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Daniel’s Vision of a Ram and Goat

[a]During the third year of King Belshazzar’s reign, I, Daniel, saw another vision, following the one that had already appeared to me. In this vision I was at the fortress of Susa, in the province of Elam, standing beside the Ulai River.[b]

As I looked up, I saw a ram with two long horns standing beside the river.[c] One of the horns was longer than the other, even though it had grown later than the other one. The ram butted everything out of his way to the west, to the north, and to the south, and no one could stand against him or help his victims. He did as he pleased and became very great.

While I was watching, suddenly a male goat appeared from the west, crossing the land so swiftly that he didn’t even touch the ground. This goat, which had one very large horn between its eyes, headed toward the two-horned ram that I had seen standing beside the river, rushing at him in a rage. The goat charged furiously at the ram and struck him, breaking off both his horns. Now the ram was helpless, and the goat knocked him down and trampled him. No one could rescue the ram from the goat’s power.

The goat became very powerful. But at the height of his power, his large horn was broken off. In the large horn’s place grew four prominent horns pointing in the four directions of the earth. Then from one of the prominent horns came a small horn whose power grew very great. It extended toward the south and the east and toward the glorious land of Israel. 10 Its power reached to the heavens, where it attacked the heavenly army, throwing some of the heavenly beings and some of the stars to the ground and trampling them. 11 It even challenged the Commander of heaven’s army by canceling the daily sacrifices offered to him and by destroying his Temple. 12 The army of heaven was restrained from responding to this rebellion. So the daily sacrifice was halted, and truth was overthrown. The horn succeeded in everything it did.[d]

13 Then I heard two holy ones talking to each other. One of them asked, “How long will the events of this vision last? How long will the rebellion that causes desecration stop the daily sacrifices? How long will the Temple and heaven’s army be trampled on?”

14 The other replied, “It will take 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the Temple will be made right again.”

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Footnotes

  1. 8:1 The original text from this point through chapter 12 is in Hebrew. See note at 2:4.
  2. 8:2 Or the Ulai Gate; also in 8:16.
  3. 8:3 Or the gate; also in 8:6.
  4. 8:11-12 The meaning of the Hebrew for these verses is uncertain.

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”