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Daniel 8
1599 Geneva Bible

8 A vision of a battle between a ram and a goat: 20 The understanding of the vision.

1 In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar, a vision appeared unto me, even unto me Daniel, [a]after that which appeared unto me at the first.

2 And I saw in a vision, and when I saw it, I was in the palace of Shushan, which is in the province [b]of Elam, and in a vision me thought I was by the river of Ulai.

3 Then I looked up and saw, and behold, there stood before the river a [c]ram which had two horns, and these two horns were high: but one was [d]higher than another, and the highest came up last.

4 I saw the ram pushing against the West, and against the North, and against the South: so that no [e]beasts might stand before him, nor could deliver out of his hand, but he did what he listed, and became great.

5 And as I considered, behold, [f]a goat came from the West over the whole earth, and touched not the ground: and this goat had an [g]horn that appeared between his eyes.

6 And he came unto the ram that had the two horns, whom I had seen standing by the river, and ran unto him in his fierce rage.

7 And I saw him come unto the ram, and being moved against him, he [h]smote the ram, and brake his two horns: and there was no power in the ram to stand against him, but he cast him down to the ground, and stamped upon him, and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his power.

8 Therefore the goat waxed exceeding great, and when he was at the strongest, his great [i]horn was broken: and for it came up four that [j]appeared toward the four winds of the heaven.

9 And out of one of them came forth a [k]little horn, which waxed very great toward the [l]South, and toward the [m]East, and toward the [n]pleasant land.

10 Yea, it grew up unto the [o]host of heaven, and it cast down some of the host, and of the stars to the ground, and trode upon them,

11 And extolled himself against the [p]prince of the host, from whom the [q]daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his Sanctuary was cast down.

12 And [r]a time shall be given him over the daily sacrifice for the iniquity: and it shall [s]cast down the truth to the ground, and thus shall it do, and prosper.

13 Then I heard one of the [t]Saints speaking, and one of the Saints spake unto a certain one, saying, How long shall endure the vision of the daily sacrifice, and the iniquity of the [u]desolation to tread both the Sanctuary and the [v]army underfoot?

14 And [w]he answered me, Unto the [x]evening and the morning, two thousand and three hundred: then shall the Sanctuary be cleansed.

15 ¶ Now when I Daniel had seen the vision, and sought for the meaning, behold, there stood before me [y]like the similitude of a man.

16 And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, [z]make this man to understand the vision.

17 So he came where I stood: and when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face: but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man: for [aa]in the last time shall be the vision.

18 Now as he was speaking unto me, I being asleep fell on my face to the ground: but he touched me, and set me up in my place.

19 And he said, Behold, I will show thee what shall be in the last [ab]wrath: for in the end of the time appointed it shall come.

20 The ram which thou sawest having two horns, are the Kings of the Medes and Persians.

21 And the goat is the King of Greece, and the great horn that is between his eyes, is the first king.

22 And that that is broken, and four stood up for it, are four kingdoms, which shall stand up [ac]of that nation, but not [ad]in his strength.

23 And in the end of their kingdom, when the rebellious shall be consumed, a King of [ae]fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up.

24 And his power shall be mighty, but not [af]in his strength: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practice, and shall destroy the [ag]mighty, and the holy people.

25 And through his [ah]policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand, and he shall extol himself in his heart, and by [ai]peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the [aj]prince of princes, but he shall be broken down [ak]without hand.

26 And the vision of the [al]evening and the morning, which is declared, is true: therefore seal thou up the vision, for it shall be after many days.

27 And I Daniel was stricken and sick [am]certain days: but when I rose up, I did the king’s business, and I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it.

