Daniel 7–9

Daniel’s Vision of Four Beasts and the Son of Man

7In the first year of Belshazzar the king of Babylon, Daniel saw a dream and visions^a of his head as he lay on his bed; then he wrote down the dream and the summary^b of the words as follows:^{c 2}Daniel explained^d and said, “I was looking in my vision in the night, and look, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. ³And four great beasts were coming up from the sea, differing from one another.^{e 4}The first was like a lion and had^f the wings of an eagle. I was watching until its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the earth and it was raised on its feet like a human, and a human heart was given to it. ⁵And look, another beast, a second one, looking like a bear. And it was raised up on one side and three tusks^g were in its mouth between its teeth, and so it was told,^h “Arise, eat much flesh!” ⁶After this I was watching and look, another beast like a leopard; it had four wingsⁱ of a bird on its back, and the beast had^j four heads, and dominion was given to it. ⁷After this in the visions of the night I was looking and there was a fourth beast, terrifying and frightful and exceedingly strong, and it had^k great iron teeth,^l and it was devouring and crushing, and it stamped the remainder^m with its feet; and it was different from all the other beasts that preceded itⁿ and it had ten horns.^{o 8}I was considering the horns, and look, another little horn came up among^p them, and three of the earlier horns were rooted out^q from before it, and there were eyes like the eyes of a human^r in this horn and also a mouth that was speaking boastfully.

⁹“I continued watching^s until thrones were placed and an Ancient of Days sat; his clothing was like white snow and the hair of his head was like pure wool and his throne was a flame^t of fire and its wheels^u were burning fire. ¹⁰A stream of fire issued forth and flowed from his presence;^v thousands upon thousands served him and ten thousand upon ten thousand stood before him. The judge sat, and the books were opened.

¹¹“I continued watching^w then^x because of the noise of the boastful words of the horn who was speaking; I continued watching^y until the beast was slain and its body was destroyed, and it was given over to burning with fire. ¹²And as for the remainder of the beasts, their dominion was taken away,^z but a prolongation of their life^a was given to them for a season and a time.

¹³“I continued watching^b in the visions of the night, and look, with the clouds of heaven one like a son of man^c was coming, and he came to the Ancient of Days, and was presented^d before him. ¹⁴And to him was given dominion and glory and kingship that^e all the peoples, the nations, and languages would serve him; his dominion is a dominion without end^f that will not cease, and his kingdom is one that will not be destroyed.

Daniel Explains and Interprets the Vision

¹⁵“As for me, Daniel,^g my spirit was troubled within me,^h and the visions of my head terrified me. ¹⁶So I approached one of the attendants and I asked himⁱ about the truth concerning all this; and he told me^j that he would make known to me the explanation of the matter. ¹⁷‘These great beasts which are four in number are four kings who will arise from the earth. ¹⁸But the holy ones^k of the Most High will receive the kingdom, and they will take possession of the kingdom forever, forever and ever.’^l

¹⁹“Then I desired to make certain concerning the fourth beast that was different from all the others^m—exceedingly terrifying, with its iron teeth and its claws of bronze; it devoured and crushed and stamped the remainder with its feet—²⁰and concerning the horns that were on its head, and concerning the other horn that came up and before which three horns fell,ⁿ and this horn had eyes^o and a mouth speaking boastfully,^p and its appearance was larger than its companions. ²¹I continued watching,^q and this horn made war with the holy ones^r and it prevailed over them, ²²until the Ancient of Days came and gave judgment to the holy ones^s of the Most High; and the time arrived and the holy ones^t took possession of the kingdom.

²³“And he said, ‘The fourth beast is the fourth kingdom that will be on the earth that will be different from all the other kingdoms, and it will devour the whole earth and it will trample it and it will crush it. ²⁴And as for the ten horns coming from it, from this kingdom^u ten kings will arise, and another will arise after them. And he will be different from the earlier ones, and he will subdue three kings. ²⁵And he will speak words against the Most High, and he will wear out the holy ones^v of the Most High, and he will attempt to change times and law, and they will be given into his hand for a time and two times and half a time. ²⁶Then the court will sit, and his dominion will be removed,^w to be eradicated and to be destroyed totally.^{x 27}And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the nation of the holy ones^y of the Most High; his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,^z and all the dominions will serve and obey him.’

