Daniel 7-9

Complete Jewish Bible

7 In the first year of Belshatzar king of Bavel, Dani’el had a dream and visions in his head, as he was lying on his bed. He wrote the dream down, and this is his account:

² “I had a vision at night; I saw there before me the four winds of the sky breaking out over the great sea, ³ and four huge animals came up out of the sea, each different from the others. ⁴ The first was like a lion, but it had eagle’s wings. As I watched, its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted off the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man, and a human heart was given to it. ⁵ Then there was another animal, a second one, like a bear. It raised itself up on one side, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, ‘Get up, and gorge yourself with flesh!’ ⁶ After this, I looked; and there was another one, like a leopard with four bird’s wings on its sides. The animal also had four heads, and it was given power to rule. ⁷ After this, I looked in the night visions; and there before me was a fourth animal, dreadful, horrible, extremely strong, and with great iron teeth. It devoured, crushed and stamped its feet on what was left. It was different from all the animals that had gone before it, and it had ten horns.

⁸ “While I was considering the horns, another horn sprang up among them, a little one, before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots. In this horn were eyes like human eyes and a mouth speaking arrogantly.

¹¹ “I kept watching. Then, because of the arrogant words which the horn was speaking, I watched as the animal was killed; its body was destroyed; and it was given over to be burned up completely. ¹² As for the other animals, their rulership was taken away; but their lives were prolonged for a time and a season.

¹⁵ “As for me, Dani’el, my spirit deep within me was troubled; the visions in my head frightened me. ¹⁶ I approached one of those standing by and asked him what all this really meant. He said that he would make me understand how to interpret these things. ¹⁷ ‘These four huge animals are four kingdoms that will arise on earth. ¹⁸ But the holy ones of the Most High will receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, yes, forever and ever.’

¹⁹ “Then I wanted to know what the fourth beast meant, the one that was different from all the others, so very terrifying, with iron teeth and bronze nails, which devoured, crushed and stamped its feet on what was left; ²⁰ and what the ten horns on its head meant; and the other horn which sprang up and before which three fell, the horn that had eyes and a mouth speaking arrogantly and seemed greater than the others. ²¹ I watched, and that horn made war with the holy ones and was winning, ²² until the Ancient One came, judgment was given in favor of the holy ones of the Most High, and the time came for the holy ones to take over the kingdom. ²³ This is what he said: ‘The fourth animal will be a fourth kingdom on earth. It will be different from the other kingdoms; it will devour the whole earth, trample it down and crush it. ²⁴ As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings will arise; and yet another will arise after them. Now he will be different from the earlier ones, and he will put down three kings. ²⁵ He will speak words against the Most High and try to exhaust the holy ones of the Most High. He will attempt to alter the seasons and the law; and [the holy ones] will be handed over to him for a time, times and half a time. ²⁶ But when the court goes into session, he will be stripped of his rulership, which will be consumed and completely destroyed. ²⁷ Then the kingdom, the rulership and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the holy people of the Most High. Their kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all rulers will serve and obey them.’”

²⁸ This is the end of the account. As for me, Dani’el, my thoughts frightened me so much that I turned pale; but I kept the matter to myself.

8 After that first vision, it was in the third year of the reign of King Belshatzar that another vision appeared to me, Dani’el. ² I looked into the vision; and as I looked, I found myself in Shushan the capital, in the province of ‘Eilam. I looked into the vision, and I was by the Ulai canal. ³ I looked up; and as I watched, there in front of the stream stood a ram with two horns. The horns were long, but one was longer than the other, and the longer one came up later [than the other]. ⁴ I saw the ram pushing to the west, north and south; and no animals could stand up against it; nor was there anyone that could rescue from its power. So it did as it pleased and became very strong.

⁵ I was beginning to understand, when a male goat came from the west, passing over the whole earth without touching the ground. The goat had a prominent horn between its eyes. ⁶ It approached the ram with the two horns, which I had seen standing in front of the river, and charged it with savage force. ⁷ I watched as it advanced on the ram, filled with rage against it, and struck the ram, breaking its two horns. The ram was powerless to stand against it. It threw the ram to the ground and trampled it down, and there was no one that could rescue it from the goat’s power. ⁸ The male goat then became extremely strong; but when it was strong, the big horn was broken; and in its place arose what appeared to be four horns in the directions of the four winds of heaven. ⁹ Out of one of them came a little horn which grew extremely big in the directions of the south and east, and in the direction of the Glory. ¹⁰ It grew so great that it reached the army of heaven; it hurled some of the army and the stars to the ground and trampled on them. ¹¹ Yes, it even considered itself as great as the prince of the army; the regular burnt offering was taken away from him, and the place of his sanctuary was thrown down. ¹² Through sin, the army was put in its power, along with the regular burnt offering. It flung truth on the ground as it acted and prospered.

¹³ Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to the speaker, “How long will the events of the vision last, this vision concerning the regular offering and the transgression which is so appalling, that allows the sanctuary and the army to be trampled underfoot?” ¹⁴ The first said to me, “Two thousand three hundred evenings and mornings, after which the sanctuary will be restored to its rightful state.”

