< Daniel 8 >

1 In the thridde yeer of the rewme of Balthasar, the king, a visioun apperide to me. Y, Danyel, after that thing that Y hadde seyn in the bigynnyng,
In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision appeared to me, Daniel, after that which appeared to me previously.
2 siy in my visioun, whanne Y was in the castel of Susis, which is in the cuntrei of Helam; sotheli Y siy in the visioun that Y was on the yate Vlay.
And I saw in the vision, and when I looked, I was in the citadel of Shushan, which is in the province of Elam. And I saw in the vision, and I was by the river Ulai.
3 And Y reiside myn iyen, and Y siy; and lo! o ram stood bifor the mareis, and hadde hiy hornes, and oon hiyere than the tother, and vndurwexynge.
Then I lifted up my eyes, and saw, and look, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns. And the two horns were long, but one was longer than the other, and the longer one came up last.
4 Aftirward Y siy the ram wyndewynge with hornes ayens the eest, and ayens the west, and ayens the north, and ayens the south; and alle beestis myyten not ayenstonde it, nether be delyuered fro the hondis of it. And it dide bi his wille, and was magnefied.
I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; and no animals could stand before him, neither was there any who could deliver out of his hand. But he did according to his will, and became great.
5 And Y vndurstood. Lo! forsothe a buk of geet cam fro the west on the face of al erthe, and touchide not the erthe; forsothe the buk of geet hadde a noble horn bitwixe hise iyen;
As I was considering, look, a male goat came from the west over the surface of the whole earth, and did not touch the ground. And the goat had a prominent horn between his eyes.
6 and he cam til to that horned ram, which Y hadde seyn stondynge bifore the yate, and he ran in the fersnesse of his strengthe to that ram.
He came to the ram that had the two horns, which I saw standing before the river, and rushed at him in the fury of his power.
7 And whanne he hadde neiyid niy the ram, he hurlide fersly on hym, and he smoot the ram, and al to-brak tweyne hornes of hym, and the ram miyte not ayenstonde hym. And whanne he hadde sent that ram in to erthe, he defoulide; and no man miyte delyuere the ram fro his hond.
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. And there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he threw him down to the ground and trampled on him, and there was no one who could deliver the ram from his power.
8 Forsothe the buk of geet was maad ful greet; and whanne he hadde encreessid, the greet horn was brokun, and foure hornes risiden vndur it, bi foure wyndis of heuene.
The male goat became very strong. But when he was strong, the large horn was broken; and instead of it there came up four prominent horns toward the four winds of heaven.
9 Forsothe of oon of hem yede out o litil horn, and it was maad greet ayens the south, and ayens the eest, and ayens the strengthe.
Out of one of them came forth a little horn, which grew exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the beautiful land.
10 And it was magnefied til to the strengthe of heuene, and it castide doun of the strengthe and of sterris, and defoulide tho.
It grew so great that it reached to the host of heaven, and some of the host and of the stars it cast down to the ground, and trampled on them.
11 And he was magnefied til to the prince of strengthe, and he took awei fro hym the contynuel sacrifice, and castide doun the place of his halewyng.
And it magnified itself, even against the Prince of the host; and it took away from him the daily sacrifice, and the place of his sanctuary was thrown down.
12 Forsothe strengthe was youun to hym ayens the contynuel sacrifice for synnes, and treuthe schal be cast doun in erthe; and he schal haue prosperite, and schal do.
The host was given over to it together with the daily sacrifice because of transgression. And it cast down truth to the ground, and kept prospering.
13 And Y herde oon of hooli aungels spekynge; and oon hooli aungel seide to another, Y noot to whom spekinge, Hou long the visioun, and the contynuel sacrifice, and the synne of desolacioun, which is maad, and the seyntuarie, and the strengthe schal be defoulid?
Then I heard a holy one speaking; and another holy one said to that certain one who spoke, "How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression that makes desolate, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trampled?"
14 And he seide to hym, Til to the euentid and morewtid, two thousynde daies and thre hundrid; and the seyntuarie schal be clensid.
He said to me, "To two thousand and three hundred evenings and mornings; then shall the sanctuary be restored to its rightful state."
15 Forsothe it was doon, whanne Y, Danyel, siy the visioun, and axide the vndurstondyng, lo! as the licnesse of a man stood in my siyt.
It came about when I, Daniel, had seen the vision, that I sought to understand it. And look, there stood before me someone who appeared to be a man.
16 And Y herde the voys of a man bitwixe Vlai, and he criede, and seide, Gabriel, make thou Danyel to vndurstonde this visioun.
I heard a man's voice between the banks of the Ulai, and called out and said, "Gabriel, make this man understand the vision."
17 And he cam, and stood bisidis where Y stood; and whanne he was comun, Y dredde, and felle on my face. And he seide to me, Thou, sone of man, vndurstonde, for the visioun schal be fillid in the tyme of ende.
So he came near where I stood, and when he came I was frightened, and fell prostrate. But he said to me, "Understand, son of man, that the vision belongs to the time of the end."
18 And whanne he spak to me, Y slood doun `plat to the erthe. And he touchide me, and settide me in my degree.
Now as he was speaking with me, I fell into a deep sleep with my face toward the ground; but he touched me, and stood me upright.
19 And he seide to me, Y schal schewe to thee what thingis schulen come in the laste of cursing, for the tyme hath his ende.
He said, "Look, I will make you know what shall be in the latter time of wrath, for it belongs to the appointed time of the end.
20 The ram, whom thou siyest haue hornes, is the kyng of Medeis and of Perseis.
The ram which you saw, that had the two horns, they are the kings of Media and Persia.
21 Forsothe the buc of geet is the kyng of Grekis; and the greet horn that was bitwixe hise iyen, he is the firste kyng.
The male goat is the king of Greece, and the large horn that is between his eyes is the first king.
22 Forsothe that whanne that horn was brokun, foure hornes risiden for it, foure kyngis schulen rise of the folc of hym, but not in the strengthe of hym.
As for that which was broken, in the place where four stood up, four kingdoms shall arise out of his nation, but not with his power.
23 And after the rewme of hem, whanne `wickidnessis han encreessid, a kyng schal rise vnschamefast in face, and vndurstondyng proposisiouns, ether resouns set forth; and his strengthe schal be maad stalworthe,
In the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressions have reached their full measure, a rash and deceitful king shall arise.
24 but not in hise strengthis. And more than it mai be bileuyd he schal waste alle thingis, and he schal haue prosperite, and schal do. And he schal sle stronge men, and the puple of seyntis,
His power shall be great, but not by his own strength; and he shall cause terrible destruction, and shall succeed in whatever he does. And he shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.
25 bi his wille, and gile schal be dressid in his hond. And he schal magnefie his herte, and in abundaunce of alle thingis he schal sle ful many men. And he schal rise ayens the prince of princes, and withouten hond he schal be al to-brokun.
Through his cunning he shall cause deceit to prosper by his influence, and he shall be great in his own mind, and without warning he shall destroy many. He shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be shattered, but not by human hands.
26 And the visioun, which is seid in the morewtid and euentid, is trewe. Therfor seele thou the visioun, for it schal be after many daies.
The vision of the evenings and mornings which has been told is true; but seal up the vision because it refers to many days from now."
27 And Y, Danyel, was astonyed, and was sijk bi ful many daies; and whanne Y hadde rise, Y dide the werkis of the kyng; and Y was astonyed at the visioun, and `noon was that interpretide.
I, Daniel, was overcome, and was ill for days. Then I rose up, and carried out the king's business. And I was astonished by the vision, but there was no one to explain it.

< Daniel 8 >