Daniel 8
Common English Bible
Vision of a ram and a goat
8 In the third year of King Belshazzar’s rule, a vision came to me, Daniel, some time after the earlier vision I had. 2 I saw this vision, and as I experienced it I was in the walled city of Susa in the province of Elam,[a] by the Ulai canal. 3 When I lifted my eyes, I suddenly saw a ram with two horns standing in front of the canal. Both horns were high, but one was higher than the other. The higher one came up after the other one. 4 I saw the ram goring west, north, and south. No animal could resist the ram, and no one could stop it, rescuing others from its power. The ram did whatever it pleased. It became powerful.
5 I was trying to understand this when suddenly a he-goat came from the west, crossing the entire earth but not touching the ground. Between this goat’s eyes was a horn that was a sight to see. 6 The he-goat came to the ram that had two horns, the one I’d seen standing in front of the canal. The he-goat charged the ram in powerful anger. 7 I saw the he-goat approach the ram. It was enraged at the ram and attacked it, shattering the ram’s two horns. The ram couldn’t resist the he-goat. The he-goat threw the ram on the ground and trampled on it. No one could rescue the ram from the he-goat’s power.
8 The he-goat became even greater, but at the height of its power, its large horn snapped. In its place, four horns, each a sight to see, came up toward the four winds of heaven. 9 A single, very small horn came out of one of the four horns. It grew bigger and bigger, stretching toward the south, the east, and the beautiful country. 10 It grew as high as the heavenly forces, until it finally threw some of them and some of the stars down to the earth. Then it trampled on them. 11 It grew as high as the very leader of those forces, taking the daily sacrifice away from him[b] and overturning his holy place. 12 In an act of rebellion, another force will take control of the daily sacrifice. It will throw truth to the ground and will succeed in everything it does.[c]
How long?
13 I then heard a certain holy one speaking. A second holy one said to the first one: “How long will this vision last—the one concerning the daily sacrifice, the desolating rebellion, and the handing over of the sanctuary and its forces to be trampled?”
14 He said to me, “For two thousand three hundred evenings and mornings. Then the sanctuary will be restored.”
Vision interpreted
15 Now I, Daniel, needed help understanding the vision I saw. Suddenly standing in front of me was someone who looked like a man. 16 I then heard a human voice coming out of the center of the Ulai canal. It called out: “Gabriel, help this person understand what he has seen.”
17 Gabriel approached me, and I was terrified when he came. I fell with my face to the ground. Gabriel said to me, “Know this, human one: the vision is for the end time.” 18 As soon as he said this to me, I fell into a trance. My face was still on the ground. Then Gabriel touched me and set me up on my feet.
19 He said, “Now, I am going to tell you what will happen during the time of doom that is coming, because at the appointed time there will be an end. 20 The two-horned ram you saw represents the kings of Media and Persia. 21 The long-haired he-goat is the king of Greece, and the big horn between its eyes is the first king. 22 The horn that snapped so that four came up in its place means that four kingdoms will come from one nation, but these four won’t have the strength of the first one.
23 When their kingship nears its end
and their sins[d] are almost complete,
a king will step forward.
He will be stern and a master of deception.
24 At the height of his power,[e]
he will wreak unbelievable destructions.
He will succeed in all he does.
He will destroy both the mighty
and the people of the holy ones.
25 Along with his cunning,
he will succeed by using deceit.
In his own mind, he will be great.
In a time of peace,
he will bring destruction on many,
opposing even the supreme leader.
But he will be broken—
and not by a human hand.
26 Now this vision of evening and morning, which has been announced, is true. But you must seal it up, because it is for days far in the future.”
27 Then I, Daniel, was overwhelmed and felt sick for days. When I finally got up and went about the king’s business, I remained troubled by the vision and couldn’t understand it.
Footnotes
- Daniel 8:2 Some LXX sources; MT repeats I had this vision before I was by the Ulai canal.
- Daniel 8:11 Or the daily sacrifice was taken away from him.
- Daniel 8:12 Heb uncertain
- Daniel 8:23 LXX; MT rebels
- Daniel 8:24 LXX sources; MT His power will grow strong, but not by his own power, perhaps influenced by 8:22.
Daniel 8
Lexham English Bible
The Vision of a Small Horn that Oppresses Israel and Threatens the Temple
8 In the third year of the kingdom of Belshazzar the king, a vision appeared to me, Daniel,[a] after the one that appeared to me previously.[b] 2 And I saw in the vision, and when I saw,[c] I was in Susa, the citadel that was in the province of Elam. And I saw in the vision, and I myself[d] was at the stream of Ulai.[e] 3 And I lifted up my eyes and I saw, and look! A ram[f] standing before[g] the stream, and it had[h] two horns, and the horns were long, but the one was longer than the second, and the longer one came up after the other one.[i] 4 I saw the ram charging westward and northward and southward, and none of the beasts stood before it,[j] and there was no rescuing from its power,[k] and it did what it wanted[l] and it became strong.[m]
5 And I was considering this, and look, a he-goat coming from the west across the face of the whole earth, and it was not touching the ground;[n] and the he-goat had a conspicuous horn[o] between its eyes. 6 Then it came toward the ram that had the two horns[p] that I saw standing before[q] the stream, and it ran at it with[r] the rage of its power. 7 And I saw it approaching the ram and it was furious at it, and it struck the ram, and it broke its two horns, and there was not strength in the ram to stand before him,[s] and he threw it down to the ground and trampled it, and there was no one who could rescue the ram[t] from its power. 8 And the he-goat grew exceedingly great,[u] and at the height of its power[v] the great horn was broken, and four conspicuous horns[w] came up in place of it toward the four winds of heaven.
