Old/New Testament

Daniel Has a Vision About a Ram and a Goat

8 It was the third year of King Belshazzar’s rule. After the vision that had already appeared to me, I had another one. ² In my vision I saw myself in the city of Susa. It has high walls around it. It is in the land of Elam. In the vision I was beside the Ulai Canal. ³ I looked up and saw a ram that had two horns. It was standing beside the canal. Its horns were long. One of them was longer than the other. But that horn grew up later. ⁴ I watched the ram as it charged toward the west. It also charged toward the north and the south. No animal could stand up against it. Not one of them could save anyone from its power. It did as it pleased. And it became great.

⁵ I was thinking about all of this. Then a goat suddenly came from the west. It had a large horn between its eyes. The goat raced across the whole earth without even touching the ground. ⁶ It came toward the ram that had the two horns. It was the ram I had seen standing beside the canal. The goat was very angry. It charged at the ram. ⁷ I saw it attack the ram with mighty force. It struck the ram and broke the ram’s two horns. The ram didn’t have the power to stand up against it. The goat knocked the ram to the ground and stomped on it. No one could save the ram from the goat’s power. ⁸ The goat became very great. But when its power was at its greatest, the goat’s large horn was broken off. In its place four large horns grew up toward the four winds of heaven.

⁹ Out of one of the four horns came another horn. It was small at first but became more and more powerful. It grew to the south and to the east and toward the beautiful land of Israel. ¹⁰ It grew until it reached the stars in the sky. It threw some of them down to the earth. And it stomped on them. ¹¹ It set itself up to be as great as the commander of the Lord’s army. It took away the daily sacrifices from the Lord. And his temple in Jerusalem was thrown down. ¹² Because many of the Lord’s people refused to obey him, they were handed over to the horn. The daily sacrifices were also given over to it. The horn was successful no matter what it did. And true worship of God was thrown down to the ground.

¹³ Then I heard a holy angel speaking. Another holy angel spoke to him. He asked, “How long will it take for the vision to come true? When will the daily sacrifices be stopped? When will those who refuse to obey God be destroyed? When will the temple be handed over to an enemy? And when will some of the Lord’s people be stomped on?”

¹⁴ One of the holy angels said to me, “It will take 2,300 evenings and mornings. Then the temple will be made holy again.”

Gabriel Tells Daniel What His Vision Means

¹⁵ I was having the vision. And I was trying to understand it. Then I saw someone who looked like a man. ¹⁶ I heard a voice from the Ulai Canal. It called out, “Gabriel, tell Daniel what his vision means.”

¹⁷ Gabriel came close to where I was standing. I was terrified and fell down flat with my face toward the ground. Here is what he said to me. “Son of man, I want you to understand the vision. It’s about the time of the end.”

¹⁸ While he was speaking to me, I was sound asleep. I lay with my face on the ground. Then he touched me. He raised me to my feet.

¹⁹ He said, “I am going to tell you what will happen later. It will take place when God is angry. The vision is about the appointed time of the end. ²⁰ You saw a ram that had two horns. It stands for the kings of Media and Persia. ²¹ The goat stands for the king of Greece. The large horn between its eyes is the first king. ²² Four horns took the horn’s place when it was broken off. They stand for four kingdoms that will come from his nation. But those kingdoms will not be as powerful as his.

²³ “Toward the end of their rule, those who refuse to obey God will become completely evil. Then another king will appear. He will have a scary-looking face. He will be a master at making clever plans. ²⁴ He will become very strong. But he will not get that way by his own power. People will be amazed at the way he destroys everything. He will be successful no matter what he does. He will destroy mighty people. Those mighty people are God’s holy people. ²⁵ He will tell lies in order to succeed. He will think he is more important than anyone else. When people feel safe, he will destroy many of them. He will stand up against the greatest Prince of all. Then he will be destroyed. But he will not be killed by human beings.

²⁶ “The vision of the evenings and mornings that has been given to you is true. But seal up the vision. It is about a time far off.”

²⁷ I, Daniel, was worn out. I was too tired to get up for several days. Then I got up and returned to my work for the king. The vision bewildered me. I couldn’t understand it.

Daniel Prays to the Lord

9 It was the first year that Darius was king of Babylon. He was from Media and was the son of Xerxes. ² In that year I learned from the Scriptures that Jerusalem would remain destroyed for 70 years. That was what the Lord had told Jeremiah the prophet. ³ So I prayed to the Lord God. I begged him. I made many appeals to him. I didn’t eat anything. I put on the rough clothing people wear when they’re sad. And I sat down in ashes.

