Daniel's Vision of the Four Beasts

7 In the first year of ^(A)Belshazzar king of Babylon, ^(B)Daniel saw a dream and ^(C)visions of his head as he lay in his bed. Then he wrote down the dream and told the sum of the matter. ² Daniel declared,^[a] “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, ^(D)the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. ³ And four great beasts ^(E)came up out of the sea, different from one another. ⁴ The first was like a lion and had eagles' wings. Then as I looked its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man, and the mind of a man was given to it. ⁵ And behold, ^(F)another beast, a second one, like a bear. It was raised up on one side. It had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth; and it was told, ‘Arise, devour much flesh.’ ⁶ After this I looked, and behold, another, like a ^(G)leopard, with four wings of a bird on its back. And the beast had four heads, and ^(H)dominion was given to it. ⁷ After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, ^(I)terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth; ^(J)it devoured and broke in pieces ^(K)and stamped what was left with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and ^(L)it had ten horns. ⁸ I considered the horns, and behold, ^(M)there came up among them another horn, a little one, ^(N)before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots. And behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and ^(O)a mouth speaking great things.

The Ancient of Days Reigns

⁹ “As I looked,

¹¹ “I looked then because of the sound of ^(AB)the great words that the horn was speaking. And as I looked, ^(AC)the beast was killed, and its body destroyed ^(AD)and given over to be burned with fire. ¹² As for the rest of the beasts, ^(AE)their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.

The Son of Man Is Given Dominion

¹³ “I saw in the night visions,

Daniel's Vision Interpreted

¹⁵ “As for me, Daniel, my spirit within me^[b] was anxious, and ^(AK)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 (AL)‘These four great beasts are four kings who shall arise out of the earth. ¹⁸ But ^(AM)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 ^(AN)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 (AO)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 ^(AP)made war with the saints and prevailed over them, ²² until the ^(AQ)Ancient of Days came, and ^(AR)judgment was given for the saints of the Most High, and the time came when ^(AS)the saints possessed the kingdom.

²³ “Thus he said: ‘As for ^(AT)the fourth beast,

²⁸ “Here is the end of the matter. ^(BD)As for me, Daniel, my ^(BE)thoughts greatly alarmed me, ^(BF)and my color changed, but ^(BG)I kept the matter in my heart.”

Daniel's Vision of the Ram and the Goat

8 In the third year of the reign of ^(BH)King Belshazzar a vision appeared to me, Daniel, ^(BI)after that which appeared to me ^(BJ)at the first. ² And I saw in the vision; and when I saw, I was in ^(BK)Susa the citadel, which is in the province of ^(BL)Elam. And ^(BM)I saw in the vision, ^(BN)and I was at the ^(BO)Ulai canal. ³ I raised my eyes and saw, and behold, ^(BP)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 ^(BQ)the ram charging westward and northward and southward. No ^(BR)beast ^(BS)could stand before him, ^(BT)and there was no one who could rescue from his power. ^(BU)He did as he pleased and ^(BV)became great.

⁵ As I was considering, behold, a ^(BW)male goat came from the west across the face of the whole earth, without touching the ground. And the goat had ^(BX)a conspicuous horn between his eyes. ⁶ He came to ^(BY)the ram with the two horns, which I had seen standing on the bank of the canal, ^(BZ)and he ran at him in his powerful wrath. ⁷ I saw him come close to the ram, ^(CA)and he was enraged against him and struck the ram and broke his two horns. ^(CB)And the ram had no power to stand before him, but he ^(CC)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 ^(CD)the goat ^(CE)became exceedingly great, but when he was strong, the great horn was broken, and instead of it there came up four ^(CF)conspicuous horns toward ^(CG)the four winds of heaven.

