong, his great horn was broken; and four other [horns] rose up in its place towards the four winds of heaven.

9 A little horn came up from one of them, and grew extremely powerful to the south and to the east and to the Beautiful Land.

And out of one of them came forth one strong horn, and it grew very great towards the south, and towards the host:

10 It grew in power until it reached the heavenly army, throwing some of them and some of the stars down to the earth and trampled on them.

and it magnified itself to the host of heaven; and there fell to the earth [some] of the host of heaven and of the stars, and they trampled on them.

11 It even tried to make itself as great as the Prince of the heavenly army—it removed the continual service, and the place of his sanctuary was destroyed.

And [this shall be] until the chief captain shall have delivered the captivity: and by reason of him the sacrifice was disturbed, and he prospered; and the holy place shall be made desolate.

12 An army of people and the continual service were handed over to it because of rebellion, and it overthrew truth, and it was successful in everything it did.

And a sin-offering was given for the sacrifice, and righteousness was cast down to the ground; and it practised, and prospered.

13 Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one asked the one who was speaking, “How long is this vision for—the removal of the continual service, the rebellion that causes devastation, the handing over of the sanctuary and the army of people to be trampled down?”

And I heard one saint speaking, and a saint said to a certain one speaking, How long shall the vision continue, [even] the removal of the sacrifice, and the bringing in of the sin of desolation; and [how long] shall the sanctuary and host be trampled?

14 He replied, “For two thousand three hundred evenings and mornings, then the sanctuary will be cleansed.”

And he said to him, Evening and morning [there shall be] two thousand and four hundred days; and [then] the sanctuary shall be cleansed.

15 As I, Daniel, tried to work out what this vision meant suddenly I saw someone who looked like a man standing in front of me.

And it came to pass, as I, [even] I Daniel, saw the vision, and sought to understand it, that, behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man.

16 I also heard a human voice calling from the River Ulai, “Gabriel, explain to this man the meaning of the vision.”

And I heard the voice of a man between [the banks of] the Ubal; and he called, and said, Gabriel, cause that man to understand the vision.

17 As he approached me, I was terrified and fell face down before him. “Son of man,” he told me, “You need to understand that this vision refers to the time of the end.”

And he came and stood near where I stood: and when he came, I was struck with awe, and fell upon my face: but he said to me, Understand, son of man: for yet the vision is for an appointed time.

18 As he spoke to me I lost consciousness as I laid face down on the ground. But he took hold of me and helped me to my feet.

And while he spoke with me, I fell upon my face to the earth: and he touched me, and set me on my feet.

19 He told me, “Pay attention! I'm going to explain to you what's going to happen during the time of anger, which refers to the appointed time of the end.

And he said, Behold, I make you know the things that shall come to pass at the end of the wrath: for the vision [is] yet for an appointed time.

20 The ram with two horns that you saw symbolizes the kings of Media and Persia.

The ram which you saw that had the horns is the king of the Medes and Persians.

21 The male goat is the kingdom of Greece, and the large horn between its eyes is its first king.

The he-goat is the King of the Greeks: and the great horn which was between his eyes, he is the first king.

22 The four horns that came up in place of the large horn that was broken represent the four kingdoms that arose from that nation, but not as powerful as the first.

And [as for] the one that was broken, in whose place there stood up four horns, four kings shall arise out of his nation, but not in their [own] strength.

23 When those kingdoms come to an end, when their sins have reached their fullest extent, a ferocious and treacherous kingdom will rise to power.

And at the latter time of their kingdom, when their sins are coming to the full, there shall arise a king bold in countenance, and understanding riddles.

24 It will become very powerful but not by its own power. It will be terribly destructive, and will succeed in everything it does. It will destroy great leaders and God's dedicated people.

And his power [shall be] great, and he shall destroy wonderfully, and prosper, and practise, and shall destroy mighty men, and the holy people.

25 Through its deviousness, its lies will be convincing and successful. It shows its arrogance both in thought and action, destroying those who thought they were perfectly safe. It even fights in opposition against the Prince of princes, but it will be defeated, though not by any human power.

And the yoke of his chain shall prosper: [there is] craft in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by craft shall destroy many, and he shall stand up for the destruction of many, and shall crush them as eggs in his hand.

26 The vision about the evenings and mornings that has been explained to you is true, but for now seal up this vision because it refers to the distant future.”

And the vision of the evening and morning that was mentioned is true: and do you seal the vision; for [it is] for many days.

27 After this, I, Daniel, became exhausted, and I was sick for days. Then I got up and went back to working for the king, but I was devastated at what I'd seen in vision and I couldn't understand it.

And I Daniel fell asleep, and was sick: then I arose, and did the king's business; and I wondered at the vision, and there was none that understood [it].