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Daniel 7:2-28
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Daniel 7:2-28
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
2 In the vision I saw during the night, suddenly the four winds of heaven stirred up the great sea,[a] 3 from which emerged four immense beasts,(A) each different from the others. 4 The first was like a lion, but with eagle’s wings.[b] While I watched, the wings were plucked; it was raised from the ground to stand on two feet like a human being, and given a human mind. 5 The second beast was like a bear;[c] it was raised up on one side, and among the teeth in its mouth were three tusks. It was given the order, “Arise, devour much flesh.” 6 After this I looked and saw another beast, like a leopard;[d] on its back were four wings like those of a bird, and it had four heads. To this beast dominion was given. 7 [e]After this, in the visions of the night I saw a fourth beast, terrifying, horrible, and of extraordinary strength; it had great iron teeth with which it devoured and crushed, and it trampled with its feet what was left. It differed from the beasts that preceded it. It had ten horns. 8 I was considering the ten horns it had, when suddenly another, a little horn, sprang out of their midst, and three of the previous horns were torn away to make room for it. This horn had eyes like human eyes, and a mouth that spoke arrogantly. 9 [f]As I watched,
Thrones were set up
and the Ancient of Days took his throne.
His clothing was white as snow,
the hair on his head like pure wool;
His throne was flames of fire,
with wheels of burning fire.
10 A river of fire surged forth,
flowing from where he sat;
Thousands upon thousands were ministering to him,
and myriads upon myriads stood before him.(B)
The court was convened, and the books were opened. 11 I watched, then, from the first of the arrogant words which the horn spoke, until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the burning fire. 12 As for the other beasts, their dominion was taken away, but they were granted a prolongation of life for a time and a season. 13 As the visions during the night continued, I saw coming with the clouds of heaven(C)
One like a son of man.[g]
When he reached the Ancient of Days
and was presented before him,
14 He received dominion, splendor, and kingship;
all nations, peoples and tongues will serve him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
that shall not pass away,
his kingship, one that shall not be destroyed.(D)
15 Because of this, my spirit was anguished and I, Daniel, was terrified by my visions. 16 I approached one of those present and asked him the truth of all this; in answer, he made known to me its meaning: 17 “These four great beasts stand for four kings which shall arise on the earth. 18 But the holy ones[h] of the Most High shall receive the kingship, to possess it forever and ever.”
19 Then I wished to make certain about the fourth beast, so very terrible and different from the others, devouring and crushing with its iron teeth and bronze claws, and trampling with its feet what was left; 20 and about the ten horns on its head, and the other one that sprang up, before which three horns fell; and about the horn with the eyes and the mouth that spoke arrogantly, which appeared greater than its fellows. 21 For, as I watched, that horn made war against the holy ones and was victorious 22 until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was pronounced in favor of the holy ones of the Most High, and the time arrived for the holy ones to possess the kingship. 23 He answered me thus:
“The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on earth,
different from all the others;
The whole earth it shall devour,
trample down and crush.
24 The ten horns shall be ten kings
rising out of that kingdom;
another shall rise up after them,
Different from those before him,
who shall lay low three kings.
25 He shall speak against the Most High
and wear down the holy ones of the Most High,
intending to change the feast days and the law.[i]
They shall be handed over to him
for a time, two times, and half a time.
26 But when the court is convened,
and his dominion is taken away
to be abolished and completely destroyed,
27 Then the kingship and dominion and majesty
of all the kingdoms under the heavens
shall be given to the people of the holy ones of the Most High,
Whose kingship shall be an everlasting kingship,
whom all dominions shall serve and obey.”
28 This is the end of the report. I, Daniel, was greatly terrified by my thoughts, and my face became pale, but I kept the matter to myself.[j]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 7:2 The great sea: the primordial ocean beneath the earth, according to ancient Near Eastern cosmology (Gn 7:11; 49:25). It was thought to contain various monsters (Is 27:1; Jb 7:12), and in particular mythological monsters symbolizing the chaos which God had vanquished in primordial times (Jb 9:13; 26:12; Is 51:9–10; etc.).
- 7:4 In ancient times the Babylonian empire was commonly represented as a winged lion, in the rampant position (raised up on one side). The two wings that were plucked may represent Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar. On two feet like a human being…a human mind: contrasts with what is said in 4:13, 30.
- 7:5 A bear: represents the Median empire, its three tusks symbolizing its destructive nature; hence, the command: “Arise, devour much flesh.”
- 7:6 A leopard: used to symbolize the swiftness with which Cyrus the Persian established his kingdom. Four heads: corresponding to the four Persian kings of 11:2.
- 7:7–8 Alexander’s empire was different from all the others in that it was Western rather than Eastern in inspiration, and far exceeded the others in power. The ten horns represent the kings of the Seleucid dynasty, the only part of the Hellenistic empire that concerned the author. The little horn is Antiochus IV Epiphanes (175–164 B.C.), who usurped the throne and persecuted the Jews.
- 7:9–10 A vision of the heavenly throne of God (the Ancient of Days), who sits in judgment over the nations. Some of the details of the vision, depicting the divine majesty and omnipotence, are to be found in Ezekiel 1. Others are paralleled in 1 Enoch, a contemporary Jewish apocalypse.
