Daniel’s Vision

8 ·During [In] the third year of King Belshazzar’s rule [^Cperhaps 547 bc], I, Daniel, saw another vision, ·which was like the first one [^Lafter the one that appeared to me in the beginning/previously; 7:1]. ² In this vision I saw myself in the ·capital city [or fortress city] of Susa, in the ·area [province] of Elam. I was standing by the Ulai ·Canal [or Gate] ³ when I ·looked up and [^Llifted my eyes I] saw a ·male sheep [ram] standing beside the ·canal [or gate]. It had two long horns, but one horn was longer and ·newer than the other [^Lcame up second]. ⁴ I watched the ·sheep [ram] charge to the west, the north, and the south. No animal could stand before him, and none could ·save [protect] another animal from his ·power [^Lhand]. He did whatever he ·wanted [pleased] and became very ·powerful [great; strong].

⁵ While I was ·watching this [or reflecting; pondering], I saw a male goat come from the west. This goat had ·one large horn between his eyes that was easy to see [^La horn of vision; or a conspicuous horn between its eyes]. He crossed over the whole earth without touching the ground [^Cbecause of its speed].

⁶ ·In his anger [or With angry power] the goat ·charged [^Lcame up to] the ·sheep [ram] with the two horns that I had seen standing by the ·canal [or gate]. ⁷ I watched the angry goat ·attack [approach] the ·sheep [ram] and break the ·sheep’s [ram’s] two horns. The ·sheep [ram] ·was not strong enough to stop him [^Ldid not have the power/strength to stand before him]. The goat ·knocked [threw] the ·sheep [ram] to the ground and then ·walked all over him [trampled him]. No one was able to ·save [protect] the ·sheep [ram] from ·the goat [its power/^Lhand], ⁸ so the male goat became very ·great [powerful; strong]. But when he was strong, his ·big [or conspicuous] horn broke off and four horns grew in place of the one big horn. Those four horns ·pointed in four different directions [^Lwere toward the four winds of heaven] and were ·easy to see [conspicuous].

⁹ Then ·a little horn grew from one of those four horns [^Lfrom one of them came out another horn, a little one; 7:8], and it became very ·big [great]. It grew to the south, the east, and toward the beautiful land [^CJudah; Ezek. 20:6, 15]. ¹⁰ That ·little horn [^Lit] grew ·until it reached to the sky [^Lto the hosts of heaven; ^Cthe angels and the stars]. It even threw some of the ·army of heaven [^Lhosts and the stars] to the ground and ·walked on [trampled] them! ¹¹ ·That little horn [^LIt] set itself up as equal to the prince of ·heaven’s armies [^Lthe hosts; ^CGod]. It ·stopped [abolished] the ·daily [regular] sacrifices [Ex. 29:38–41; Num. 28:3–8] that were offered to him, and the ·Temple, the place where people worshiped him, [^Lplace of the sanctuary] was ·pulled down [overthrown]. ¹² Because there was a ·turning away from God [rebellion; transgression], the people stopped the ·daily [regular] sacrifices. Truth was thrown down to the ground, and ·the horn [^Lit] was successful in everything it did.

¹³ Then I heard ·a holy angel [^Lone of the holy ones] speaking. Another ·holy angel [^Lholy one] asked the first one, “How long will the things in this vision last—the ·daily [regular] sacrifices [8:12], the ·turning away from God [rebellion; transgression] that brings ·destruction [desolation], the ·Temple [sanctuary] being pulled down, and the ·army of heaven [host] being ·walked on [trampled]?”

¹⁴ The angel said to me, “This will happen for twenty-three hundred evenings and mornings [^Ceither 2,300 or 1,150 days]. Then the ·holy place [sanctuary] will be ·repaired [restored; made right again].”

¹⁵ I, Daniel, saw this vision and ·tried to understand what it meant [^Lsought understanding]. I saw someone who looked like a man standing near me. ¹⁶ And I heard a man’s voice calling from the Ulai ·Canal [or Gate]: “Gabriel [^Can angel], explain the vision to this man.”

¹⁷ ·Gabriel [^LHe] came to where I was standing. When he came close to me, I was ·very afraid [terrified; or overwhelmed] and ·bowed facedown on the ground [^Lfell on my face]. But ·Gabriel [^Lhe] said to me, “·Human being [^LSon of man], understand that this vision is about the time of the end.”

¹⁸ While ·Gabriel [^Lhe] was speaking, I fell into a ·deep sleep [trance] with my face on the ground. Then he touched me [^Cstrengthening him] and ·lifted me to my feet [^Lmade me stand in my place]. ¹⁹ He said, “Now, I will ·explain [make known; reveal] to you what will happen in the time of anger. Your vision was about the ·set [appointed] time of the end.

²⁰ “You saw a ·male sheep [ram] with two horns, which are the kings of Media and Persia. ²¹ The male goat is the king of ·Greece [^LJavan], and the big horn between its eyes is the first king [^CAlexander the Great, who defeated Persia around 330 bc]. ²² The four horns that grew in the place of the broken horn are four kingdoms [^CAlexander died in 323 bc and his four most powerful generals carved up his empire between them]. Those four kingdoms will come from ·the nation of the first king [^Lhis nation], but ·they will not be as strong as the first king [^Lnot with his power/strength].

²³ “When the end comes near for those kingdoms, a ·bold and cruel [fierce/stern-faced] king who ·tells lies will come [^Lunderstands riddles/enigmas; ^CAntiochus Epiphanes, who terrorized the Jews in the mid-second century bc]. This will happen when ·many people have turned against God [rebellions/transgressions will reach their height]. ²⁴ ·This king will be very powerful [^LHis power will be strong], but ·his power will not come from himself [^Lnot his own power]. He will cause ·terrible [fearful] destruction and will be successful in everything he does. He will destroy powerful people and even ·God’s holy people [^Lthe people of the holy ones]. ²⁵ This king will succeed by using ·lies and force [^Lthe deceit in his hand/power]. He will ·think that he is very important [^Lbe great in his heart]. He will destroy many people ·without warning [or with ease]; he will ·try to fight [^Lstand against] even the Prince of princes! But ·that cruel king [^Lhe] will be ·destroyed [^Lbroken], and not by human ·power [^Lhand].

²⁶ “The vision that has been shown to you about these evenings and mornings is true. But seal up the vision, because ·those things won’t happen for a long time [^Lit concerns many days from now].”

²⁷ I, Daniel, became very weak and was sick for ·several days after that vision [^Lsome days]. Then I got up and went back to work for the king, but I was very ·upset [dismayed; perplexed] about the vision. I didn’t understand what it meant.