Daniel 8
King James Version
8 In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision appeared unto me, even unto me Daniel, after that which appeared unto me at the first.
2 And I saw in a vision; and it came to pass, when I saw, that I was at Shushan in the palace, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in a vision, and I was by the river of Ulai.
3 Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns: and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last.
4 I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; so that no beasts might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and became great.
5 And as I was considering, behold, an he goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes.
6 And he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing before the river, and ran unto him in the fury of his power.
7 And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with choler against him, and smote the ram, and brake his two horns: and there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground, and stamped upon him: and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand.
8 Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven.
9 And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land.
10 And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them.
11 Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of the sanctuary was cast down.
12 And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised, and prospered.
13 Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot?
14 And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.
15 And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, and sought for the meaning, then, behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man.
16 And I heard a man's voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision.
17 So he came near where I stood: and when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face: but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man: for at the time of the end shall be the vision.
18 Now as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep on my face toward the ground: but he touched me, and set me upright.
19 And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end shall be.
20 The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia.
21 And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king.
22 Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power.
23 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up.
24 And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.
25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand.
26 And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true: wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for many days.
27 And I Daniel fainted, and was sick certain days; afterward I rose up, and did the king's business; and I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it.
Daniel 8
English Standard Version
Daniel's Vision of the Ram and the Goat
8 In the third year of the reign of (A)King Belshazzar a vision appeared to me, Daniel, (B)after that which appeared to me (C)at the first. 2 And I saw in the vision; and when I saw, I was in (D)Susa the citadel, which is in the province of (E)Elam. And (F)I saw in the vision, (G)and I was at the (H)Ulai canal. 3 I raised my eyes and saw, and behold, (I)a ram standing on the bank of the canal. It had two horns, and both horns were high, but one was higher than the other, and the higher one came up last. 4 I saw (J)the ram charging westward and northward and southward. No (K)beast (L)could stand before him, (M)and there was no one who could rescue from his power. (N)He did as he pleased and (O)became great.
5 As I was considering, behold, a (P)male goat came from the west across the face of the whole earth, without touching the ground. And the goat had (Q)a conspicuous horn between his eyes. 6 He came to (R)the ram with the two horns, which I had seen standing on the bank of the canal, (S)and he ran at him in his powerful wrath. 7 I saw him come close to the ram, (T)and he was enraged against him and struck the ram and broke his two horns. (U)And the ram had no power to stand before him, but he (V)cast him down to the ground and trampled on him. And there was no one who could rescue the ram from his power. 8 Then (W)the goat (X)became exceedingly great, but when he was strong, the great horn was broken, and instead of it there came up four (Y)conspicuous horns toward (Z)the four winds of heaven.
9 Out of one of them came (AA)a little horn, which grew exceedingly great toward (AB)the south, toward the east, and toward (AC)the glorious land. 10 (AD)It grew great, (AE)even to the host of heaven. And some of the host (AF)and some[a] of (AG)the stars it threw down to the ground and (AH)trampled on them. 11 (AI)It became great, even as great as (AJ)the Prince of the host. (AK)And the regular burnt offering was taken away from him, and the place of his sanctuary was overthrown. 12 And a host will be given over to it together with the regular burnt offering because of transgression,[b] and it will throw truth to the ground, and (AL)it will act and prosper. 13 Then I heard (AM)a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to the one who spoke, (AN)“For how long is the vision concerning the regular burnt offering, (AO)the transgression that makes desolate, and the giving over of the sanctuary and host to be trampled underfoot?” 14 And he said to me,[c] “For 2,300 (AP)evenings and mornings. Then the sanctuary shall be restored to its rightful state.”
The Interpretation of the Vision
15 When I, Daniel, had seen the vision, I (AQ)sought to understand it. And behold, there stood before me one having (AR)the appearance of a man. 16 (AS)And I heard a man's voice (AT)between the banks of the (AU)Ulai, and it called, (AV)“Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.” 17 So he came near where I stood. And when he came, (AW)I was frightened (AX)and fell on my face. But he said to me, “Understand, (AY)O son of man, that the vision is for (AZ)the time of the end.”
