Historical
The Vision of the Four Beasts
7 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel saw a (A)dream and visions in his head as he lay on his bed; then he (B)wrote the dream down and said the [a]following summary of the matter. 2 Daniel answered and said, “I was (C)looking in my vision by night, and behold, the (D)four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. 3 And four great (E)beasts were coming up from the sea, different from one another. 4 The first was (F)like a lion and had the wings of an eagle. I kept looking until its wings were plucked, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man; and a heart of a man was given to it. 5 And behold, another beast, a second one in the likeness of a bear. And it was raised up on one side, and three ribs were in its mouth between its teeth; and thus they said to it, ‘Arise, devour much meat!’ 6 After this I kept looking, and behold, another one, (G)like a leopard, which had on its [b]back four wings of a bird; the beast also had (H)four heads, and [c]dominion was given to it. 7 After this I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, a (I)fourth beast, fearsome and terrifying and extraordinarily strong; and it had large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed and trampled down the remainder with its feet; and it was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had (J)ten horns. 8 While I was contemplating the horns, behold, (K)another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots before it; and behold, [d]this horn possessed eyes like the eyes of a man and (L)a mouth speaking great boasts.
The Ancient of Days
9 “I kept looking
Until (M)thrones were set up,
And the Ancient of Days was seated;
His (N)clothing was like white snow
And the (O)hair of His head like pure wool.
His (P)throne was [e]ablaze with fire,
Its (Q)wheels were a burning fire.
10 A river of (R)fire was flowing
And coming out from before Him;
(S)Thousands upon thousands were attending Him,
And myriads upon myriads were standing before Him;
The (T)court sat,
And (U)the books were opened.
11 Then I kept looking because of the sound of the great boastful words which the horn was speaking; I kept looking until the beast was killed, and its body was destroyed and given to the (V)burning [f]fire. 12 As for the rest of the beasts, their [g]dominion was taken away, but an extension of life was given to them for an appointed season of time.
The Son of Man
13 “I kept looking in the night visions,
And behold, with the clouds of heaven
One like a (W)Son of Man was coming,
And He came up to the Ancient of Days
And came near before Him.
14 And to Him was given [h](X)dominion,
Glory, and (Y)a kingdom,
(Z)That all the peoples, nations, and men of every tongue
Might serve Him.
(AA)His [i]dominion is an everlasting [j]dominion
Which will not be taken away;
(AB)And His kingdom is one
Which will not be destroyed.
The Vision Interpreted
15 “As for me, Daniel, my spirit was distressed [k]within me, and the (AC)visions of my head kept (AD)alarming me. 16 I came near to one of those who were (AE)standing by and began seeking out from him the [l]exact meaning of all this. So he (AF)said it to me and made known to me the interpretation of these things: 17 ‘These great beasts, which are four in number, are four kings who will arise from the earth. 18 But the [m](AG)saints of the Highest One will (AH)receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, [n]for all ages to come.’
19 “Then I desired to know the [o]exact meaning of the (AI)fourth beast, which was different from all [p]the others, extraordinarily fearsome, with its teeth of iron and its claws of bronze, and which devoured, crushed, and trampled down the remainder with its feet, 20 and the meaning of the ten horns that were on its head and the other horn which came up and before which three of them fell, namely, that horn which had eyes and a mouth speaking great boasts and [q]which was larger in appearance than its associates. 21 I kept looking, and that horn was (AJ)waging war with the saints and overcoming them 22 until the Ancient of Days came and (AK)judgment was given in favor of the saints of the Highest One, and the season arrived when the saints took possession of the kingdom.
23 “Thus he said: ‘The fourth beast will be a fourth kingdom on the earth, which will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth and tread it down and crush it. 24 As for the (AL)ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings will arise; and another will arise after them, and he will be different from the previous ones and will make low three kings. 25 He will (AM)speak words against the (AN)Most High and (AO)wear down the saints of the Highest One, and he will intend to make (AP)changes in seasons and in law; and [r]they will be given into his hand for a [s](AQ)time, [t]times, and half a [u]time. 26 But the court will sit for judgment, and his dominion will be (AR)taken away, [v]annihilated and destroyed [w]forever. 27 Then the [x](AS)reign, the dominion, and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Highest One; His kingdom will be an (AT)everlasting kingdom, and all the dominions will (AU)serve and obey Him.’
28 “[y]At this point the matter of this revelation ended. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts were (AV)greatly alarming me, and the [z]splendor of my face changed, but I (AW)kept the matter in my heart.”
