Daniel's Vision of the Ram and the Goat

8 In the third year of the reign of ^(A)King Belshazzar a vision appeared to me, Daniel, ^(B)after that which appeared to me ^(C)at the first. ² And I saw in the vision; and when I saw, I was in ^(D)Susa the citadel, which is in the province of ^(E)Elam. And ^(F)I saw in the vision, ^(G)and I was at the ^(H)Ulai canal. ³ I raised my eyes and saw, and behold, ^(I)a ram standing on the bank of the canal. It had two horns, and both horns were high, but one was higher than the other, and the higher one came up last. ⁴ I saw ^(J)the ram charging westward and northward and southward. No ^(K)beast ^(L)could stand before him, ^(M)and there was no one who could rescue from his power. ^(N)He did as he pleased and ^(O)became great.

⁵ As I was considering, behold, a ^(P)male goat came from the west across the face of the whole earth, without touching the ground. And the goat had ^(Q)a conspicuous horn between his eyes. ⁶ He came to ^(R)the ram with the two horns, which I had seen standing on the bank of the canal, ^(S)and he ran at him in his powerful wrath. ⁷ I saw him come close to the ram, ^(T)and he was enraged against him and struck the ram and broke his two horns. ^(U)And the ram had no power to stand before him, but he ^(V)cast him down to the ground and trampled on him. And there was no one who could rescue the ram from his power. ⁸ Then ^(W)the goat ^(X)became exceedingly great, but when he was strong, the great horn was broken, and instead of it there came up four ^(Y)conspicuous horns toward ^(Z)the four winds of heaven.

⁹ Out of one of them came ^(AA)a little horn, which grew exceedingly great toward ^(AB)the south, toward the east, and toward ^(AC)the glorious land. ^10 (AD)It grew great, ^(AE)even to the host of heaven. And some of the host ^(AF)and some^[a] of ^(AG)the stars it threw down to the ground and ^(AH)trampled on them. ^11 (AI)It became great, even as great as ^(AJ)the Prince of the host. ^(AK)And the regular burnt offering was taken away from him, and the place of his sanctuary was overthrown. ¹² And a host will be given over to it together with the regular burnt offering because of transgression,^[b] and it will throw truth to the ground, and ^(AL)it will act and prosper. ¹³ Then I heard ^(AM)a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to the one who spoke, ^(AN)“For how long is the vision concerning the regular burnt offering, ^(AO)the transgression that makes desolate, and the giving over of the sanctuary and host to be trampled underfoot?” ¹⁴ And he said to me,^[c] “For 2,300 ^(AP)evenings and mornings. Then the sanctuary shall be restored to its rightful state.”

The Interpretation of the Vision

¹⁵ When I, Daniel, had seen the vision, I ^(AQ)sought to understand it. And behold, there stood before me one having ^(AR)the appearance of a man. ^16 (AS)And I heard a man's voice ^(AT)between the banks of the ^(AU)Ulai, and it called, ^(AV)“Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.” ¹⁷ So he came near where I stood. And when he came, ^(AW)I was frightened ^(AX)and fell on my face. But he said to me, “Understand, ^(AY)O son of man, that the vision is for ^(AZ)the time of the end.”

¹⁸ And when he had spoken to me, ^(BA)I fell into a deep sleep with my face to the ground. But ^(BB)he touched me and made me stand up. ¹⁹ He said, “Behold, I will make known to you what shall be at the latter end of ^(BC)the indignation, for it refers to ^(BD)the appointed time of the end. ²⁰ As for ^(BE)the ram that you saw with the two horns, these are the kings of ^(BF)Media and Persia. ²¹ And ^(BG)the goat^[d] is the king of Greece. And ^(BH)the great horn between his eyes is ^(BI)the first king. ^22 (BJ)As for the horn that was broken, in place of which four others arose, four kingdoms shall arise from his^[e] nation, ^(BK)but not with his power. ²³ And at the latter end of their kingdom, when the transgressors have reached their limit, a king of bold face, one who understands riddles, shall arise. ²⁴ His power shall be great—^(BL)but not by his own power; and he shall cause fearful destruction ^(BM)and shall succeed in what he does, ^(BN)and destroy mighty men and the people who are the saints. ^25 (BO)By his cunning he shall make deceit prosper under his hand, and in his own mind ^(BP)he shall become great. ^(BQ)Without warning he shall destroy many. And he ^(BR)shall even rise up against the Prince of princes, and he shall be broken—but ^(BS)by no human hand. ²⁶ The vision of ^(BT)the evenings and the mornings that has been told ^(BU)is true, but ^(BV)seal up the vision, ^(BW)for it refers to many days from now.”

²⁷ And ^(BX)I, Daniel, was overcome and lay sick for some days. Then I rose and went about the king's business, but I was appalled by the vision ^(BY)and did not understand it.

The Handwriting on the Wall

5 ^(A)King Belshazzar ^(B)made a great feast for a thousand of his ^(C)lords and drank wine in front of the thousand.

