Daniel 7–8

Daniel’s Dream of Four Beasts

7In the first year of Belshazzar^l king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and visions^m passed through his mindⁿ as he was lying in bed.^o He wrote^p down the substance of his dream.

²Daniel said: “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven^q churning up the great sea. ³Four great beasts,^r each different from the others, came up out of the sea.

⁴“The first was like a lion,^s and it had the wings of an eagle.^t I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted from the ground so that it stood on two feet like a human being, and the mind of a human was given to it.

⁵“And there before me was a second beast, which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, ‘Get up and eat your fill of flesh!’^u

⁶“After that, I looked, and there before me was another beast, one that looked like a leopard.^v And on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. This beast had four heads, and it was given authority to rule.

⁷“After that, in my vision^w at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast—terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron^x teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled^y underfoot whatever was left.^z It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns.^a

⁸“While I was thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a little^b one, which came up among them; and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a human being^c and a mouth that spoke boastfully.^d

⁹“As I looked,

“thrones were set in place,

and the Ancient of Days^e took his seat.^f

His clothing was as white as snow;^g

the hair of his head was white like wool.^h

His throne was flaming with fire,

and its wheelsⁱ were all ablaze.

¹⁰A river of fire^j was flowing,

coming out from before him.^k

Thousands upon thousands attended him;

ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.

The court was seated,

and the books^l were opened.

¹¹“Then I continued to watch because of the boastful words the horn was speaking.^m I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire.^{n 12}(The other beasts had been stripped of their authority, but were allowed to live for a period of time.)

¹³“In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man,^ao coming^p with the clouds of heaven.^q He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. ¹⁴He was given authority,^r glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him.^s His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom^t is one that will never be destroyed.^u

The Interpretation of the Dream

¹⁵“I, Daniel, was troubled in spirit, and the visions that passed through my mind disturbed me.^{v 16}I approached one of those standing there and asked him the meaning of all this.

“So he told me and gave me the interpretation^w of these things: ¹⁷‘The four great beasts are four kings that will rise from the earth. ¹⁸But the holy people^x of the Most High will receive the kingdom^y and will possess it forever—yes, for ever and ever.’^z

¹⁹“Then I wanted to know the meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others and most terrifying, with its iron teeth and bronze claws—the beast that crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. ²⁰I also wanted to know about the ten horns^a on its head and about the other horn that came up, before which three of them fell—the horn that looked more imposing than the others and that had eyes and a mouth that spoke boastfully.^{b 21}As I watched, this horn was waging war against the holy people and defeating them,^{c 22}until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgment in favor of the holy people of the Most High, and the time came when they possessed the kingdom.^d

²³“He gave me this explanation: ‘The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth. It will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it.^{e 24}The ten horns^f are ten kings who will come from this kingdom. After them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings. ²⁵He will speak against the Most High^g and oppress his holy people^h and try to change the set timesⁱ and the laws. The holy people will be delivered into his hands for a time, times and half a time.^bj

²⁶“ ‘But the court will sit, and his power will be taken away and completely destroyed^k forever. ²⁷Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of all the kingdoms^l under heaven will be handed over to the holy people^m of the Most High.ⁿ His kingdom will be an everlasting^o kingdom, and all rulers will worship^p and obey him.’

²⁸“This is the end of the matter. I, Daniel, was deeply troubled^q by my thoughts,^r and my face turned pale,^s but I kept the matter to myself.”

Daniel’s Vision of a Ram and a Goat

8In the third year of King Belshazzar’s^t reign, I, Daniel, had a vision,^u after the one that had already appeared to me. ²In my vision I saw myself in the citadel of Susa^v in the province of Elam;^w in the vision I was beside the Ulai Canal. ³I looked up,^x and there before me was a ram^y with two horns, standing beside the canal, and the horns were long. One of the horns was longer than the other but grew up later. ⁴I watched the ram as it charged toward the west and the north and the south. No animal could stand against it, and none could rescue from its power.^z It did as it pleased^a and became great.

⁵As I was thinking about this, suddenly a goat with a prominent horn between its eyes came from the west, crossing the whole earth without touching the ground. ⁶It came toward the two-horned ram I had seen standing beside the canal and charged at it in great rage. ⁷I saw it attack the ram furiously, striking the ram and shattering its two horns. The ram was powerless to stand against it; the goat knocked it to the ground and trampled on it,^b and none could rescue the ram from its power.^{c 8}The goat became very great, but at the height of its power the large horn was broken off,^d and in its place four prominent horns grew up toward the four winds of heaven.^e

⁹Out of one of them came another horn, which started small^f but grew in power to the south and to the east and toward the Beautiful Land.^{g 10}It grew until it reached^h the host of the heavens, and it threw some of the starry host down to the earthⁱ and trampled^j on them. ¹¹It set itself up to be as great as the commander^k of the army of the Lord;^l it took away the daily sacrifice^m from the Lord, and his sanctuary was thrown down.^{n 12}Because of rebellion, the Lord’s people^a and the daily sacrifice were given over to it. It prospered in everything it did, and truth was thrown to the ground.^o

¹³Then I heard a holy one^p speaking, and another holy one said to him, “How long will it take for the vision to be fulfilled^q—the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, the rebellion that causes desolation, the surrender of the sanctuary and the trampling underfoot^r of the Lord’s people?”

¹⁴He said to me, “It will take 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary will be reconsecrated.”^s

The Interpretation of the Vision

¹⁵While I, Daniel, was watching the vision^t and trying to understand it, there before me stood one who looked like a man.^{u 16}And I heard a man’s voice from the Ulai^v calling, “Gabriel,^w tell this man the meaning of the vision.”^x

¹⁷As he came near the place where I was standing, I was terrified and fell prostrate.^y “Son of man,”^b he said to me, “understand that the vision concerns the time of the end.”^z

¹⁸While he was speaking to me, I was in a deep sleep, with my face to the ground.^a Then he touched me and raised me to my feet.^b

¹⁹He said: “I am going to tell you what will happen later in the time of wrath,^c because the vision concerns the appointed time^d of the end.^{ce 20}The two-horned ram that you saw represents the kings of Media and Persia.^{f 21}The shaggy goat is the king of Greece,^g and the large horn between its eyes is the first king.^{h 22}The four horns that replaced the one that was broken off represent four kingdoms that will emerge from his nation but will not have the same power.

²³“In the latter part of their reign, when rebels have become completely wicked, a fierce-looking king, a master of intrigue, will arise. ²⁴He will become very strong, but not by his own power. He will cause astounding devastation and will succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy those who are mighty, the holy people.^{i 25}He will cause deceit^j to prosper, and he will consider himself superior. When they feel secure, he will destroy many and take his stand against the Prince of princes.^k Yet he will be destroyed, but not by human power.^l

²⁶“The vision of the evenings and mornings that has been given you is true,^m but sealⁿ up the vision, for it concerns the distant future.”^o

²⁷I, Daniel, was worn out. I lay exhausted^p for several days. Then I got up and went about the king’s business.^q I was appalled^r by the vision; it was beyond understanding.