Daniel 8
1 In the thridde yeer of the rewme of Balthasar, the king, a visioun apperide to me. Y, Danyel, after that thing that Y hadde seyn in the bigynnyng,
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 siy in my visioun, whanne Y was in the castel of Susis, which is in the cuntrei of Helam; sotheli Y siy in the visioun that Y was on the yate Vlay.
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 Y reiside myn iyen, and Y siy; and lo! o ram stood bifor the mareis, and hadde hiy hornes, and oon hiyere than the tother, and vndurwexynge.
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 Aftirward Y siy the ram wyndewynge with hornes ayens the eest, and ayens the west, and ayens the north, and ayens the south; and alle beestis myyten not ayenstonde it, nether be delyuered fro the hondis of it. And it dide bi his wille, and was magnefied.
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 Y vndurstood. Lo! forsothe a buk of geet cam fro the west on the face of al erthe, and touchide not the erthe; forsothe the buk of geet hadde a noble horn bitwixe hise iyen;
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 cam til to that horned ram, which Y hadde seyn stondynge bifore the yate, and he ran in the fersnesse of his strengthe to that ram.
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 whanne he hadde neiyid niy the ram, he hurlide fersly on hym, and he smoot the ram, and al to-brak tweyne hornes of hym, and the ram miyte not ayenstonde hym. And whanne he hadde sent that ram in to erthe, he defoulide; and no man miyte delyuere the ram fro his hond.
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 Forsothe the buk of geet was maad ful greet; and whanne he hadde encreessid, the greet horn was brokun, and foure hornes risiden vndur it, bi foure wyndis of heuene.
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 Forsothe of oon of hem yede out o litil horn, and it was maad greet ayens the south, and ayens the eest, and ayens the strengthe.
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 was magnefied til to the strengthe of heuene, and it castide doun of the strengthe and of sterris, and defoulide tho.
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 was magnefied til to the prince of strengthe, and he took awei fro hym the contynuel sacrifice, and castide doun the place of his halewyng.
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 Forsothe strengthe was youun to hym ayens the contynuel sacrifice for synnes, and treuthe schal be cast doun in erthe; and he schal haue prosperite, and schal do.
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 Y herde oon of hooli aungels spekynge; and oon hooli aungel seide to another, Y noot to whom spekinge, Hou long the visioun, and the contynuel sacrifice, and the synne of desolacioun, which is maad, and the seyntuarie, and the strengthe schal be defoulid?
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 seide to hym, Til to the euentid and morewtid, two thousynde daies and thre hundrid; and the seyntuarie schal be clensid.
He said to me, “It will last for 2,300 evenings and mornings. After that the sanctuary will be put right.”
15 Forsothe it was doon, whanne Y, Danyel, siy the visioun, and axide the vndurstondyng, lo! as the licnesse of a man stood in my siyt.
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 Y herde the voys of a man bitwixe Vlai, and he criede, and seide, Gabriel, make thou Danyel to vndurstonde this visioun.
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 cam, and stood bisidis where Y stood; and whanne he was comun, Y dredde, and felle on my face. And he seide to me, Thou, sone of man, vndurstonde, for the visioun schal be fillid in the tyme of ende.
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 And whanne he spak to me, Y slood doun `plat to the erthe. And he touchide me, and settide me in my degree.
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 seide to me, Y schal schewe to thee what thingis schulen come in the laste of cursing, for the tyme hath his ende.
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, whom thou siyest haue hornes, is the kyng of Medeis and of Perseis.
As for the ram you saw, the one that had two horns—they are the kings of Media and Persia.
21 Forsothe the buc of geet is the kyng of Grekis; and the greet horn that was bitwixe hise iyen, he is the firste kyng.
The male goat is the king of Greece. The large horn between his eyes is the first king.
22 Forsothe that whanne that horn was brokun, foure hornes risiden for it, foure kyngis schulen rise of the folc of hym, but not in the strengthe of hym.
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 after the rewme of hem, whanne `wickidnessis han encreessid, a kyng schal rise vnschamefast in face, and vndurstondyng proposisiouns, ether resouns set forth; and his strengthe schal be maad stalworthe,
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 but not in hise strengthis. And more than it mai be bileuyd he schal waste alle thingis, and he schal haue prosperite, and schal do. And he schal sle stronge men, and the puple of seyntis,
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 bi his wille, and gile schal be dressid in his hond. And he schal magnefie his herte, and in abundaunce of alle thingis he schal sle ful many men. And he schal rise ayens the prince of princes, and withouten hond he schal be al to-brokun.
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 visioun, which is seid in the morewtid and euentid, is trewe. Therfor seele thou the visioun, for it schal be after many daies.
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 Y, Danyel, was astonyed, and was sijk bi ful many daies; and whanne Y hadde rise, Y dide the werkis of the kyng; and Y was astonyed at the visioun, and `noon was that interpretide.
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.
