Daniel 8

1 In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision appeared to me, Daniel, after that which appeared to me previously.

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

2 And I saw in the vision, and when I looked, I was in the citadel 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 Then I lifted up my eyes, and saw, and look, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns. And the two horns were long, but one was longer than the other, and the longer 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 pushing westward, and northward, and southward; and no animals could stand before him, neither was there any who could deliver out of his hand. But 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 As I was considering, look, a male goat came from the west over the surface of the whole earth, and did not touch the ground. And the goat had a prominent 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 He came to the ram that had the two horns, which I saw standing before the river, and rushed at 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 I saw him come close to the ram, and he was moved with anger against him, and struck the ram, and broke his two horns. And there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he threw him down to the ground and trampled on him, and there was no one who could deliver the ram from his power.

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 The male goat became very strong. But when he was strong, the large horn was broken; and instead of it there came up four prominent horns 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 Out of one of them came forth a little horn, which grew exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the beautiful 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 It grew so great that it reached to the host of heaven, and some of the host and of the stars it cast down to the ground, and 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 it magnified itself, even against the Prince of the host; and it took away from him the daily sacrifice, and the place of his sanctuary was thrown 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 The host was given over to it together with the daily sacrifice because of transgression. And it cast down truth to the ground, and kept prospering.

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 I heard a holy one speaking; and another holy one said to that certain one who spoke, "How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression that makes desolate, to give both the sanctuary and the host to 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 He said to me, "To two thousand and three hundred evenings and mornings; then shall the sanctuary be restored to its rightful state."

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 It came about when I, Daniel, had seen the vision, that I sought to understand it. And look, there stood before me someone who appeared to be 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 I heard a man's voice between the banks of the Ulai, and called out and said, "Gabriel, make this man 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 So he came near where I stood, and when he came I was frightened, and fell prostrate. But he said to me, "Understand, son of man, that the vision belongs to 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 fell into a deep sleep with my face toward the ground; but he touched me, and stood me upright.

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 He said, "Look, I will make you know what shall be in the latter time of wrath, for it belongs to 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 which you saw, that had 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 The male goat is the king of Greece, and the large horn that 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 As for that which was broken, in the place where four stood up, four kingdoms shall arise out of his 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 In the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressions have reached their full measure, a rash and deceitful king shall arise.

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 His power shall be great, but not by his own strength; and he shall cause terrible destruction, and shall succeed in whatever he does. And he shall destroy the mighty 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 Through his cunning he shall cause deceit to prosper by his influence, and he shall be great in his own mind, and without warning he shall destroy many. He shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be shattered, but not by human hands.

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 The vision of the evenings and mornings which has been told is true; but seal up the vision because it refers to many days from now."

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 I, Daniel, was overcome, and was ill for days. Then I rose up, and carried out the king's business. And I was astonished by the vision, but there was no one to explain 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.