Daniel 8-12

English Standard Version

Daniel's Vision of the Ram and the Goat

8 In the third year of the reign of ^(A)King Belshazzar a vision appeared to me, Daniel, ^(B)after that which appeared to me ^(C)at the first. ² And I saw in the vision; and when I saw, I was in ^(D)Susa the citadel, which is in the province of ^(E)Elam. And ^(F)I saw in the vision, ^(G)and I was at the ^(H)Ulai canal. ³ I raised my eyes and saw, and behold, ^(I)a ram standing on the bank of the canal. It had two horns, and both horns were high, but one was higher than the other, and the higher one came up last. ⁴ I saw ^(J)the ram charging westward and northward and southward. No ^(K)beast ^(L)could stand before him, ^(M)and there was no one who could rescue from his power. ^(N)He did as he pleased and ^(O)became great.

⁵ As I was considering, behold, a ^(P)male goat came from the west across the face of the whole earth, without touching the ground. And the goat had ^(Q)a conspicuous horn between his eyes. ⁶ He came to ^(R)the ram with the two horns, which I had seen standing on the bank of the canal, ^(S)and he ran at him in his powerful wrath. ⁷ I saw him come close to the ram, ^(T)and he was enraged against him and struck the ram and broke his two horns. ^(U)And the ram had no power to stand before him, but he ^(V)cast him down to the ground and trampled on him. And there was no one who could rescue the ram from his power. ⁸ Then ^(W)the goat ^(X)became exceedingly great, but when he was strong, the great horn was broken, and instead of it there came up four ^(Y)conspicuous horns toward ^(Z)the four winds of heaven.

⁹ Out of one of them came ^(AA)a little horn, which grew exceedingly great toward ^(AB)the south, toward the east, and toward ^(AC)the glorious land. ^10 (AD)It grew great, ^(AE)even to the host of heaven. And some of the host ^(AF)and some^[a] of ^(AG)the stars it threw down to the ground and ^(AH)trampled on them. ^11 (AI)It became great, even as great as ^(AJ)the Prince of the host. ^(AK)And the regular burnt offering was taken away from him, and the place of his sanctuary was overthrown. ¹² And a host will be given over to it together with the regular burnt offering because of transgression,^[b] and it will throw truth to the ground, and ^(AL)it will act and prosper. ¹³ Then I heard ^(AM)a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to the one who spoke, ^(AN)“For how long is the vision concerning the regular burnt offering, ^(AO)the transgression that makes desolate, and the giving over of the sanctuary and host to be trampled underfoot?” ¹⁴ And he said to me,^[c] “For 2,300 ^(AP)evenings and mornings. Then the sanctuary shall be restored to its rightful state.”

The Interpretation of the Vision

¹⁵ When I, Daniel, had seen the vision, I ^(AQ)sought to understand it. And behold, there stood before me one having ^(AR)the appearance of a man. ^16 (AS)And I heard a man's voice ^(AT)between the banks of the ^(AU)Ulai, and it called, ^(AV)“Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.” ¹⁷ So he came near where I stood. And when he came, ^(AW)I was frightened ^(AX)and fell on my face. But he said to me, “Understand, ^(AY)O son of man, that the vision is for ^(AZ)the time of the end.”

¹⁸ And when he had spoken to me, ^(BA)I fell into a deep sleep with my face to the ground. But ^(BB)he touched me and made me stand up. ¹⁹ He said, “Behold, I will make known to you what shall be at the latter end of ^(BC)the indignation, for it refers to ^(BD)the appointed time of the end. ²⁰ As for ^(BE)the ram that you saw with the two horns, these are the kings of ^(BF)Media and Persia. ²¹ And ^(BG)the goat^[d] is the king of Greece. And ^(BH)the great horn between his eyes is ^(BI)the first king. ^22 (BJ)As for the horn that was broken, in place of which four others arose, four kingdoms shall arise from his^[e] nation, ^(BK)but not with his power. ²³ And at the latter end of their kingdom, when the transgressors have reached their limit, a king of bold face, one who understands riddles, shall arise. ²⁴ His power shall be great—^(BL)but not by his own power; and he shall cause fearful destruction ^(BM)and shall succeed in what he does, ^(BN)and destroy mighty men and the people who are the saints. ^25 (BO)By his cunning he shall make deceit prosper under his hand, and in his own mind ^(BP)he shall become great. ^(BQ)Without warning he shall destroy many. And he ^(BR)shall even rise up against the Prince of princes, and he shall be broken—but ^(BS)by no human hand. ²⁶ The vision of ^(BT)the evenings and the mornings that has been told ^(BU)is true, but ^(BV)seal up the vision, ^(BW)for it refers to many days from now.”

