Daniel 7

Vision of the Four Beasts

7In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, ^aDaniel ¹had a dream and ^bvisions of his head while on his bed. Then he wrote down the dream, telling ²the main facts.

²Daniel spoke, saying, “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the Great Sea. ³And four great beasts ^ccame up from the sea, each different from the other. ⁴The first was ^dlike a lion, and had eagle’s wings. I watched till its wings were plucked off; and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man, and a ^eman’s heart was given to it.

^5f“And suddenly another beast, a second, like a bear. It was raised up on one side, and had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. And they said thus to it: ‘Arise, devour much flesh!’

⁶“After this I looked, and there was another, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird. The beast also had ^gfour heads, and dominion was given to it.

⁷“After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, ^ha fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, ⁱand it had ten horns. ⁸I was considering the horns, and ^jthere was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes ^kof a man, ^land a mouth speaking ³pompous words.

Vision of the Ancient of Days

⁹“I ^mwatched till thrones were ⁴put in place,

And ⁿthe Ancient of Days was seated;

^oHis garment was white as snow,

And the hair of His head was like pure wool.

His throne was a fiery flame,

^pIts wheels a burning fire;

^10qA fiery stream issued

And came forth from before Him.

^rA thousand thousands ministered to Him;

Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him.

^sThe ⁵court was seated,

And the books were opened.

¹¹“I watched then because of the sound of the ⁶pompous words which the horn was speaking; ^tI watched till the beast was slain, and its body destroyed and given to the burning flame. ¹²As for the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away, yet their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.

¹³“I was watching in the night visions,

And behold, ^uOne like the Son of Man,

Coming with the clouds of heaven!

He came to the Ancient of Days,

And they brought Him near before Him.

^14vThen to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom,

That all ^wpeoples, nations, and languages should serve Him.

His dominion is ^xan everlasting dominion,

Which shall not pass away,

And His kingdom the one

Which shall not be destroyed.

Daniel’s Visions Interpreted

¹⁵“I, Daniel, was grieved in my spirit ⁷within my body, and the visions of my head troubled me. ¹⁶I came near to one of those who stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of these things: ¹⁷‘Those great beasts, which are four, are four ⁸kings which arise out of the earth. ¹⁸But ^ythe saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever.’

¹⁹“Then I wished to know the truth about the fourth beast, which was different from all the others, exceedingly dreadful, with its teeth of iron and its nails of bronze, which devoured, broke in pieces, and trampled the residue with its feet; ²⁰and the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn which came up, before which three fell, namely, that horn which had eyes and a mouth which spoke ⁹pompous words, whose appearance was greater than his fellows.

²¹“I was watching; ^zand the same horn was making war against the saints, and prevailing against them, ²²until the Ancient of Days came, ^aand a judgment was made in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom.

²³“Thus he said:

‘The fourth beast shall be

^bA fourth kingdom on earth,

Which shall be different from all other kingdoms,

And shall devour the whole earth,

Trample it and break it in pieces.

^24cThe ten horns are ten kings

Who shall arise from this kingdom.

And another shall rise after them;

He shall be different from the first ones,

And shall subdue three kings.

^25dHe shall speak pompous words against the Most High,

Shall ^epersecute ¹the saints of the Most High,

And shall ^fintend to change times and law.

Then ^gthe saints shall be given into his hand

^hFor a time and times and half a time.

²⁶‘But ⁱthe court shall be seated,

And they shall ^jtake away his dominion,

To consume and destroy it forever.

²⁷Then the ^kkingdom and dominion,

And the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven,

Shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High.

^lHis kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,

^mAnd all dominions shall serve and obey Him.’

²⁸“This is the end of the ²account. As for me, Daniel, ⁿmy thoughts greatly troubled me, and my countenance changed; but I ^okept the matter in my heart.”