Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

The Lord is King!^[a]

Daniel's vision about four animals and a little horn

7 In the first year that King Belshazzar ruled Babylon, Daniel had a dream.^[a] He saw visions in his head while he lay on his bed. He wrote down what he saw in the dream.

² Daniel wrote, ‘I had a vision at night. I saw the four winds of the sky. They caused big waves in the great sea. ³ Then four large animals came out of the sea. They were all different from each other.

⁴ The first animal seemed like a lion, but it had the wings of an eagle. As I watched, someone pulled its wings off. They lifted it up and it stood on two feet like a man. They gave a man's mind to it.

⁵ Then I saw a second animal. It seemed like a bear. It raised itself up on one side and it had three ribs between its teeth. Someone said to it, “Stand up and eat the meat from many bodies.”

⁶ Then I saw another animal. It seemed like a leopard, but it had four wings on its back. They were like a bird's wings. This animal had four heads. It received authority to rule.

⁷ Then, while I looked, I saw a fourth animal in my vision. It was a terrible animal that was very strong. It had large iron teeth. It ate things and it broke them into pieces. It used its feet to stamp on everything else. It was different from the other animals. It had ten horns.

⁸ I was thinking about the horns and what they might mean. Then I saw another little horn that came up among the other ten horns. It pulled out three of those other horns to make room for itself. This little horn had eyes that looked like a man's eyes. It had a mouth that spoke proud words.

Daniel learns the meaning of his vision

¹⁵ I, Daniel, had much trouble in my mind. The things that I saw in my vision frightened me. ¹⁶ So I spoke to someone who was standing near God's throne. I asked him to explain what all these things meant. He told me the meaning of my vision. ¹⁷ He said, “The four large animals are four kings. They will rule kingdoms on the earth. ¹⁸ But the holy people of the Most High God will receive authority to rule as kings. God's kingdom will belong to them for ever.”

³¹ The one who comes from above is greater than all things. A person who comes from the earth belongs to the earth. A person like that speaks only about things that belong to the earth. But the one who comes from heaven is greater than all things. ³² He tells people about the things that he has seen. He tells about what he has heard. But people do not believe his message. ³³ Anyone who does believe his message agrees that God is true. ³⁴ The one that God has sent speaks God's words. God has given his Spirit to fill that person completely. ³⁵ The Father loves the Son. He has given his Son authority over all things. ³⁶ Anyone who believes in the Son has life with God for ever. But anyone who refuses to obey the Son will never have life with God. God will continue to be angry with people like that.’