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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 first.

And I saw in a vision. And when I saw it, I was in the palace of Shushan, which is in the province of Elam. And in the vision, I thought I was by the river of Ulai.

Then I looked up, and saw. And behold, there stood before the river, a ram, which had two horns. And these two horns were high. But one was higher than the other. And the higher came up last.

I saw the ram pushing against the West, and against the North, and against the South; so that no beasts might stand before him, nor could deliver out of his hand. But he did as he pleased, and became great.

And as I considered, behold, a goat came from the West, over the whole earth, and did not touch the ground. And this goat had a horn that appeared between his eyes.

And he came to the ram that had the two horns, which I had seen standing by the river, and ran to him in his fierce rage.

And I saw him come to the ram. And being angry with him, he struck the ram, and broke his two horns. And there was no power in the ram to stand against him. But he cast him down to the ground, and stomped on him. And there was no one who could deliver the ram out of his power.

Therefore, the goat grew exceedingly great. And when he was at his strongest, his great horn was broken. And four, who appeared toward the four winds of the heaven, came up for it.

And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which grew very great toward the South, and toward the East, and toward the beautiful land.

10 Yea, it grew up to the host of heaven. And it cast down some of the host, and some of the stars to the ground, and tread upon them;

11 And extolled himself against the prince of the host, from whom the daily sacrifice was taken away. And the place of his Sanctuary was cast down.

12 And a time shall be given to him over the daily sacrifice for the iniquity. And it shall cast down the truth to the ground. And thus shall it do, and prosper.

13 Then I heard one of the Saints speaking. And one of the Saints spoke to a certain one, saying, “How long shall the vision of the daily sacrifice endure, and the iniquity of the desolation tread underfoot both the Sanctuary and the army?”

14 And he answered me, “Until the evening and the morning have passed two thousand three hundred times. Then shall the Sanctuary be cleansed.”

15 Now, when I, Daniel, had seen the vision, and sought for the meaning, behold, there stood before me one having the appearance of a man.

16 And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of Ulai, who called, and said, “Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.”

17 So he came where I stood. And when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face. But he said to me, “Understand, O son of man. For in the last time, shall be the vision.”

18 Now as he was speaking to me, I ,being asleep, had my face to the ground. But he touched me, and set me up in my place.

19 And he said, “Behold, I will show you what shall be in the last wrath. For at the end of the time appointed, it shall come.

20 “The ram, which you saw, having two horns, are the kings of the Medes and Persians.

21 “And the goat is the king of Greece. And the great horn that is between his eyes, is the first king.

22 “And that which was broken, and for which four stood up, are four kingdoms of that nation which shall stand up, but not in his strength.

23 “And in the end of their kingdom, when the rebellious shall be consumed, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up.

24 “And his power shall be mighty, but not in his strength. And he shall destroy wonderfully; and shall prosper, and practice, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.

25 “And also by his influence, he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand. And he shall exalt himself in his heart. And by peace, he shall destroy many. He shall also stand up against the prince of princes, but he shall be broken down without hand.

26 “And the vision of the evening and the morning, which is declared, is true. Therefore, seal up the vision, for it shall happen after many days.”

27 And I, Daniel, was stricken and sick for some days. But when I rose up, I did the king’s business. And I was astonished at the vision. But no one understood it.

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