Daniel 8

1 'In the third year of the reign of Belshazzar the king, a vision hath appeared unto me — I Daniel — after that which had appeared unto me at the beginning.

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 And I see in a vision, and it cometh to pass, in my seeing, and I [am] in Shushan the palace that [is] in Elam the province, and I see in a vision, and I have been by the stream Ulai.

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 I lift up mine eyes, and look, and lo, a certain ram is standing before the stream, and it hath two horns, and the two horns [are] high; and the one [is] higher than the other, and the high one is coming up last.

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 I have seen the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward, and no living creatures do stand before it, and there is none delivering out of its hand, and it hath done according to its pleasure, and hath exerted itself.

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 I have been considering, and lo, a young he-goat hath come from the west, over the face of the whole earth, whom none is touching in the earth; as to the young he-goat, a conspicuous horn [is] between its eyes.

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 it cometh unto the ram possessing the two horns, that I had seen standing before the stream, and runneth unto it in the fury of its power.

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 I have seen it coming near the ram, and it becometh embittered at it, and smiteth the ram, and breaketh its two horns, and there hath been no power in the ram to stand before it, and it casteth it to the earth, and trampleth it down, and there hath been no deliverer to the ram out of its power.

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 'And the young he-goat hath exerted itself very much, and when it is strong, broken hath been the great horn; and come up doth a vision of four in its place, at the four winds of the heavens.

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 And from the one of them come forth hath a little horn, and it exerteth itself greatly toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the beauteous [land];

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 yea, it exerteth unto the host of the heavens, and causeth to fall to the earth of the host, and of the stars, and trampleth them down.

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 unto the prince of the host it exerteth itself, and by it taken away hath been the continual [sacrifice], and thrown down the base of his sanctuary.

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 And the host is given up, with the continual [sacrifice], through transgression, and it throweth down truth to the earth, and it hath worked, and prospered.

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 I hear a certain holy one speaking, and a certain holy one saith to the wonderful numberer who is speaking: Till when [is] the vision of the continual [sacrifice], and of the transgression, an astonishment, to make both sanctuary and host a treading down?

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 saith unto me, Till evening — morning two thousand and three hundred, then is the holy place declared right.

He said to me, “It will last for 2,300 evenings and mornings. After that the sanctuary will be put right.”

15 'And it cometh to pass in my seeing — I, Daniel — the vision, that I require understanding, and lo, standing over-against me [is] as the appearance of a mighty one.

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 I hear a voice of man between [the banks of] Ulai, and he calleth and saith: Gabriel, cause this [one] to understand the appearance.

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 cometh in near my station, and at his coming in I have been afraid, and I fall on my face, and he saith unto me: Understand, son of man, for at the time of the end [is] the vision.

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 in his speaking with me, I have been in a trance on my face, on the earth; and he cometh against me, and causeth me to stand on my station,

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 saith: Lo, I — I am causing thee to know that which is in the latter end of the indignation; for, at the appointed time [is] the end.

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 that thou hast seen possessing two horns, [are] the kings of Media and Persia.

As for the ram you saw, the one that had two horns—they are the kings of Media and Persia.

21 And the young he-goat, the hairy one, [is] the king of Javan; and the great horn that [is] between its eyes is the first king;

The male goat is the king of Greece. The large horn between his eyes is the first king.

22 and that being broken, stand up do four in its place, four kingdoms from the nation do stand up, and not in its power.

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 in the latter end of their kingdom, about the perfecting of the transgressors, stand up doth a king, fierce of face, and understanding hidden things;

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 and his power hath been mighty, and not by his own power; and wonderful things he destroyeth, and he hath prospered, and wrought, and destroyed mighty ones, and the people of the Holy Ones.

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 'And by his understanding he hath also caused deceit to prosper in his hand, and in his heart he exerteth himself, and by ease he destroyeth many; and against the prince of princes he standeth — and without hand he is broken.

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 appearance of the evening and of the morning, that is told, is true; and thou, hide thou the vision, for [it is] after many days.'

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 I, Daniel, have been, yea, I became sick [for] days, and I rise, and do the king's work, and am astonished at the appearance, and there is none understanding.

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.