Daniel 8

1 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.

During the third year that Belshazzar was the King [of Babylonia], I had another vision.

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

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, 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.

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 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.

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 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.

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

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 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.

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

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 one strong horn, and it grew very great toward the south, and toward the host:

[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 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.

[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 [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.

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 sin-offering was given for the sacrifice, and righteousness was cast down 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 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?

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

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, 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.

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 the voice of a man between [the banks of] the Ubal; and he called, and said, Gabriel, cause that 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 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.

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

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 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.

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

As for the ram with two horns that you saw, those horns [represent] the kingdoms of Media and Persia.

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

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 their sins are coming to the full, there shall arise a king bold in countenance, and understanding riddles.

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] great, and he shall destroy wonderfully, and prosper, and practise, and shall destroy mighty men, and the holy people.

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 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.

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

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 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].

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.