⁴ I prayed to the Lord my God. I admitted that we had sinned. I said,

“Lord, you are a great and wonderful God. You keep the covenant you made with all those who love you and obey your commandments. You show them your love. ⁵ We have sinned and done what is wrong. We have been evil. We have refused to obey you. We have turned away from your commands and laws. ⁶ We haven’t listened to your servants the prophets. They spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our people of long ago. They also brought your message to all our people in the land.

⁷ “Lord, you always do what is right. But we are covered with shame today. We are the people of Judah and Jerusalem. All of us are Israelites, no matter where we live. We are now living in many countries. You scattered us among the nations because we weren’t faithful to you. ⁸ Lord, we are covered with shame. So are our kings and princes, and our people of long ago. We have sinned against you. ⁹ You are the Lord our God. You show us your tender love. You forgive us. But we have turned against you. ¹⁰ You are the Lord our God. But we haven’t obeyed you. We haven’t kept the laws you gave us through your servants the prophets. ¹¹ All the people of Israel have broken your law and turned away from it. They have refused to obey you.

“Curses and warnings are written down in the Law of Moses. He was your servant. Those curses have been poured out on us. That’s because we have sinned against you. ¹² The warnings you gave us and our rulers have come true. You have brought great trouble on us. Nothing like what has been done to Jerusalem has ever happened anywhere else on earth. ¹³ The curses that are written in the Law of Moses have fallen on us. We have received nothing but trouble. You are the Lord our God. But we haven’t asked for your favor. We haven’t turned away from our sins. We’ve refused to pay attention to the laws you gave us. ¹⁴ Lord, you didn’t hold back from bringing this trouble on us. You always do what is right. But we haven’t obeyed you.

¹⁵ “Lord our God, you used your mighty hand to bring your people out of Egypt. You made a name for yourself. It is still great to this day. But we have sinned. We’ve done what is wrong. ¹⁶ Lord, you saved your people before. So turn your great anger away from Jerusalem again. After all, it is your city. It’s your holy mountain. You have made those who live around us think little of Jerusalem and your people. That’s because we have sinned. Our people before us did evil things too.

¹⁷ “Our God, hear my prayers. Pay attention to the appeals I make to you. Lord, have mercy on your temple that has been destroyed. Do it for your own honor. ¹⁸ Our God, please listen to us. The city that belongs to you has been destroyed. Open your eyes and see it. We aren’t asking you to answer our prayers because we are godly. Instead, we’re asking you to do it because you love us so much. ¹⁹ Lord, please listen! Lord, please forgive us! Lord, hear our prayers! Take action for your own honor. Our God, please don’t wait. Your city and your people belong to you.”

Gabriel Tells Daniel About Seventy “Weeks”

²⁰ I was speaking and praying. I was admitting that I and my people Israel had sinned. I was making my appeal to the Lord my God. My appeal was about his holy mountain of Zion. ²¹ While I was still praying, Gabriel came to me. I had seen him in my earlier vision. He flew over to me very quickly. It was about the time when the evening sacrifice is offered. ²² He helped me understand. He said, “Daniel, I have come now to help you know and understand these things. ²³ You are highly respected. So as soon as you began to pray, the Lord gave you a message. I have come to tell you what it is. Here is how you must understand the vision.

²⁴ “The Lord has appointed 70 ‘weeks’ for your people and your holy city. During that time, acts against God’s law will be stopped. Sin will come to an end. And the evil things people do will be paid for. Then everyone will always do what is right. Everything that has been made known in visions and prophecies will come true. And the Most Holy Room in the temple will be anointed.

²⁵ “Here is what I want you to know and understand. There will be seven ‘weeks.’ Then there will be 62 ‘weeks.’ The seven ‘weeks’ will begin when an order is given to rebuild Jerusalem and make it like new again. At the end of the 62 ‘weeks,’ the Anointed King will come. Jerusalem will have streets and a water system when it is rebuilt. But that will be done in times of trouble. ²⁶ After the 62 ‘weeks,’ the Anointed King will be put to death. His followers will desert him. And everything he has will be taken away from him. The army of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the temple. The end will come like a flood. War will continue until the end. The Lord has ordered that many places be destroyed. ²⁷ A covenant will be put into effect with many people for one ‘week.’ In the middle of the ‘week’ sacrifices and offerings will come to an end. And at the temple a hated thing that destroys will be set up. It will remain until that ruler who will come is destroyed. Then he will experience what the Lord has ordered.”

