Daniel 7
1 [Previously, ] during the first year that Belshazzar was the king of Babylonia, I had a dream and a vision one night as I lay on my bed. [The next morning] I wrote down what I had dreamed. This is what I wrote:
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 I, Daniel, had a vision last night. In the vision I saw that strong winds were blowing from all four directions, stirring up [the water in] the ocean.
and seide, Y siy in my visioun in niyt, and lo! foure wyndis of heuene fouyten in the myddis of the greet see.
3 Then [I saw] four beasts coming out of the ocean. All four of them were different.
And foure grete beestis dyuerse bitwixe hem silf stieden fro the see.
4 The first one resembled a lion, but it had wings like an eagle has. But as I watched, something tore off its wings {its wings were pulled off}. The beast was left there, standing on its two hind/rear legs, like a human being stands. And it was given a mind like humans have.
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 The second beast resembled a bear. It was crouching, and it held between its teeth three ribs [from another animal that it had killed and eaten]. Someone said to it {It was told}, “Stand up and eat as much meat [as you want]!”
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 Then I saw in front of me the third of those beasts. It resembled a leopard, but it had four wings protruding from its back. The wings were like a bird’s wings. It had four heads. It was given the power/authority to rule [people].
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 In the vision I saw a fourth beast. It was stronger than the other beasts, and it was more terrifying. It crushed other creatures with its huge iron teeth and ate their flesh. The parts of animals that it did not grind with its teeth, it trampled [on the ground]. It was different from the other three beasts: It had ten horns [on its head].
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 While I was looking at those horns, I saw a little horn appear [on the head of that beast]. It tore out three of the other horns. This little horn had eyes like humans have, and it had a mouth [with which it spoke] very boastfully.
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 [Then] while I watched, thrones were put in the places [where they belonged], and [God], the one who had been living forever, sat on one of the thrones. His clothes were as white as snow, and his hair was as white as pure/clean wool. His throne had wheels that were blazing with fire, and his throne was [also] blazing.
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 fire was rushing out of in front of him like a stream. Many thousands [of people] (OR, [angels]) [were there] serving him, and millions [of other people] (OR, [angels]) were standing in front of him. They started (the court session/judging people), and they opened the books [in which they had written the record of all the good and bad things that people had done].
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 While I was watching, I could hear the little horn speaking very boastfully. As I [continued to] watch, the [fourth] beast was killed. Its corpse was thrown into a fire and completely burned.
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 The power/authority of the other [three] beasts was taken away from them, but they were allowed to continue to live for a while.
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 While I [continued to] see the vision that night, I saw someone who resembled a human being. He was coming [closer to me], surrounded by clouds. Then he was taken to [God], the one who had been living forever.
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 He was honored and given great authority to rule over all the nations in the world, in order that people from every people-group and every nation, people from all language groups, would worship/serve him. He will rule forever; he will never stop ruling. The kingdom that he rules will never 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, I was very terrified by what I had seen in that vision, and I did not know what to think about it.
My spirit hadde orrour, ether hidousnesse; Y, Danyel, was aferd in these thingis, and the siytis of myn heed disturbliden me.
16 I went to one of those who were standing in front of the throne of God, and I asked him to tell me what it meant. So he told me the meaning of it.
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 [He said], “The four huge beasts represent four kingdoms/empires that will exist on the earth.
These foure grete beestis ben foure rewmes, that schulen rise of erthe.
18 But the Supreme God will give power/authority to his people [to rule], and they shall rule forever.”
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 wanted to know what the fourth beast signified—[the beast] that was different from the other three, the beast that crushed [those that it attacked] with its bronze claws, and [then] ate [their flesh] with its iron teeth, and trampled on the parts of their bodies [that it did not eat].
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 [I also wanted to know about] the ten horns on its head, and about the horn that appeared later, which got rid of three of the other horns. [I wanted to know what it meant that] it had eyes and a mouth with which it spoke very boastfully. [The beast that was represented by] that horn was more terrifying than the other beasts.
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 While I was having the vision, I saw that this horn attacked God’s people and was defeating them.
I bihelde, and lo! thilke horn made batel ayens hooli men, and hadde maistrie of hem,
22 But then the Supreme God, the one who had been living forever, came and judged in favor of the people who belonged to him. And [I knew that] it was time for God’s people to receive authority [to rule].
til the elde of daies cam, and hiy God yaf doom to hooli men; and lo! tyme cam, and hooli men goten rewme.
23 [Then] the man who was standing there said [to me], “The fourth beast represents an empire that will exist on the earth; that [empire] will be different from all [other] empires. [The army of] that empire will crush/kill [people all over] the world and trample [on their bodies].
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 As for its ten horns, they represent ten kings who will rule that empire, [one after the other]. Then another [king] will appear. He will be different from the previous kings. He will defeat the three kings [that were represented by the three horns that were pulled out].
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 He will revile the Supreme God, and he will oppress God’s people. He will try to change the [sacred] festivals and their [religious] laws/regulations. He will control them for three and a half years.
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 there will be a session/meeting of the court/judges in heaven, and that king’s authority/power will be taken away, and he will be completely destroyed.
And doom schal sitte, that the power be takun awei, and be al to-brokun, and perische til in to the ende.
27 Then all the power and the greatness of all the kingdoms on the earth will be given to the people who belong to the Supreme God. The kingdom that he rules (OR, they rule) will endure forever. And the rulers of all the nations on the earth will serve and obey him (OR, them).”
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 That is [what I saw in] my vision/dream. I, Daniel, was terrified, with the result that my face became pale. But I did not tell anyone about the vision [that I had seen].
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.