^2 (D)Belshazzar, when he tasted the wine, commanded that ^(E)the vessels of gold and of silver that Nebuchadnezzar his father^[a] had taken out of the temple in Jerusalem be brought, that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them. ³ Then they brought in ^(F)the golden vessels that had been taken out of the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them. ⁴ They drank wine and ^(G)praised the ^(H)gods of gold and silver, bronze, iron, wood, and stone.

^5 (I)Immediately ^(J)the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace, opposite the lampstand. And the king saw ^(K)the hand as it wrote. ^6 (L)Then the king's color changed, ^(M)and his thoughts alarmed him; ^(N)his limbs gave way, and ^(O)his knees knocked together. ^7 (P)The king called loudly to bring in ^(Q)the enchanters, the ^(R)Chaldeans, and ^(S)the astrologers. The king declared^[b] to the wise men of Babylon, ^(T)“Whoever reads this writing, and shows me its interpretation, shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around his neck and ^(U)shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.” ⁸ Then all the king's wise men came in, but ^(V)they could not read the writing or make known to the king the interpretation. ⁹ Then King Belshazzar was greatly ^(W)alarmed, and his ^(X)color changed, and his ^(Y)lords were perplexed.

¹⁰ The queen,^[c] because of the words of the king and his lords, came into the banqueting hall, and the queen declared, ^(Z)“O king, live forever! Let not your thoughts alarm you ^(AA)or your color change. ¹¹ There is a man in your kingdom ^(AB)in whom is the spirit of the holy gods.^[d] In the days of your father, ^(AC)light and understanding and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods were found in him, and King Nebuchadnezzar, your father—your father the king—^(AD)made him chief of the magicians, ^(AE)enchanters, Chaldeans, and astrologers, ^12 (AF)because an excellent spirit, knowledge, and ^(AG)understanding ^(AH)to interpret dreams, explain riddles, and ^(AI)solve problems were found in this Daniel, ^(AJ)whom the king named Belteshazzar. Now let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation.”

Daniel Interprets the Handwriting

¹³ Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king answered and said to Daniel, “You are that Daniel, one of ^(AK)the exiles of Judah, whom the king my father brought from Judah. ¹⁴ I have heard of you that ^(AL)the spirit of the gods^[e] is in you, and that ^(AM)light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you. ¹⁵ Now ^(AN)the wise men, the ^(AO)enchanters, have been brought in before me to read this writing and make known to me its interpretation, but ^(AP)they could not show the interpretation of the matter. ^16 (AQ)But I have heard that you can give interpretations and ^(AR)solve problems. ^(AS)Now if you can read the writing and make known to me its interpretation, ^(AT)you shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around your neck and ^(AU)shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.”

¹⁷ Then Daniel answered and said before the king, ^(AV)“Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your rewards to another. Nevertheless, I will read the writing to the king and make known to him the interpretation. ¹⁸ O king, the ^(AW)Most High God ^(AX)gave ^(AY)Nebuchadnezzar your father ^(AZ)kingship and greatness and glory and majesty. ¹⁹ And because of the greatness that he gave him, ^(BA)all peoples, nations, and languages ^(BB)trembled and feared before him. Whom he would, he killed, and whom he would, he kept alive; whom he would, he raised up, and whom he would, he humbled. ²⁰ But ^(BC)when his heart was lifted up and his spirit was hardened so that he dealt proudly, ^(BD)he was brought down from his kingly throne, and his glory was taken from him. ^21 (BE)He was driven from among the children of mankind, and his mind was made like that of a beast, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. He was fed grass like an ox, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, ^(BF)until he knew that the ^(BG)Most High God rules the kingdom of mankind and sets over it whom he will. ²² And you his son,^{[f] (BH)}Belshazzar, ^(BI)have not humbled your heart, though you knew all this, ²³ but you have lifted up yourself against ^(BJ)the Lord of heaven. And ^(BK)the vessels of his house have been brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines have drunk wine from them. ^(BL)And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know, ^(BM)but the God in whose hand is your breath, and ^(BN)whose are all your ways, ^(BO)you have not honored.

²⁴ “Then from his presence ^(BP)the hand was sent, and this writing was inscribed. ²⁵ And this is the writing that was inscribed: Mene, Mene, Tekel, and Parsin. ²⁶ This is the interpretation of the matter: Mene, God has numbered^[g] the days of your kingdom and brought it to an end; ²⁷ Tekel, ^(BQ)you have been weighed^[h] in the balances and found wanting; ²⁸ Peres, your kingdom is divided and given to ^(BR)the Medes and ^(BS)Persians.”^[i]

²⁹ Then ^(BT)Belshazzar gave the command, and Daniel ^(BU)was clothed with purple, a chain of gold was put around his neck, and a proclamation was made about him, that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.

^30 (BV)That very night ^(BW)Belshazzar the ^(BX)Chaldean king was killed. ^31 [j] And ^(BY)Darius ^(BZ)the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.