Daniel 7
1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream and told the sum of the matters.
In the firste yeer of Balthasar, kyng of Babiloyne, Danyel siy a sweuene. Forsothe he wroot the visioun of his hed in his bed, and the dreem, and comprehendide in schort word; and he touchide schortli the sentence,
2 Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven brake forth upon the great sea.
and seide, Y siy in my visioun in niyt, and lo! foure wyndis of heuene fouyten in the myddis of the greet see.
3 And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.
And foure grete beestis dyuerse bitwixe hem silf stieden fro the see.
4 The first was like a lion, and had eagle’s wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made to stand upon two feet as a man, and a man’s heart was given to it.
The firste beeste was as a lionesse, and hadde wyngis of an egle. Y bihelde til the wyngis therof weren pullid awei, and it was takun awei fro erthe, and it stood as a man on the feet, and the herte therof was youun to it.
5 And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it was raised up on one side, and three ribs were in his mouth between his teeth: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.
And lo! another beeste, lijk a bere in parti, stood, and thre ordris weren in the mouth therof, and thre princes in the teeth therof. And thus thei seiden to it, Rise thou, ete thou ful many fleischis.
6 After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.
Aftir these thingis Y bihelde, and lo! anothir beeste as a pard, and it hadde on it silf foure wyngis of a brid, and foure heedis weren in the beeste, and power was youun to it.
7 After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, terrible and powerful, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.
Aftir these thingis Y bihelde in the visioun of niyt, and lo! the fourthe beeste, ferdful, and wondirful, and ful strong. It hadde grete irun teeth, and it ete, and made lesse, and defoulide with hise feet othere thingis; forsothe it was vnlijk othere beestis, which Y hadde seyn bifore it, and it hadde ten hornes.
8 I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one, before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things.
Y bihelde the hornes, and lo! an other litil horn cam forth of the myddis of tho, and thre of the firste hornes weren drawun out fro the face therof; and lo! iyen as iyen of a man weren in this horn, and a mouth spekynge grete thingis.
9 I beheld till thrones were placed, and one that was ancient of days did sit: his raiment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames, [and] the wheels thereof burning fire.
Y bihelde, til that trones weren set, and the elde of daies sat; his cloth was whijt as snow, and the heeris of his heed weren as cleene wolle, his trone was as flawmes of fier, hise wheelis weren fier kyndlid.
10 A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.
A flood of fier and rennynge faste yede out fro his face, a thousynde thousynde mynistriden to hym, and ten sithis a thousynde sithis an hundrid thousynde stoden niy hym; the dom sat, and bookis weren opened.
11 I beheld at that time because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake; I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and he was given to be burned with fire.
Y bihelde for the vois of grete wordis whiche thilke horn spak; and Y siy that the beeste was slayn, and his bodi was perischid, and was youun to be brent in fier.
12 And as for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.
And Y siy that the power of othere beestis was takun awei, and the tymes of lijf weren ordeyned to hem, til to tyme and tyme.
13 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, there came with the clouds of heaven one like unto a son of man, and he came even to the ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
Therfor Y bihelde in the visyoun of niyt, and lo! as a sone of man cam with the cloudis of heuene; and he cam fulli til to the elde of daies, and in the siyt of hym thei offriden hym.
14 And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and languages should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.
And he yaf to hym power, and onour, and rewme, and alle the puplis, lynagis, and langagis schulen serue hym; his power is euerlastynge power, that schal not be takun awei, and his rewme, that schal not be corrupt.
15 As for me Daniel, my spirit was grieved in the midst of my body, and the visions of my head troubled me.
My spirit hadde orrour, ether hidousnesse; Y, Danyel, was aferd in these thingis, and the siytis of myn heed disturbliden me.
16 I came near unto one of them that stood by, and asked him the truth concerning all this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things.
Y neiyede to oon of the stonderis niy, and Y axide of hym the treuthe of alle these thingis. And he seide to me the interpretyng of wordis, and he tauyte me.
17 These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth.
These foure grete beestis ben foure rewmes, that schulen rise of erthe.
18 But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.
Forsothe hooli men schulen take the rewme of hiyeste God, and thei schulen holde the rewme, til in to the world, and `til in to the world of worldis.
19 Then I desired to know the truth concerning the fourth beast, which was diverse from all of them, exceeding terrible, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet;
Aftir these thingis Y wolde lerne diligentli of the fourthe beeste, that was greetli vnlijk fro alle, and was ful ferdful, the teeth and nailis therof weren of irun; it eet, and made lesse, and defoulide with hise feet othere thingis.
20 and concerning the ten horns that were on his head, and the other [horn] which came up, and before which three fell; even that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows.
And of ten hornes whiche it hadde in the heed, and of the tother horn, that cam forth, bifore which thre hornes fellen doun, and of that horn that hadde iyen, and a mouth spekynge grete thingis, and was grettere than othere;
21 I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them;
I bihelde, and lo! thilke horn made batel ayens hooli men, and hadde maistrie of hem,
22 until the ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.
til the elde of daies cam, and hiy God yaf doom to hooli men; and lo! tyme cam, and hooli men goten rewme.
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all the kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.
And he seide thus, The fourthe beeste schal be the fourthe rewme in erthe, that schal be more than alle rewmes, and it schal deuoure al erthe, and it schal defoule, and make lesse that erthe.
24 And as for the ten horns, out of this kingdom shall ten kings arise: and another shall arise after them; and he shall be diverse from the former, and he shall put down three kings.
Forsothe ten hornes schulen be ten kyngis of that rewme; and another kyng schal rise after hem, and he schal be miytiere than the formere, and he schal make low thre kyngis.
25 And he shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High: and he shall think to change the times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and half a time.
And he schal speke wordis ayens the hiy God, and he schal defoule the seyntis of the hiyeste; and he schal gesse, that he mai chaunge tymes and lawis; and thei schulen be youun in to his hondis, til to tyme, and times, and the half of tyme.
26 But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end.
And doom schal sitte, that the power be takun awei, and be al to-brokun, and perische til in to the ende.
27 And the kingdom and the dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High: his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.
Sotheli that the rewme, and power, and the greetnesse of rewme, which is vndur ech heuene, be youun to the puple of the seintis of the hiyeste, whos rewme is euerlastynge rewme, and alle kingis schulen serue, and obeie to hym.
28 Here is the end of the matter. As for me Daniel, my thoughts much troubled me, and my countenance was changed in me: but I kept the matter in my heart.
Hidur to is the ende of the word. Y, Danyel, was disturblid myche in my thouytis, and my face was chaungid in me; forsothe Y kepte the word in myn herte.
