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Vision of a Ram and a Goat

In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar a vision appeared to me, Daniel, after the one that had appeared to me at first. In the vision I was looking and saw myself in Susa the capital, in the province of Elam,[a] and I was by the river Ulai.[b] I looked up and saw a ram standing beside the river.[c] It had two horns. Both horns were long, but one was longer than the other, and the longer one came up second. I saw the ram charging westwards and northwards and southwards. All beasts were powerless to withstand it, and no one could rescue from its power; it did as it pleased and became strong.

As I was watching, a male goat appeared from the west, coming across the face of the whole earth without touching the ground. The goat had a horn[d] between its eyes. It came towards the ram with the two horns that I had seen standing beside the river,[e] and it ran at it with savage force. I saw it approaching the ram. It was enraged against it and struck the ram, breaking its two horns. The ram did not have power to withstand it; it threw the ram down to the ground and trampled upon it, and there was no one who could rescue the ram from its power. Then the male goat grew exceedingly great; but at the height of its power, the great horn was broken, and in its place there came up four prominent horns towards the four winds of heaven.

Out of one of them came another[f] horn, a little one, which grew exceedingly great towards the south, towards the east, and towards the beautiful land. 10 It grew as high as the host of heaven. It threw down to the earth some of the host and some of the stars, and trampled on them. 11 Even against the prince of the host it acted arrogantly; it took the regular burnt-offering away from him and overthrew the place of his sanctuary. 12 Because of wickedness, the host was given over to it together with the regular burnt-offering;[g] it cast truth to the ground, and kept prospering in what it did. 13 Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to the one that spoke, ‘For how long is this vision concerning the regular burnt-offering, the transgression that makes desolate, and the giving over of the sanctuary and host to be trampled?’[h] 14 And he answered him,[i] ‘For two thousand three hundred evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary shall be restored to its rightful state.’

Gabriel Interprets the Vision

15 When I, Daniel, had seen the vision, I tried to understand it. Then someone appeared standing before me, having the appearance of a man, 16 and I heard a human voice by the Ulai, calling, ‘Gabriel, help this man understand the vision.’ 17 So he came near where I stood; and when he came, I became frightened and fell prostrate. But he said to me, ‘Understand, O mortal,[j] that the vision is for the time of the end.’

18 As he was speaking to me, I fell into a trance, face to the ground; then he touched me and set me on my feet. 19 He said, ‘Listen, and I will tell you what will take place later in the period of wrath; for it refers to the appointed time of the end. 20 As for the ram that you saw with the two horns, these are the kings of Media and Persia. 21 The male goat[k] is the king of Greece, and the great horn between its eyes is the first king. 22 As for the horn that was broken, in place of which four others arose, four kingdoms shall arise from his[l] nation, but not with his power.

23 At the end of their rule,
    when the transgressions have reached their full measure,
a king of bold countenance shall arise,
    skilled in intrigue.
24 He shall grow strong in power,[m]
    shall cause fearful destruction,
    and shall succeed in what he does.
He shall destroy the powerful
    and the people of the holy ones.
25 By his cunning
    he shall make deceit prosper under his hand,
    and in his own mind he shall be great.
Without warning he shall destroy many
    and shall even rise up against the Prince of princes.
But he shall be broken, and not by human hands.

26 The vision of the evenings and the mornings that has been told is true. As for you, seal up the vision, for it refers to many days from now.’

27 So I, Daniel, was overcome and lay sick for some days; then I arose and went about the king’s business. But I was dismayed by the vision and did not understand it.

Footnotes

  1. Daniel 8:2 Gk Theodotion: MT Q Ms repeat in the vision I was looking
  2. Daniel 8:2 Or the Ulai Gate
  3. Daniel 8:3 Or gate
  4. Daniel 8:5 Theodotion: Gk one horn; Heb a horn of vision
  5. Daniel 8:6 Or gate
  6. Daniel 8:9 Cn Compare 7.8: Heb one
  7. Daniel 8:12 Meaning of Heb uncertain
  8. Daniel 8:13 Meaning of Heb uncertain
  9. Daniel 8:14 Gk Theodotion Syr Vg: Heb me
  10. Daniel 8:17 Heb son of man
  11. Daniel 8:21 Or shaggy male goat
  12. Daniel 8:22 Gk Theodotion Vg: Heb the
  13. Daniel 8:24 Theodotion and one Gk Ms: Heb repeats (from 8.22) but not with his power

`In the third year of the reign of Belshazzar the king, a vision hath appeared unto me -- I Daniel -- after that which had appeared unto me at the beginning.

