Daniel 7-8

Daniel 7

¹In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel hath seen a dream, and the visions of his head on his bed, then the dream he hath written, the chief of the things he hath said.

²Answered hath Daniel and said, ‘I was seeing in my vision by night, and lo, the four winds of the heavens are coming forth to the great sea;

³and four great beasts are coming up from the sea, diverse one from another.

⁴The first is like a lion, and it hath an eagle's wings. I was seeing till that its wings have been plucked, and it hath been lifted up from the earth, and on feet as a man it hath been caused to stand, and a heart of man is given to it.

⁵And lo, another beast, a second, like to a bear, and to the same authority it hath been raised, and three ribs are in its mouth, between its teeth, and thus they are saying to it, Rise, consume much flesh.

⁶‘After this I was seeing, and lo, another like a leopard, and it hath four wings of a fowl on its back, and four heads hath the beast, and dominion is given to it.

⁷‘After this I was seeing in the visions of the night, and lo, a fourth beast, terrible and fearful, and exceedingly strong; and it hath iron teeth very great, it hath consumed, yea, it doth break small, and the remnant with its feet it hath trampled; and it is diverse from all the beasts that are before it; and it hath ten horns.

⁸‘I was considering about the horns, and lo, another horn, a little one, hath come up between them, and three of the first horns have been eradicated from before it, and lo, eyes as the eyes of man are in this horn, and a mouth speaking great things.

⁹‘I was seeing till that thrones have been thrown down, and the Ancient of Days is seated, His garment as snow is white, and the hair of his head is as pure wool, His throne flames of fire, its wheels burning fire.

¹⁰A flood of fire is proceeding and coming forth from before Him, a thousand thousands do serve Him, and a myriad of myriads before Him do rise up, the Judge is seated, and the books have been opened.

¹¹‘I was seeing, then, because of the voice of the great words that the horn is speaking, I was seeing till that the beast is slain, and his body hath been destroyed, and given to the burning fire;

¹²and the rest of the beasts have caused their dominion to pass away, and a prolongation in life is given to them, till a season and a time.

¹³‘I was seeing in the visions of the night, and lo, with the clouds of the heavens as a son of man was one coming, and unto the Ancient of Days he hath come, and before Him they have brought him near.

¹⁴And to him is given dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, and all peoples, nations, and languages do serve him, his dominion is a dominion age-during, that passeth not away, and his kingdom that which is not destroyed.

¹⁵‘Pierced hath been my spirit -- I, Daniel -- in the midst of the sheath, and the visions of my head trouble me;

¹⁶I have drawn near unto one of those standing, and the certainty I seek from him of all this; and he hath said to me, yea, the interpretation of the things he hath caused me to know:

¹⁷‘These great beasts, that are four, are four kings, they rise up from the earth;

¹⁸and receive the kingdom do the saints of the Most High, and they strengthen the kingdom unto the age, even unto the age of the ages.

¹⁹‘Then I wished for certainty concerning the fourth beast, that was diverse from them all, fearful exceedingly; its teeth of iron, and its nails of brass, it hath devoured, it doth break small, and the remnant with its feet it hath trampled;

²⁰and concerning the ten horns that are in its heads, and of the other that came up, and before which three have fallen, even of that horn that hath eyes, and a mouth speaking great things, and whose appearance is great above its companions.

²¹‘I was seeing, and this horn is making war with the saints, and hath prevailed over them,

²²till that the Ancient of Days hath come, and judgment is given to the saints of the Most High, and the time hath come, and the saints have strengthened the kingdom.

²³‘Thus he said: The fourth beast is the fourth kingdom in the earth, that is diverse from all kingdoms, and it consumeth all the earth, and treadeth it down, and breaketh it small.

²⁴And the ten horns out of the kingdom are ten kings, they rise, and another doth rise after them, and it is diverse from the former, and three kings it humbleth;

²⁵and words as an adversary of the Most High it doth speak, and the saints of the Most High it doth wear out, and it hopeth to change seasons and law; and they are given into its hand, till a time, and times, and a division of a time.

²⁶‘And the Judge is seated, and its dominion they cause to pass away, to cut off, and to destroy -- unto the end;

²⁷and the kingdom, and the dominion, even the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heavens, is given to the people -- the saints of the Most High, His kingdom is a kingdom age-during, and all dominions do serve and obey Him.

