Daniel 8–12

8TH CHAPTER

Daniel’s Vision about the Ram and the Goat

¹In Belshazzar’s third year as king, I, Daniel, saw a vision. This vision came after the one I saw earlier. ²In my vision I saw myself in the fortress of Susa in the province of Elam. In my vision I saw myself at Ulai Gate. ³I looked up and saw a single ram standing beside the gate. The ram had two long horns, one longer than the other, though the longer one had grown up later. ⁴I saw the ram charging west, north, and south. No other animal could stand in front of it, and no one could escape from its power. It did anything it pleased and continued to grow. 

⁵As I was watching closely, I saw a male goat coming from the west. It crossed the whole earth without touching it. This goat had a prominent horn between its eyes. ⁶The goat was coming toward the two-horned ram that I had seen standing beside the gate. It furiously ran at the ram. ⁷I saw it come closer to the ram. The goat was extremely angry with the ram, so it attacked the ram. It broke both of the ram’s horns. The ram didn’t have the strength to stand up against the goat. So the ram was thrown down on the ground and trampled. No one could rescue the ram from the goat’s power. 

⁸The male goat became very important. But when the goat became powerful, his large horn broke off. In its place grew four horns. They corresponded to the four winds of heaven. ⁹Out of one of the horns came a small horn. It gained power over the south, the east, and the beautiful land. ¹⁰It continued to gain power until it reached the army of heaven. It threw some of the army of heaven, the stars, down on the ground and trampled them. ¹¹Then it attacked the commander of the army so that it took the daily burnt offering from him and wrecked his holy place. ¹²In its rebelliousness it was given an army to put a stop to the daily burnt offering. It threw truth on the ground. The horn was successful in everything it did. 

¹³Then I heard a holy one speaking. Another holy one said to the one who was speaking, “How long will the things in this vision—the daily burnt offering, the destructive rebellion, the surrender of the holy place, and the trampling of the army—take place?” 

¹⁴He told me, “For 2,300 evenings and mornings. Then the holy place will be made acceptable to God.” 

¹⁵Now as I, Daniel, watched the vision and tried to understand it, I saw someone who looked like a man standing in front of me. ¹⁶I heard a man in Ulai ⸤Gate⸥ call loudly, “Gabriel, explain the vision to this man.” 

¹⁷Gabriel came up beside me, and when he came, I was terrified and immediately knelt down. 

He said to me, “Son of man, understand that the vision is about the end times.” ¹⁸As he spoke to me, I fainted facedown on the ground, but he touched me and made me stand up. ¹⁹He said, “I will tell you what will happen in the last days, ⸤the time of God’s⸥ anger, because the end time has been determined. 

²⁰“The two-horned ram that you saw represents the kingdoms of Media and Persia. ²¹The hairy male goat is the kingdom of Greece, and the large horn between its eyes is its first king. ²²The horn broke off, and four horns replaced it. Four kingdoms will come out of that nation, but they won’t be as strong as the first king was. 

²³“In the last days of those kingdoms, when rebellions are finished, a stern-looking king who understands mysterious things will rise to power. ²⁴He will become very strong, but not by his own strength. He will cause astounding destruction and will be successful in everything he does. He will destroy those who are powerful along with some holy people. ²⁵He will cleverly use his power to deceive others successfully. He will consider himself to be great and destroy many people when they don’t expect it. He will oppose the Commander of Commanders, but he will be defeated, though not by any human power. ²⁶The vision about the ⸤2,300⸥ evenings and mornings that was explained to you is true. Seal the vision, because it is about things that will happen in the distant future.” 

²⁷I, Daniel, was exhausted and sick for days. Then I got up and worked for the king. The vision horrified me because I couldn’t understand it. 

9TH CHAPTER

Daniel’s Prayer about Jerusalem Is Answered

¹Xerxes’ son Darius, who was a Mede by birth, was made ruler of the kingdom of Babylon. ²In the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, learned from the Scriptures the number of years that Jerusalem would remain in ruins. The Lord had told the prophet Jeremiah that Jerusalem would remain in ruins for 70 years. ³So I turned to the Lord God and looked to him for help. I prayed, pleaded, and fasted in sackcloth and ashes. 

