7 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel ^[a]had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream and told the sum of the matters. ² Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of heaven brake forth upon the great sea. ³ And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another. ⁴ The first was like a lion, and had eagle’s wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made to stand upon two feet as a man; and a man’s heart was given to it. ⁵ And, behold, another beast, a second, like to a bear; and ^[b]it was raised up on one side, and three ribs were in its mouth between its teeth: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh. ⁶ After this I beheld, and, lo, another, like a leopard, which had upon its back four wings of a bird; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it. ⁷ After this I saw in the night-visions, and, behold, a fourth beast, terrible and ^[c]powerful, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth; it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with its feet: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns. ⁸ I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one, before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things.

⁹ I beheld till thrones were ^[d]placed, and one that was ancient of days did sit: his raiment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames, and the wheels thereof burning fire. ¹⁰ A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousands of thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened. ¹¹ I beheld at that time because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake; I beheld even till the beast was slain, and its body destroyed, and it was given ^[e]to be burned with fire. ¹² And as for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.

¹³ I saw in the night-visions, and, behold, there came with the clouds of heaven one like unto a son of man, and he came even to the ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. ¹⁴ And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and languages should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

¹⁵ As for me, Daniel, my spirit was grieved in the midst of ^[f]my body, and the visions of my head troubled me. ¹⁶ I came near unto one of them that stood by, and asked him the truth concerning all this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things. ¹⁷ These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, that shall arise out of the earth. ¹⁸ But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever. ¹⁹ Then I desired to know the truth concerning the fourth beast, which was diverse from all of them, exceeding terrible, whose teeth were of iron, and its nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with its feet; ²⁰ and concerning the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn which came up, and before which three fell, even that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake great things, whose look was more stout than its fellows. ²¹ I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; ²² until the ancient of days came, and judgment was given ^[g]to the saints of the Most High, and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.

²³ Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all the kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall ^[h]tread it down, and break it in pieces. ²⁴ And as for the ten horns, out of this kingdom shall ten kings arise: and another shall arise after them; and he shall be diverse from the former, and he shall put down three kings. ²⁵ And he shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High; and he shall think to change the times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and half a time. ²⁶ But the judgment shall be set, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. ²⁷ And the kingdom and the dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High: his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him. ^28 [i]Here is the end of the matter. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts much troubled me, and my ^[j]countenance was changed in me: but I kept the matter in my heart.