Daniel 7:15-27
New King James Version
Daniel’s Visions Interpreted
15 “I, Daniel, was grieved in my spirit [a]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 [b]kings which arise out of the earth. 18 But (A)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 [c]pompous words, whose appearance was greater than his fellows.
21 “I was watching; (B)and the same horn was making war against the saints, and prevailing against them, 22 until the Ancient of Days came, (C)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:
‘The fourth beast shall be
(D)A fourth kingdom on earth,
Which shall be different from all other kingdoms,
And shall devour the whole earth,
Trample it and break it in pieces.
24 (E)The ten horns are ten kings
Who shall arise from this kingdom.
And another shall rise after them;
He shall be different from the first ones,
And shall subdue three kings.
25 (F)He shall speak pompous words against the Most High,
Shall (G)persecute[d] the saints of the Most High,
And shall (H)intend to change times and law.
Then (I)the saints shall be given into his hand
(J)For a time and times and half a time.
26 ‘But(K) the court shall be seated,
And they shall (L)take away his dominion,
To consume and destroy it forever.
27 Then the (M)kingdom and dominion,
And the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven,
Shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High.
(N)His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
(O)And all dominions shall serve and obey Him.’
Footnotes
- Daniel 7:15 Lit. in the midst of its sheath
- Daniel 7:17 Representing their kingdoms, v. 23
- Daniel 7:20 Lit. great things
- Daniel 7:25 Lit. wear out
Daniel 7:15-27
The Message
15-16 “But as for me, Daniel, I was disturbed. All these dream-visions had me agitated. So I went up to one of those standing by and asked him the meaning of all this. And he told me, interpreting the dream for me:
17-18 “‘These four huge animals,’ he said, ‘mean that four kingdoms will appear on earth. But eventually the holy people of the High God will be given the kingdom and have it ever after—yes, forever and ever.’
19-22 “But I wanted to know more. I was curious about the fourth animal, the one so different from the others, the hideous monster with the iron teeth and the bronze claws, gulping down what it ripped to pieces and trampling the leftovers into the dirt. And I wanted to know about the ten horns on its head and the other horn that sprouted up while three of the original horns were removed. This new horn had eyes and a big mouth and spoke arrogantly, dominating the other horns. I watched as this horn was making war on God’s holy people and getting the best of them. But then The Old One intervened and decided things in favor of the people of the High God. In the end, God’s holy people took over the kingdom.
23-25 “The bystander continued, telling me this: ‘The fourth animal is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth. It will be different from the first three kingdoms, a monster kingdom that will chew up everyone in sight and spit them out. The ten horns are ten kings, one after another, that will come from this kingdom. But then another king will arrive. He will be different from the earlier kings. He will begin by toppling three kings. Then he will blaspheme the High God, persecute the followers of the High God, and try to get rid of sacred worship and moral practice. God’s holy people will be persecuted by him for a time, two times, half a time.
26-27 “‘But when the court comes to order, the horn will be stripped of its power and totally destroyed. Then the royal rule and the authority and the glory of all the kingdoms under heaven will be handed over to the people of the High God. Their royal rule will last forever. All other rulers will serve and obey them.’
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Daniel 7:15-27
English Standard Version
Daniel's Vision Interpreted
15 “As for me, Daniel, my spirit within me[a] was anxious, and (A)the visions of my head alarmed me. 16 I approached one of those who stood there and asked him the truth concerning all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of the things. 17 (B)‘These four great beasts are four kings who shall arise out of the earth. 18 But (C)the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, forever and ever.’
19 “Then I desired to know the truth about (D)the fourth beast, which was different from all the rest, exceedingly terrifying, with its teeth of iron and claws of bronze, and which devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet, 20 (E)and about the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn that came up and before which three of them fell, the horn that had eyes and a mouth that spoke great things, and that seemed greater than its companions. 21 As I looked, this horn (F)made war with the saints and prevailed over them, 22 until the (G)Ancient of Days came, and (H)judgment was given for the saints of the Most High, and the time came when (I)the saints possessed the kingdom.
23 “Thus he said: ‘As for (J)the fourth beast,
there shall be a fourth kingdom on earth,
which shall be different from all the kingdoms,
and it shall devour the whole earth,
and trample it down, and break it to pieces.
24 As for the ten horns,
out of this kingdom ten kings shall arise,
and another shall arise after them;
he shall be different from the former ones,
and shall put down three kings.
25 (K)He shall speak words against the Most High,
and shall wear out the saints of the Most High,
and shall think to (L)change the times and the law;
and they shall be given into his hand
for (M)a time, times, and half a time.
26 (N)But the court shall sit in judgment,
and (O)his dominion shall be taken away,
to be consumed and destroyed (P)to the end.
27 (Q)And the kingdom and the dominion
and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven
shall be given to the people of (R)the saints of the Most High;
(S)his kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom,
and all dominions shall serve and obey him.’[b]
Footnotes
- Daniel 7:15 Aramaic within its sheath
- Daniel 7:27 Or their kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey them
Daniel 7:15-27
Amplified Bible
The Vision Interpreted
15 “As for me, Daniel, my spirit was distressed and anxious within me, and the visions [that appeared] in my mind kept alarming (agitating) me. 16 I approached one of those who stood by and began asking him the exact meaning of all this. So he told me and explained to me the interpretation of the things: 17 ‘These four great beasts are four kings who will arise from the earth. 18 But the [a]saints (believers) of the Most High [God] will receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, for all ages to come.’(A)
19 “Then I wished to know the exact meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others, extremely dreadful, with teeth of iron and claws of bronze, which devoured, crushed and trampled down what was left with its feet, 20 and the meaning of the ten horns (kings) that were on its head and the other horn which came up later, and before which three of the horns fell, specifically, that horn which had eyes and a mouth that boasted great things and which looked larger than the others. 21 As I kept looking, that horn was making war with the saints (believers) and overpowering them(B) 22 until the Ancient of Days came and judgment was passed in favor of the saints of the Most High [God], and the time arrived when the saints (believers) took possession of the kingdom.
23 “Thus the angel said, ‘The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which will be different from all other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth and tread it down, and crush it. 24 As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings will arise; and another will arise after them, and he will be different from the former ones, and he will subdue three kings. 25 He will speak words against the Most High [God] and wear down the saints of the Most High, and he will intend to change the times and the law; and they will be given into his hand for a time, [two] times, and half a time [three and one-half years].(C) 26 But the court [of the Most High] will sit in judgment, and his dominion will be taken away, [first to be] consumed [gradually] and [then] to be destroyed forever. 27 Then the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints (believers) of the Most High; His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all the dominions will serve and obey Him.’
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Daniel 7:18 Some scholars believe the word “saints” in this chapter refers only to Jewish believers; others view “saints” as inclusive.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
