Old/New Testament
Daniel sees another vision
8 In the third year that King Belshazzar ruled Babylonia, I, Daniel, had another vision. That was after the vision that I had seen before.[a]
2 In this vision, I saw that I was in the strong city of Susa, in Elam region. I was standing near the Ulai river.[b] 3 I looked up and I saw a male sheep that had two long horns. It was standing beside the river. One of its horns was longer than the other one. The longer horn came up later than the shorter horn. 4 The sheep ran towards the west, the north and the south. He used his horns to push away all other animals. No other animal could stop him. Nobody could save them from his power. He did whatever he wanted to do. He boasted about his great strength.
5 While I was thinking about this, I saw a male goat that was coming from the west. It ran quickly across the earth. Its feet did not even touch the ground. The goat had a large horn between its eyes. 6 It came towards the male sheep that had two horns. I had seen that sheep as it stood beside the river. The goat was very angry. It ran to attack the sheep with all its strength. 7 I saw it as it attacked the sheep. It was so angry that it hit the sheep very hard. It broke off the sheep's two horns. The sheep had no power to stop the goat. The goat knocked the sheep down to the ground and it stamped on the sheep. Nobody could save the sheep from the power of the goat.
8 The male goat boasted even more about its power. Its large horn became very strong. But then the horn broke. Four other large horns came up in its place. Each of these horns pointed in a different direction. 9 Then a little horn grew out of one of these large horns. It grew to become very big. Its power reached towards the south, towards the east and towards the Beautiful Land.[c] 10 Its power became so great that it reached up into heaven. It attacked heaven's army and the stars in the sky. It threw some of them down to the ground and it stamped on them. 11 It boasted that it was more powerful than the Captain of heaven's army. It stopped people from offering their sacrifices to God each day. It destroyed God's temple. 12 God's people accepted the rule of the horn, because they had turned against God. They offered their sacrifices to the horn, instead of to God. The horn stopped people from believing the truth. It was able to do everything that it wanted to do.
13 Then I heard two angels as they talked to each other. One angel asked, ‘How long will the things in this vision continue to happen? How long will this disgusting thing stop the sacrifices each day? How long will it stand against God and stamp on his temple and his army?’ 14 The other angel answered, ‘It will continue for 2,300 evenings and mornings. After that, God's temple will be clean again.’
An angel explains Daniel's vision
15 When I, Daniel, had seen the vision, I tried to understand it. Then someone came to stand in front of me. He seemed like a man. 16 I heard a person's voice. It was coming across the Ulai river. The voice said, ‘Gabriel, help this man to understand the vision.’ 17 So Gabriel came towards me, where I was standing. I was very afraid and I fell down onto the ground. He said to me, ‘You, as a human, need to understand that the vision is about the end of time.’
18 While Gabriel spoke to me I was lying with my face on the ground. I was asleep. But he touched me and he caused me to stand up. 19 Then he said to me, ‘I will tell you what will happen at the end of time. It will be a time when God is very angry. The vision shows what will happen at the time that God has chosen. That will be the time for everything to finish.
20 You saw a male sheep with two horns. Those horns mean the kingdoms of Media and Persia. 21 The male goat means the kingdom of Greece. The large horn between its eyes means the first king of Greece. 22 When that large horn broke, four horns grew in its place. Those horns show that the nation of Greece will become four separate kingdoms. But they will not be as powerful as the first kingdom.
23 Near the end of the time when those kings rule, the people will be completely wicked. Then a proud, cruel king will appear. He will deceive people. 24 He will become very strong, but this will not be a result of his own power. He will completely destroy many things. He will be successful in everything that he does. He will destroy powerful leaders and the holy people who belong to God. 25 Because he is clever, he will completely deceive people. He will boast about his power. People will think that they are safe, but he will kill many of them. He will stand against the Ruler of all rulers. But God will destroy him, without human help.
26 This vision about the evenings and the mornings is true. I have told you what it means. But keep the vision as a secret now. It will be a long time before these things happen.’
27 After I, Daniel, saw this vision, I became very weak. I was sick for many days. Then I got up. I returned to my work to serve the king. The vision caused me to be very upset. I could not understand it.
Daniel prays for the people
9 This is what happened in the first year that Darius ruled Babylonia. He was the son of Xerxes, a descendant of the Medes.[d] He became the king of Babylonia. 2 In the first year that Darius was king, I, Daniel, was reading God's book. I read the message that the Lord had given to his prophet, Jeremiah. He told Jeremiah that Jerusalem would continue to be a heap of stones for 70 years.[e]
3 So I turned to my Lord God, to ask him for help. I prayed to him and I ate no food. I wore clothes of rough sackcloth. I put ashes on myself to show that I was upset. 4 I prayed to the Lord my God. I agreed that we were guilty and I prayed this prayer:
‘Our Lord, you are a great God and we give you honour. In your covenant, you have promised to love your people. You continue to be faithful to those people who love you and obey your commands. 5 We have done bad things that are wicked and evil. We have turned against you. We have not obeyed your laws and your teaching. 6 We did not listen to your servants, the prophets. They spoke your message to our kings, to our rulers and to our ancestors. They spoke to all the people of our nation.