- 7:13–14 One like a son of man: In contrast to the worldly kingdoms opposed to God, which are represented as grotesque beasts, the coming Kingdom of God is represented by a human figure. Scholars disagree as to whether this figure should be taken as a collective symbol for the people of God (cf. 7:27) or identified as a particular individual, e.g., the archangel Michael (cf. 12:1) or the messiah. The phrase “Son of Man” becomes a title for Jesus in the gospels, especially in passages dealing with the Second Coming (Mk 13 and parallels).
- 7:18 “Holy ones” in Hebrew and Aramaic literature are nearly always members of the heavenly court or angels (cf. 4:10, 14, 20; 8:13), though here the term is commonly taken to refer to Israel.
- 7:25 The reference is to the persecution of Antiochus IV and specifically to the disruption of the Temple cult (1 Mc 1:41–64). A time, two times, and half a time: an indefinite, evil period of time. Probably here, three and a half years, which becomes the standard period of tribulation in apocalyptic literature (Rev 11:2; 13:5 [in months]; 11:3 [in days]; and cf. 12:14). As seven is the Jewish “perfect” number, half of it signifies great imperfection. Actually, the Temple was desecrated for three years (1 Mc 4:52–54). The duration of the persecution was a little longer, since it was already under way before the Temple was desecrated.
- 7:28 This verse ends the Aramaic part of the Book of Daniel.
Daniel 7:2-28
New International Version
Daniel 7:2-28
New International Version
2 Daniel said: “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven(A) churning up the great sea. 3 Four great beasts,(B) each different from the others, came up out of the sea.
4 “The first was like a lion,(C) and it had the wings of an eagle.(D) I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted from the ground so that it stood on two feet like a human being, and the mind of a human was given to it.
5 “And there before me was a second beast, 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. It was told, ‘Get up and eat your fill of flesh!’(E)
6 “After that, I looked, and there before me was another beast, one that looked like a leopard.(F) And on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. This beast had four heads, and it was given authority to rule.
7 “After that, in my vision(G) at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast—terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron(H) teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled(I) underfoot whatever was left.(J) It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns.(K)
8 “While I was thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a little(L) one, which came up among them; and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a human being(M) and a mouth that spoke boastfully.(N)
9 “As I looked,
“thrones were set in place,
and the Ancient of Days(O) took his seat.(P)
His clothing was as white as snow;(Q)
the hair of his head was white like wool.(R)
His throne was flaming with fire,
and its wheels(S) were all ablaze.
10 A river of fire(T) was flowing,
coming out from before him.(U)
Thousands upon thousands attended him;
ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.
The court was seated,
and the books(V) were opened.
11 “Then I continued to watch because of the boastful words the horn was speaking.(W) I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire.(X) 12 (The other beasts had been stripped of their authority, but were allowed to live for a period of time.)
13 “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man,[a](Y) coming(Z) with the clouds of heaven.(AA) He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. 14 He was given authority,(AB) glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him.(AC) His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom(AD) is one that will never be destroyed.(AE)
The Interpretation of the Dream
15 “I, Daniel, was troubled in spirit, and the visions that passed through my mind disturbed me.(AF) 16 I approached one of those standing there and asked him the meaning of all this.
“So he told me and gave me the interpretation(AG) of these things: 17 ‘The four great beasts are four kings that will rise from the earth. 18 But the holy people(AH) of the Most High will receive the kingdom(AI) and will possess it forever—yes, for ever and ever.’(AJ)
19 “Then I wanted to know the meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others and most terrifying, with its iron teeth and bronze claws—the beast that crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. 20 I also wanted to know about the ten horns(AK) on its head and about the other horn that came up, before which three of them fell—the horn that looked more imposing than the others and that had eyes and a mouth that spoke boastfully.(AL) 21 As I watched, this horn was waging war against the holy people and defeating them,(AM) 22 until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgment in favor of the holy people of the Most High, and the time came when they possessed the kingdom.(AN)
23 “He gave me this explanation: ‘The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth. It will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it.(AO) 24 The ten horns(AP) are ten kings who will come from this kingdom. After them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings. 25 He will speak against the Most High(AQ) and oppress his holy people(AR) and try to change the set times(AS) and the laws. The holy people will be delivered into his hands for a time, times and half a time.[b](AT)
26 “‘But the court will sit, and his power will be taken away and completely destroyed(AU) forever. 27 Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of all the kingdoms(AV) under heaven will be handed over to the holy people(AW) of the Most High.(AX) His kingdom will be an everlasting(AY) kingdom, and all rulers will worship(AZ) and obey him.’
28 “This is the end of the matter. I, Daniel, was deeply troubled(BA) by my thoughts,(BB) and my face turned pale,(BC) but I kept the matter to myself.”
Footnotes
- Daniel 7:13 The Aramaic phrase bar enash means human being. The phrase son of man is retained here because of its use in the New Testament as a title of Jesus, probably based largely on this verse.
- Daniel 7:25 Or for a year, two years and half a year
New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)
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