Vision of the Four Beasts

7 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, ^(A)Daniel ^[a]had a dream and ^(B)visions of his head while on his bed. Then he wrote down the dream, telling ^[b]the main facts.

² Daniel spoke, saying, “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the Great Sea. ³ And four great beasts ^(C)came up from the sea, each different from the other. ⁴ The first was ^(D)like a lion, and had eagle’s wings. I watched till its wings were plucked off; and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man, and a ^(E)man’s heart was given to it.

^5 (F)“And suddenly another beast, a second, like a bear. It was raised up on one side, and had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. And they said thus to it: ‘Arise, devour much flesh!’

⁶ “After this I looked, and there was another, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird. The beast also had ^(G)four heads, and dominion was given to it.

⁷ “After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, ^(H)a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, ^(I)and it had ten horns. ⁸ I was considering the horns, and ^(J)there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes ^(K)of a man, ^(L)and a mouth speaking ^[c]pompous words.

Vision of the Ancient of Days

¹¹ “I watched then because of the sound of the ^[f]pompous words which the horn was speaking; ^(T)I watched till the beast was slain, and its body destroyed and given to the burning flame. ¹² As for the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away, yet their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.

Daniel’s Visions Interpreted

¹⁵ “I, Daniel, was grieved in my spirit ^[g]within my body, and the visions of my head troubled me. ¹⁶ I came near to one of those who stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of these things: ¹⁷ ‘Those great beasts, which are four, are four ^[h]kings which arise out of the earth. ¹⁸ But ^(Y)the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever.’

¹⁹ “Then I wished to know the truth about the fourth beast, which was different from all the others, exceedingly dreadful, with its teeth of iron and its nails of bronze, which devoured, broke in pieces, and trampled the residue with its feet; ²⁰ and the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn which came up, before which three fell, namely, that horn which had eyes and a mouth which spoke ^[i]pompous words, whose appearance was greater than his fellows.

²¹ “I was watching; ^(Z)and the same horn was making war against the saints, and prevailing against them, ²² until the Ancient of Days came, ^(AA)and a judgment was made in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom.

²³ “Thus he said:

²⁸ “This is the end of the ^[k]account. As for me, Daniel, ^(AN)my thoughts greatly troubled me, and my countenance changed; but I ^(AO)kept the matter in my heart.”

Vision of a Ram and a Goat

8 In^[l] the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar a vision appeared to me—to me, Daniel—after the one that appeared to me ^(AP)the first time. ² I saw in the vision, and it so happened while I was looking, that I was in ^(AQ)Shushan,^[m] the ^[n]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 ^(AR)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 ^[o]withstand him; nor was there any that could deliver from his hand, ^(AS)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 ^(AT)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, ^[p]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 ^(AU)four notable ones came up toward the four winds of heaven. ^9 (AV)And out of one of them came a little horn which grew exceedingly great toward the south, ^(AW)toward the east, and toward the ^(AX)Glorious Land. ^10 (AY)And it grew up to ^(AZ)the host of heaven; and ^(BA)it cast down some of the host and some of the stars to the ground, and trampled them. ^11 (BB)He even exalted himself as high as ^(BC)the Prince of the host; ^(BD)and by him ^(BE)the daily sacrifices were taken away, and the place of ^[q]His sanctuary was cast down. ¹² Because of transgression, ^(BF)an army was given over to the horn to oppose the daily sacrifices; and he cast ^(BG)truth down to the ground. He ^(BH)did all this and prospered.

¹³ Then I heard ^(BI)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 ^[r]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 ^[s]days; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.”

Gabriel Interprets the Vision

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

^18 (BO)Now, as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep with my face to the ground; ^(BP)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; ^(BQ)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 ^[t]male goat is the ^[u]kingdom of Greece. The large horn that is between its eyes ^(BR)is the first king. ^22 (BS)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 (CC)And I, Daniel, fainted and was sick for days; afterward I arose and went about the king’s business. I was ^[z]astonished by the vision, but no one understood it.

Longing for Zion in a Foreign Land

God’s Promise Is Not Slack^(A)

3 Beloved, I now write to you this second epistle (in both of which ^(B)I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder), ² that you may be mindful of the words ^(C)which were spoken before by the holy prophets, ^(D)and of the commandment of ^[a]us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior, ³ knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, ^(E)walking according to their own lusts, ⁴ and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of ^(F)creation.” ⁵ For this they willfully forget: that ^(G)by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth ^(H)standing out of water and in the water, ^6 (I)by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. ⁷ But ^(J)the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for ^(K)fire until the day of judgment and ^[b]perdition of ungodly men.

⁸ But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and ^(L)a thousand years as one day. ^9 (M)The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but ^(N)is longsuffering toward ^[c]us, ^(O)not willing that any should perish but ^(P)that all should come to repentance.

The Day of the Lord

¹⁰ But ^(Q)the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which ^(R)the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be ^[d]burned up. ¹¹ Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be ^(S)in holy conduct and godliness, ^12 (T)looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will ^(U)be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will ^(V)melt with fervent heat? ¹³ Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for ^(W)new heavens and a ^(X)new earth in which righteousness dwells.

Be Steadfast

¹⁴ Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent ^(Y)to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless; ¹⁵ and consider that ^(Z)the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation—as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, ¹⁶ as also in all his ^(AA)epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the ^(AB)rest of the Scriptures.

¹⁷ You therefore, beloved, ^(AC)since you know this beforehand, ^(AD)beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked; ^18 (AE)but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

^(AF)To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.