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In the third year of the realm of Belshazzar, the king, a vision appeared to me. I, Daniel, after that thing that I had seen in the beginning, (In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar, a vision appeared to me. I, Daniel, after what I had seen before, or at the beginning,)

saw in my vision, when I was in the castle of Susa, which is in the country of Elam; soothly I saw in the vision that I was on the gate (of) Ulai. (saw in my vision, that I was in the castle at Susa, which is in the province of Elam; truly I saw in the vision that I was by the Ulai River.)

And I raised (up) mine eyes, and I saw; and lo! one ram stood before the marsh, and had high horns, and one higher than the other, and under-waxing (and growing).

Afterward I saw the ram winnowing with (his) horns against the east, and against the west, and against the north, and against the south; and all beasts might not against-stand it, neither be delivered from the hands of it (and no beast could stand against it, nor could be saved from its power). And it did by his will, and was magnified.

And I understood. Lo! forsooth a buck of goats came from the west on the face of all (the) earth, and touched not the earth (and did not touch the ground); forsooth the buck of goats had a noble horn betwixt his eyes;

and he came till to that horned ram, which I had seen standing before the gate, and he ran in the fierceness of his strength to that ram. (and he came unto that horned ram, which I had seen standing by the river, and he ran in all the fierceness of his strength at that ram.)

And when he had nighed nigh the ram, he hurtled fiercely on him, and he smote the ram, and all-brake (the) twain horns of him, and the ram might not against-stand him. And when he had sent that ram into [the] earth, he defouled [him]; and no man might deliver the ram from his hand. (And when he had come close to the ram, he hurtled fiercely against him, and he struck the ram, and broke its two horns, and the ram could not stand against him. And when he had sent that ram down to the ground, he defiled, or trampled upon, him; and no one could rescue, or could save, the ram from his power.)

Forsooth the buck of goats was made full great; and when he had increased, the great horn was broken, and four horns rised (up) under it, by four winds of heaven (by the four winds of the heavens).

Forsooth of one of them went out one little horn, and it was made great against the south, and against the east, and against the strength. (And out of one of them grew one little horn, and it was made great toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the glorious land, or the Promised Land.)

10 And it was magnified till to the strength of heaven, and it casted down of the strength and of (the) stars, and defouled those. (And it was magnified unto the host of heaven, and it threw down some of that army, and some of the stars, and it defiled, or trampled upon, them.)

11 And he was magnified till to the prince of (the) strength, and he took away from him the continual sacrifice, and casted down the place of his hallowing. (And it was magnified unto the Prince of the host, and it took away from him the continual, or the daily, sacrifice, and threw down his sanctuary, or destroyed his Temple.)

12 Forsooth strength was given to him against the continual sacrifice for sins, and truth shall be cast down in (the) earth; and he shall have prosperity, and shall do. (And the heavenly host was delivered unto it, and it raised itself up against the continual, or the daily, sacrifice for sins, and it threw down the truth to the ground; and it prospered, or was successful, in all that it did.)

13 And I heard one of [the] holy angels speaking; and one holy angel said to another, I know not to whom speaking, How long the vision, and the continual sacrifice, and the sin of desolation, [or discomfort,] which is made, and the saintuary, and the host, shall be defouled? (And I heard one of the holy ones speaking; and one holy one said to another, I know not speaking to whom, For how long shall the period of this vision last, concerning the continual, or the daily, sacrifice, and the sin of desolation, or the sin of discomfort, that is done, and the sanctuary shall be defiled, and the host shall be trampled upon?)

14 And he said to him, Till to the eventide and morrowtide, two thousand days and three hundred; and the saintuary shall be cleansed. (And he said to him, Until the evening and the morning, two thousand and three hundred days; and then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.)

15 Forsooth it was done, when I, Daniel, saw the vision, and asked the understanding, lo! as the likeness of a man stood in my sight. (And it was done, when I, Daniel, saw the vision, and tried to understand it, lo! someone with the appearance of a man stood before me.)

16 And I heard the voice of a man betwixt (the banks of the) Ulai, and he cried (out), and said, Gabriel, make thou Daniel to understand this vision.

17 And he came, and stood beside where I stood; and when he was come, I dreaded, and fell on my face. And he said to me, Thou, son of man, understand, for the vision shall be [ful]filled in the time of end. (And he came, and stood beside where I stood; and when he came, I was afraid, and fell on my face. And he said to me, O, son of man, understand, for the vision shall be fulfilled at the time of the end.)