18 And when he had spoken to me, (BA)I fell into a deep sleep with my face to the ground. But (BB)he touched me and made me stand up. 19 He said, “Behold, I will make known to you what shall be at the latter end of (BC)the indignation, for it refers to (BD)the appointed time of the end. 20 As for (BE)the ram that you saw with the two horns, these are the kings of (BF)Media and Persia. 21 And (BG)the goat[d] is the king of Greece. And (BH)the great horn between his eyes is (BI)the first king. 22 (BJ)As for the horn that was broken, in place of which four others arose, four kingdoms shall arise from his[e] nation, (BK)but not with his power. 23 And at the latter end of their kingdom, when the transgressors have reached their limit, a king of bold face, one who understands riddles, shall arise. 24 His power shall be great—(BL)but not by his own power; and he shall cause fearful destruction (BM)and shall succeed in what he does, (BN)and destroy mighty men and the people who are the saints. 25 (BO)By his cunning he shall make deceit prosper under his hand, and in his own mind (BP)he shall become great. (BQ)Without warning he shall destroy many. And he (BR)shall even rise up against the Prince of princes, and he shall be broken—but (BS)by no human hand. 26 The vision of (BT)the evenings and the mornings that has been told (BU)is true, but (BV)seal up the vision, (BW)for it refers to many days from now.”
27 And (BX)I, Daniel, was overcome and lay sick for some days. Then I rose and went about the king's business, but I was appalled by the vision (BY)and did not understand it.
Footnotes
- Daniel 8:10 Or host, that is, some
- Daniel 8:12 Or in an act of rebellion
- Daniel 8:14 Hebrew; Septuagint, Theodotion, Vulgate to him
- Daniel 8:21 Or the shaggy goat
- Daniel 8:22 Theodotion, Septuagint, Vulgate; Hebrew a
Daniel 8
New American Standard Bible
Vision of the Ram and Goat
8 In the third year of the reign of Belshazzar the king, a vision appeared to me, [a]Daniel, subsequent to the one which appeared to me [b]previously. 2 I (A)looked in the vision, and while I was looking, I was in the citadel of (B)Susa, which is in the province of (C)Elam; and I looked in the vision, and I myself was beside the Ulai Canal. 3 Then I raised my eyes and looked, and behold, a (D)ram which had two horns was standing in front of the canal. Now the two horns were [c]long, but one was [d]longer than the other, with the [e]longer one coming up last. 4 I saw the ram (E)butting westward, northward, and southward, and no other beasts could stand against him nor was there anyone to rescue from his [f]power, but (F)he did as he pleased and made himself great.
5 While I was observing, behold, a male goat was coming from the west over the surface of the entire earth without touching the ground; and the goat had a (G)prominent horn between his eyes. 6 He came up to the ram that had the two horns, which I had seen standing in front of the canal, and rushed at him in his mighty wrath. 7 And I saw him come up beside the ram, and he was enraged at him; and he struck the ram and smashed his two horns, and the ram had no strength to withstand him. So he hurled him to the ground and trampled on him, and there was no one to rescue the ram from his [g]power. 8 Then the male goat made himself exceedingly great. But once (H)he became powerful, the (I)large horn was broken; and in its place four prominent horns came up toward the (J)four winds of heaven.
The Little Horn
9 And out of one of them came a rather (K)small horn which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the [h](L)Beautiful Land. 10 It grew up to the heavenly [i]lights, and some of the [j]lights, [k]that is, some of the (M)stars it threw down to the earth, and it (N)trampled them. 11 It even (O)exalted itself [l]to be equal with the [m]Commander of the army; and it removed the (P)regular sacrifice from Him, and the place of His sanctuary was overthrown. 12 And because of [n]an offense the army will be given to the horn along with the regular sacrifice; and it will (Q)hurl truth to the ground and do as it pleases and be successful. 13 Then I heard a (R)holy one speaking, and another holy one said to that particular one who was speaking, “(S)How long will the vision about the regular sacrifice apply, [o]while the offense causes horror, so as to allow both the sanctuary and the army [p]to be (T)trampled?” 14 And he said to me, “For (U)2,300 evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary will be [q]properly restored.”