Footnotes

  1. Daniel 8:1 After the general vision, he cometh to certain particular visions as touching the destruction of the Monarchy of the Persians, and Macedonians: for the ruin of the Babylonians was at hand, and also he had sufficiently spoken thereof.
  2. Daniel 8:2 That is, of Persia.
  3. Daniel 8:3 Which represented the kingdom of the Persians and Medes, which were joined together.
  4. Daniel 8:3 Meaning, Cyrus, which after grew greater in power than Darius his uncle and father-in-law.
  5. Daniel 8:4 That is, no kings or nations.
  6. Daniel 8:5 Meaning, Alexander that came from Greece with great speed and expedition.
  7. Daniel 8:5 Though he came in the name of all Greece, yet he bore the title and dignity of the general captain, so that the strength was attributed to him, which is meant by this horn.
  8. Daniel 8:7 Alexander overcame Darius in two sundry battles, and so had the two kingdoms of the Medes and Persians.
  9. Daniel 8:8 Alexander’s great power was broken: for when he had overcome all the East, he thought to return toward Greece to subdue them that had rebelled, and so died by the way.
  10. Daniel 8:8 That is, which were famous: for almost in the space of fifteen years there were fifteen divers successors before this monarchy was divided to these four, whereof Cassander had Macedonia, Seleucus Syria, Antigonus Asia the less, and Ptolemy Egypt.
  11. Daniel 8:9 Which was Antiochus Epiphanes, who was of a servile and flattering nature, and also there were others between him and the kingdom, and therefore is here called the little horn, because neither princely conditions, nor any other thing was in him, why he should obtain this kingdom.
  12. Daniel 8:9 That is, toward Egypt.
  13. Daniel 8:9 Whereby he meaneth Ptolemeus.
  14. Daniel 8:9 That is, Judea.
  15. Daniel 8:10 Antiochus raged against the elect of God, and trode his precious stars under feet, which are so called, because they are separated from the world.
  16. Daniel 8:11 That is, God, who governeth and maintaineth his Church.
  17. Daniel 8:11 He labored to abolish all religion, and therefore cast God’s service out of his Temple, which God had chosen as a little corner from all the rest of the world to have his Name there truly called upon.
  18. Daniel 8:12 He showeth that their sins are the cause of these horrible afflictions: and yet comforteth them, in that he appointeth this tyrant a time, whom he would not suffer utterly to abolish his religion.
  19. Daniel 8:12 This horn shall abolish for a time the true doctrine, and so corrupt God’s service.
  20. Daniel 8:13 Meaning, that he heard one of the Angels asking this question of Christ, whom he called a certain one, or a secret one, or a marvelous one.
  21. Daniel 8:13 That is, the Jews’ sins, which were cause of his destruction.
  22. Daniel 8:13 That is, which suppresseth God’s religion, and his people.
  23. Daniel 8:14 Christ answered me for the comfort of the Church.
  24. Daniel 8:14 That is, until so many natural days be past, which make 6 years, 3 months and an half: for so long under Antiochus was the Temple profaned.
  25. Daniel 8:15 Which was Christ who in this manner declared himself to the old fathers, how he would be God manifest in flesh.
  26. Daniel 8:16 This power to command the Angel, declared that he was God.
  27. Daniel 8:17 The effect of this vision shall not yet appear, but a long time after.
  28. Daniel 8:19 Meaning, that great rage which Antiochus should show against the Church.
  29. Daniel 8:22 That is, out of Greece.
  30. Daniel 8:22 They shall not have like power as had Alexander.
  31. Daniel 8:23 Noting that this Antiochus was impudent and cruel, and also crafty that he could not be deceived.
  32. Daniel 8:24 That is, not like Alexander’s strength.
  33. Daniel 8:24 Both the Gentiles that dwelt about him, and also the Jews.
  34. Daniel 8:25 Whatsoever he goeth about by his craft, he shall bring it to pass.
  35. Daniel 8:25 That is, under pretence of peace, or as it were in sport.
  36. Daniel 8:25 Meaning, against God.
  37. Daniel 8:25 For God would destroy him with a notable plague, and so comfort his Church.
  38. Daniel 8:26 Read verse 14.
  39. Daniel 8:27 For fear and astonishment.
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Daniel 8
New International Version

Daniel’s Vision of a Ram and a Goat

8 In the third year of King Belshazzar’s(A) reign, I, Daniel, had a vision,(B) after the one that had already appeared to me. 2 In my vision I saw myself in the citadel of Susa(C) in the province of Elam;(D) in the vision I was beside the Ulai Canal. 3 I looked up,(E) and there before me was a ram(F) 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. 4 I 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.(G) It did as it pleased(H) and became great.

5 As 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. 6 It came toward the two-horned ram I had seen standing beside the canal and charged at it in great rage. 7 I 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,(I) and none could rescue the ram from its power.(J) 8 The goat became very great, but at the height of its power the large horn was broken off,(K) and in its place four prominent horns grew up toward the four winds of heaven.(L)

9 Out of one of them came another horn, which started small(M) but grew in power to the south and to the east and toward the Beautiful Land.(N) 10 It grew until it reached(O) the host of the heavens, and it threw some of the starry host down to the earth(P) and trampled(Q) on them. 11 It set itself up to be as great as the commander(R) of the army of the Lord;(S) it took away the daily sacrifice(T) from the Lord, and his sanctuary was thrown down.(U) 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.(V)

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

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

The Interpretation of the Vision

15 While I, Daniel, was watching the vision(AA) and trying to understand it, there before me stood one who looked like a man.(AB) 16 And I heard a man’s voice from the Ulai(AC) calling, “Gabriel,(AD) tell this man the meaning of the vision.”(AE)

17 As he came near the place where I was standing, I was terrified and fell prostrate.(AF) “Son of man,”[b] he said to me, “understand that the vision concerns the time of the end.”(AG)

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

19 He said: “I am going to tell you what will happen later in the time of wrath,(AJ) because the vision concerns the appointed time(AK) of the end.[c](AL) 20 The two-horned ram that you saw represents the kings of Media and Persia.(AM) 21 The shaggy goat is the king of Greece,(AN) and the large horn between its eyes is the first king.(AO) 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. 24 He 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.(AP) 25 He will cause deceit(AQ) 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.(AR) Yet he will be destroyed, but not by human power.(AS)

26 “The vision of the evenings and mornings that has been given you is true,(AT) but seal(AU) up the vision, for it concerns the distant future.”(AV)

27 I, Daniel, was worn out. I lay exhausted(AW) for several days. Then I got up and went about the king’s business.(AX) I was appalled(AY) by the vision; it was beyond understanding.

Footnotes

  1. Daniel 8:12 Or rebellion, the armies
  2. Daniel 8:17 The Hebrew phrase ben adam means human being. The phrase son of man is retained as a form of address here because of its possible association with “Son of Man” in the New Testament.
  3. Daniel 8:19 Or because the end will be at the appointed time
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1599 Geneva Bible (GNV)

Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.

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