The Vision of the Ram and Goat
8 In the third year of the reign of Belshazzar the king, a vision appeared to me, [aa]Daniel, after the one which appeared to me [ab]previously. 2 And I (AX)looked in the vision. And it happened that while I was looking, I was in the citadel of (AY)Susa, which is in the province of (AZ)Elam; and I looked in the vision, and I myself was beside the Ulai [ac]Canal. 3 Then I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, a (BA)ram which had two horns was standing in front of the [ad]canal. Now the two horns were [ae]long, but one was [af]longer than the other, with the [ag]longer one coming up last. 4 I saw the ram (BB)butting westward, northward, and southward, and no other beasts could stand before it, nor was there anyone to deliver from its [ah]power, but (BC)it did as it pleased and magnified itself.
5 And while I was considering, behold, a male goat was coming from the west over the surface of the whole earth without touching the ground; and the [ai]goat had a (BD)conspicuous horn between its eyes. 6 Then it came up to the ram that had the two horns, which I had seen standing in front of the [aj]canal, and ran at it in his strong wrath. 7 And I saw it reach the side of the ram, and it was enraged at it; and it struck the ram and broke its two horns in pieces, and the ram had no strength to stand in [ak]opposition to it. So it threw it down to the ground and trampled on it, and there was none to deliver the ram from its [al]power. 8 Then the male goat magnified itself exceedingly. But as soon as (BE)it was mighty, the (BF)large horn was broken; and in its place there came up four conspicuous horns toward the (BG)four winds of [am]heaven.
The Small Horn
9 And out of one of them came forth a rather (BH)small horn. And it grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the [an](BI)Beautiful Land. 10 Then it grew up to the host of heaven and caused some of the host and some of the (BJ)stars to fall to the earth, and it (BK)trampled them down. 11 And it even (BL)magnified itself [ao]to be equal with the [ap]Commander of the host; and it removed the (BM)regular sacrifice from Him, and the place of His sanctuary was thrown down. 12 And on account of transgression the host will be given over to the horn along with the regular sacrifice; and it will (BN)throw truth down to the ground and do its will and succeed. 13 Then I heard a (BO)holy one speaking, and another holy one said to that particular one who was speaking, “(BP)How long will the vision about the regular sacrifice apply, [aq]while the transgression causes desolation, so as to allow both the holy place and the host [ar]to be (BQ)trampled?” 14 He said to me, “For (BR)2,300 evenings and mornings; then the holy place will be [as]made righteous.”
Daniel Seeks to Understand the Vision
15 Now it happened when (BS)I, Daniel, had seen the vision, that I sought [at]to understand it; and behold, standing before me was one [au]who had the appearance of a (BT)man. 16 And I heard the voice of a man between the banks of Ulai, and he called out and said, “(BU)Gabriel, give this man an understanding of what has appeared.” 17 So he came near to where I was standing, and when he came I was terrified and (BV)fell on my face; but he said to me, “Son of man, understand that the vision pertains to the (BW)time of the end.”
18 Now while he was talking with me, I (BX)sank into a deep sleep with my face to the ground; but he (BY)touched me and made me stand [av]upright. 19 Then he said, “Behold, I am going to (BZ)let you know what will happen at the final period of the indignation, for it pertains to the appointed time of the end. 20 The (CA)ram which you saw with the two horns is the kings of Media and Persia. 21 Now the shaggy [aw]goat is the [ax]king of Greece, and the large horn that is between his eyes is the first king. 22 And the (CB)broken horn and the four horns that stood in its place are four kingdoms which will take their stand from his nation, although not with his power.
23 In the latter period of their [ay]reign,
When the transgressors have [az]run their course,
A king will stand,
[ba]Insolent and skilled in [bb]intrigue.
24 His power will be mighty, but not by his own power,
And he will [bc](CC)destroy to an [bd]astonishing degree
And succeed and do his will;
He will [be]destroy mighty men and [bf]the holy people.
25 And through his insight
He will cause deceit to succeed by his hand;
And he will magnify himself in his heart,
And he will [bg]destroy many while they are [bh]at ease.
He will even (CD)stand against the Prince of princes,
But he will be broken (CE)without hands.
26 And what had appeared about the evenings and mornings
Which has been told is (CF)true;
But as for you, (CG)conceal the vision,
For it pertains to many (CH)days in the future.”
27 Then I, Daniel, was [bi](CI)exhausted and sick for days. Then I rose up again and (CJ)did the king’s work; but I was appalled at what had appeared, and there was none to make me understand it.
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