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In the third year of the realm of Belshazzar, the king, a vision appeared to me. I, Daniel, after that thing that I had seen in the beginning, (In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar, a vision appeared to me. I, Daniel, after what I had seen before, or at the beginning,)

saw in my vision, when I was in the castle of Susa, which is in the country of Elam; soothly I saw in the vision that I was on the gate (of) Ulai. (saw in my vision, that I was in the castle at Susa, which is in the province of Elam; truly I saw in the vision that I was by the Ulai River.)

And I raised (up) mine eyes, and I saw; and lo! one ram stood before the marsh, and had high horns, and one higher than the other, and under-waxing (and growing).

Afterward I saw the ram winnowing with (his) horns against the east, and against the west, and against the north, and against the south; and all beasts might not against-stand it, neither be delivered from the hands of it (and no beast could stand against it, nor could be saved from its power). And it did by his will, and was magnified.

And I understood. Lo! forsooth a buck of goats came from the west on the face of all (the) earth, and touched not the earth (and did not touch the ground); forsooth the buck of goats had a noble horn betwixt his eyes;

and he came till to that horned ram, which I had seen standing before the gate, and he ran in the fierceness of his strength to that ram. (and he came unto that horned ram, which I had seen standing by the river, and he ran in all the fierceness of his strength at that ram.)

And when he had nighed nigh the ram, he hurtled fiercely on him, and he smote the ram, and all-brake (the) twain horns of him, and the ram might not against-stand him. And when he had sent that ram into [the] earth, he defouled [him]; and no man might deliver the ram from his hand. (And when he had come close to the ram, he hurtled fiercely against him, and he struck the ram, and broke its two horns, and the ram could not stand against him. And when he had sent that ram down to the ground, he defiled, or trampled upon, him; and no one could rescue, or could save, the ram from his power.)

Forsooth the buck of goats was made full great; and when he had increased, the great horn was broken, and four horns rised (up) under it, by four winds of heaven (by the four winds of the heavens).

Forsooth of one of them went out one little horn, and it was made great against the south, and against the east, and against the strength. (And out of one of them grew one little horn, and it was made great toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the glorious land, or the Promised Land.)

10 And it was magnified till to the strength of heaven, and it casted down of the strength and of (the) stars, and defouled those. (And it was magnified unto the host of heaven, and it threw down some of that army, and some of the stars, and it defiled, or trampled upon, them.)

11 And he was magnified till to the prince of (the) strength, and he took away from him the continual sacrifice, and casted down the place of his hallowing. (And it was magnified unto the Prince of the host, and it took away from him the continual, or the daily, sacrifice, and threw down his sanctuary, or destroyed his Temple.)

12 Forsooth strength was given to him against the continual sacrifice for sins, and truth shall be cast down in (the) earth; and he shall have prosperity, and shall do. (And the heavenly host was delivered unto it, and it raised itself up against the continual, or the daily, sacrifice for sins, and it threw down the truth to the ground; and it prospered, or was successful, in all that it did.)

13 And I heard one of [the] holy angels speaking; and one holy angel said to another, I know not to whom speaking, How long the vision, and the continual sacrifice, and the sin of desolation, [or discomfort,] which is made, and the saintuary, and the host, shall be defouled? (And I heard one of the holy ones speaking; and one holy one said to another, I know not speaking to whom, For how long shall the period of this vision last, concerning the continual, or the daily, sacrifice, and the sin of desolation, or the sin of discomfort, that is done, and the sanctuary shall be defiled, and the host shall be trampled upon?)

14 And he said to him, Till to the eventide and morrowtide, two thousand days and three hundred; and the saintuary shall be cleansed. (And he said to him, Until the evening and the morning, two thousand and three hundred days; and then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.)

15 Forsooth it was done, when I, Daniel, saw the vision, and asked the understanding, lo! as the likeness of a man stood in my sight. (And it was done, when I, Daniel, saw the vision, and tried to understand it, lo! someone with the appearance of a man stood before me.)

16 And I heard the voice of a man betwixt (the banks of the) Ulai, and he cried (out), and said, Gabriel, make thou Daniel to understand this vision.

17 And he came, and stood beside where I stood; and when he was come, I dreaded, and fell on my face. And he said to me, Thou, son of man, understand, for the vision shall be [ful]filled in the time of end. (And he came, and stood beside where I stood; and when he came, I was afraid, and fell on my face. And he said to me, O, son of man, understand, for the vision shall be fulfilled at the time of the end.)

18 And when he spake to me, I slid down groveling, either flat to the earth. And he touched me, and setted me in my degree (And he touched me, and set me upright).

19 And he said to me, I shall show to thee what things shall come in the last of cursing, for the time hath his end. (And he said to me, I shall tell thee what things shall come at the end of the cursing, for the time hath its end.)

20 The ram, whom thou sawest have horns, is the king of Medes and of Persians. (The ram, which thou sawest to have two horns, signifieth the kings of Media and of Persia.)

21 Forsooth the buck of goats is the king of Greeks (And the goat buck is the king of Greece); and the great horn that was betwixt his eyes, he is the first king.

22 Forsooth that when that horn was broken, four horns rised for it, four kings shall rise of the folk of him, but not in the strength of him. (And when that horn was broken, and four horns rose up for it, four kings shall rise up out of his nation, but they shall not have power equal to his.)

