Daniel 8
1 In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision appeared unto me, to me Daniel, after that which had 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, in my seeing, that I was at Shushan the capital, which is in the province of 'Elam; —and I saw in the vision, as though 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 my eyes, and saw, and, behold, there was a ram standing before the river, and he had two horns; and the horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher 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 I saw the ram butting westward, and northward, and southward; so that all the beasts could not stand before him, and no one was there to 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 looking attentively, behold, there came a shaggy, he-goat from the west over the face of the whole earth, without touching the ground; and the goat had a sightly large 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 as far as the ram that had two horns, that I had seen standing before the river, and ran at him with his furious 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 coming close unto the ram, and he became bitterly enraged against him, and he struck the ram, and broke his two horns: and there was no power in the ram to stand forward before him: and he cast him down to the ground, and stamped upon him; and there was no one to 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 shaggy he-goat became very great: but when he was grown strong, the great horn was broken; and there came up four slightly large ones 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 them came forth a little horn, which became exceedingly great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the glorious land.
[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 up to the host of the heavens; and it cast down to the ground some of the host and of the stars, and trod them under foot.
[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 Yea, it magnified itself even up to the prince of the host, and by it 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 the host is given up together with the continual sacrifice, by reason of transgression: and it casteth down the truth to the ground, and it doth [this], and is prosperous.
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 Then did I hear a certain holy one speaking, and a holy one said unto the unknown one who was speaking, For how long is the vision concerning the continual sacrifice, and the wasting transgression, to give up both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden 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, when the sanctuary shall be justified.
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, even I Daniel, saw the vision, and sought for understanding, that, behold, there was standing opposite to me something like 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 Ulai, and it called, and said, Gabriel, cause this one to understand this appearance.
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 So he came close to where I stood: and when he came, I was terrified, and I fell upon my face; but he said unto me, Mark it well, O son of man; because for the time of the end is the vision.
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 fell down in amazement on my face to the ground: but he touched me, and set me upright where I had been standing.
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 known unto thee what is to be at the last end of the indignation; for it is for the appointed time of the end.
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 hast seen, him with the two horns, [signifieth] 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 shaggy he-goat is the king of Javan; and the great horn which is 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 But that it was broken, and that four sprung up in its stead, [signifieth that] four kingdoms will spring 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 in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors have filled their measure of guilt, there will arise a king of an impudent face, and understanding deep schemes.
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 will be mighty, but not by his own power; and he will destroy wonderfully, and will prosper while he doth [this]; and he will destroy very many 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 intelligence, and because he prospereth, is craftiness in his hand; and in his heart will he magnify himself, and in peace will he destroy many: he will also stand up against the Prince of princes; but without a human hand will he be broken.
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 appearance of the evening and the morning which was spoken of is true: but do thou keep the vision closed up;
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 grieved, and was sick several days; afterward I rose up, and did the king's business; and I was depressed because of the appearance; but no one observed 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.
