Daniel 8

1 In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar, a vision appeared to me, even to me, Daniel, after that which appeared to me at the first.

In the third year of King Belshazzar's reign I, Daniel, saw another vision after the one I had seen previously.

2 I saw the vision. Now it was so, that when I saw, I was in the citadel of Susa, which is in the province of Elam. I saw in the vision, and I was by the river Ulai.

In my vision I looked around and saw I was in the castle at Susa in the province of Elam. In the vision I was beside the River Ulai.

3 Then I lifted up my eyes and saw, and behold, a ram which had two horns stood before the river. The two horns were high, but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last.

I looked around and saw a ram standing beside the river. It had two long horns, one longer than the other, even though the longer one had grown last.

4 I saw the ram pushing westward, northward, and southward. No animals could stand before him. There wasn’t any who could deliver out of his hand, but he did according to his will, and magnified himself.

I watched the ram charging west, north, and south. No animal could stand up to it—nor was there any chance of rescue from its power. It did whatever it wanted and grew powerful.

5 As I was considering, behold, a male goat came from the west over the surface of the whole earth, and didn’t touch the ground. The goat had a notable horn between his eyes.

As I was thinking about what I'd seen, a male goat came in from the west, racing in across the surface of the earth so fast it didn't touch the ground. It had a large, prominent horn between its eyes.

6 He came to the ram that had the two horns, which I saw standing before the river, and ran on him in the fury of his power.

It approached the ram with the two horns which I had seen standing beside the river, rushing in to attack in a furious rage.

7 I saw him come close to the ram, and he was moved with anger against him, and struck the ram, and broke his two horns. There was no power in the ram to stand before him; but he cast him down to the ground and trampled on him. There was no one who could deliver the ram out of his hand.

I watched as the goat charged furiously at the ram, hitting it and breaking off its two horns. The ram did not have the strength to resist the goat's attack. The goat threw the ram to the ground, trampling on it, and there was no possibility of rescuing it from the goat's power.

8 The male goat magnified himself exceedingly. When he was strong, the great horn was broken; and instead of it there came up four notable horns toward the four winds of the sky.

The goat grew very powerful, but at the height of its power its large horn was broken off. In its place four large horns came up, pointing to the four winds of heaven.

9 Out of one of them came out a little horn which grew exceedingly great—toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the glorious land.

A little horn came up from one of them, and grew extremely powerful to the south and to the east and to the Beautiful Land.

10 It grew great, even to the army of the sky; and it cast down some of the army and of the stars to the ground and trampled on them.

It grew in power until it reached the heavenly army, throwing some of them and some of the stars down to the earth and trampled on them.

11 Yes, it magnified itself, even to the prince of the army; and it took away from him the continual burnt offering, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down.

It even tried to make itself as great as the Prince of the heavenly army—it removed the continual service, and the place of his sanctuary was destroyed.

12 The army was given over to it together with the continual burnt offering through disobedience. It cast down truth to the ground, and it did its pleasure and prospered.

An army of people and the continual service were handed over to it because of rebellion, and it overthrew truth, and it was successful in everything it did.

13 Then I heard a holy one speaking; and another holy one said to that certain one who spoke, “How long will the vision about the continual burnt offering, and the disobedience that makes desolate, to give both the sanctuary and the army to be trodden under foot be?”

Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one asked the one who was speaking, “How long is this vision for—the removal of the continual service, the rebellion that causes devastation, the handing over of the sanctuary and the army of people to be trampled down?”

14 He said to me, “To two thousand and three hundred evenings and mornings. Then the sanctuary will be cleansed.”

He replied, “For two thousand three hundred evenings and mornings, then the sanctuary will be cleansed.”

15 When I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, I sought to understand it. Then behold, there stood before me someone with the appearance of a man.

As I, Daniel, tried to work out what this vision meant suddenly I saw someone who looked like a man standing in front of me.

16 I heard a man’s voice between the banks of the Ulai, which called and said, “Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.”

I also heard a human voice calling from the River Ulai, “Gabriel, explain to this man the meaning of the vision.”

17 So he came near where I stood; and when he came, I was frightened, and fell on my face; but he said to me, “Understand, son of man, for the vision belongs to the time of the end.”

As he approached me, I was terrified and fell face down before him. “Son of man,” he told me, “You need to understand that this vision refers to the time of the end.”

18 Now as he was speaking with me, I fell into a deep sleep with my face toward the ground; but he touched me and set me upright.

As he spoke to me I lost consciousness as I laid face down on the ground. But he took hold of me and helped me to my feet.

19 He said, “Behold, I will make you know what will be in the latter time of the indignation, for it belongs to the appointed time of the end.

He told me, “Pay attention! I'm going to explain to you what's going to happen during the time of anger, which refers to the appointed time of the end.

20 The ram which you saw, that had the two horns, they are the kings of Media and Persia.

The ram with two horns that you saw symbolizes the kings of Media and Persia.

21 The rough male goat is the king of Greece. The great horn that is between his eyes is the first king.

The male goat is the kingdom of Greece, and the large horn between its eyes is its first king.

22 As for that which was broken, in the place where four stood up, four kingdoms will stand up out of the nation, but not with his power.

The four horns that came up in place of the large horn that was broken represent the four kingdoms that arose from that nation, but not as powerful as the first.

23 “In the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors have come to the full, a king of fierce face, and understanding riddles, will stand up.

When those kingdoms come to an end, when their sins have reached their fullest extent, a ferocious and treacherous kingdom will rise to power.

24 His power will be mighty, but not by his own power. He will destroy awesomely, and will prosper in what he does. He will destroy the mighty ones and the holy people.

It will become very powerful but not by its own power. It will be terribly destructive, and will succeed in everything it does. It will destroy great leaders and God's dedicated people.

25 Through his policy he will cause deceit to prosper in his hand. He will magnify himself in his heart, and he will destroy many in their security. He will also stand up against the prince of princes, but he will be broken without human hands.

Through its deviousness, its lies will be convincing and successful. It shows its arrogance both in thought and action, destroying those who thought they were perfectly safe. It even fights in opposition against the Prince of princes, but it will be defeated, though not by any human power.

26 “The vision of the evenings and mornings which has been told is true; but seal up the vision, for it belongs to many days to come.”

The vision about the evenings and mornings that has been explained to you is true, but for now seal up this vision because it refers to the distant future.”

27 I, Daniel, fainted, and was sick for some days. Then I rose up and did the king’s business. I wondered at the vision, but no one understood it.

After this, I, Daniel, became exhausted, and I was sick for days. Then I got up and went back to working for the king, but I was devastated at what I'd seen in vision and I couldn't understand it.