Daniel 8

⁴But as soon as he is established, his kingdom will be broken up and parceled out toward the four winds of heaven. It will not go to his descendants, nor will it have the authority with which he ruled, because his kingdom will be uprooted and given to others.

⁷Only I, Daniel, saw the vision; the men with me did not see it, but a great terror fell upon them, and they ran and hid themselves.

¹In the first year of the reign of Belshazzar over Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and visions passed through his mind as he lay on his bed. He wrote down the dream, and this is the summary of his account.

¹⁵While I, Daniel, was watching the vision and trying to understand it, there stood before me one having the appearance of a man.

¹⁵I, Daniel, was grieved in my spirit, and the visions in my mind alarmed me.

²In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for three full weeks.

²In those days King Xerxes sat on his royal throne in the citadel of Susa.

¹These are the words of Nehemiah son of Hacaliah: In the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, while I was in the citadel of Susa,

²⁵all the kings of Zimri, Elam, and Media;

¹In those days Amraphel king of Shinar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim

²⁴Elam is there with all her multitudes around her grave. All of them are slain, fallen by the sword—those who went down uncircumcised to the earth below, who once spread their terror in the land of the living. They bear their disgrace with those who descend to the Pit.

²²The sons of Shem: Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram.

²⁰The two-horned ram that you saw represents the kings of Media and Persia.

⁵I lifted up my eyes, and behold, there was a certain man dressed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist.

⁵Then the angel who was speaking with me came forward and told me, “Now lift up your eyes and see what is approaching.”

¹¹Sharpen the arrows! Fill the quivers! The Lord has aroused the spirit of the kings of the Medes, because His plan is aimed at Babylon to destroy her, for it is the vengeance of the Lord—vengeance for His temple.

²⁸who says of Cyrus, ‘My shepherd will fulfill all that I desire,’ who says of Jerusalem, ‘She will be rebuilt,’ and of the temple, ‘Let its foundation be laid.’”

¹Again I lifted up my eyes and saw before me a flying scroll.

¹⁶The invader will do as he pleases, and no one will stand against him. He will establish himself in the Beautiful Land, with destruction in his hand.

³⁶Then the king will do as he pleases and will exalt and magnify himself above every god, and he will speak monstrous things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been decreed must be accomplished.

⁷I saw him approach the ram in a rage against him, and he struck the ram and shattered his two horns. The ram was powerless to stand against him, and the goat threw him to the ground and trampled him, and no one could deliver the ram from his power.

¹This is what the Lord says to Cyrus His anointed, whose right hand I have grasped to subdue nations before him, to disarm kings, to open the doors before him, so that the gates will not be shut:

²“I will go before you and level the mountains; I will break down the gates of bronze and cut through the bars of iron.

⁸Then the remnant of Jacob will be among the nations, in the midst of many peoples, like a lion among the beasts of the forest, like a young lion among flocks of sheep, which tramples and tears as it passes through, with no one to rescue them.

¹⁹Because of the greatness that He bestowed on him, the people of every nation and language trembled in fear before him. He killed whom he wished and kept alive whom he wished; he exalted whom he wished and humbled whom he wished.

²¹The shaggy goat represents the king of Greece, and the large horn between his eyes is the first king.

⁸Thus the goat became very great, but at the height of his power, his large horn was broken off, and four prominent horns came up in its place, pointing toward the four winds of heaven.

³Then a mighty king will arise, who will rule with great authority and do as he pleases.

⁶Next, as I watched, suddenly another beast appeared. It was like a leopard, and on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. The beast also had four heads, and it was given authority to rule.

³⁹But after you, there will arise another kingdom, inferior to yours. Next, a third kingdom, one of bronze, will rule the whole earth.

³²The head of the statue was pure gold, its chest and arms were silver, its belly and thighs were bronze,

¹¹In a rage, the king of the South will march out to fight the king of the North, who will raise a large army, but it will be delivered into the hand of his enemy.