9 And from one of them[x] came forth a horn, a little one,[y] and it grew exceedingly[z] toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the beautiful land. 10 And it grew up to the host of heaven, and it threw down to the ground some of the host and some of the stars and trampled them. 11 Even against the prince of the hosts it acted arrogantly and took away from him the regular burnt offering, and the place of his sanctuary was overthrown. 12 And on account of transgression, the host was given over to the horn in addition to the regular burnt offering. And it cast down truth to the ground, and it acted,[aa] and it had success.
13 And I heard a certain holy one speaking, and a certain other holy one said to the specific one who was speaking,[ab] “For how long[ac] is the vision concerning the regular burnt offering, and the transgression that makes desolate, and the giving over of the sanctuary and the host to trampling?” 14 And he said to me, “For two thousand three hundred evenings and mornings, then the sanctuary will be restored.”
Gabriel Gives Angelic Help and Interprets the Vision
15 And then[ad] when I, Daniel, saw the vision, and I was seeking understanding, there was one standing before me with the appearance of a man. 16 And I heard the voice of a human at the Ulai, and he called and said, “Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.” 17 And he came beside where I was standing,[ae] and when he came[af] I became terrified and I fell prostrate on my face. And he said to me, “Understand, son of man,[ag] that the vision is for the time of the end.”
18 And when he spoke[ah] with me I fell into a trance with my face to the ground, and he touched me and made me stand on by feet. 19 And he said, “Look, I am making known to you what will happen in the period of wrath,[ai] for it refers to the appointed time of the end.
20 “The ram that you saw who had two horns[aj] represents the kings of Media and Persia.
21 “And the hairy he-goat is the kingdom[ak] of Greece, and the great horn that is between his eyes—he is the first king. 22 And the horn that was broken, and then there arose four horns in place of it—these are four kingdoms that will arise from his nation, but not with his power. 23 And at the end of their kingdom, when the transgressions are completed, a king will arise, fierce in countenance and skilled in riddles. 24 And his power will grow, but not by his own power, and he will cause fearful destruction, and he will succeed and he will act,[al] and he will destroy the mighty and the people of the holy ones.[am] 25 And by his planning[an] he will make a success of deceit by[ao] his hand, and in his mind[ap] he will boast,[aq] and in their ease he will destroy many, and even against the prince of princes he will rise up, and he will be broken, but not by human hands. 26 And the vision of the evening and the morning that has been described,[ar] it is true; and you, seal up the vision, for it refers to many days to come.”[as]
27 And I, Daniel, was overcome, and I became ill for some days, and I performed[at] the business of the king, and I was dismayed over the vision and I did not understand it.[au]
Footnotes
- Daniel 8:1 Literally “I Daniel”
- Daniel 8:1 Literally “in the beginning”
- Daniel 8:2 Literally “and it was at my seeing”
- Daniel 8:2 Literally “I, I was”
- Daniel 8:2 Or “Ulai Canal” (NASB); “stream of the Ulai” (NEB)
- Daniel 8:3 Hebrew “One ram”
- Daniel 8:3 Literally “to the face of”
- Daniel 8:3 Literally “for it”
- Daniel 8:3 Literally “in the behind of the other”
- Daniel 8:4 Literally “all the beasts not they withstood to the face of him”
- Daniel 8:4 Literally “its hand”
- Daniel 8:4 Literally “according to its will”
- Daniel 8:4 Or “it/he magnified itself/himself”
- Daniel 8:5 Or “earth,” or “land”
- Daniel 8:5 Literally “a horn of vision”
- Daniel 8:6 Literally “the owner of the two horns”
- Daniel 8:6 Literally “to the face of”
- Daniel 8:6 Or “in”
- Daniel 8:7 Literally “and not was strength in the ram to withstand to the face of him”
- Daniel 8:7 Literally “and not he/it was one rescuing”
- Daniel 8:8 Literally “until much”
- Daniel 8:8 Literally “and at his being powerful”
- Daniel 8:8 LXX reads “others” here for “conspicuous.” The words in Hebrew can be confused for each other
- Daniel 8:9 Literally “And from the one from them”
- Daniel 8:9 Literally “one from little”
- Daniel 8:9 Or “pre-eminently”
- Daniel 8:12 Literally “did”
- Daniel 8:13 Literally “the one speaking”
- Daniel 8:13 Literally “Until when”
- Daniel 8:15 Literally “And it happened”
- Daniel 8:17 Literally “my standing”
- Daniel 8:17 Literally “at his coming”
- Daniel 8:17 Or “mortal,” or “son of humankind”
- Daniel 8:18 Literally “at his speaking”
- Daniel 8:19 Or “the wrath”
- Daniel 8:20 Literally “the owner of the two horns”
- Daniel 8:21 Literally “king”
- Daniel 8:24 Literally “he will do”
- Daniel 8:24 Or “saints”
- Daniel 8:25 Or “cunning”
- Daniel 8:25 Hebrew “in”
- Daniel 8:25 Literally “heart”
- Daniel 8:25 Literally “magnify himself”
- Daniel 8:26 Literally “told”
- Daniel 8:26 Literally “for to days many”
- Daniel 8:27 Literally “did”
- Daniel 8:27 Literally “there was not understanding”
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