Vision of a Ram and a Goat

8 In^[a] the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar a vision appeared to me—to me, Daniel—after the one that appeared to me ^(A)the first time. ² I saw in the vision, and it so happened while I was looking, that I was in ^(B)Shushan,^[b] the ^[c]citadel, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in the vision that I was by the River Ulai. ³ Then I lifted my eyes and saw, and there, standing beside the river, was a ram which had two horns, and the two horns were high; but one was ^(C)higher than the other, and the higher one came up last. ⁴ I saw the ram pushing westward, northward, and southward, so that no animal could ^[d]withstand him; nor was there any that could deliver from his hand, ^(D)but he did according to his will and became great.

⁵ And as I was considering, suddenly a male goat came from the west, across the surface of the whole earth, without touching the ground; and the goat had a notable ^(E)horn between his eyes. ⁶ Then he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing beside the river, and ran at him with furious power. ⁷ And I saw him confronting the ram; he was moved with rage against him, ^[e]attacked the ram, and broke his two horns. There was no power in the ram to withstand him, but he cast him down to the ground and trampled him; and there was no one that could deliver the ram from his hand.

⁸ Therefore the male goat grew very great; but when he became strong, the large horn was broken, and in place of it ^(F)four notable ones came up toward the four winds of heaven. ^9 (G)And out of one of them came a little horn which grew exceedingly great toward the south, ^(H)toward the east, and toward the ^(I)Glorious Land. ^10 (J)And it grew up to ^(K)the host of heaven; and ^(L)it cast down some of the host and some of the stars to the ground, and trampled them. ^11 (M)He even exalted himself as high as ^(N)the Prince of the host; ^(O)and by him ^(P)the daily sacrifices were taken away, and the place of ^[f]His sanctuary was cast down. ¹² Because of transgression, ^(Q)an army was given over to the horn to oppose the daily sacrifices; and he cast ^(R)truth down to the ground. He ^(S)did all this and prospered.

¹³ Then I heard ^(T)a holy one speaking; and another holy one said to that certain one who was speaking, “How long will the vision be, concerning the daily sacrifices and the transgression ^[g]of desolation, the giving of both the sanctuary and the host to be trampled underfoot?”

¹⁴ And he said to me, “For two thousand three hundred ^[h]days; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.”

Gabriel Interprets the Vision

¹⁵ Then it happened, when I, Daniel, had seen the vision and ^(U)was seeking the meaning, that suddenly there stood before me ^(V)one having the appearance of a man. ¹⁶ And I heard a man’s voice ^(W)between the banks of the Ulai, who called, and said, ^(X)“Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.” ¹⁷ So he came near where I stood, and when he came I was afraid and ^(Y)fell on my face; but he said to me, “Understand, son of man, that the vision refers to the time of the end.”

^18 (Z)Now, as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep with my face to the ground; ^(AA)but he touched me, and stood me upright. ¹⁹ And he said, “Look, I am making known to you what shall happen in the latter time of the indignation; ^(AB)for at the appointed time the end shall be. ²⁰ The ram which you saw, having the two horns—they are the kings of Media and Persia. ²¹ And the ^[i]male goat is the ^[j]kingdom of Greece. The large horn that is between its eyes ^(AC)is the first king. ^22 (AD)As for the broken horn and the four that stood up in its place, four kingdoms shall arise out of that nation, but not with its power.

^27 (AN)And I, Daniel, fainted and was sick for days; afterward I arose and went about the king’s business. I was ^[o]astonished by the vision, but no one understood it.

Daniel’s Prayer for the People

9 In the first year ^(AO)of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the lineage of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans— ² in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the Lord through ^(AP)Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.

^3 (AQ)Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. ⁴ And I prayed to the Lord my God, and made confession, and said, “O ^(AR)Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments, ^5 (AS)we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments. ^6 (AT)Neither have we heeded Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings and our princes, to our fathers and all the people of the land. ⁷ O Lord, ^(AU)righteousness belongs to You, but to us shame of face, as it is this day—to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those near and those far off in all the countries to which You have driven them, because of the unfaithfulness which they have committed against You.

⁸ “O Lord, to us belongs shame of face, to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, because we have sinned against You. ^9 (AV)To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against Him. ¹⁰ We have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in His laws, which He set before us by His servants the prophets. ¹¹ Yes, ^(AW)all Israel has transgressed Your law, and has departed so as not to obey Your voice; therefore the curse and the oath written in the ^(AX)Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against Him. ¹² And He has ^(AY)confirmed His words, which He spoke against us and against our judges who judged us, by bringing upon us a great disaster; ^(AZ)for under the whole heaven such has never been done as what has been done to Jerusalem.

^13 (BA)“As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us; ^(BB)yet we have not made our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities and understand Your truth. ¹⁴ Therefore the Lord has ^(BC)kept the disaster in mind, and brought it upon us; for ^(BD)the Lord our God is righteous in all the works which He does, though we have not obeyed His voice. ¹⁵ And now, O Lord our God, ^(BE)who brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and made Yourself ^(BF)a name, as it is this day—we have sinned, we have done wickedly!