²⁸This is the end of the account.^a As for me, Daniel^b—my thoughts terrified me greatly and my face changed over me, but I kept the matter in my heart.”^c

The Vision of a Small Horn that Oppresses Israel and Threatens the Temple

8In the third year of the kingdom of Belshazzar the king, a vision appeared to me, Daniel,^a after the one that appeared to me previously.^{b 2}And I saw in the vision, and when I saw,^c I was in Susa, the citadel that was in the province of Elam. And I saw in the vision, and I myself^d was at the stream of Ulai.^{e 3}And I lifted up my eyes and I saw, and look! A ram^f standing before^g the stream, and it had^h two horns, and the horns were long, but the one was longer than the second, and the longer one came up after the other one.^{i 4}I saw the ram charging westward and northward and southward, and none of the beasts stood before it,^j and there was no rescuing from its power,^k and it did what it wanted^l and it became strong.^m

⁵And I was considering this, and look, a he-goat coming from the west across the face of the whole earth, and it was not touching the ground;ⁿ and the he-goat had a conspicuous horn^o between its eyes. ⁶Then it came toward the ram that had the two horns^p that I saw standing before^q the stream, and it ran at it with^r the rage of its power. ⁷And I saw it approaching the ram and it was furious at it, and it struck the ram, and it broke its two horns, and there was not strength in the ram to stand before him,^s and he threw it down to the ground and trampled it, and there was no one who could rescue the ram^t from its power. ⁸And the he-goat grew exceedingly great,^u and at the height of its power^v the great horn was broken, and four conspicuous horns^w came up in place of it toward the four winds of heaven.

⁹And from one of them^x came forth a horn, a little one,^y and it grew exceedingly^z toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the beautiful land. ¹⁰And it grew up to the host of heaven, and it threw down to the ground some of the host and some of the stars and trampled them. ¹¹Even against the prince of the hosts it acted arrogantly and took away from him the regular burnt offering, and the place of his sanctuary was overthrown. ¹²And on account of transgression, the host was given over to the horn in addition to the regular burnt offering. And it cast down truth to the ground, and it acted,^a and it had success.

¹³And I heard a certain holy one speaking, and a certain other holy one said to the specific one who was speaking,^b “For how long^c is the vision concerning the regular burnt offering, and the transgression that makes desolate, and the giving over of the sanctuary and the host to trampling?” ¹⁴And he said to me, “For two thousand three hundred evenings and mornings, then the sanctuary will be restored.”

Gabriel Gives Angelic Help and Interprets the Vision

¹⁵And then^d when I, Daniel, saw the vision, and I was seeking understanding, there was one standing before me with the appearance of a man. ¹⁶And I heard the voice of a human at the Ulai, and he called and said, “Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.” ¹⁷And he came beside where I was standing,^e and when he came^f I became terrified and I fell prostrate on my face. And he said to me, “Understand, son of man,^g that the vision is for the time of the end.”

¹⁸And when he spoke^h with me I fell into a trance with my face to the ground, and he touched me and made me stand on my feet. ¹⁹And he said, “Look, I am making known to you what will happen in the period of wrath,ⁱ for it refers to the appointed time of the end.

²⁰“The ram that you saw who had two horns^j represents the kings of Media and Persia.

²¹“And the hairy he-goat is the kingdom^k of Greece, and the great horn that is between his eyes—he is the first king. ²²And the horn that was broken, and then there arose four horns in place of it—these are four kingdoms that will arise from his nation, but not with his power. ²³And at the end of their kingdom, when the transgressions are completed, a king will arise, fierce in countenance and skilled in riddles. ²⁴And his power will grow, but not by his own power, and he will cause fearful destruction, and he will succeed and he will act,^l and he will destroy the mighty and the people of the holy ones.^{m 25}And by his planningⁿ he will make a success of deceit by^o his hand, and in his mind^p he will boast,^q and in their ease he will destroy many, and even against the prince of princes he will rise up, and he will be broken, but not by human hands. ²⁶And the vision of the evening and the morning that has been described,^r it is true; and you, seal up the vision, for it refers to many days to come.”^s

²⁷And I, Daniel, was overcome, and I became ill for some days, and I performed^t the business of the king, and I was dismayed over the vision and I did not…