¹⁵ After I, Dani’el, had seen the vision and was trying to understand it, suddenly there stood in front of me someone who appeared to be a man. ¹⁶ I heard a human voice calling from between the banks of the Ulai, “Gavri’el, make this man understand the vision!” ¹⁷ He came up to where I was standing, and his approach so terrified me that I fell on my face. But he said to me, “Human being! Understand that the vision refers to the time of the end.” ¹⁸ As he was speaking with me, I fell into a deep sleep, with my face toward the ground; but he touched me, set me on my feet, ¹⁹ and said, “I am going to explain to you what will happen at the end of the period of fury, because [the vision] has to do with the time at the end. ²⁰ You saw a ram with two horns which are the kings of Media and Persia. ²¹ The shaggy male goat is the king of Greece, and the prominent horn between its eyes is the first king. ²² As for the horn that broke and the four which rose up in its place, four kingdoms will arise out of this nation, but not with the power the first king had. ²³ In the latter part of their reign, when the evildoers have become as evil as possible, there will arise an arrogant king skilled in intrigue. ²⁴ His power will be great, but not with the power the first king had. He will be amazingly destructive, he will succeed in whatever he does, and he will destroy the mighty and the holy ones. ²⁵ He will succeed through craftiness and deceit, become swelled with pride, and destroy many people just when they feel the most secure. He will even challenge the prince of princes; but, without human intervention, he will be broken. ²⁶ The vision of the evenings and mornings which has been told is true; but you are to keep the vision secret, because it is about days in the distant future.”

²⁷ I, Dani’el, grew weak and was ill for some days. Then I got up and took care of the king’s affairs; but I was appalled at the vision and still couldn’t understand it.

9 In the first year of Daryavesh the son of Achashverosh, a Mede by birth who was made king over the kingdom of the Kasdim — ² in the first year of his reign, I, Dani’el, was reading the Scriptures and thinking about the number of years which Adonai had told Yirmeyah the prophet would be the period of Yerushalayim’s desolation, seventy years. ³ I turned to Adonai, God, to seek an answer, pleading with him in prayer, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes. ⁴ I prayed to Adonai my God and made this confession:

“Please, Adonai, great and fearsome God, who keeps his covenant and extends grace to those who love him and observe his mitzvot! ⁵ We have sinned, done wrong, acted wickedly, rebelled and turned away from your mitzvot and rulings. ⁶ We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our leaders, our ancestors and to all the people of the land.

⁷ “To you, Adonai, belongs righteousness; but to us today belongs shame — to us, the men of Y’hudah, the inhabitants of Yerushalayim and all Isra’el, including those nearby and those far away, throughout all the countries where you have driven them; because they broke faith with you. ⁸ Yes, Adonai, shame falls on us, our kings, our leaders and our ancestors; because we sinned against you. ⁹ It is for Adonai our God to show compassion and forgiveness, because we rebelled against him. ¹⁰ We didn’t listen to the voice of Adonai our God, so that we could live by his laws, which he presented to us through his servants the prophets. ¹¹ Yes, all Isra’el flouted your Torah and turned away, unwilling to listen to your voice. Therefore the curse and oath written in the Torah of Moshe the servant of God was poured out on us, because we sinned against him. ¹² He carried out the threats he spoke against us and against our judges who judged us, by bringing upon us disaster so great that under all of heaven, nothing has been done like what has been done to Yerushalayim. ¹³ As written in the Torah of Moshe, this whole disaster came upon us. Yet we did not appease Adonai our God by renouncing our wrongdoing and discerning your truth. ¹⁴ So Adonai watched for the right moment to bring this disaster upon us, for Adonai our God was just in everything he did, yet we didn’t listen when he spoke.

¹⁵ “Now, Adonai our God, who brought your people out of the land of Egypt with a strong hand, thereby winning renown for yourself, as is the case today — we sinned, we acted wickedly. ¹⁶ Adonai, in keeping with all your justice, please allow your anger and fury to be turned away from your city Yerushalayim, your holy mountain; because it is due to our sins and the wrongdoings of our ancestors that Yerushalayim and your people have become objects of scorn among everyone around us. ¹⁷ Therefore, our God, listen to the prayer and pleadings of your servant; and cause your face to shine on your desolated sanctuary, for your own sake. ¹⁸ My God, turn your ear, and hear; open your eyes and see how desolated we are, as well as the city which bears your name. For we plead with you not because of our own righteousness, but because of your compassion. ¹⁹ Adonai, hear! Adonai, forgive! Adonai, pay attention, and don’t delay action — for your own sake, my God, because your city and your people bear your name!”

²⁰ While I was speaking, praying, confessing my own sin and the sin of my people Isra’el, and pleading before Adonai my God for the holy mountain of my God — ²¹ yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gavri’el, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, swooped down on me in full flight at about the time of the evening sacrifice, ²² and explained things to me. He said, “I have come now, Dani’el, to enable you to understand this vision clearly. ²³ At the beginning of your prayers, an answer was given; and I have come to say what it is; because you are greatly loved. Therefore look into this answer, and understand the vision.

²⁴ “Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and for your holy city for putting an end to the transgression, for making an end of sin, for forgiving iniquity, for bringing in everlasting justice, for setting the seal on vision and prophet, and for anointing the Especially Holy Place. ²⁵ Know, therefore, and discern that seven weeks [of years] will elapse between the issuing of the decree to restore and rebuild Yerushalayim until an anointed prince comes. It will remain built for sixty-two weeks [of years], with open spaces and moats; but these will be troubled times. ²⁶ Then, after the sixty-two weeks, Mashiach will be cut off and have nothing. The people of a prince yet to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary, but his end will come with a flood, and desolations are decreed until the war is over. ²⁷ He will make a strong covenant with leaders for one week [of years]. For half of the week he will put a stop to the sacrifice and the grain offering. On the wing of detestable things the desolator will come and continue until the already decreed destruction is poured out on the desolator.”