¹⁶ “O Lord, ^(BG)according to all Your righteousness, I pray, let Your anger and Your fury be turned away from Your city Jerusalem, ^(BH)Your holy mountain; because for our sins, ^(BI)and for the iniquities of our fathers, ^(BJ)Jerusalem and Your people ^(BK)are a reproach to all those around us. ¹⁷ Now therefore, our God, hear the prayer of Your servant, and his supplications, ^(BL)and ^(BM)for the Lord’s sake ^[p]cause Your face to shine on ^[q]Your sanctuary, ^(BN)which is desolate. ^18 (BO)O my God, incline Your ear and hear; open Your eyes ^(BP)and see our desolations, and the city ^(BQ)which is called by Your name; for we do not present our supplications before You because of our righteous deeds, but because of Your great mercies. ¹⁹ O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and act! Do not delay for Your own sake, my God, for Your city and Your people are called by Your name.”

The Seventy-Weeks Prophecy

²⁰ Now while I was speaking, praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God, ²¹ yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man ^(BR)Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, ^[r]being caused to fly swiftly, reached me about the time of the evening offering. ²² And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, “O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand. ²³ At the beginning of your supplications the ^[s]command went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly ^(BS)beloved; therefore ^(BT)consider the matter, and understand the vision:

Vision of the Glorious Man

10 In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a message was revealed to Daniel, whose ^(CG)name was called Belteshazzar. The message was true, ^[ab]but the appointed time was long; and he understood the message, and had understanding of the vision. ² In those days I, Daniel, was mourning three full weeks. ³ I ate no ^[ac]pleasant food, no meat or wine came into my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.

⁴ Now on the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, that is, the ^[ad]Tigris, ⁵ I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, a certain man clothed in ^(CH)linen, whose waist was ^(CI)girded with gold of Uphaz! ⁶ His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like torches of fire, his arms and feet like burnished bronze in color, ^(CJ)and the sound of his words like the voice of a multitude.

⁷ And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, for the men who were with me did not see the vision; but a great terror fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves. ⁸ Therefore I was left alone when I saw this great vision, and no strength remained in me; for my ^[ae]vigor was turned to ^[af]frailty in me, and I retained no strength. ⁹ Yet I heard the sound of his words; and while I heard the sound of his words I was in a deep sleep on my face, with my face to the ground.

Prophecies Concerning Persia and Greece

^10 (CK)Suddenly, a hand touched me, which made me tremble on my knees and on the palms of my hands. ¹¹ And he said to me, “O Daniel, ^(CL)man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright, for I have now been sent to you.” While he was speaking this word to me, I stood trembling.

¹² Then he said to me, ^(CM)“Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, ^(CN)your words were heard; and I have come because of your words. ^13 (CO)But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, ^(CP)Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia. ¹⁴ Now I have come to make you understand what will happen to your people ^(CQ)in the latter days, ^(CR)for the vision refers to many days yet to come.”

¹⁵ When he had spoken such words to me, ^(CS)I ^[ag]turned my face toward the ground and became speechless. ¹⁶ And suddenly, ^(CT)one having the likeness of the ^[ah]sons of men ^(CU)touched my lips; then I opened my mouth and spoke, saying to him who stood before me, “My lord, because of the vision ^(CV)my sorrows have ^[ai]overwhelmed me, and I have retained no strength. ¹⁷ For how can this servant of my lord talk with you, my lord? As for me, no strength remains in me now, nor is any breath left in me.”

¹⁸ Then again, the one having the likeness of a man touched me and strengthened me. ^19 (CW)And he said, “O man greatly beloved, ^(CX)fear not! Peace be to you; be strong, yes, be strong!”

So when he spoke to me I was strengthened, and said, “Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.”

²⁰ Then he said, “Do you know why I have come to you? And now I must return to fight ^(CY)with the prince of Persia; and when I have gone forth, indeed the prince of Greece will come. ²¹ But I will tell you what is noted in the Scripture of Truth. (No one upholds me against these, ^(CZ)except Michael your prince.

Greeting to Gaius

¹ The Elder,

To the beloved Gaius, ^(A)whom I love in truth:

² Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. ³ For I ^(B)rejoiced greatly when brethren came and testified of the truth that is in you, just as you walk in the truth. ⁴ I have no greater ^(C)joy than to hear that ^(D)my children walk in ^[a]truth.

Gaius Commended for Generosity

⁵ Beloved, you do faithfully whatever you do for the brethren ^[b]and for strangers, ⁶ who have borne witness of your love before the church. If you send them forward on their journey in a manner worthy of God, you will do well, ⁷ because they went forth for His name’s sake, ^(E)taking nothing from the Gentiles. ⁸ We therefore ought to ^(F)receive^[c] such, that we may become fellow workers for the truth.

Diotrephes and Demetrius

⁹ I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, does not receive us. ¹⁰ Therefore, if I come, I will call to mind his deeds which he does, ^(G)prating^[d] against us with malicious words. And not content with that, he himself does not receive the brethren, and forbids those who wish to, putting them out of the church.

¹¹ Beloved, ^(H)do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. ^(I)He who does good is of God, ^[e]but he who does evil has not seen ^(J)God.

¹² Demetrius ^(K)has a good testimony from all, and from the truth itself. And we also ^[f]bear witness, ^(L)and you know that our testimony is true.

Farewell Greeting

^13 (M)I had many things to write, but I do not wish to write to you with pen and ink; ¹⁴ but I hope to see you shortly, and we shall speak face to face.

Peace to you. Our friends greet you. Greet the friends by name.