Daniel 8

1 In the third year of the rule of Belshazzar the king, a vision was seen by me, Daniel, after the one I saw at first.

In the third year of the reign of Belshazzar the king, a vision appeared to me. After that which I had seen in the beginning, I, Daniel,

2 And I saw in the vision; and when I saw it, I was in the strong town Shushan, which is in the country of Elam; and in the vision I was by the water-door of the Ulai.

saw in my vision, that I was in the capital city of Susa, which is in the region of Elam, yet I saw in the vision that I was over the gate of Ulai.

3 And lifting up my eyes, I saw, there before the stream, a male sheep with two horns: and the two horns were high, but one was higher than the other, the higher one coming up last.

And I lifted up my eyes and saw, and behold, a single ram stood before the marsh, having two high horns, and one was higher than the other and growing higher still.

4 I saw the sheep pushing to the west and to the north and to the south; and no beasts were able to keep their place before him, and no one was able to get people out of his power; but he did whatever his pleasure was and made himself great.

After this, I saw the ram brandishing his horns against the West, and against the North, and against the Meridian, and all the beasts could not withstand him, nor be freed from his hand, and he did according to his own will, and he became great.

5 And while I was giving thought to this, I saw a he-goat coming from the west over the face of all the earth without touching the earth: and the he-goat had a great horn between his eyes.

And I understood, and behold, a he-goat among she-goats came from the West above the face of the entire earth, and he did not touch the ground. Furthermore, the he-goat had a preeminent horn between his eyes.

6 And he came to the two-horned sheep which I saw before the stream, rushing at him in the heat of his power.

And he went all the way to the ram that had the horns, which I had seen standing before the gate, and he ran towards him in the force of his strength.

7 And I saw him come right up to the sheep, and he was moved with wrath against him, attacking the sheep so that his two horns were broken; and the sheep had not strength to keep his place before him, but was pushed down on the earth and crushed under his feet: and there was no one to get the sheep out of his power.

And when he approached near to the ram, he was enraged against him, and he struck the ram, and broke his two horns, and the ram could not withstand him, and when he had cast him down on the ground, he trampled him, and no one was able to free the ram from his hand.

8 And the he-goat became very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken, and in its place came up four other horns turned to the four winds of heaven.

But the he-goat among she-goats became exceedingly great, and when he had prospered, the great horn was shattered, and four horns were rising up beneath it by means of the four winds of heaven.

9 And out of one of them came another horn, a little one, which became very great, stretching to the south and to the east and to the beautiful land.

But from one of them came forth one little horn, and it became great against the Meridian, and against the East, and against the strength.

10 And it became great, even as high as the army of heaven, pulling down some of the army, even of the stars, to the earth and crushing them under its feet.

And it was magnified even towards the strength of heaven, and it threw down those of the strength and of the stars, and it trampled them.

11 It made itself great, even as great as the lord of the army; and by it the regular burned offering was taken away, and the place overturned and the holy place made waste.

And it was magnified, even to the leader of the strength, and it took away from him the continual sacrifice, and cast down the place of his sanctuary.

12 ... against the regular burned offering; and ... crushed down to the earth, and it did its pleasure and things went well for it.

And the advantage was given to him against the continual sacrifice, because of the sins, and truth will be struck down to the ground, and he will act, and he will prosper.

13 Then there came to my ears the voice of a holy one talking; and another holy one said to that certain one who was talking, How long will the vision be while the regular burned offering is taken away, and the unclean thing causing fear is put up, and the holy place crushed under foot?

And I heard one of the holy ones speaking, and one saint said to another, (I know not to whom he was speaking, ) “What is the extent of the vision, and the continual sacrifice, and the sin of the desolation, which has happened, and of the sanctuary and the strength, which will be trampled?”

14 And he said to him, For two thousand, three hundred evenings and mornings; then the holy place will be made clean.

And he said to him, “From evening until morning, two thousand three hundred days, and so the sanctuary will be cleansed.”

15 And it came about that when I, Daniel, had seen this vision, I had a desire for the sense of it to be unfolded; and I saw one before me in the form of a man.

But it came to pass, when I, Daniel, saw the vision and sought understanding that, behold, there stood in my sight something like the appearance of a man.

16 And the voice of a man came to my ears between the sides of the Ulai, crying out and saying, Gabriel, make the vision clear to this man.

And I heard the voice of a man within Ulai, and he called out and said, “Gabriel, make this one understand the vision.”

17 So he came and took his place near where I was; and when he came, I was full of fear and went down on my face: but he said to me, Let it be clear to you, O son of man; for the vision has to do with the time of the end.

And he came and stood next to where I was standing, and when he approached, I fell on my face, trembling, and he said to me, “Understand, son of man, for in the time of the end the vision will be fulfilled.”

18 Now while he was talking to me, I went into a deep sleep with my face to the earth: but touching me, he put me on my feet where I had been.

And when he spoke to me, I fell forward onto the ground, and so he touched me and stood me upright.

19 And he said, See, I will make clear to you what is to come in the later time of the wrath: for it has to do with the fixed time of the end.

And he said to me, “I will reveal to you what the future things are in the earlier tribulation, for the time has its end.

20 The sheep which you saw with two horns, they are the kings of Media and Persia.

The ram, which you saw to have horns, is the king of the Medes and Persians.

21 And the he-goat is the king of Greece: and the great horn between his eyes is the first king.

Furthermore, the he-goat among she-goats is the king of the Greeks, and the great horn, which was between his eyes, is the same one, the first king.

22 And as for that which was broken, in place of which four came up, four kingdoms will come up from his nation, but not with his power.

And since, having been shattered, there grew four in its place, four kings will rise up from his people, but not in his strength.

23 And in the later years of their kingdom, when their evil doings have become complete, there will come up a king full of pride and expert in dark sayings.

And after their reign, when iniquities will be increased, there will arise a king of shameless face and understanding negotiations.

24 And his power will be great, and he will be purposing strange things. And all will go well for him and he will do his pleasure; and he will send destruction on the strong ones.

And his advantage will be strengthened, but not by his kind of force, and other than what he will be able to trust, everything will be eradicated, and he will prosper, and he will act. And he will execute the successful and the people of the saints,

25 And his designs will be turned against the holy people, causing deceit to do well in his hand; in his heart he will make himself great, and send destruction on numbers who are living unconscious of their danger; and he will put himself up against the prince of princes; but he will be broken, though not by men's hands.

according to his will, and treachery will be guided by his hand. And his heart will be inflated, and by the abundance of everything he will kill many, and he will rise up against the Lord of lords, and he will be knocked down without a hand.

26 And the vision of evenings and mornings which has been talked of is true: and keep the vision secret; for it has to do with the far-off future.

And the vision of the evening and the morning, which was told, is true. Therefore, you must seal the vision, because, after many days, it will occur.”

27 And I, Daniel, was ill for some days; then I got up and did the king's business: and I was full of wonder at the vision, but no one was able to give the sense of it.

And I, Daniel, languished and was sick for some days, and when I had lifted myself up, I performed the king’s works, and I was astonished at the vision, and there was none who could interpret it.