23 And after the realm of them (And after their kingdoms, or their reign), when wickednesses have increased, a king shall rise (up) unshamefast in face, and understanding propositions, either reasons set forth;

24 and his strength shall be made stalworthy, but not in his [own] strengths. And more than it may be believed, he shall waste all things, and he shall have prosperity, and shall do. And he shall slay strong men, and the people of saints, (and his strength shall be made stalwart, but not by his own power. And more than it can be believed, he shall destroy everything, and he shall prosper, or be successful, in all that he shall do. And he shall kill the strong, and the people of the saints,)

25 by his will, and guile shall be (ad)dressed in his hand. And he shall magnify his heart, and in abundance of all things, he shall slay full many men. And he shall rise against the prince of princes, and without hand he shall be all-broken. (willfully, and deceit shall be directed in his hand. And he shall magnify his heart, and in the abundance of everything, he shall kill a great many people. And he shall rise up against the Prince of princes, but he shall be broken, without the use of any hands.)

26 And the vision, which is said in the morrowtide and eventide, is true. Therefore seal thou the vision, for it shall be after many days.

27 And I, Daniel, was astonied, and was sick by full many days; and when I had risen, I did the works of the king; and I was astonied at the vision, and none was, that interpreted, either expounded. (And I, Daniel, was astonished, and was made sick by all of this for a great many days; and then I rose up, and did my work for the king; yea, I was astonished by the vision, but there was no one who could interpret, or who could expound, it for me.)

Daniel’s Vision of a Ram and a Goat

In the third year of King Belshazzar’s(A) reign, I, Daniel, had a vision,(B) after the one that had already appeared to me. In my vision I saw myself in the citadel of Susa(C) in the province of Elam;(D) in the vision I was beside the Ulai Canal. I looked up,(E) and there before me was a ram(F) with two horns, standing beside the canal, and the horns were long. One of the horns was longer than the other but grew up later. I watched the ram as it charged toward the west and the north and the south. No animal could stand against it, and none could rescue from its power.(G) It did as it pleased(H) and became great.

As I was thinking about this, suddenly a goat with a prominent horn between its eyes came from the west, crossing the whole earth without touching the ground. It came toward the two-horned ram I had seen standing beside the canal and charged at it in great rage. I saw it attack the ram furiously, striking the ram and shattering its two horns. The ram was powerless to stand against it; the goat knocked it to the ground and trampled on it,(I) and none could rescue the ram from its power.(J) The goat became very great, but at the height of its power the large horn was broken off,(K) and in its place four prominent horns grew up toward the four winds of heaven.(L)

Out of one of them came another horn, which started small(M) but grew in power to the south and to the east and toward the Beautiful Land.(N) 10 It grew until it reached(O) the host of the heavens, and it threw some of the starry host down to the earth(P) and trampled(Q) on them. 11 It set itself up to be as great as the commander(R) of the army of the Lord;(S) it took away the daily sacrifice(T) from the Lord, and his sanctuary was thrown down.(U) 12 Because of rebellion, the Lord’s people[a] and the daily sacrifice were given over to it. It prospered in everything it did, and truth was thrown to the ground.(V)

13 Then I heard a holy one(W) speaking, and another holy one said to him, “How long will it take for the vision to be fulfilled(X)—the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, the rebellion that causes desolation, the surrender of the sanctuary and the trampling underfoot(Y) of the Lord’s people?”

14 He said to me, “It will take 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary will be reconsecrated.”(Z)

The Interpretation of the Vision

15 While I, Daniel, was watching the vision(AA) and trying to understand it, there before me stood one who looked like a man.(AB) 16 And I heard a man’s voice from the Ulai(AC) calling, “Gabriel,(AD) tell this man the meaning of the vision.”(AE)

17 As he came near the place where I was standing, I was terrified and fell prostrate.(AF) “Son of man,”[b] he said to me, “understand that the vision concerns the time of the end.”(AG)

18 While he was speaking to me, I was in a deep sleep, with my face to the ground.(AH) Then he touched me and raised me to my feet.(AI)

19 He said: “I am going to tell you what will happen later in the time of wrath,(AJ) because the vision concerns the appointed time(AK) of the end.[c](AL) 20 The two-horned ram that you saw represents the kings of Media and Persia.(AM) 21 The shaggy goat is the king of Greece,(AN) and the large horn between its eyes is the first king.(AO) 22 The four horns that replaced the one that was broken off represent four kingdoms that will emerge from his nation but will not have the same power.

23 “In the latter part of their reign, when rebels have become completely wicked, a fierce-looking king, a master of intrigue, will arise. 24 He will become very strong, but not by his own power. He will cause astounding devastation and will succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy those who are mighty, the holy people.(AP) 25 He will cause deceit(AQ) to prosper, and he will consider himself superior. When they feel secure, he will destroy many and take his stand against the Prince of princes.(AR) Yet he will be destroyed, but not by human power.(AS)

26 “The vision of the evenings and mornings that has been given you is true,(AT) but seal(AU) up the vision, for it concerns the distant future.”(AV)

27 I, Daniel, was worn out. I lay exhausted(AW) for several days. Then I got up and went about the king’s business.(AX) I was appalled(AY) by the vision; it was beyond understanding.

Footnotes

  1. Daniel 8:12 Or rebellion, the armies
  2. Daniel 8:17 The Hebrew phrase ben adam means human being. The phrase son of man is retained as a form of address here because of its possible association with “Son of Man” in the New Testament.
  3. Daniel 8:19 Or because the end will be at the appointed time