⁷After this, as I watched in my vision in the night, suddenly a fourth beast appeared, and it was terrifying—dreadful and extremely strong—with large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed; then it trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the beasts before it, and it had ten horns.

²⁰When the men of Ai turned and looked back, the smoke of the city was rising into the sky. They could not escape in any direction, and the troops who had fled to the wilderness now turned against their pursuers.

³⁷They will stumble over one another as before the sword, though no one is behind them. So you will not be able to stand against your enemies.

²Daniel declared: “In my vision in the night I looked, and suddenly the four winds of heaven were churning up the great sea.

¹After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back its four winds so that no wind would blow on land or sea or on any tree.

²⁰But when his heart became arrogant and his spirit was hardened with pride, he was deposed from his royal throne, and his glory was taken from him.

²²The four horns that replaced the broken one represent four kingdoms that will rise from that nation but will not have the same power.

⁵As I was contemplating all this, suddenly a goat with a prominent horn between his eyes came out of the west, crossing the surface of the entire earth without touching the ground.

¹⁶But when Uzziah became powerful, his arrogance led to his own destruction. He was unfaithful to the Lord his God, for he entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense.

¹⁶The invader will do as he pleases, and no one will stand against him. He will establish himself in the Beautiful Land, with destruction in his hand.

²Beautiful in loftiness, the joy of all the earth, like the peaks of Zaphon is Mount Zion, the city of the great King.

⁶On that day I swore to bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land that I had searched out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the glory of all lands.

⁸While I was contemplating the horns, suddenly another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like those of a man and a mouth that spoke words of arrogance.

¹⁵Moreover, with an uplifted hand I swore to them in the wilderness that I would not bring them into the land that I had given them—a land flowing with milk and honey, the glory of all lands—

²⁰I also wanted to know about the ten horns on its head and the other horn that came up, before which three of them fell—the horn whose appearance was more imposing than the others, with eyes and with a mouth that spoke words of arrogance.

²¹As I watched, this horn was waging war against the saints and prevailing against them,

¹³You said in your heart: “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God. I will sit on the mount of assembly, in the far reaches of the north.

⁴His tail swept a third of the stars from the sky, hurling them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, ready to devour her child as soon as she gave birth.

⁷I saw him approach the ram in a rage against him, and he struck the ram and shattered his two horns. The ram was powerless to stand against him, and the goat threw him to the ground and trampled him, and no one could deliver the ram from his power.

⁷After this, as I watched in my vision in the night, suddenly a fourth beast appeared, and it was terrifying—dreadful and extremely strong—with large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed; then it trampled underfoot whatever was left. It was different from all the beasts before it, and it had ten horns.

²⁸The king of the North will return to his land with great wealth, but his heart will be set against the holy covenant; so he will do damage and return to his own land.

³³Those with insight will instruct many, though for a time they will fall by sword or flame, or be captured or plundered.

³⁴Now when they fall, they will be granted a little help, but many will join them insincerely.

¹¹And from the time the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination of desolation set up, there will be 1,290 days.

⁵The beast was given a mouth to speak arrogant and blasphemous words, and authority to act for 42 months.

⁶And the beast opened its mouth to speak blasphemies against God and to slander His name and His tabernacle—those who dwell in heaven.

²⁵Through his craft and by his hand, he will cause deceit to prosper, and in his own mind he will make himself great. In a time of peace he will destroy many, and he will even stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be broken off, but not by human hands.

¹⁴You are also to provide with it every morning a grain offering of a sixth of an ephah with a third of a hin of oil to moisten the fine flour—a grain offering to the Lord. This is a permanent statute.

³¹His forces will rise up and desecrate the temple fortress. They will abolish the daily sacrifice and set up the abomination of desolation.

¹⁴They will make war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will triumph over them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and He will be accompanied by His called and chosen and faithful ones.”