⁹ Out of one of them came ^(CH)a little horn, which grew exceedingly great toward ^(CI)the south, toward the east, and toward ^(CJ)the glorious land. ^10 (CK)It grew great, ^(CL)even to the host of heaven. And some of the host ^(CM)and some^[d] of ^(CN)the stars it threw down to the ground and ^(CO)trampled on them. ^11 (CP)It became great, even as great as ^(CQ)the Prince of the host. ^(CR)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,^[e] and it will throw truth to the ground, and ^(CS)it will act and prosper. ¹³ Then I heard ^(CT)a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to the one who spoke, ^(CU)“For how long is the vision concerning the regular burnt offering, ^(CV)the transgression that makes desolate, and the giving over of the sanctuary and host to be trampled underfoot?” ¹⁴ And he said to me,^[f] “For 2,300 ^(CW)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 ^(CX)sought to understand it. And behold, there stood before me one having ^(CY)the appearance of a man. ^16 (CZ)And I heard a man's voice ^(DA)between the banks of the ^(DB)Ulai, and it called, ^(DC)“Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.” ¹⁷ So he came near where I stood. And when he came, ^(DD)I was frightened ^(DE)and fell on my face. But he said to me, “Understand, ^(DF)O son of man, that the vision is for ^(DG)the time of the end.”

¹⁸ And when he had spoken to me, ^(DH)I fell into a deep sleep with my face to the ground. But ^(DI)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 ^(DJ)the indignation, for it refers to ^(DK)the appointed time of the end. ²⁰ As for ^(DL)the ram that you saw with the two horns, these are the kings of ^(DM)Media and Persia. ²¹ And ^(DN)the goat^[g] is the king of Greece. And ^(DO)the great horn between his eyes is ^(DP)the first king. ^22 (DQ)As for the horn that was broken, in place of which four others arose, four kingdoms shall arise from his^[h] nation, ^(DR)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—^(DS)but not by his own power; and he shall cause fearful destruction ^(DT)and shall succeed in what he does, ^(DU)and destroy mighty men and the people who are the saints. ^25 (DV)By his cunning he shall make deceit prosper under his hand, and in his own mind ^(DW)he shall become great. ^(DX)Without warning he shall destroy many. And he ^(DY)shall even rise up against the Prince of princes, and he shall be broken—but ^(DZ)by no human hand. ²⁶ The vision of ^(EA)the evenings and the mornings that has been told ^(EB)is true, but ^(EC)seal up the vision, ^(ED)for it refers to many days from now.”

²⁷ And ^(EE)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 ^(EF)and did not understand it.

The Sin of Partiality

2 My brothers,^{[a] (A)}show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, ^(B)the Lord of glory. ² For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, ³ and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, “You sit here in a good place,” ^(C)while you say to the poor man, “You stand over there,” or, “Sit down at my feet,” ⁴ have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become ^(D)judges with evil thoughts? ⁵ Listen, my beloved brothers, ^(E)has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be ^(F)rich in faith and heirs of ^(G)the kingdom, ^(H)which he has promised to those who love him? ⁶ But you ^(I)have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who ^(J)drag you ^(K)into court? ⁷ Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable ^(L)name by which you were called?

⁸ If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, ^(M)“You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. ⁹ But if you ^(N)show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. ¹⁰ For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point ^(O)has become guilty of all of it. ¹¹ For he who said, ^(P)“Do not commit adultery,” also said, ^(Q)“Do not murder.” If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. ¹² So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under ^(R)the law of liberty. ¹³ For ^(S)judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

Faith Without Works Is Dead

¹⁴ What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith ^(T)but does not have works? Can that faith save him? ^15 (U)If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, ^16 (V)and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good^[b] is that? ¹⁷ So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

¹⁸ But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith ^(W)apart from your works, and I will show you my faith ^(X)by my works. ^19 (Y)You believe that God is one; you do well. Even ^(Z)the demons believe—and shudder! ²⁰ Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? ^21 (AA)Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? ²² You see that ^(AB)faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed ^(AC)by his works; ²³ and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, ^(AD)“Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a ^(AE)friend of God. ²⁴ You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. ²⁵ And in the same way was not also ^(AF)Rahab the prostitute justified by works ^(AG)when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? ²⁶ For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.

The Lord Has Chosen Zion

A Song of ^(A)Ascents.