Vision of the Ram and Goat

In the third year of the reign of Belshazzar the king, a vision appeared to me, [a]Daniel, subsequent to the one which appeared to me [b]previously. I (A)looked in the vision, and while I was looking, I was in the citadel of (B)Susa, which is in the province of (C)Elam; and I looked in the vision, and I myself was beside the Ulai Canal. Then I raised my eyes and looked, and behold, a (D)ram which had two horns was standing in front of the canal. Now the two horns were [c]long, but one was [d]longer than the other, with the [e]longer one coming up last. I saw the ram (E)butting westward, northward, and southward, and no other beasts could stand against him nor was there anyone to rescue from his [f]power, but (F)he did as he pleased and made himself great.

While I was observing, behold, a male goat was coming from the west over the surface of the entire earth without touching the ground; and the goat had a (G)prominent horn between his eyes. He came up to the ram that had the two horns, which I had seen standing in front of the canal, and rushed at him in his mighty wrath. And I saw him come up beside the ram, and he was enraged at him; and he struck the ram and smashed his two horns, and the ram had no strength to withstand him. So he hurled him to the ground and trampled on him, and there was no one to rescue the ram from his [g]power. Then the male goat made himself exceedingly great. But once (H)he became powerful, the (I)large horn was broken; and in its place four prominent horns came up toward the (J)four winds of heaven.

The Little Horn

And out of one of them came a rather (K)small horn which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the [h](L)Beautiful Land. 10 It grew up to the heavenly [i]lights, and some of the [j]lights, [k]that is, some of the (M)stars it threw down to the earth, and it (N)trampled them. 11 It even (O)exalted itself [l]to be equal with the [m]Commander of the army; and it removed the (P)regular sacrifice from Him, and the place of His sanctuary was overthrown. 12 And because of [n]an offense the army will be given to the horn along with the regular sacrifice; and it will (Q)hurl truth to the ground and do as it pleases and be successful. 13 Then I heard a (R)holy one speaking, and another holy one said to that particular one who was speaking, “(S)How long will the vision about the regular sacrifice apply, [o]while the offense causes horror, so as to allow both the sanctuary and the army [p]to be (T)trampled?” 14 And he said to me, “For (U)2,300 evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary will be [q]properly restored.”

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Footnotes

  1. Daniel 8:1 Lit I, Daniel
  2. Daniel 8:1 Lit at the beginning
  3. Daniel 8:3 Lit high(er)
  4. Daniel 8:3 Lit high(er)
  5. Daniel 8:3 Lit high(er)
  6. Daniel 8:4 Lit hand
  7. Daniel 8:7 Lit hand
  8. Daniel 8:9 I.e., Israel
  9. Daniel 8:10 Lit host
  10. Daniel 8:10 Lit host
  11. Daniel 8:10 Or and some of the stars
  12. Daniel 8:11 Lit up to the
  13. Daniel 8:11 Or Prince
  14. Daniel 8:12 Or a wrongdoing
  15. Daniel 8:13 Or possibly and the offense that horrifies
  16. Daniel 8:13 Lit as a trampling
  17. Daniel 8:14 Lit justified

The Vision of a Small Horn that Oppresses Israel and Threatens the Temple

In the third year of the kingdom of Belshazzar the king, a vision appeared to me, Daniel,[a] after the one that appeared to me previously.[b] And I saw in the vision, and when I saw,[c] I was in Susa, the citadel that was in the province of Elam. And I saw in the vision, and I myself[d] was at the stream of Ulai.[e] And I lifted up my eyes and I saw, and look! A ram[f] standing before[g] the stream, and it had[h] two horns, and the horns were long, but the one was longer than the second, and the longer one came up after the other one.[i] I saw the ram charging westward and northward and southward, and none of the beasts stood before it,[j] and there was no rescuing from its power,[k] and it did what it wanted[l] and it became strong.[m]

And I was considering this, and look, a he-goat coming from the west across the face of the whole earth, and it was not touching the ground;[n] and the he-goat had a conspicuous horn[o] between its eyes. Then it came toward the ram that had the two horns[p] that I saw standing before[q] the stream, and it ran at it with[r] the rage of its power. And I saw it approaching the ram and it was furious at it, and it struck the ram, and it broke its two horns, and there was not strength in the ram to stand before him,[s] and he threw it down to the ground and trampled it, and there was no one who could rescue the ram[t] from its power. And the he-goat grew exceedingly great,[u] and at the height of its power[v] the great horn was broken, and four conspicuous horns[w] came up in place of it toward the four winds of heaven.

And from one of them[x] came forth a horn, a little one,[y] and it grew exceedingly[z] toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the beautiful land. 10 And it grew up to the host of heaven, and it threw down to the ground some of the host and some of the stars and trampled them. 11 Even against the prince of the hosts it acted arrogantly and took away from him the regular burnt offering, and the place of his sanctuary was overthrown. 12 And on account of transgression, the host was given over to the horn in addition to the regular burnt offering. And it cast down truth to the ground, and it acted,[aa] and it had success.

13 And I heard a certain holy one speaking, and a certain other holy one said to the specific one who was speaking,[ab]For how long[ac] is the vision concerning the regular burnt offering, and the transgression that makes desolate, and the giving over of the sanctuary and the host to trampling?” 14 And he said to me, “For two thousand three hundred evenings and mornings, then the sanctuary will be restored.”

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Footnotes

  1. Daniel 8:1 Literally “I Daniel”
  2. Daniel 8:1 Literally “in the beginning”
  3. Daniel 8:2 Literally “and it was at my seeing”
  4. Daniel 8:2 Literally “I, I was”
  5. Daniel 8:2 Or “Ulai Canal” (NASB); “stream of the Ulai” (NEB)
  6. Daniel 8:3 Hebrew “One ram”
  7. Daniel 8:3 Literally “to the face of”
  8. Daniel 8:3 Literally “for it”
  9. Daniel 8:3 Literally “in the behind of the other”
  10. Daniel 8:4 Literally “all the beasts not they withstood to the face of him”
  11. Daniel 8:4 Literally “its hand”
  12. Daniel 8:4 Literally “according to its will”
  13. Daniel 8:4 Or “it/he magnified itself/himself”
  14. Daniel 8:5 Or “earth,” or “land”
  15. Daniel 8:5 Literally “a horn of vision”
  16. Daniel 8:6 Literally “the owner of the two horns”
  17. Daniel 8:6 Literally “to the face of”
  18. Daniel 8:6 Or “in”
  19. Daniel 8:7 Literally “and not was strength in the ram to withstand to the face of him”
  20. Daniel 8:7 Literally “and not he/it was one rescuing”
  21. Daniel 8:8 Literally “until much”
  22. Daniel 8:8 Literally “and at his being powerful”
  23. Daniel 8:8 LXX reads “others” here for “conspicuous.” The words in Hebrew can be confused for each other
  24. Daniel 8:9 Literally “And from the one from them”
  25. Daniel 8:9 Literally “one from little”
  26. Daniel 8:9 Or “pre-eminently”
  27. Daniel 8:12 Literally “did”
  28. Daniel 8:13 Literally “the one speaking”
  29. Daniel 8:13 Literally “Until when”