¹Righteous are You, O Lord, when I plead before You. Yet about Your judgments I wish to contend with You: Why does the way of the wicked prosper? Why do all the faithless live at ease?

¹⁴So justice is turned away, and righteousness stands at a distance. For truth has stumbled in the public square, and honesty cannot enter.

²⁸The king of the North will return to his land with great wealth, but his heart will be set against the holy covenant; so he will do damage and return to his own land.

⁷Then the beast was permitted to wage war against the saints and to conquer them, and it was given authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation.

³¹His forces will rise up and desecrate the temple fortress. They will abolish the daily sacrifice and set up the abomination of desolation.

³²With flattery he will corrupt those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him.

¹⁰and with every wicked deception directed against those who are perishing, because they refused the love of the truth that would have saved them.

¹¹For this reason God will send them a powerful delusion so that they believe the lie,

²But exclude the courtyard outside the temple. Do not measure it, because it has been given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for 42 months.

¹⁰And they cried out in a loud voice, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge those who dwell upon the earth and avenge our blood?”

²⁷And he will confirm a covenant with many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of the temple will come the abomination that causes desolation, until the decreed destruction is poured out upon him.”

²⁴They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive into all the nations. And Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

¹³As I lay on my bed, I also saw in the visions of my mind a watcher, a holy one, coming down from heaven.

³¹His forces will rise up and desecrate the temple fortress. They will abolish the daily sacrifice and set up the abomination of desolation.

⁷And the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, raised his right hand and his left hand toward heaven, and I heard him swear by Him who lives forever, saying, “It will be for a time, and times, and half a time. When the power of the holy people has finally been shattered, all these things will be completed.”

²⁵He will speak out against the Most High and oppress the saints of the Most High, intending to change the appointed times and laws; and the saints will be given into his hand for a time, and times, and half a time.

²But exclude the courtyard outside the temple. Do not measure it, because it has been given over to the nations, and they will trample the holy city for 42 months.

³And I will empower my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.”

¹¹And from the time the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination of desolation set up, there will be 1,290 days.

²⁵In the Lord all descendants of Israel will be justified and will exult.

¹⁴But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle to fly from the presence of the serpent to her place in the wilderness, where she was nourished for a time, and times, and half a time.

¹⁶And suddenly one with the likeness of a man touched my lips, and I opened my mouth and said to the one standing before me, “My lord, because of the vision, I am overcome with anguish, and I have no strength.

¹⁸Again the one with the likeness of a man touched me and strengthened me.

¹³and among the lampstands was One like the Son of Man, dressed in a long robe, with a golden sash around His chest.

¹⁰Concerning this salvation, the prophets who foretold the grace to come to you searched and investigated carefully,

¹¹trying to determine the time and setting to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.

¹⁸Here is a call for wisdom: Let the one who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and that number is 666.

⁶For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

¹⁹“I am Gabriel,” replied the angel. “I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news.

²⁶In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to a town in Galilee called Nazareth,

²And in the vision I saw myself in the citadel of Susa, in the province of Elam. I saw in the vision that I was beside the Ulai Canal.

⁵Then I, Daniel, looked and saw two others standing there, one on this bank of the river and one on the opposite bank.

⁶One of them said to the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, “How long until the fulfillment of these wonders?”

¹⁶“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the bright Morning Star.”

¹⁴Are not the angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?

¹⁹and said, “Behold, I will make known to you what will happen in the latter time of wrath, because it concerns the appointed time of the end.

⁴But you, Daniel, shut up these words and seal the book until the time of the end. Many will roam to and fro, and knowledge will increase.”

¹³But as for you, go on your way until the end. You will rest, and then you will arise to your inheritance at the end of the days.”

³⁵Some of the wise will fall so that they may be refined, purified, and made spotless until the time of the end, for it will still come at the appointed time.