7 Our Lord, you always do what is right. Today we are very ashamed. The people of Judah, Jerusalem and all Israel have not been faithful to you. You have sent our people away to many countries. Some are near and some are far away. We are all ashamed because we have turned away from you. 8 Our kings, our leaders and our ancestors have turned away from you, Lord. So we are very ashamed. 9 Our Lord God, we have turned against you. But you are kind and you forgive people. 10 We have not obeyed the Lord our God. You sent your servants, the prophets, to give us your laws. But we have not lived in the way that your laws taught us.
11 All the people of Israel have turned away from your laws. We have refused to obey you. Your servant Moses gave us your laws. He warned us about your punishments. Now you have punished us in the way that he said. We have turned away from you. 12 So you have done what you promised to do to us and to our rulers. You have caused us to have terrible trouble. You have punished Jerusalem with more trouble than has ever happened to any other city. 13 All this trouble has come to us in the way that Moses wrote in the book of your laws. But we have still not tried to please you, the Lord our God. We have not turned away from our sins. We have not learned your true teaching. 14 So you were ready to punish us with this trouble. You are always right in everything that you do. You are right to punish us because we have not obeyed you.
15 Our Lord God, you used your great power to bring your people safely out of Egypt. You are still famous today because of what you did then. We know that we have done things that are wrong and wicked. 16 Our Lord, please stop being angry with us. Stop punishing your own city, Jerusalem, your holy mountain. Because of our sins and the evil things that our ancestors did, other people insult us. All the people who live near us laugh at Jerusalem and your people. So please do what is right, as you always do.
17 Our God, please accept my prayer. Please do what I have asked for. Your temple is now a heap of stones. Please bless it again, so that people will know that you are great. 18 Listen to us, my God. Our towns have become heaps of stones. See what has happened to the city that belongs to you. We do not ask you to do this because we are righteous people. We ask you because you are very kind. 19 Lord, please listen! Lord, please forgive us. Lord, please do what we have asked you to do. My God, please do it quickly, so that people give you honour. Help your city and your people who belong to you.’
Gabriel speaks to Daniel
20 I continued to pray and tell God about our sins. I agreed that I had done wrong things, and that my people, the Israelites, had also done wrong things. I asked the Lord my God to help Jerusalem, his holy mountain. 21 While I was praying, Gabriel came towards me. He was the same man that I had seen in the first vision. He flew quickly to me at the time of the evening sacrifice. 22 He said to me, ‘Daniel, I have come to teach you, so that you can understand these things. 23 As soon as you started to pray, God sent his message. I have come to tell you the message, because you are very important to God. Listen carefully, so that you understand the meaning of your vision.
24 God has decided the time of punishment for your people and your holy city. It will continue for 70 weeks.[f] That will finish the punishment for their sins. The people will no longer turn against God. They will have paid the price for their sins. God will cause them to live for ever in a way that is right. God will show that the visions and messages of the prophets are true. The Most Holy Place will belong to God again.
25 I want you, Daniel, to understand this properly. There will be a command to build Jerusalem again. Then 7 weeks will pass, and 62 weeks will also pass. After that, a ruler that God has chosen will arrive.[g] People will build the city of Jerusalem again. It will have streets and a strong wall around it. But there will be a lot of trouble at that time. 26 After the 62 weeks have passed, people will kill the ruler that God had chosen. He will have nothing. Then a foreign ruler and his army will attack the city and the temple. He will destroy them quickly, like a flood of water. War and terrible trouble will continue until the end that God has decided.
27 The foreign ruler will make an agreement with many people. That agreement will continue for one week. In the middle of that week, he will stop the sacrifices and offerings in the temple. Instead, he will put a disgusting thing there that causes trouble. It will remain there until God finally destroys the ruler who destroys. His end will happen at the time that God has decided.’
Another angel appears to Daniel
10 In the third year that King Cyrus ruled Persia, God gave a message to Daniel.[h] (Daniel's other name was Belteshazzar.) The message was true. It was about a great war. Daniel had a vision which helped him to understand the message.
2 At that time I, Daniel, was very sad for three weeks. 3 I did not eat any special food. I ate no meat and I drank no wine. I did not put any sweet oil on my skin or my hair until the three weeks had finished.