18 And when he spake to me, I slid down groveling, either flat to the earth. And he touched me, and setted me in my degree (And he touched me, and set me upright).

19 And he said to me, I shall show to thee what things shall come in the last of cursing, for the time hath his end. (And he said to me, I shall tell thee what things shall come at the end of the cursing, for the time hath its end.)

20 The ram, whom thou sawest have horns, is the king of Medes and of Persians. (The ram, which thou sawest to have two horns, signifieth the kings of Media and of Persia.)

21 Forsooth the buck of goats is the king of Greeks (And the goat buck is the king of Greece); and the great horn that was betwixt his eyes, he is the first king.

22 Forsooth that when that horn was broken, four horns rised for it, four kings shall rise of the folk of him, but not in the strength of him. (And when that horn was broken, and four horns rose up for it, four kings shall rise up out of his nation, but they shall not have power equal to his.)

23 And after the realm of them (And after their kingdoms, or their reign), when wickednesses have increased, a king shall rise (up) unshamefast in face, and understanding propositions, either reasons set forth;

24 and his strength shall be made stalworthy, but not in his [own] strengths. And more than it may be believed, he shall waste all things, and he shall have prosperity, and shall do. And he shall slay strong men, and the people of saints, (and his strength shall be made stalwart, but not by his own power. And more than it can be believed, he shall destroy everything, and he shall prosper, or be successful, in all that he shall do. And he shall kill the strong, and the people of the saints,)

25 by his will, and guile shall be (ad)dressed in his hand. And he shall magnify his heart, and in abundance of all things, he shall slay full many men. And he shall rise against the prince of princes, and without hand he shall be all-broken. (willfully, and deceit shall be directed in his hand. And he shall magnify his heart, and in the abundance of everything, he shall kill a great many people. And he shall rise up against the Prince of princes, but he shall be broken, without the use of any hands.)

26 And the vision, which is said in the morrowtide and eventide, is true. Therefore seal thou the vision, for it shall be after many days.

27 And I, Daniel, was astonied, and was sick by full many days; and when I had risen, I did the works of the king; and I was astonied at the vision, and none was, that interpreted, either expounded. (And I, Daniel, was astonished, and was made sick by all of this for a great many days; and then I rose up, and did my work for the king; yea, I was astonished by the vision, but there was no one who could interpret, or who could expound, it for me.)

Daniel’s Vision

·During [In] the third year of King Belshazzar’s rule [C perhaps 547 bc], I, Daniel, saw another vision, ·which was like the first one [L after the one that appeared to me in the beginning/previously; 7:1]. In this vision I saw myself in the ·capital city [or fortress city] of Susa, in the ·area [province] of Elam. I was standing by the Ulai ·Canal [or Gate] when I ·looked up and [L lifted my eyes I] saw a ·male sheep [ram] standing beside the ·canal [or gate]. It had two long horns, but one horn was longer and ·newer than the other [L came up second]. I watched the ·sheep [ram] charge to the west, the north, and the south. No animal could stand before him, and none could ·save [protect] another animal from his ·power [L hand]. He did whatever he ·wanted [pleased] and became very ·powerful [great; strong].

While I was ·watching this [or reflecting; pondering], I saw a male goat come from the west. This goat had ·one large horn between his eyes that was easy to see [L a horn of vision; or a conspicuous horn between its eyes]. He crossed over the whole earth without touching the ground [C because of its speed].

·In his anger [or With angry power] the goat ·charged [L came up to] the ·sheep [ram] with the two horns that I had seen standing by the ·canal [or gate]. I watched the angry goat ·attack [approach] the ·sheep [ram] and break the ·sheep’s [ram’s] two horns. The ·sheep [ram] ·was not strong enough to stop him [L did not have the power/strength to stand before him]. The goat ·knocked [threw] the ·sheep [ram] to the ground and then ·walked all over him [trampled him]. No one was able to ·save [protect] the ·sheep [ram] from ·the goat [its power/L hand], so the male goat became very ·great [powerful; strong]. But when he was strong, his ·big [or conspicuous] horn broke off and four horns grew in place of the one big horn. Those four horns ·pointed in four different directions [L were toward the four winds of heaven] and were ·easy to see [conspicuous].

