Vision of a Ram and a Goat

8 In 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. 2 I 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. 3 Then 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. 4 I 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.

5 And 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. 6 Then he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing beside the river, and ran at him with furious power. 7 And 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.

8 Therefore 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. 9 gAnd out of one of them came a little horn which grew exceedingly great toward the south, htoward the east, and toward the iGlorious Land. 10 jAnd 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. 11 mHe 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. 12 Because 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.

13 Then 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?”

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

Gabriel Interprets the Vision

15 Then 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. 16 And I heard a man’s voice wbetween the banks of the Ulai, who called, and said, x“Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.” 17 So 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.”

18 zNow, 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. 19 And 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. 20 The ram which you saw, having the two horns—they are the kings of Media and Persia. 21 And the 9male goat is the 1kingdom of Greece. The large horn that is between its eyes cis the first king. 22 dAs 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.

24 His 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 4means.

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.”

27 nAnd 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.

Daniel’s Prayer for the People

9 In the first year aof Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the lineage of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans—2 in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the Lord through bJeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.

3 cThen I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. 4 And I prayed to the Lord my God, and made confession, and said, “O dLord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments, 5 ewe have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments. 6 fNeither have we heeded Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings and our princes, to our fathers and all the people of the land. 7 O Lord, grighteousness belongs to You, but to us shame of face, as it is this day—to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those near and those far off in all the countries to which You have driven them, because of the unfaithfulness which they have committed against You.

8 “O Lord, to us belongs shame of face, to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, because we have sinned against You. 9 hTo the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against Him. 10 We have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in His laws, which He set before us by His servants the prophets. 11 Yes, iall Israel has transgressed Your law, and has departed so as not to obey Your voice; therefore the curse and the oath written in the jLaw of Moses the servant of God have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against Him. 12 And He has kconfirmed His words, which He spoke against us and against our judges who judged us, by bringing upon us a great disaster; lfor under the whole heaven such has never been done as what has been done to Jerusalem.

13 m“As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us; nyet we have not made our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities and understand Your truth. 14 Therefore the Lord has okept the disaster in mind, and brought it upon us; for pthe Lord our God is righteous in all the works which He does, though we have not obeyed His voice. 15 And now, O Lord our God, qwho brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and made Yourself ra name, as it is this day—we have sinned, we have done wickedly!

16 “O Lord, saccording to all Your righteousness, I pray, let Your anger and Your fury be turned away from Your city Jerusalem, tYour holy mountain; because for our sins, uand for the iniquities of our fathers, vJerusalem and Your people ware a reproach to all those around us. 17 Now therefore, our God, hear the prayer of Your servant, and his supplications, xand yfor the Lord’s sake 1cause Your face to shine on 2Your sanctuary, zwhich is desolate. 18 aO my God, incline Your ear and hear; open Your eyes band see our desolations, and the city cwhich is called by Your name; for we do not present our supplications before You because of our righteous deeds, but because of Your great mercies. 19 O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and act! Do not delay for Your own sake, my God, for Your city and Your people are called by Your name.”

The Seventy-Weeks Prophecy

20 Now while I was speaking, praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God, 21 yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man dGabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, 3being caused to fly swiftly, reached me about the time of the evening offering. 22 And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, “O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand. 23 At the beginning of your supplications the 4command went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly ebeloved; therefore fconsider the matter, and understand the vision:

24 “Seventy 5weeks are determined

For your people and for your holy city,

To finish the transgression,

6To make an end of sins,

gTo make reconciliation for iniquity,

hTo bring in everlasting righteousness,

To seal up vision and prophecy,

iAnd to anoint 7the Most Holy.

25 “Know therefore and understand,

That from the going forth of the command

To restore and build Jerusalem

Until jMessiah kthe Prince,

There shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks;

The 8street shall be built again, and the 9wall,

Even in troublesome times.

26 “And after the sixty-two weeks

lMessiah shall 1be cut off, mbut not for Himself;

And nthe people of the prince who is to come

oShall destroy the city and the sanctuary.

The end of it shall be with a flood,

And till the end of the war desolations are determined.

27 Then he shall confirm pa 2covenant with qmany for one week;

But in the middle of the week

He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.

And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate,

rEven until the consummation, which is determined,

Is poured out on the 3desolate.”

Vision of the Glorious Man

10 In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a message was revealed to Daniel, whose aname was called Belteshazzar. The message was true, 1but the appointed time was long; and he understood the message, and had understanding of the vision. 2 In those days I, Daniel, was mourning three full weeks. 3 I ate no 2pleasant food, no meat or wine came into my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.

4 Now on the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, that is, the 3Tigris, 5 I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, a certain man clothed in blinen, whose waist was cgirded with gold of Uphaz! 6 His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like torches of fire, his arms and feet like burnished bronze in color, dand the sound of his words like the voice of a multitude.

7 And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, for the men who were with me did not see the vision; but a great terror fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves. 8 Therefore I was left alone when I saw this great vision, and no strength remained in me; for my 4vigor was turned to 5frailty in me, and I retained no strength. 9 Yet I heard the sound of his words; and while I heard the sound of his words I was in a deep sleep on my face, with my face to the ground.