²⁷ And ^(BX)I, Daniel, was overcome and lay sick for some days. Then I rose and went about the king's business, but I was appalled by the vision ^(BY)and did not understand it.

Daniel's Prayer for His People

9 ^(BZ)In the first year of ^(CA)Darius the son of Ahasuerus, by descent a ^(CB)Mede, who was made king over the realm of the ^(CC)Chaldeans— ² in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, perceived in the books the number of years that, according to ^(CD)the word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet, must pass before the end of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years.

³ Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by ^(CE)prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. ⁴ I prayed to the Lord my God and ^(CF)made confession, saying, ^(CG)“O Lord, the ^(CH)great and awesome God, who ^(CI)keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, ^5 (CJ)we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly ^(CK)and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules. ^6 (CL)We have not listened to ^(CM)your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to ^(CN)our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. ⁷ To you, ^(CO)O Lord, belongs righteousness, but to us open shame, as at this day, to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, ^(CP)those who are near and ^(CQ)those who are far away, in ^(CR)all the lands to which you have driven them, because of ^(CS)the treachery that they have committed against you. ⁸ To us, O Lord, belongs open shame, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because ^(CT)we have sinned against you. ^9 (CU)To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against him ^10 (CV)and have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God by walking in his laws, which he set before us by ^(CW)his servants the prophets. ^11 (CX)All Israel has transgressed your law and turned aside, ^(CY)refusing to obey your voice. ^(CZ)And the curse and oath ^(DA)that are written in the Law of ^(DB)Moses the servant of God have been poured out upon us, because ^(DC)we have sinned against him. ¹² He has confirmed his words, which he spoke against us and against ^(DD)our rulers who ruled us,^[f] by ^(DE)bringing upon us a great calamity. ^(DF)For under the whole heaven there has not been done anything like what has been done against Jerusalem. ^13 (DG)As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this calamity has come upon us; yet we have not entreated the favor of the Lord our God, ^(DH)turning from our iniquities and gaining insight by your truth. ^14 (DI)Therefore the Lord has kept ready the calamity and has brought it upon us, ^(DJ)for the Lord our God is righteous in all the works that he has done, and ^(DK)we have not obeyed his voice. ¹⁵ And now, O Lord our God, who brought your people out of the land of Egypt ^(DL)with a mighty hand, and ^(DM)have made a name for yourself, as at this day, ^(DN)we have sinned, we have done wickedly.

¹⁶ “O Lord, ^(DO)according to all your righteous acts, let your anger and your wrath turn away from your city Jerusalem, ^(DP)your holy hill, ^(DQ)because for our sins, and for ^(DR)the iniquities of our fathers, ^(DS)Jerusalem and your people have become ^(DT)a byword among all who are around us. ¹⁷ Now therefore, O our God, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his pleas for mercy, and for your own sake, O Lord,^{[g] (DU)}make your face to shine upon ^(DV)your sanctuary, which is desolate. ^18 (DW)O my God, incline your ear and hear. Open your eyes and see ^(DX)our desolations, and ^(DY)the city that is called by your name. For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy. ¹⁹ O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act. ^(DZ)Delay not, ^(EA)for your own sake, O my God, because ^(EB)your city and ^(EC)your people are called by your name.”

Gabriel Brings an Answer

^20 (ED)While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my plea before the Lord my God for ^(EE)the holy hill of my God, ²¹ while I was speaking in prayer, the man ^(EF)Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the first, ^(EG)came to me in swift flight at ^(EH)the time of the evening sacrifice. ^22 (EI)He made me understand, speaking with me and saying, “O Daniel, I have now come out to give you ^(EJ)insight and understanding. ^23 (EK)At the beginning of your pleas for mercy a word went out, ^(EL)and I have come to tell it to you, for ^(EM)you are greatly loved. Therefore consider the word ^(EN)and understand the vision.

