Daniel 7
1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel hath seen a dream, and the visions of his head on his bed, then the dream he hath written, the chief of the things he hath said.
In the first year of the reign of Belshazzar over Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and visions passed through his mind as he lay on his bed. He wrote down the dream, and this is the summary of his account.
2 Answered hath Daniel and said, 'I was seeing in my vision by night, and lo, the four winds of the heavens are coming forth to the great sea;
Daniel declared: “In my vision in the night I looked, and suddenly the four winds of heaven were churning up the great sea.
3 and four great beasts are coming up from the sea, diverse one from another.
Then four great beasts came up out of the sea, each one different from the others:
4 The first [is] like a lion, and it hath an eagle's wings. I was seeing till that its wings have been plucked, and it hath been lifted up from the earth, and on feet as a man it hath been caused to stand, and a heart of man is given to it.
The first beast was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man, and given the mind of a man.
5 And lo, another beast, a second, like to a bear, and to the same authority it hath been raised, and three ribs [are] in its mouth, between its teeth, and thus they are saying to it, Rise, consume much flesh.
Suddenly another beast appeared, which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. So it was told, ‘Get up and gorge yourself on flesh!’
6 'After this I was seeing, and lo, another like a leopard, and it hath four wings of a fowl on its back, and four heads hath the beast, and dominion is given to it.
Next, as I watched, another beast appeared. It was like a leopard, and on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. The beast also had four heads, and it was given authority to rule.
7 'After this I was seeing in the visions of the night, and lo, a fourth beast, terrible and fearful, and exceedingly strong; and it hath iron teeth very great, it hath consumed, yea, it doth break small, and the remnant with its feet it hath trampled; and it [is] diverse from all the beasts that [are] before it; and it hath ten horns.
After this, as I watched in my vision in the night, suddenly a fourth beast appeared, and it was terrifying—dreadful and extremely strong—with large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed; then it trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the beasts before it, and it had ten horns.
8 'I was considering about the horns, and lo, another horn, a little one, hath come up between them, and three of the first horns have been eradicated from before it, and lo, eyes as the eyes of man [are] in this horn, and a mouth speaking great things.
While I was contemplating the horns, suddenly another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like those of a man and a mouth that spoke words of arrogance.
9 'I was seeing till that thrones have been thrown down, and the Ancient of Days is seated, His garment as snow [is] white, and the hair of his head [is] as pure wool, His throne flames of fire, its wheels burning fire.
As I continued to watch, thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took His seat. His clothing was white as snow, and the hair of His head was like pure wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze.
10 A flood of fire is proceeding and coming forth from before Him, a thousand thousands do serve Him, and a myriad of myriads before Him do rise up, the Judge is seated, and the books have been opened.
A river of fire was flowing, coming out from His presence. Thousands upon thousands attended Him, and myriads upon myriads stood before Him. The court was convened, and the books were opened.
11 'I was seeing, then, because of the voice of the great words that the horn is speaking, I was seeing till that the beast is slain, and his body hath been destroyed, and given to the burning fire;
Then I kept watching because of the arrogant words the horn was speaking. As I continued to watch, the beast was slain, and its body was destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire.
12 and the rest of the beasts have caused their dominion to pass away, and a prolongation in life is given to them, till a season and a time.
As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was removed, but they were granted an extension of life for a season and a time.
13 'I was seeing in the visions of the night, and lo, with the clouds of the heavens as a son of man was [one] coming, and unto the Ancient of Days he hath come, and before Him they have brought him near.
In my vision in the night I continued to watch, and I saw One like the Son of Man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into His presence.
14 And to him is given dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, and all peoples, nations, and languages do serve him, his dominion [is] a dominion age-during, that passeth not away, and his kingdom that which is not destroyed.
And He was given dominion, glory, and kingship, that the people of every nation and language should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and His kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.
15 'Pierced hath been my spirit — I, Daniel — in the midst of the sheath, and the visions of my head trouble me;
I, Daniel, was grieved in my spirit, and the visions in my mind alarmed me.
16 I have drawn near unto one of those standing, and the certainty I seek from him of all this; and he hath said to me, yea, the interpretation of the things he hath caused me to know:
I approached one of those who were standing there, and I asked him the true meaning of all this. So he told me the interpretation of these things:
17 'These great beasts, that [are] four, [are] four kings, they rise up from the earth;
‘These four great beasts are four kings who will arise from the earth.
18 and receive the kingdom do the saints of the Most High, and they strengthen the kingdom unto the age, even unto the age of the ages.
But the saints of the Most High will receive the kingdom and possess it forever—yes, forever and ever.’
19 'Then I wished for certainty concerning the fourth beast, that was diverse from them all, fearful exceedingly; its teeth of iron, and its nails of brass, it hath devoured, it doth break small, and the remnant with its feet it hath trampled;
Then I wanted to know the true meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others—extremely terrifying—devouring and crushing with iron teeth and bronze claws, then trampling underfoot whatever was left.
20 and concerning the ten horns that [are] in its heads, and of the other that came up, and before which three have fallen, even of that horn that hath eyes, and a mouth speaking great things, and whose appearance [is] great above its companions.
I also wanted to know about the ten horns on its head and the other horn that came up, before which three of them fell—the horn whose appearance was more imposing than the others, with eyes and with a mouth that spoke words of arrogance.
21 'I was seeing, and this horn is making war with the saints, and hath prevailed over them,
As I watched, this horn was waging war against the saints and prevailing against them,
22 till that the Ancient of Days hath come, and judgment is given to the saints of the Most High, and the time hath come, and the saints have strengthened the kingdom.
until the Ancient of Days arrived and pronounced judgment in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for them to possess the kingdom.
23 'Thus he said: The fourth beast is the fourth kingdom in the earth, that is diverse from all kingdoms, and it consumeth all the earth, and treadeth it down, and breaketh it small.
This is what he said: ‘The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on the earth, different from all the other kingdoms, and it will devour the whole earth, trample it down, and crush it.
24 And the ten horns out of the kingdom [are] ten kings, they rise, and another doth rise after them, and it is diverse from the former, and three kings it humbleth;
And the ten horns are ten kings who will rise from this kingdom. After them another king, different from the earlier ones, will rise and subdue three kings.
25 and words as an adversary of the Most High it doth speak, and the saints of the Most High it doth wear out, and it hopeth to change seasons and law; and they are given into its hand, till a time, and times, and a division of a time.
He will speak out against the Most High and oppress the saints of the Most High, intending to change the appointed times and laws; and the saints will be given into his hand for a time, and times, and half a time.
26 'And the Judge is seated, and its dominion they cause to pass away, to cut off, and to destroy — unto the end;
But the court will convene, and his dominion will be taken away and completely destroyed forever.
27 and the kingdom, and the dominion, even the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heavens, is given to the people — the saints of the Most High, His kingdom [is] a kingdom age-during, and all dominions do serve and obey Him.
Then the sovereignty, dominion, and greatness of the kingdoms under all of heaven will be given to the people, the saints of the Most High. His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will serve and obey Him.’
28 'Hitherto [is] the end of the matter. I, Daniel, greatly do my thoughts trouble me, and my countenance is changed on me, and the matter in my heart I have kept.
Thus ends the matter. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts troubled me greatly, and my face turned pale. But I kept the matter to myself.”