Interpretation of the Vision
15 When (V)I, Daniel, had seen the vision, I sought [r]to understand it; and behold, standing before me was one [s]who looked like a (W)man. 16 And I heard the voice of a man between the banks of Ulai, and he called out and said, “(X)Gabriel, explain the vision to this man.” 17 So he came near to where I was standing, and when he came I was frightened and (Y)fell on my face; and he said to me, “Son of man, understand that the vision pertains to the (Z)time of the end.”
18 Now while he was talking with me, I was (AA)dazed with my face to the ground; but he (AB)touched me and made me stand at my place. 19 And he said, “Behold, I am going to (AC)inform you of what will occur at the final period of the indignation, because it pertains to the appointed time of the end.
The Ram’s Identity
20 The (AD)ram which you saw with the two horns represents the kings of Media and Persia.
The Goat
21 The shaggy [t]goat represents the [u]kingdom of Greece, and the large horn that is between his eyes is the first king. 22 The (AE)broken horn and the four horns that came up in its place represent four kingdoms which will arise from his nation, although not with his power.
23 And in the latter period of their [v]dominion,
When the wrongdoers have [w]run their course,
A king will arise,
[x]Insolent and skilled in [y]intrigue.
24 And his power will be mighty, but not by his own power,
And he will [z](AF)destroy to an extraordinary degree
And be successful and do as he pleases;
He will [aa]destroy mighty men and [ab]the holy people.
25 And through his shrewdness
He will make deceit a success by his [ac]influence;
And he will make himself great in his [ad]own mind,
And he will [ae]destroy many while they are [af]at ease.
He will even [ag](AG)oppose the Prince of princes,
But he will be broken (AH)without [ah]human agency.
26 And the vision of the evenings and mornings
Which has been told is (AI)true;
But as for you, (AJ)keep the vision secret,
Because it pertains to many (AK)days in the future.”
27 Then I, Daniel, was [ai](AL)exhausted and sick for days. Then I got up and (AM)carried on the king’s business; but I was astounded at the vision, and there was no one to explain it.
Footnotes
- Daniel 8:1 Lit I, Daniel
- Daniel 8:1 Lit at the beginning
- Daniel 8:3 Lit high(er)
- Daniel 8:3 Lit high(er)
- Daniel 8:3 Lit high(er)
- Daniel 8:4 Lit hand
- Daniel 8:7 Lit hand
- Daniel 8:9 I.e., Israel
- Daniel 8:10 Lit host
- Daniel 8:10 Lit host
- Daniel 8:10 Or and some of the stars
- Daniel 8:11 Lit up to the
- Daniel 8:11 Or Prince
- Daniel 8:12 Or a wrongdoing
- Daniel 8:13 Or possibly and the offense that horrifies
- Daniel 8:13 Lit as a trampling
- Daniel 8:14 Lit justified
- Daniel 8:15 Lit understanding
- Daniel 8:15 Lit like the appearance of a man
- Daniel 8:21 Lit buck
- Daniel 8:21 Lit king
- Daniel 8:23 Or kingdom
- Daniel 8:23 Lit finished
- Daniel 8:23 Lit Strong of face
- Daniel 8:23 Or ambiguous speech
- Daniel 8:24 Or ruin extraordinary things
- Daniel 8:24 Or ruin
- Daniel 8:24 Lit people of the saints
- Daniel 8:25 Lit hand
- Daniel 8:25 Lit heart
- Daniel 8:25 Or ruin
- Daniel 8:25 Or secure
- Daniel 8:25 Lit stand against
- Daniel 8:25 Lit hand
- Daniel 8:27 Or done in
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
