And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.

The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it.

And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.

After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.

After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.

I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.

I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire.

10 A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.

11 I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame.

12 As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time.

13 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.

14 And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

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Four great beasts,(A) each different from the others, came up out of the sea.

“The first was like a lion,(B) and it had the wings of an eagle.(C) I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted from the ground so that it stood on two feet like a human being, and the mind of a human was given to it.

“And there before me was a second beast, which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, ‘Get up and eat your fill of flesh!’(D)

“After that, I looked, and there before me was another beast, one that looked like a leopard.(E) And on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. This beast had four heads, and it was given authority to rule.

“After that, in my vision(F) at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast—terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron(G) teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled(H) underfoot whatever was left.(I) It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns.(J)

“While I was thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a little(K) one, which came up among them; and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a human being(L) and a mouth that spoke boastfully.(M)

“As I looked,

“thrones were set in place,
    and the Ancient of Days(N) took his seat.(O)
His clothing was as white as snow;(P)
    the hair of his head was white like wool.(Q)
His throne was flaming with fire,
    and its wheels(R) were all ablaze.
10 A river of fire(S) was flowing,
    coming out from before him.(T)
Thousands upon thousands attended him;
    ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.
The court was seated,
    and the books(U) were opened.

11 “Then I continued to watch because of the boastful words the horn was speaking.(V) I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire.(W) 12 (The other beasts had been stripped of their authority, but were allowed to live for a period of time.)

13 “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man,[a](X) coming(Y) with the clouds of heaven.(Z) He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. 14 He was given authority,(AA) glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him.(AB) His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom(AC) is one that will never be destroyed.(AD)

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Footnotes

  1. Daniel 7:13 The Aramaic phrase bar enash means human being. The phrase son of man is retained here because of its use in the New Testament as a title of Jesus, probably based largely on this verse.

31 Thou, O king, sawest, and behold a great image. This great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee; and the form thereof was terrible.

32 This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass,

33 His legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.

34 Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces.

35 Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.

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31 “Your Majesty looked, and there before you stood a large statue—an enormous, dazzling statue,(A) awesome(B) in appearance. 32 The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze, 33 its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay. 34 While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands.(C) It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed(D) them.(E) 35 Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were all broken to pieces and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away(F) without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain(G) and filled the whole earth.(H)

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44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.

45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.

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44 “In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush(A) all those kingdoms(B) and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever.(C) 45 This is the meaning of the vision of the rock(D) cut out of a mountain, but not by human hands(E)—a rock that broke the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver and the gold to pieces.

“The great God has shown the king what will take place in the future.(F) The dream is true(G) and its interpretation is trustworthy.”

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