³⁶Then the king will do as he pleases and will exalt and magnify himself above every god, and he will speak monstrous things against the God of gods. He will be successful until the time of wrath is completed, for what has been decreed must be accomplished.

³For the vision awaits an appointed time; it testifies of the end and does not lie. Though it lingers, wait for it, since it will surely come and will not delay.

¹⁷When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. But He placed His right hand on me and said, “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last,

¹⁸Again the one with the likeness of a man touched me and strengthened me.

³²Meanwhile Peter and his companions were overcome by sleep, but when they awoke, they saw Jesus’ glory and the two men standing with Him.

²And as He spoke to me, the Spirit entered me and set me on my feet, and I heard Him speaking to me.

¹⁶And suddenly one with the likeness of a man touched my lips, and I opened my mouth and said to the one standing before me, “My lord, because of the vision, I am overcome with anguish, and I have no strength.

⁸So I was left alone, gazing at this great vision. No strength remained in me; my face grew deathly pale, and I was powerless.

⁹I heard the sound of his words, and as I listened, I fell into a deep sleep, with my face to the ground.

¹³In disquieting visions in the night, when deep sleep falls on men,

³For the vision awaits an appointed time; it testifies of the end and does not lie. Though it lingers, wait for it, since it will surely come and will not delay.

²⁷And the two kings, with their hearts bent on evil, will speak lies at the same table, but to no avail, for still the end will come at the appointed time.

¹⁵While I, Daniel, was watching the vision and trying to understand it, there stood before me one having the appearance of a man.

¹⁶And I heard the voice of a man calling from between the banks of the Ulai: “Gabriel, explain the vision to this man.”

¹⁷For God has put it into their hearts to carry out His purpose by uniting to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled.

¹Then I saw another great and marvelous sign in heaven: seven angels with the seven final plagues, with which the wrath of God is completed.

⁷But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he begins to sound his trumpet, the mystery of God will be fulfilled, just as He proclaimed to His servants the prophets.”

³Then I lifted up my eyes and saw a ram with two horns standing beside the canal. The horns were long, but one was longer than the other, and the longer one grew up later.

¹“And I, in the first year of Darius the Mede, stood up to strengthen and protect him.

²Now then, I will tell you the truth: Three more kings will arise in Persia, and then a fourth, who will be far richer than all the others. By the power of his wealth, he will stir up everyone against the kingdom of Greece.

³Then a mighty king will arise, who will rule with great authority and do as he pleases.

²⁰“Do you know why I have come to you?” he said. “I must return at once to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I have gone forth, behold, the prince of Greece will come.

⁵As I was contemplating all this, suddenly a goat with a prominent horn between his eyes came out of the west, crossing the surface of the entire earth without touching the ground.

⁶He came toward the two-horned ram I had seen standing beside the canal and rushed at him with furious power.

³Then I lifted up my eyes and saw a ram with two horns standing beside the canal. The horns were long, but one was longer than the other, and the longer one grew up later.

⁸Thus the goat became very great, but at the height of his power, his large horn was broken off, and four prominent horns came up in its place, pointing toward the four winds of heaven.

⁴But as soon as he is established, his kingdom will be broken up and parceled out toward the four winds of heaven. It will not go to his descendants, nor will it have the authority with which he ruled, because his kingdom will be uprooted and given to others.

¹¹Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. This beast had two horns like a lamb, but spoke like a dragon.

¹²And this beast exercised all the authority of the first beast and caused the earth and those who dwell in it to worship the first beast, whose mortal wound had been healed.

⁹The coming of the lawless one will be accompanied by the working of Satan, with every kind of power, sign, and false wonder,

¹⁰and with every wicked deception directed against those who are perishing, because they refused the love of the truth that would have saved them.

²⁰But the beast was captured along with the false prophet, who on its behalf had performed signs deceiving those who had the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. Both the beast and the false prophet were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.

⁹From one of these horns a little horn emerged and grew extensively toward the south and the east and toward the Beautiful Land.

