Revised Common Lectionary (Complementary)

7 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream and visions of his head while on his bed. Then he wrote the dream and told the sum of the matters.

² Daniel spoke and said, “I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the sky broke out on the great sea. ³ Four great animals came up from the sea, different from one another.

⁴ “The first was like a lion, and had eagle’s wings. I watched until its wings were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on two feet as a man. A man’s heart was given to it.

⁵ “Behold, there was another animal, a second, like a bear. It was raised up on one side, and three ribs were in its mouth between its teeth. They said this to it: ‘Arise! Devour much flesh!’

⁶ “After this I saw, and behold, another, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird. The animal also had four heads; and dominion was given to it.

⁷ “After this I saw in the night visions, and, behold, there was a fourth animal, awesome, powerful, and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth. It devoured and broke in pieces, and stamped the residue with its feet. It was different from all the animals that were before it. It had ten horns.

⁸ “I considered the horns, and behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one, before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots; and behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking arrogantly.

¹⁵ “As for me, Daniel, my spirit was grieved within my body, and the visions of my head troubled me. ¹⁶ I came near to one of those who stood by, and asked him the truth concerning all this.

“So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things. ¹⁷ ‘These great animals, which are four, are four kings, who will arise out of the earth. ¹⁸ But the saints of the Most High will receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever.’

³¹ “He who comes from above is above all. He who is from the earth belongs to the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. ³² What he has seen and heard, of that he testifies; and no one receives his witness. ³³ He who has received his witness has set his seal to this, that God is true. ³⁴ For he whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for God gives the Spirit without measure. ³⁵ The Father loves the Son, and has given all things into his hand. ³⁶ One who believes in the Son has eternal life, but one who disobeys^[a] the Son won’t see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.”