4 On the 24th day of the first month, I was standing beside the great Tigris river. 5 I looked up. I saw a man who was wearing good linen clothes. He also wore a belt made of pure gold. 6 His body was bright like a jewel. His face shone like lightning. His eyes were like flames of fire. His arms and his feet shone like bright bronze. When he spoke, his voice was very loud, like the sound of many people's voices.
7 Only I, Daniel, saw this vision. The people who were with me did not see anything. But they became very afraid. They ran away to hide themselves. 8 So I was there alone to see this great vision. All my strength disappeared. My face became very white. I was very weak. 9 I listened to the man's voice. When I heard him, I fell down, with my face on the ground. I was completely asleep.
10 Then a hand touched me. It helped me to get up on my hands and knees. 11 The man said, ‘Daniel, God loves you very much. Listen carefully to what I say to you. Stand up now, because God has sent me to you.’ When he said this, I stood up. But my body was still shaking.
12 Then he said to me, ‘Daniel, do not be afraid. God has listened to your prayers since the time that you first turned to him. You wanted to understand about God. You put yourself under his authority. So I have come to bring the answer to your prayers. 13 But the ruler of the kingdom of Persia stood against me for 21 days. Then Michael came to help me. He is one of God's most important angels. He helped me because the ruler of Persia was keeping me there.[i] 14 Now I have come to explain what will happen to your people in the future. The vision is about a future time.’
15 While he was saying this to me, I was looking down at the ground. I could not speak. 16 Then someone who looked like a man touched my lips. I opened my mouth and I was able to speak again. So I said to the person who stood in front of me, ‘Sir, the vision makes me very afraid. My strength has disappeared. 17 I am your servant, sir. I am too weak to speak with you. It is difficult for me to breathe.’
18 The angel who looked like a man touched me again. That made me stronger. 19 He said to me, ‘Do not be afraid. God loves you very much. Have peace in your mind. Now be strong and brave!’ When he said this, I felt stronger. I said, ‘Sir, please speak to me now. You have made me strong again.’
20-21 Then the angel said to me, ‘I will tell you why I have come to you. I will explain to you what the words in the book of God's truth mean. But now I must return to fight a battle against the ruler of Persia. After I have won that battle, the ruler of Greece will appear.
Only Michael will help me. He is the angel who keeps your own people safe. Nobody else will be there to help me fight against God's enemies.
John says ‘Hello’ to Gaius
1 This letter comes from me, the leader of the believers. I am writing to you, my friend Gaius. I love you because we believe God's true message. 2 My friend, I pray that God will help you to live well. I know that you are well in your spirit. I pray that your body will also be well. 3 I was very happy when I heard news about you. Some Christian friends came here to tell me about you. They said that you are living in a good way. That is the way that God's true message tells us to live. 4 I am happy when I hear that my children are living like that. When they obey God's true message, it makes me very happy.
Continue to help people
5 My friend, you do many things to help other believers. You help them even when they are strangers to you. This shows that you are serving God well. 6 These men have spoken to the group of believers here about your love. Please continue to help them when they visit you. Give them the things that they need to continue on their journey. That will make God happy. 7 They are travelling to different places to tell people about Jesus Christ. They do not accept any gifts from those people who are not Christians. 8 Because of that, we Christians must help them with the things that they need. In this way we will be working together with them as they tell people the true message about Christ.
Diotrephes is causing problems
9 I have already written something to the group of believers. But Diotrephes refuses to accept our authority. He really wants to be the only leader among them. 10 So, when I arrive there myself, I will speak to the believers about this. I will tell them clearly about the bad things that Diotrephes is doing. He tells other people bad things about us that are not true. Even that is not enough for him. He himself refuses to welcome the believers who are visiting. He also stops anyone else who wants to welcome those visitors.[a] Instead, he sends them away from the group of believers.
Copy what good people do
11 My friend, do not copy what bad people do. Instead, you should copy the good things that people do. The person who does good things shows that he belongs to God. But anyone who does bad things does not know God.
12 All the believers say that Demetrius is a good person. He obeys God's true message. That also shows clearly that he is a good person. We also say the same thing about him. You know very well that what we say about him is true.
John finishes his letter
13 I would like to tell you many more things. But I do not want to write them in a letter. 14 Instead, I hope to come and visit you soon. Then I can see you and we can talk together.
15 I pray that God will give you peace. All your Christian friends here say ‘hello’ to you. Say ‘hello’ for me to each of my friends there, one by one.
EasyEnglish Bible Copyright © MissionAssist 2019 - Charitable Incorporated Organisation 1162807. Used by permission. All rights reserved.