The Seventy Weeks

^24 (EO)“Seventy weeks^[h] are decreed about your people and ^(EP)your holy city, to finish ^(EQ)the transgression, to put an end to sin, ^(ER)and to atone for iniquity, ^(ES)to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and ^(ET)to anoint a most holy place.^{[i] 25 (EU)}Know therefore and understand that ^(EV)from the going out of the word to restore and ^(EW)build Jerusalem to the coming of an ^(EX)anointed one, a ^(EY)prince, there shall be seven weeks. Then for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again^[j] with squares and moat, ^(EZ)but in a troubled time. ²⁶ And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall ^(FA)be cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come ^(FB)shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. ^(FC)Its^[k] end shall come with a flood, ^(FD)and to the end there shall be war. ^(FE)Desolations are decreed. ²⁷ And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week,^[l] and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. ^(FF)And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until ^(FG)the decreed end is poured out on the desolator.”

Daniel's Terrifying Vision of a Man

10 ^(FH)In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a word was revealed to Daniel, ^(FI)who was named Belteshazzar. And ^(FJ)the word was true, and it was a great conflict.^[m] And ^(FK)he understood the word and ^(FL)had understanding of the vision.

² In those days I, Daniel, was mourning for ^(FM)three weeks. ³ I ate no delicacies, no meat or wine entered my mouth, nor did I ^(FN)anoint myself at all, for ^(FO)the full three weeks. ⁴ On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing ^(FP)on the bank of the great river (^(FQ)that is, the Tigris) ^5 (FR)I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, ^(FS)a man clothed in linen, ^(FT)with a belt of fine ^(FU)gold from Uphaz around his waist. ⁶ His body was like ^(FV)beryl, his face ^(FW)like the appearance of lightning, ^(FX)his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and ^(FY)legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and ^(FZ)the sound of his words like the sound of a multitude. ^7 (GA)And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, for the men who were with me did not see the vision, but a great trembling fell upon them, and they fled to hide themselves. ⁸ So I was left alone and saw this great vision, and ^(GB)no strength was left in me. My radiant appearance was fearfully changed,^{[n] (GC)}and I retained no strength. ⁹ Then I heard the sound of his words, ^(GD)and as I heard the sound of his words, I fell on my face in deep sleep ^(GE)with my face to the ground.

¹⁰ And behold, ^(GF)a hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. ¹¹ And he said to me, “O Daniel, ^(GG)man greatly loved, ^(GH)understand the words that I speak to you, and ^(GI)stand upright, for ^(GJ)now I have been sent to you.” And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood up trembling. ¹² Then he said to me, ^(GK)“Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you ^(GL)set your heart to understand and ^(GM)humbled yourself before your God, ^(GN)your words have been heard, ^(GO)and I have come because of your words. ^13 (GP)The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me ^(GQ)twenty-one days, but ^(GR)Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I was left there with the kings of Persia, ^14 (GS)and came to make you understand what is to happen to your people ^(GT)in the latter days. For ^(GU)the vision is for days yet to come.”

¹⁵ When he had spoken to me according to these words, ^(GV)I turned my face toward the ground ^(GW)and was mute. ¹⁶ And behold, ^(GX)one in the likeness of the children of man ^(GY)touched my lips. Then I opened my mouth and spoke. I said to him who stood before me, “O my lord, by reason of the vision pains have come upon me, and ^(GZ)I retain no strength. ¹⁷ How can my lord's servant talk with my lord? For now no strength remains in me, and no breath is left in me.”

¹⁸ Again ^(HA)one having the appearance of a man ^(HB)touched me and strengthened me. ¹⁹ And he said, ^(HC)“O man greatly loved, ^(HD)fear not, peace be with you; be strong and of good courage.” And as he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, “Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.” ²⁰ Then he said, “Do you know why I have come to you? But now I will return to fight against the ^(HE)prince of Persia; and when I go out, behold, the prince of ^(HF)Greece will come. ²¹ But I will tell you ^(HG)what is inscribed in the book of truth: there is none who contends by my side against these except ^(HH)Michael, your prince.

The Kings of the South and the North

11 “And as for me, ^(HI)in the first year of ^(HJ)Darius the Mede, I stood up to confirm and strengthen him.

² “And now I will show you ^(HK)the truth. Behold, three more kings shall arise in Persia, and a fourth shall be far richer than all of them. And when he has become strong through his riches, he shall stir up all against the kingdom of Greece. ³ Then ^(HL)a mighty king shall arise, who shall rule with great dominion and ^(HM)do as he wills. ⁴ And as soon as he has arisen, ^(HN)his kingdom shall be broken and divided ^(HO)toward the ^(HP)four winds of heaven, but ^(HQ)not to his posterity, nor according to the authority with which he ruled, for his kingdom shall be plucked up and go to others besides these.