⁴I prayed to the Lord my God. I confessed and said, “Lord, you are great and deserve respect as the only God. You keep your promise^aand show mercy to those who love you and obey your commandments. ⁵We have sinned, done wrong, acted wickedly, rebelled, and turned away from your commandments and laws. ⁶We haven’t listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, leaders, ancestors, and all the common people. ⁷You, Lord, are righteous. But we—the men of Judah, the citizens of Jerusalem, and all the Israelites whom you scattered in countries near and far—are still ashamed because we have been unfaithful to you. ⁸We, our kings, leaders, and ancestors are ashamed because we have sinned against you, Lord. 

⁹“But you, Lord our God, are compassionate and forgiving, although we have rebelled against you. ¹⁰We never listened to you or lived by the teachings you gave us through your servants the prophets. ¹¹All Israel has ignored your teachings and refused to listen to you. So you brought on us the curses you swore in an oath, the curses written in the Teachings of your servant Moses. We sinned against you. ¹²So you did what you said you would do to us and our rulers by bringing a great disaster on us. Nowhere in the world has anything ever happened like what has happened to Jerusalem. ¹³This entire disaster happened to us, exactly as it was written in Moses’ Teachings. Lord our God, we never tried to gain your favor by turning from our wrongs and dedicating ourselves to your truth. ¹⁴So you were prepared to bring this disaster on us. Lord our God, you are righteous in everything you do. But we never listened to you. 

¹⁵“Lord our God, you brought your people out of Egypt with your strong hand and made yourself famous even today. We have sinned and done evil things. ¹⁶Lord, since you are very righteous, turn your anger and fury away from your city, Jerusalem, your holy mountain. Jerusalem and your people are insulted by everyone around us because of our sins and the wicked things our ancestors did. 

¹⁷“Our God, listen to my prayer and request. For your own sake, Lord, look favorably on your holy place, which is lying in ruins. ¹⁸Open your ears and listen, my God. Open your eyes and look at our ruins and at the city called by your name. We are not requesting this from you because we are righteous, but because you are very compassionate. ¹⁹Listen to us, Lord. Forgive us, Lord. Pay attention, and act. Don’t delay! Do this for your sake, my God, because your city and your people are called by your name.” 

²⁰I continued to pray, confessing my sins and the sins of my people Israel. I humbly placed my request about my God’s holy mountain in front of the Lord my God. ²¹While I was praying, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the first vision, came to me about the time of the evening sacrifice. He was exhausted. ²²He informed me, “Daniel, this time I have come to give you insight. ²³As soon as you began to make your request, a reply was sent. I have come to give you the reply because you are highly respected. So study the message, and understand the vision. 

²⁴“Seventy sets of seven time periods have been assigned for your people and your holy city. These time periods will serve to bring an end to rebellion, to stop sin, to forgive wrongs, to usher in everlasting righteousness, to put a seal on a prophet’s vision, and to anoint the Most Holy One. ²⁵Learn, then, and understand that from the time the command is given to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the anointed prince comes, seven sets of seven time periods and sixty-two sets of seven time periods will pass. Jerusalem will be restored and rebuilt with a city square and a moat during the troubles of those times. ²⁶But after the sixty-two sets of seven time periods, the Anointed One^bwill be cut off and have nothing. The city and the holy place will be destroyed with the prince who is to come.^cHis end will come with a flood until the end of the destructive war that has been determined. ²⁷He will confirm his promise with many for one set of seven time periods. In the middle of the seven time periods, he will stop the sacrifices and food offerings. This will happen along with disgusting things that cause destruction until ⸤those time periods⸥ come to an end. It has been determined that this will happen to those who destroy ⸤the city⸥.” 

10TH CHAPTER

An Angel Comes to Daniel with a Message

¹In Cyrus’ third year as king of Persia, a message was revealed to Daniel (who had been renamed Belteshazzar). The message was true. It was about a great war. Daniel understood the message because he was given insight during the vision. 

²During those days I, Daniel, mourned for three whole weeks. ³I didn’t eat any good-tasting food. No meat or wine entered my mouth. I didn’t wash myself until the entire three weeks were over. 

⁴On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, I was by the great Tigris River. ⁵When I looked up, I saw a man dressed in linen, and he had a belt made of gold from Uphaz around his waist. ⁶His body was like beryl. His face looked like lightning. His eyes were like flaming torches. His arms and legs looked like polished bronze. When he spoke, his voice sounded like the roar of a crowd. ⁷I, Daniel, was the only one who saw the vision. The men with me didn’t see the…