Daniel Has a Vision About What Will Happen to Israel

10 It was the third year that Cyrus, the king of Persia, ruled over Babylon. At that time I was living in Babylon. There the people called me Belteshazzar. A message from God came to me. It was true. It was about a great war. I had a vision that showed me what it meant.

² At that time I was very sad for three weeks. ³ I didn’t eat any rich food. No meat or wine touched my lips. I didn’t use any lotions at all until the three weeks were over.

⁴ I was standing on the bank of the great Tigris River. It was the 24th day of the first month. ⁵ I looked up and saw a man dressed in linen clothes. He had a belt around his waist. It was made out of fine gold from Uphaz. ⁶ His body gleamed like topaz. His face shone like lightning. His eyes were like flaming torches. His arms and legs were as bright as polished bronze. And his voice was like the sound of a large crowd.

⁷ I was the only one who saw the vision. The people who were there with me didn’t see it. But they were so terrified that they ran and hid. ⁸ So I was left alone as I was watching this great vision. I felt very weak. My face turned as pale as death. And I was helpless. ⁹ Then I heard the man speak. As I listened to him, I fell sound asleep. My face was toward the ground.

¹⁰ A hand touched me. It pulled me up on my hands and knees. I began to tremble with fear. ¹¹ The man said, “Daniel, you are highly respected. Think carefully about what I am going to say to you. And stand up. God has sent me to you.” When he said that, I trembled as I stood up.

¹² He continued, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. You decided to get more understanding. You made yourself humble as you worshiped your God. Since the first day you did those things, your words were heard. I have come to give you an answer. ¹³ But the prince of Persia opposed me for 21 days. Then Michael came to help me. He is one of the leaders of the angels. He helped me win the battle over the king of Persia. ¹⁴ Now I have come to explain the vision to you. I will tell you what will happen to your people. The vision shows what will take place in days to come.”

¹⁵ While he was telling me these things, I bowed with my face toward the ground. I wasn’t able to speak. ¹⁶ Then someone who looked like a man touched my lips. I opened my mouth. I began to speak to the one who was standing in front of me. I said, “My master, I’m greatly troubled because of the vision I’ve seen. And I feel very weak. ¹⁷ How can I talk with you? My strength is gone. In fact, I can hardly breathe.”

¹⁸ The one who looked like a man touched me again. He gave me strength. ¹⁹ “Do not be afraid,” he said. “You are highly respected. May peace be with you! Be strong now. Be strong.”

When he spoke to me, I became stronger. I said, “Speak, my master. You have given me strength.”

²⁰ So he said, “Do you know why I have come to you? Soon I will return to fight against the prince of Persia. When I go, the prince of Greece will come. ²¹ But first I will tell you what is written in the Book of Truth. No one gives me any help against those princes except Michael. He is your leader.

¹ I, the elder, am writing this letter.

I am sending it to you, my dear friend Gaius. I love you because of the truth.

² Dear friend, I know that your spiritual life is going well. I pray that you also may enjoy good health. And I pray that everything else may go well with you. ³ Some believers came to me and told me that you are faithful to the truth. They told me that you continue to live by it. This news gave me great joy. ⁴ I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are living by the truth.

⁵ Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers and sisters. You are faithful even though they are strangers to you. ⁶ They have told the church about your love. Please help them by sending them on their way in a manner that honors God. ⁷ They started on their journey to serve Jesus Christ. They didn’t receive any help from those who aren’t believers. ⁸ So we should welcome people like them. We should work together with them for the truth.

⁹ I wrote to the church. But Diotrephes will not welcome us. He loves to be the first in everything. ¹⁰ So when I come, I will point out what he is doing. He is saying evil things that aren’t true about us. Even this doesn’t satisfy him. So he refuses to welcome other believers. He also keeps others from welcoming them. In fact, he throws them out of the church.

¹¹ Dear friend, don’t be like those who do evil. Be like those who do good. Anyone who does what is good belongs to God. Anyone who does what is evil hasn’t really seen or known God. ¹² Everyone says good things about Demetrius. He lives in keeping with the truth. We also say good things about him. And you know that what we say is true.

¹³ I have a lot to write to you. But I don’t want to write with pen and ink. ¹⁴ I hope I can see you soon. Then we can talk face to face.

¹⁵ May you have peace.

The friends here send their greetings. Greet each one of the friends there.