⁵ “Then the king of the south shall be strong, but one of his princes shall be stronger than he ^(HR)and shall rule, and his authority shall be a great authority. ⁶ After some years ^(HS)they shall make an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the south shall come to the king of the north to make an agreement. But she shall not retain the strength of her arm, and he and his arm shall not endure, but she shall be given up, and her attendants, he who fathered her, and he who supported^[o] her in those times.

⁷ “And from a branch from her roots one shall arise in his place. He shall come against the army and enter the ^(HT)fortress of the king of the north, and he shall deal with them and shall prevail. ⁸ He shall also carry off to Egypt their gods with their metal images and their precious ^(HU)vessels of silver and gold, and for some years he shall refrain from attacking the king of the north. ⁹ Then the latter shall come into the realm of the king of the south but shall return to his own land.

¹⁰ “His sons shall wage war and assemble a multitude of great forces, which shall keep coming ^(HV)and overflow and pass through, and again shall carry the war as far as his ^(HW)fortress. ¹¹ Then the king of the south, ^(HX)moved with rage, shall come out and fight against the king of the north. ^(HY)And he shall raise a great multitude, but it shall be given into his hand. ¹² And when the multitude is taken away, his heart shall be exalted, and he shall cast down tens of thousands, but he shall not prevail. ¹³ For the king of the north shall again ^(HZ)raise a multitude, greater than the first. And ^(IA)after some years^[p] he shall come on with a great army and abundant supplies.

¹⁴ “In those times many shall rise against the king of the south, and the violent among your own people shall lift themselves up in order to fulfill the vision, but ^(IB)they shall fail. ¹⁵ Then the king of the north shall come and ^(IC)throw up siegeworks and take a well-fortified city. And the forces of the south shall not stand, or even his best troops, for there shall be no strength to stand. ¹⁶ But he who comes against him shall ^(ID)do as he wills, and ^(IE)none shall stand before him. And he shall stand in ^(IF)the glorious land, with destruction in his hand. ¹⁷ He shall ^(IG)set his face to come with the strength of his whole kingdom, and he shall bring terms of an agreement and perform them. He shall give him the daughter of women to destroy the kingdom,^[q] but it shall not stand or be to his advantage. ¹⁸ Afterward he shall turn his face to the coastlands and shall capture many of them, but a commander shall put an end to his insolence. Indeed,^[r] he ^(IH)shall turn his insolence back upon him. ¹⁹ Then he shall turn his face back toward the ^(II)fortresses of his own land, but he shall ^(IJ)stumble and fall, ^(IK)and shall not be found.

²⁰ “Then shall arise in his place one who shall send an ^(IL)exactor of tribute for the glory of the kingdom. But within a few days he shall be broken, neither in anger nor in battle. ²¹ In his place shall arise a contemptible person to whom royal majesty has not been given. ^(IM)He shall come in without warning and obtain the kingdom ^(IN)by flatteries. ²² Armies shall be ^(IO)utterly swept away before him and broken, even the prince of the covenant. ²³ And from the time that an alliance is made with him he shall act deceitfully, and he shall become strong with a small people. ^24 (IP)Without warning he shall come into ^(IQ)the richest parts^[s] of the province, and he shall do what neither his fathers nor his fathers' fathers have done, scattering among them plunder, spoil, and goods. He shall devise plans against strongholds, but only for a time. ²⁵ And he shall stir up his power and his heart against ^(IR)the king of the south with a great army. And the king of the south shall wage war with an exceedingly great and mighty army, but he shall not stand, for plots shall be devised against him. ²⁶ Even those who eat his food shall break him. His army shall be ^(IS)swept away, and many shall fall down slain. ²⁷ And as for the two kings, their hearts shall be bent on doing evil. They shall speak lies at the same table, but to no avail, for ^(IT)the end is yet to be at the time appointed. ²⁸ And he shall return to his land with great wealth, but his heart shall be set against the holy covenant. And he shall work his will and return to his own land.

