Daniel 8
Modern English Version
Daniel’s Vision of a Ram and a Goat
8 In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar a vision appeared to me, even to me Daniel, after that which appeared to me at the first. 2 I saw in the vision, and while I was looking, I was at Susa in the palace which is in the province of Elam. And I saw in the vision that I was by the canal of Ulai. 3 Then I lifted up my eyes and looked, and there stood before the river a ram which had two horns, and the two horns were high. But one was higher than the other, and the higher one came up last. 4 I saw the ram pushing westward and northward and southward, so that no animal might stand before him; nor was there any that could deliver out of his hand, but he did according to his will and became great.
5 As I was considering this, suddenly a male goat came from the west across the face of the whole earth and did not touch the ground. And the goat had a notable horn between his eyes. 6 He came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing before the river, and ran to him in the fury of his power. 7 I saw him come close to the ram, and he was moved with rage against him, and struck the ram and broke his two horns. And there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground and stamped on him. And there was none who could deliver the ram out of his hand. 8 Therefore the male goat grew very great. And when he was strong, the great horn was broken, and four conspicuous horns came up in its place toward the four winds of heaven.
The Little Horn
9 Out of one of them came a little horn, which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the Pleasant Land. 10 It grew great, even to the host of heaven. And it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground and stamped upon them. 11 Indeed, he magnified himself even to the Prince of the host, and from Him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of His sanctuary was cast down. 12 Because of rebellion, an army was given to the horn to oppose the daily sacrifice; and it cast truth to the ground. It practiced this and prospered.
13 Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said to that certain saint which spoke, “How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice and the transgression of desolation, the giving of both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot?”
14 And he said to me, “For two thousand three hundred evenings and mornings. Then the sanctuary shall be cleansed properly.”
Gabriel Interprets the Vision
15 When I, Daniel, had seen the vision, I sought for the meaning. Then there before me stood one who had the appearance of a man. 16 I heard a man’s voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, “Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.”
17 So he came near where I stood. And when he came, I was afraid and fell upon my face; but he said to me, “Understand, son of man, that the vision deals with the time of the end.”
18 Now as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep with my face toward the ground. But he touched me and set me upright.
19 He said, “Listen, I will make you know what shall be in the final period of the indignation, for the end shall be at the appointed time. 20 The ram which you saw having two horns represents the kings of Media and Persia. 21 The rough goat is the king of Greece, and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king. 22 Now the broken horn and the four horns that stood up in its place are four kingdoms that shall stand up out of his nation, but not with his power.
23 “In the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors have reached their limit, a king will arise, having a fierce countenance, skilled in intrigue. 24 His power shall be mighty, but not by his own power. And he shall destroy wonderfully and shall prosper and practice his will and shall destroy the mighty men and the holy people. 25 By his cunning, he shall cause deceit to succeed under his hand, and he shall magnify himself in his heart. He shall destroy many in a time of peace. He shall also rise up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken, not by human hands.
26 “And the vision of the evenings and the mornings, which was told, is true. Therefore shut up the vision, for it deals with many days in the future.”
27 Then I, Daniel, fainted and was sick for some days. Afterward I rose up again and did the king’s business. So I was astonished at the vision, but there was none to explain it.
Daniel 8
EasyEnglish Bible
Daniel sees another vision
8 In the third year that King Belshazzar ruled Babylonia, I, Daniel, had another vision. That was after the vision that I had seen before.[a]
2 In this vision, I saw that I was in the strong city of Susa, in Elam region. I was standing near the Ulai river.[b] 3 I looked up and I saw a male sheep that had two long horns. It was standing beside the river. One of its horns was longer than the other one. The longer horn came up later than the shorter horn. 4 The sheep ran towards the west, the north and the south. He used his horns to push away all other animals. No other animal could stop him. Nobody could save them from his power. He did whatever he wanted to do. He boasted about his great strength.
5 While I was thinking about this, I saw a male goat that was coming from the west. It ran quickly across the earth. Its feet did not even touch the ground. The goat had a large horn between its eyes. 6 It came towards the male sheep that had two horns. I had seen that sheep as it stood beside the river. The goat was very angry. It ran to attack the sheep with all its strength. 7 I saw it as it attacked the sheep. It was so angry that it hit the sheep very hard. It broke off the sheep's two horns. The sheep had no power to stop the goat. The goat knocked the sheep down to the ground and it stamped on the sheep. Nobody could save the sheep from the power of the goat.
8 The male goat boasted even more about its power. Its large horn became very strong. But then the horn broke. Four other large horns came up in its place. Each of these horns pointed in a different direction. 9 Then a little horn grew out of one of these large horns. It grew to become very big. Its power reached towards the south, towards the east and towards the Beautiful Land.[c] 10 Its power became so great that it reached up into heaven. It attacked heaven's army and the stars in the sky. It threw some of them down to the ground and it stamped on them. 11 It boasted that it was more powerful than the Captain of heaven's army. It stopped people from offering their sacrifices to God each day. It destroyed God's temple. 12 God's people accepted the rule of the horn, because they had turned against God. They offered their sacrifices to the horn, instead of to God. The horn stopped people from believing the truth. It was able to do everything that it wanted to do.
13 Then I heard two angels as they talked to each other. One angel asked, ‘How long will the things in this vision continue to happen? How long will this disgusting thing stop the sacrifices each day? How long will it stand against God and stamp on his temple and his army?’ 14 The other angel answered, ‘It will continue for 2,300 evenings and mornings. After that, God's temple will be clean again.’
An angel explains Daniel's vision
15 When I, Daniel, had seen the vision, I tried to understand it. Then someone came to stand in front of me. He seemed like a man. 16 I heard a person's voice. It was coming across the Ulai river. The voice said, ‘Gabriel, help this man to understand the vision.’ 17 So Gabriel came towards me, where I was standing. I was very afraid and I fell down onto the ground. He said to me, ‘You, as a human, need to understand that the vision is about the end of time.’
18 While Gabriel spoke to me I was lying with my face on the ground. I was asleep. But he touched me and he caused me to stand up. 19 Then he said to me, ‘I will tell you what will happen at the end of time. It will be a time when God is very angry. The vision shows what will happen at the time that God has chosen. That will be the time for everything to finish.
20 You saw a male sheep with two horns. Those horns mean the kingdoms of Media and Persia. 21 The male goat means the kingdom of Greece. The large horn between its eyes means the first king of Greece. 22 When that large horn broke, four horns grew in its place. Those horns show that the nation of Greece will become four separate kingdoms. But they will not be as powerful as the first kingdom.
23 Near the end of the time when those kings rule, the people will be completely wicked. Then a proud, cruel king will appear. He will deceive people. 24 He will become very strong, but this will not be a result of his own power. He will completely destroy many things. He will be successful in everything that he does. He will destroy powerful leaders and the holy people who belong to God. 25 Because he is clever, he will completely deceive people. He will boast about his power. People will think that they are safe, but he will kill many of them. He will stand against the Ruler of all rulers. But God will destroy him, without human help.
26 This vision about the evenings and the mornings is true. I have told you what it means. But keep the vision as a secret now. It will be a long time before these things happen.’
27 After I, Daniel, saw this vision, I became very weak. I was sick for many days. Then I got up. I returned to my work to serve the king. The vision caused me to be very upset. I could not understand it.
The Holy Bible, Modern English Version. Copyright © 2014 by Military Bible Association. Published and distributed by Charisma House.
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