Then ·a little horn grew from one of those four horns [L from one of them came out another horn, a little one; 7:8], and it became very ·big [great]. It grew to the south, the east, and toward the beautiful land [C Judah; Ezek. 20:6, 15]. 10 That ·little horn [L it] grew ·until it reached to the sky [L to the hosts of heaven; C the angels and the stars]. It even threw some of the ·army of heaven [L hosts and the stars] to the ground and ·walked on [trampled] them! 11 ·That little horn [L It] set itself up as equal to the prince of ·heaven’s armies [L the hosts; C God]. It ·stopped [abolished] the ·daily [regular] sacrifices [Ex. 29:38–41; Num. 28:3–8] that were offered to him, and the ·Temple, the place where people worshiped him, [L place of the sanctuary] was ·pulled down [overthrown]. 12 Because there was a ·turning away from God [rebellion; transgression], the people stopped the ·daily [regular] sacrifices. Truth was thrown down to the ground, and ·the horn [L it] was successful in everything it did.

13 Then I heard ·a holy angel [L one of the holy ones] speaking. Another ·holy angel [L holy one] asked the first one, “How long will the things in this vision last—the ·daily [regular] sacrifices [8:12], the ·turning away from God [rebellion; transgression] that brings ·destruction [desolation], the ·Temple [sanctuary] being pulled down, and the ·army of heaven [host] being ·walked on [trampled]?”

14 The angel said to me, “This will happen for twenty-three hundred evenings and mornings [C either 2,300 or 1,150 days]. Then the ·holy place [sanctuary] will be ·repaired [restored; made right again].”

15 I, Daniel, saw this vision and ·tried to understand what it meant [L sought understanding]. I saw someone who looked like a man standing near me. 16 And I heard a man’s voice calling from the Ulai ·Canal [or Gate]: “Gabriel [C an angel], explain the vision to this man.”

17 ·Gabriel [L He] came to where I was standing. When he came close to me, I was ·very afraid [terrified; or overwhelmed] and ·bowed facedown on the ground [L fell on my face]. But ·Gabriel [L he] said to me, “·Human being [L Son of man], understand that this vision is about the time of the end.”

18 While ·Gabriel [L he] was speaking, I fell into a ·deep sleep [trance] with my face on the ground. Then he touched me [C strengthening him] and ·lifted me to my feet [L made me stand in my place]. 19 He said, “Now, I will ·explain [make known; reveal] to you what will happen in the time of anger. Your vision was about the ·set [appointed] time of the end.

20 “You saw a ·male sheep [ram] with two horns, which are the kings of Media and Persia. 21 The male goat is the king of ·Greece [L Javan], and the big horn between its eyes is the first king [C Alexander the Great, who defeated Persia around 330 bc]. 22 The four horns that grew in the place of the broken horn are four kingdoms [C Alexander died in 323 bc and his four most powerful generals carved up his empire between them]. Those four kingdoms will come from ·the nation of the first king [L his nation], but ·they will not be as strong as the first king [L not with his power/strength].

23 “When the end comes near for those kingdoms, a ·bold and cruel [fierce/stern-faced] king who ·tells lies will come [L understands riddles/enigmas; C Antiochus Epiphanes, who terrorized the Jews in the mid-second century bc]. This will happen when ·many people have turned against God [rebellions/transgressions will reach their height]. 24 ·This king will be very powerful [L His power will be strong], but ·his power will not come from himself [L not his own power]. He will cause ·terrible [fearful] destruction and will be successful in everything he does. He will destroy powerful people and even ·God’s holy people [L the people of the holy ones]. 25 This king will succeed by using ·lies and force [L the deceit in his hand/power]. He will ·think that he is very important [L be great in his heart]. He will destroy many people ·without warning [or with ease]; he will ·try to fight [L stand against] even the Prince of princes! But ·that cruel king [L he] will be ·destroyed [L broken], and not by human ·power [L hand].

26 “The vision that has been shown to you about these evenings and mornings is true. But seal up the vision, because ·those things won’t happen for a long time [L it concerns many days from now].”

27 I, Daniel, became very weak and was sick for ·several days after that vision [L some days]. Then I got up and went back to work for the king, but I was very ·upset [dismayed; perplexed] about the vision. I didn’t understand what it meant.