Daniel 8
The Message
A Vision of a Ram and a Billy Goat
8 “In King Belshazzar’s third year as king, another vision came to me, Daniel. This was now the second vision.
2-4 “In the vision, I saw myself in Susa, the capital city of the province Elam, standing at the Ulai Canal. Looking around, I was surprised to see a ram also standing at the gate. The ram had two huge horns, one bigger than the other, but the bigger horn was the last to appear. I watched as the ram charged: first west, then north, then south. No beast could stand up to him. He did just as he pleased, strutting as if he were king of the beasts.
5-7 “While I was watching this, wondering what it all meant, I saw a billy goat with an immense horn in the middle of its forehead come up out of the west and fly across the whole country, not once touching the ground. The billy goat approached the double-horned ram that I had earlier seen standing at the gate and, enraged, charged it viciously. I watched as, mad with rage, it charged the ram and hit it so hard that it broke off its two horns. The ram didn’t stand a chance against it. The billy goat knocked the ram to the ground and stomped all over it. Nothing could have saved the ram from the goat.
8-12 “Then the billy goat swelled to an enormous size. At the height of its power its immense horn broke off and four other big horns sprouted in its place, pointing to the four points of the compass. And then from one of these big horns another horn sprouted. It started small, but then grew to an enormous size, facing south and east—toward lovely Palestine. The horn grew tall, reaching to the stars, the heavenly army, and threw some of the stars to the earth and stomped on them. It even dared to challenge the power of God, Prince of the Celestial Army! And then it threw out daily worship and desecrated the Sanctuary. As judgment against their sin, the holy people of God got the same treatment as the daily worship. The horn cast God’s Truth aside. High-handed, it took over everything and everyone.
13 “Then I overheard two holy angels talking. One asked, ‘How long is what we see here going to last—the abolishing of daily worship, this devastating judgment against sin, the kicking around of God’s holy people and the Sanctuary?’
14 “The other answered, ‘Over the course of 2,300 sacrifices, evening and morning. Then the Sanctuary will be set right again.’
* * *
15 “While I, Daniel, was trying to make sense of what I was seeing, suddenly there was a humanlike figure standing before me.
16-17 “Then I heard a man’s voice from over by the Ulai Canal calling out, ‘Gabriel, tell this man what is going on. Explain the vision to him.’ He came up to me, but when he got close I became terrified and fell facedown on the ground.
17-18 “He said, ‘Understand that this vision has to do with the time of the end.’ As soon as he spoke, I fainted, my face in the dirt. But he picked me up and put me on my feet.
19 “And then he continued, ‘I want to tell you what is going to happen as the judgment days of wrath wind down, for there is going to be an end to all this.
20-22 “‘The double-horned ram you saw stands for the two kings of the Medes and Persians. The billy goat stands for the kingdom of the Greeks. The huge horn on its forehead is the first Greek king. The four horns that sprouted after it was broken off are the four kings that come after him, but without his power.
23-26 “‘As their kingdoms cool down
and rebellions heat up,
A king will show up,
hard-faced, a master trickster.
His power will swell enormously.
He’ll talk big, high-handedly,
Doing whatever he pleases,
knocking off heroes and holy ones left and right.
He’ll plot and scheme to make crime flourish—
and oh, how it will flourish!
He’ll think he’s invincible
and get rid of anyone who gets in his way.
But when he takes on the Prince of all princes,
he’ll be smashed to bits—
but not by human hands.
This vision of the 2,300 sacrifices, evening and morning,
is accurate but confidential.
Keep it to yourself.
It refers to the far future.’
* * *
27 “I, Daniel, walked around in a daze, unwell for days. Then I got a grip on myself and went back to work taking care of the king’s affairs. But I continued to be upset by the vision. I couldn’t make sense of it.”
Daniel 8
Orthodox Jewish Bible
8 In the shnat shalosh (third year) of the reign of Belshatzar HaMelech, a chazon (vision) appeared unto me, Daniel, after that which appeared unto me in the beginning.