²⁹ “At the time appointed he shall return and come into the south, but it shall not be this time as it was before. ³⁰ For ships of ^(IU)Kittim shall come against him, and he shall be afraid and withdraw, and shall turn back and ^(IV)be enraged and ^(IW)take action against the holy covenant. He shall turn back and pay attention to those who forsake the holy covenant. ³¹ Forces from him shall appear and ^(IX)profane the temple and fortress, and shall take away the regular burnt offering. And ^(IY)they shall set up the abomination that makes desolate. ³² He shall seduce with flattery those who violate the covenant, but the people who know their God shall stand firm and take action. ^33 (IZ)And the wise among the people shall make many understand, though for some days they shall stumble by sword and flame, by captivity and plunder. ³⁴ When they stumble, they shall receive a little help. And many shall join themselves to them with flattery, ³⁵ and some of the wise shall stumble, so that they may be refined, ^(JA)purified, and ^(JB)made white, until ^(JC)the time of the end, ^(JD)for it still awaits the appointed time.

³⁶ “And the king shall ^(JE)do as he wills. ^(JF)He shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every god, ^(JG)and shall speak astonishing things against ^(JH)the God of gods. ^(JI)He shall prosper ^(JJ)till the indignation is accomplished; for what is decreed shall be done. ³⁷ He shall pay no attention to the gods of his fathers, or to the one beloved by women. He shall not pay attention to any other god, for ^(JK)he shall magnify himself above all. ³⁸ He shall honor the god of fortresses instead of these. A god whom his fathers did not know he shall honor ^(JL)with gold and silver, with precious stones and costly gifts. ³⁹ He shall deal with the strongest fortresses with the help of a foreign god. Those who acknowledge him he shall load with honor. He shall make them rulers over many and ^(JM)shall divide the land for a price.^[t]

^40 (JN)“At the time of the end, the king of the south shall attack^[u] him, but the king of the north shall rush upon him ^(JO)like a whirlwind, with chariots and horsemen, and with many ships. And he shall come into countries and ^(JP)shall overflow and pass through. ⁴¹ He shall come into ^(JQ)the glorious land. And tens of thousands shall fall, but these shall be delivered out of his hand: ^(JR)Edom and ^(JS)Moab and the main part of the ^(JT)Ammonites. ⁴² He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape. ⁴³ He shall become ruler of the treasures of gold and of silver, and all the precious things of Egypt, and the ^(JU)Libyans and the ^(JV)Cushites shall follow in his train. ⁴⁴ But news from the east and the north shall alarm him, and he shall go out with great fury to destroy and devote many to destruction. ⁴⁵ And he shall pitch his palatial tents between the sea and the glorious holy mountain. Yet he shall come to his end, with none to help him.

The Time of the End

12 “At that time shall arise ^(JW)Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. And ^(JX)there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time. But at that time your people shall be delivered, ^(JY)everyone whose name shall be found written in the book. ² And many of those who ^(JZ)sleep in ^(KA)the dust of the earth shall ^(KB)awake, ^(KC)some to everlasting life, and ^(KD)some to shame and everlasting contempt. ^3 (KE)And those who are wise ^(KF)shall shine like the brightness of the sky above;^[v] and ^(KG)those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. ⁴ But you, Daniel, ^(KH)shut up the words and ^(KI)seal the book, until ^(KJ)the time of the end. ^(KK)Many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.”

⁵ Then I, Daniel, looked, and behold, two others stood, one on ^(KL)this bank of the stream and one on that bank of the stream. ⁶ And someone said to ^(KM)the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the stream,^{[w] (KN)}“How long shall it be till the end of these wonders?” ⁷ And I heard ^(KO)the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the stream; ^(KP)he raised his right hand and his left hand toward heaven and ^(KQ)swore by him who lives forever that it would be for a ^(KR)time, times, and half a time, and that when the shattering of ^(KS)the power of ^(KT)the holy people comes to an end all these things would be finished. ⁸ I heard, ^(KU)but I did not understand. Then I said, “O my lord, what shall be the outcome of these things?” ⁹ He said, ^(KV)“Go your way, Daniel, ^(KW)for the words are shut up and sealed until the time of the end. ^10 (KX)Many shall purify themselves and make themselves white and be refined, but ^(KY)the wicked shall act wickedly. And none of the wicked shall understand, ^(KZ)but those who are wise shall understand. ¹¹ And from the time that ^(LA)the regular burnt offering is taken away and ^(LB)the abomination that makes desolate is set up, there shall be 1,290 days. ^12 (LC)Blessed is he who waits and arrives at the 1,335 days. ^13 (LD)But go your way till the end. ^(LE)And you shall rest and shall stand in your allotted place at ^(LF)the end of the days.”