And I see in a vision, and it cometh to pass, in my seeing, and I [am] in Shushan the palace that [is] in Elam the province, and I see in a vision, and I have been by the stream Ulai.

And I lift up mine eyes, and look, and lo, a certain ram is standing before the stream, and it hath two horns, and the two horns [are] high; and the one [is] higher than the other, and the high one is coming up last.

I have seen the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward, and no living creatures do stand before it, and there is none delivering out of its hand, and it hath done according to its pleasure, and hath exerted itself.

`And I have been considering, and lo, a young he-goat hath come from the west, over the face of the whole earth, whom none is touching in the earth; as to the young he-goat, a conspicuous horn [is] between its eyes.

And it cometh unto the ram possessing the two horns, that I had seen standing before the stream, and runneth unto it in the fury of its power.

And I have seen it coming near the ram, and it becometh embittered at it, and smiteth the ram, and breaketh its two horns, and there hath been no power in the ram to stand before it, and it casteth it to the earth, and trampleth it down, and there hath been no deliverer to the ram out of its power.

`And the young he-goat hath exerted itself very much, and when it is strong, broken hath been the great horn; and come up doth a vision of four in its place, at the four winds of the heavens.

And from the one of them come forth hath a little horn, and it exerteth itself greatly toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the beauteous [land];

10 yea, it exerteth unto the host of the heavens, and causeth to fall to the earth of the host, and of the stars, and trampleth them down.

11 And unto the prince of the host it exerteth itself, and by it taken away hath been the continual [sacrifice], and thrown down the base of his sanctuary.

12 And the host is given up, with the continual [sacrifice], through transgression, and it throweth down truth to the earth, and it hath worked, and prospered.

13 `And I hear a certain holy one speaking, and a certain holy one saith to the wonderful numberer who is speaking: Till when [is] the vision of the continual [sacrifice], and of the transgression, an astonishment, to make both sanctuary and host a treading down?

14 And he saith unto me, Till evening -- morning two thousand and three hundred, then is the holy place declared right.

15 `And it cometh to pass in my seeing -- I, Daniel -- the vision, that I require understanding, and lo, standing over-against me [is] as the appearance of a mighty one.

16 And I hear a voice of man between [the banks of] Ulai, and he calleth and saith: Gabriel, cause this [one] to understand the appearance.

17 And he cometh in near my station, and at his coming in I have been afraid, and I fall on my face, and he saith unto me: Understand, son of man, for at the time of the end [is] the vision.

18 And in his speaking with me, I have been in a trance on my face, on the earth; and he cometh against me, and causeth me to stand on my station,

19 and saith: Lo, I -- I am causing thee to know that which is in the latter end of the indignation; for, at the appointed time [is] the end.

20 `The ram that thou hast seen possessing two horns, [are] the kings of Media and Persia.

21 And the young he-goat, the hairy one, [is] the king of Javan; and the great horn that [is] between its eyes is the first king;

22 and that being broken, stand up do four in its place, four kingdoms from the nation do stand up, and not in its power.

23 `And in the latter end of their kingdom, about the perfecting of the transgressors, stand up doth a king, fierce of face, and understanding hidden things;

24 and his power hath been mighty, and not by his own power; and wonderful things he destroyeth, and he hath prospered, and wrought, and destroyed mighty ones, and the people of the Holy Ones.

25 `And by his understanding he hath also caused deceit to prosper in his hand, and in his heart he exerteth himself, and by ease he destroyeth many; and against the prince of princes he standeth -- and without hand he is broken.

26 And the appearance of the evening and of the morning, that is told, is true; and thou, hide thou the vision, for [it is] after many days.'

27 And I, Daniel, have been, yea, I became sick [for] days, and I rise, and do the king's work, and am astonished at the appearance, and there is none understanding.