2 And I beheld in a chazon; and it came to pass, while I was seeing, that I was in Shushan (Susa) the fortress, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in a chazon, and I was by the stream Ulai.
3 Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, hinei, there stood before the stream a ram which had two karnayim (horns), and the two karnayim were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher was coming up last.
4 I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; so that no chayyot (beasts) might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and made a great display of strength.
5 And as I was considering, hinei, a he-goat was coming from the west on the face of kol ha’aretz, and it was not touching the earth; and as to the goat it had a conspicuous keren (horn) between its eyes.
6 And he came to the ram that had two karnayim, which I had seen standing before the stream, and he ran against him with the wrath of his koach (strength).
7 And I saw him approaching the ram, and he was enraged against him, and he smote the ram, broke his two karnayim, and there was no koach in the ram to stand before him, and he cast him down to the ground, and trampled him; there was none to deliver the ram from him.
8 Therefore the he-goat was acting very presumptuously; and when he was powerful, the keren hagedolah (great horn, [i.e., Alexander’s Empire]) was broken; and in the place of it came up conspicuously four, toward the arbah ruchot HaShomayim (the four winds of Heaven).
9 And out of one of them came forth a little horn [Antiochus Epiphanes], which became exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the [eretz] hatzevi (the glorious land, [i.e., Eretz Israel]).
10 And it became great, even unto the tzva HaShomayim; and it caused to fall down to the earth some of the host and some of the kokhavim it trampled.
11 Yea, he magnified himself even unto the Sar HaTzava, and the daily sacrifice was taken away from Him, and the place of His Mikdash was cast down.
12 And a tzva (army) was given over to oppose the daily sacrifice on account of peysha (transgression, rebellion), and it cast down emes to the ground; and it acted, and prospered.
13 Then I heard one kadosh (angel) speaking, and another kadosh said unto that certain kadosh which spoke, How long shall be the chazon concerning the daily sacrifice, and the desolating peysha (transgression), to give both the Kodesh (Sanctuary) and the tzva (host) to be trodden under foot?
14 And he said unto me, Unto erev-boker two thousand and three hundred; then shall the Kodesh (Sanctuary) be vindicated.
15 And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, was beholding the chazon, that I sought the meaning; then, hinei, there stood before me as the appearance of a man.
16 And I heard a kol adam (man’s voice) amidst the Ulai, and he called, and said, Gavriel, cause this one to understand the vision [see Daniel 9:21].
17 So he came near where I stood; and as he came, I was filled with fear, and I fell down upon my face, but he said unto me, Understand, O ben adam, the chazon (vision) points to the time of the ketz (end).
18 Now while he was speaking with me, I swooned upon my face toward the ground, but he touched me, and made me stand upright.
19 And he said, Hineni, I will cause thee to know that which shall take place in the latter part of HaZa’am (the Wrath period), since at a mo’ed (an appointed time) the Ketz (End) shall be.
20 The ram which thou sawest having two karnayim are the melachim of Media and Paras (Persia).
21 And the shaggy he-goat is melech Yavan (the king of Greece), and the keren hagedolah (great horn) that is between his eyes is the melech harishon (the first king [ i.e., Alexander]).
22 Now one being broken and four stood up in its place, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in its koach (strength).
23 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when haposhe’im (the transgressors, the ones rebelling) are come to the full, a melech of unyielding countenance, and mastering intrigues, shall stand up.
24 And his koach shall be mighty, but not by his own koach; and he shall cause astounding destruction, and shall prosper, and accomplish, and shall destroy the mighty and Am Kedoshim (the Holy People).
25 And by his cunning also he shall cause mirmah (deceit) to prosper through his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his lev, and by peace shall destroy rabbim (many); he shall also stand up against the Sar Sarim (Prince of Princes); but he shall be broken without [human] hand.
26 And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is emes; and thou! Shut up the chazon; for it shall be for many yamim [i.e., distant times].
27 And I Daniel was faint, and lay ill several yamim; afterward I rose up, and did the king’s business; and I was astonished at the vision, but without understanding it.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
Copyright © 2002, 2003, 2008, 2010, 2011 by Artists for Israel International