²⁸‘Hitherto is the end of the matter. I, Daniel, greatly do my thoughts trouble me, and my countenance is changed on me, and the matter in my heart I have kept.

Daniel 8

¹‘In the third year of the reign of Belshazzar the king, a vision hath appeared unto me -- I Daniel -- after that which had appeared unto me at the beginning.

²And I see in a vision, and it cometh to pass, in my seeing, and I am in Shushan the palace that is in Elam the province, and I see in a vision, and I have been by the stream Ulai.

³And I lift up mine eyes, and look, and lo, a certain ram is standing before the stream, and it hath two horns, and the two horns are high; and the one is higher than the other, and the high one is coming up last.

⁴I have seen the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward, and no living creatures do stand before it, and there is none delivering out of its hand, and it hath done according to its pleasure, and hath exerted itself.

⁵‘And I have been considering, and lo, a young he-goat hath come from the west, over the face of the whole earth, whom none is touching in the earth; as to the young he-goat, a conspicuous horn is between its eyes.

⁶And it cometh unto the ram possessing the two horns, that I had seen standing before the stream, and runneth unto it in the fury of its power.

⁷And I have seen it coming near the ram, and it becometh embittered at it, and smiteth the ram, and breaketh its two horns, and there hath been no power in the ram to stand before it, and it casteth it to the earth, and trampleth it down, and there hath been no deliverer to the ram out of its power.

⁸‘And the young he-goat hath exerted itself very much, and when it is strong, broken hath been the great horn; and come up doth a vision of four in its place, at the four winds of the heavens.

⁹And from the one of them come forth hath a little horn, and it exerteth itself greatly toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the beauteous land;

¹⁰yea, it exerteth unto the host of the heavens, and causeth to fall to the earth of the host, and of the stars, and trampleth them down.

¹¹And unto the prince of the host it exerteth itself, and by it taken away hath been the continual sacrifice, and thrown down the base of his sanctuary.

¹²And the host is given up, with the continual sacrifice, through transgression, and it throweth down truth to the earth, and it hath worked, and prospered.

¹³‘And I hear a certain holy one speaking, and a certain holy one saith to the wonderful numberer who is speaking: Till when is the vision of the continual sacrifice, and of the transgression, an astonishment, to make both sanctuary and host a treading down?

¹⁴And he saith unto me, Till evening -- morning two thousand and three hundred, then is the holy place declared right.

¹⁵‘And it cometh to pass in my seeing -- I, Daniel -- the vision, that I require understanding, and lo, standing over-against me is as the appearance of a mighty one.

¹⁶And I hear a voice of man between the banks of Ulai, and he calleth and saith: Gabriel, cause this one to understand the appearance.

¹⁷And he cometh in near my station, and at his coming in I have been afraid, and I fall on my face, and he saith unto me: Understand, son of man, for at the time of the end is the vision.

¹⁸And in his speaking with me, I have been in a trance on my face, on the earth; and he cometh against me, and causeth me to stand on my station,

¹⁹and saith: Lo, I -- I am causing thee to know that which is in the latter end of the indignation; for, at the appointed time is the end.

²⁰‘The ram that thou hast seen possessing two horns, are the kings of Media and Persia.

²¹And the young he-goat, the hairy one, is the king of Javan; and the great horn that is between its eyes is the first king;

²²and that being broken, stand up do four in its place, four kingdoms from the nation do stand up, and not in its power.

²³‘And in the latter end of their kingdom, about the perfecting of the transgressors, stand up doth a king, fierce of face, and understanding hidden things;

²⁴and his power hath been mighty, and not by his own power; and wonderful things he destroyeth, and he hath prospered, and wrought, and destroyed mighty ones, and the people of the Holy Ones.

²⁵‘And by his understanding he hath also caused deceit to prosper in his hand, and in his heart he exerteth himself, and by ease he destroyeth many; and against the prince of princes he standeth -- and without hand he is broken.

²⁶And the appearance of the evening and of the morning, that is told, is true; and thou, hide thou the vision, for it is after many days.'

²⁷And I, Daniel, have been, yea, I became sick for days, and I rise, and do the king's work, and am astonished at the appearance, and there is none understanding.