¹⁰It grew as high as the host of heaven, and it cast down some of the host and some of the stars to the earth and trampled them.

¹Now the Spirit expressly states that in later times some will abandon the faith to follow deceitful spirits and the teachings of demons,

⁸While I was contemplating the horns, suddenly another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like those of a man and a mouth that spoke words of arrogance.

¹²And in the rebellion, the host and the daily sacrifice were given over to the horn, and it flung truth to the ground and prospered in whatever it did.

¹⁷For God has put it into their hearts to carry out His purpose by uniting to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled.

²⁵He will speak out against the Most High and oppress the saints of the Most High, intending to change the appointed times and laws; and the saints will be given into his hand for a time, and times, and half a time.

⁷And the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, raised his right hand and his left hand toward heaven, and I heard him swear by Him who lives forever, saying, “It will be for a time, and times, and half a time. When the power of the holy people has finally been shattered, all these things will be completed.”

³¹His forces will rise up and desecrate the temple fortress. They will abolish the daily sacrifice and set up the abomination of desolation.

³²With flattery he will corrupt those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him.

³One of the heads of the beast appeared to have been mortally wounded. But the mortal wound was healed, and the whole world marveled and followed the beast.

⁴They worshiped the dragon who had given authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can wage war against it?”

¹¹It magnified itself, even to the Prince of the host; it removed His daily sacrifice and overthrew the place of His sanctuary.

³²With flattery he will corrupt those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God will firmly resist him.

³³Those with insight will instruct many, though for a time they will fall by sword or flame, or be captured or plundered.

¹⁴They will make war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will triumph over them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings; and He will be accompanied by His called and chosen and faithful ones.”

²⁰They die in an instant, in the middle of the night. The people convulse and pass away; the mighty are removed without human hand.

²¹In his place a despicable person will arise; royal honors will not be given to him, but he will come in a time of peace and seize the kingdom by intrigue.

²²Then a flood of forces will be swept away before him and destroyed, along with a prince of the covenant.

¹⁹Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies assembled to wage war against the One seated on the horse, and against His army.

²⁰But the beast was captured along with the false prophet, who on its behalf had performed signs deceiving those who had the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. Both the beast and the false prophet were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.

¹In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia, a message was revealed to Daniel, who was called Belteshazzar. The message was true, and it concerned a great conflict. And the understanding of the message was given to him in a vision.

⁹“Go on your way, Daniel,” he replied, “for the words are closed up and sealed until the time of the end.

⁴But you, Daniel, shut up these words and seal the book until the time of the end. Many will roam to and fro, and knowledge will increase.”

¹⁴Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision concerns those days.”

²⁷“Son of man, take note that the house of Israel is saying, ‘The vision that he sees is for many years from now; he prophesies about the distant future.’

¹⁰Then he told me, “Do not seal up the words of prophecy in this book, because the time is near.

²⁸Thus ends the matter. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts troubled me greatly, and my face turned pale. But I kept the matter to myself.”

¹⁶I heard and trembled within; my lips quivered at the sound. Decay entered my bones; I trembled where I stood. Yet I must wait patiently for the day of distress to come upon the people who invade us.

⁴⁸Then the king promoted Daniel and gave him many generous gifts. He made him ruler over the entire province of Babylon and chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon.

⁴⁹And at Daniel’s request, the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to manage the province of Babylon, while Daniel remained in the king’s court.

²and over them three administrators, including Daniel, to whom these satraps were accountable so that the king would not suffer loss.

³Soon, by his extraordinary spirit, Daniel distinguished himself among the administrators and satraps. So the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.

¹⁶And suddenly one with the likeness of a man touched my lips, and I opened my mouth and said to the one standing before me, “My lord, because of the vision, I am overcome with anguish, and I have no strength.

¹⁴I have heard that the spirit of the gods is in you, and that you have insight, intelligence, and extraordinary wisdom.