Daniel 8:1–27

Vision of a Ram and a Goat

8In ¹the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar a vision appeared to me—to me, Daniel—after the one that appeared to me ^athe first time. ²I saw in the vision, and it so happened while I was looking, that I was in ^bShushan, ²the ³citadel, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in the vision that I was by the River Ulai. ³Then I lifted my eyes and saw, and there, standing beside the river, was a ram which had two horns, and the two horns were high; but one was ^chigher than the other, and the higher one came up last. ⁴I saw the ram pushing westward, northward, and southward, so that no animal could ⁴withstand him; nor was there any that could deliver from his hand, ^dbut he did according to his will and became great.

⁵And as I was considering, suddenly a male goat came from the west, across the surface of the whole earth, without touching the ground; and the goat had a notable ^ehorn between his eyes. ⁶Then he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing beside the river, and ran at him with furious power. ⁷And I saw him confronting the ram; he was moved with rage against him, ⁵attacked the ram, and broke his two horns. There was no power in the ram to withstand him, but he cast him down to the ground and trampled him; and there was no one that could deliver the ram from his hand.

⁸Therefore the male goat grew very great; but when he became strong, the large horn was broken, and in place of it ^ffour notable ones came up toward the four winds of heaven. ^9gAnd out of one of them came a little horn which grew exceedingly great toward the south, ^htoward the east, and toward the ⁱGlorious Land. ^10jAnd it grew up to ^kthe host of heaven; and ^lit cast down some of the host and some of the stars to the ground, and trampled them. ^11mHe even exalted himself as high as ⁿthe Prince of the host; ^oand by him ^pthe daily sacrifices were taken away, and the place of ⁶His sanctuary was cast down. ¹²Because of transgression, ^qan army was given over to the horn to oppose the daily sacrifices; and he cast ^rtruth down to the ground. He ^sdid all this and prospered.

¹³Then I heard ^ta holy one speaking; and another holy one said to that certain one who was speaking, “How long will the vision be, concerning the daily sacrifices and the transgression ⁷of desolation, the giving of both the sanctuary and the host to be trampled underfoot?”

¹⁴And he said to me, “For two thousand three hundred ⁸days; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.”

Gabriel Interprets the Vision

¹⁵Then it happened, when I, Daniel, had seen the vision and ^uwas seeking the meaning, that suddenly there stood before me ^vone having the appearance of a man. ¹⁶And I heard a man’s voice ^wbetween the banks of the Ulai, who called, and said, ^x“Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.” ¹⁷So he came near where I stood, and when he came I was afraid and ^yfell on my face; but he said to me, “Understand, son of man, that the vision refers to the time of the end.”

^18zNow, as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep with my face to the ground; ^abut he touched me, and stood me upright. ¹⁹And he said, “Look, I am making known to you what shall happen in the latter time of the indignation; ^bfor at the appointed time the end shall be. ²⁰The ram which you saw, having the two horns—they are the kings of Media and Persia. ²¹And the ⁹male goat is the ¹kingdom of Greece. The large horn that is between its eyes ^cis the first king. ^22dAs for the broken horn and the four that stood up in its place, four kingdoms shall arise out of that nation, but not with its power.

²³“And in the latter time of their kingdom,

When the transgressors have reached their fullness,

A king shall arise,

^eHaving fierce ²features,

Who understands sinister schemes.

²⁴His power shall be mighty, ^fbut not by his own power;

He shall destroy ³fearfully,

^gAnd shall prosper and thrive;

^hHe shall destroy the mighty, and also the holy people.

²⁵“Through ⁱhis cunning

He shall cause deceit to prosper under his ⁴rule;

^jAnd he shall exalt himself in his heart.

He shall destroy many in their prosperity.

^kHe shall even rise against the Prince of princes;

But he shall be ^lbroken without human means.

²⁶“And the vision of the evenings and mornings

Which was told is true;

^mTherefore seal up the vision,

For it refers to many days in the future.”

²⁷ⁿAnd I, Daniel, fainted and was sick for days; afterward I arose and went about the king’s business. I was ⁵astonished by the vision, but no one understood it.