Daniel’s Vision of a Ram and a Goat

In the third year of King Belshazzar’s(A) reign, I, Daniel, had a vision,(B) after the one that had already appeared to me. In my vision I saw myself in the citadel of Susa(C) in the province of Elam;(D) in the vision I was beside the Ulai Canal. I looked up,(E) and there before me was a ram(F) with two horns, standing beside the canal, and the horns were long. One of the horns was longer than the other but grew up later. I watched the ram as it charged toward the west and the north and the south. No animal could stand against it, and none could rescue from its power.(G) It did as it pleased(H) and became great.

As I was thinking about this, suddenly a goat with a prominent horn between its eyes came from the west, crossing the whole earth without touching the ground. It came toward the two-horned ram I had seen standing beside the canal and charged at it in great rage. I saw it attack the ram furiously, striking the ram and shattering its two horns. The ram was powerless to stand against it; the goat knocked it to the ground and trampled on it,(I) and none could rescue the ram from its power.(J) The goat became very great, but at the height of its power the large horn was broken off,(K) and in its place four prominent horns grew up toward the four winds of heaven.(L)

Out of one of them came another horn, which started small(M) but grew in power to the south and to the east and toward the Beautiful Land.(N) 10 It grew until it reached(O) the host of the heavens, and it threw some of the starry host down to the earth(P) and trampled(Q) on them. 11 It set itself up to be as great as the commander(R) of the army of the Lord;(S) it took away the daily sacrifice(T) from the Lord, and his sanctuary was thrown down.(U) 12 Because of rebellion, the Lord’s people[a] and the daily sacrifice were given over to it. It prospered in everything it did, and truth was thrown to the ground.(V)

13 Then I heard a holy one(W) speaking, and another holy one said to him, “How long will it take for the vision to be fulfilled(X)—the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, the rebellion that causes desolation, the surrender of the sanctuary and the trampling underfoot(Y) of the Lord’s people?”

14 He said to me, “It will take 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary will be reconsecrated.”(Z)

The Interpretation of the Vision

15 While I, Daniel, was watching the vision(AA) and trying to understand it, there before me stood one who looked like a man.(AB) 16 And I heard a man’s voice from the Ulai(AC) calling, “Gabriel,(AD) tell this man the meaning of the vision.”(AE)

17 As he came near the place where I was standing, I was terrified and fell prostrate.(AF) “Son of man,”[b] he said to me, “understand that the vision concerns the time of the end.”(AG)

18 While he was speaking to me, I was in a deep sleep, with my face to the ground.(AH) Then he touched me and raised me to my feet.(AI)

19 He said: “I am going to tell you what will happen later in the time of wrath,(AJ) because the vision concerns the appointed time(AK) of the end.[c](AL) 20 The two-horned ram that you saw represents the kings of Media and Persia.(AM) 21 The shaggy goat is the king of Greece,(AN) and the large horn between its eyes is the first king.(AO) 22 The four horns that replaced the one that was broken off represent four kingdoms that will emerge from his nation but will not have the same power.

23 “In the latter part of their reign, when rebels have become completely wicked, a fierce-looking king, a master of intrigue, will arise. 24 He will become very strong, but not by his own power. He will cause astounding devastation and will succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy those who are mighty, the holy people.(AP) 25 He will cause deceit(AQ) to prosper, and he will consider himself superior. When they feel secure, he will destroy many and take his stand against the Prince of princes.(AR) Yet he will be destroyed, but not by human power.(AS)

26 “The vision of the evenings and mornings that has been given you is true,(AT) but seal(AU) up the vision, for it concerns the distant future.”(AV)

27 I, Daniel, was worn out. I lay exhausted(AW) for several days. Then I got up and went about the king’s business.(AX) I was appalled(AY) by the vision; it was beyond understanding.

Footnotes

  1. Daniel 8:12 Or rebellion, the armies
  2. Daniel 8:17 The Hebrew phrase ben adam means human being. The phrase son of man is retained as a form of address here because of its possible association with “Son of Man” in the New Testament.
  3. Daniel 8:19 Or because the end will be at the appointed time