Daniel’s Vision about Four Animals

7 In Belshazzar’s first year as king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream. He saw a vision while he was asleep. He wrote down the main parts of the dream.

² In my visions at night I, Daniel, saw the four winds of heaven stirring up the Mediterranean Sea. ³ Four large animals, each one different from the others, came out of the sea.

⁴ The first animal was like a lion, but it had wings like an eagle. I watched until its wings were plucked off and it was lifted off the ground. It was made to stand on two feet like a human and was given a human mind.

⁵ I saw a second animal. It looked like a bear. It was raised on one side and had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, “Get up, and eat as much meat as you want.”

⁶ After this, I saw another animal. It looked like a leopard. On its back it had four wings, like the wings of a bird. The animal also had four heads. It was given power to rule.

⁷ After this, I saw a fourth animal in my vision during the night. It was terrifying, dreadful, extraordinarily strong, and had large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed its victims and trampled whatever was left. It acted differently from all the other animals that I had seen before. It had ten horns. ⁸ While I was thinking about the horns, another horn, a little horn, came up among them. It uprooted three of the other horns. This horn had eyes like human eyes and a mouth that spoke impressive things.

¹¹ I continued to watch because of the impressive words that the horn was speaking. I watched until the animal was killed. Its body was destroyed and put into a raging fire. ¹² The power of the rest of the animals was taken away, but they were allowed to live for a period of time.

¹³ In my visions during the night, I saw among the clouds in heaven someone like the Son of Man.^[a] He came to the Ancient One, who has lived for endless years, and was presented to him. ¹⁴ He was given power, honor, and a kingdom. People from every province, nation, and language were to serve him. His power is an eternal power that will not be taken away. His kingdom will never be destroyed.

¹⁵ I, Daniel, was deeply troubled, and my visions frightened me. ¹⁶ I went to someone who was standing there and asked him to tell me the truth about all this. So he told me what all this meant. ¹⁷ He said, “These four large animals are four kingdoms that will rise to power on the earth. ¹⁸ But the holy people of the Most High will take possession of the kingdom and keep it forever and ever.”

¹⁹ Then I wanted to know the truth about the fourth animal, which was so different from all the others. It was very terrifying and had iron teeth and bronze claws. It devoured and crushed its victims, and trampled whatever was left. ²⁰ I also wanted to know about the ten horns on its head and about the other horn that had come up and made three of the horns fall out. That horn had eyes and a mouth that spoke impressive things. It appeared to be bigger than the others. ²¹ I saw that horn making war against the holy people and defeating them. ²² It did this until the Ancient One, who has lived for endless years, came and judged in favor of the holy people of the Most High. The time came when the holy people took possession of the kingdom.

²³ He said, “The fourth animal will be the fourth of these kingdoms on earth. It will be different from all other kingdoms. It will devour, trample, and crush the whole world. ²⁴ The ten horns are ten kings that will rise to power from that kingdom. Another king will rise to power after them. He will be different from the kings who came before him, and he will humble three kings. ²⁵ He will speak against the Most High God, oppress the holy people of the Most High, and plan to change the appointed times and laws. The holy people will be handed over to him for a time, times, and half of a time. ²⁶ But judgment will be handed down, his power will be taken away, and he will be completely and permanently destroyed. ²⁷ The kingdom, along with the power and greatness of all the kingdoms under heaven, will be given to the holy people of the Most High. Their kingdom is eternal. All other powers will serve and obey them.”

²⁸ Here is the end of the matter. I, Daniel, was terrified by my thoughts, and I turned pale. I kept this to myself.

Daniel’s Vision about the Ram and the Goat

8 In Belshazzar’s third year as king, I, Daniel, saw a vision. This vision came after the one I saw earlier. ² In my vision I saw myself in the fortress of Susa in the province of Elam. In my vision I saw myself at Ulai Gate. ³ I looked up and saw a single ram standing beside the gate. The ram had two long horns, one longer than the other, though the longer one had grown up later. ⁴ I saw the ram charging west, north, and south. No other animal could stand in front of it, and no one could escape from its power. It did anything it pleased and continued to grow.

⁵ As I was watching closely, I saw a male goat coming from the west. It crossed the whole earth without touching it. This goat had a prominent horn between its eyes. ⁶ The goat was coming toward the two-horned ram that I had seen standing beside the gate. It furiously ran at the ram. ⁷ I saw it come closer to the ram. The goat was extremely angry with the ram, so it attacked the ram. It broke both of the ram’s horns. The ram didn’t have the strength to stand up against the goat. So the ram was thrown down on the ground and trampled. No one could rescue the ram from the goat’s power.

⁸ The male goat became very important. But when the goat became powerful, his large horn broke off. In its place grew four horns. They corresponded to the four winds of heaven. ⁹ Out of one of the horns came a small horn. It gained power over the south, the east, and the beautiful land. ¹⁰ It continued to gain power until it reached the army of heaven. It threw some of the army of heaven, the stars, down on the ground and trampled them. ¹¹ Then it attacked the commander of the army so that it took the daily burnt offering from him and wrecked his holy place. ¹² In its rebelliousness it was given an army to put a stop to the daily burnt offering. It threw truth on the ground. The horn was successful in everything it did.

¹³ Then I heard a holy one speaking. Another holy one said to the one who was speaking, “How long will the things in this vision—the daily burnt offering, the destructive rebellion, the surrender of the holy place, and the trampling of the army—take place?”

¹⁴ He told me, “For 2,300 evenings and mornings. Then the holy place will be made acceptable to God.”

¹⁵ Now as I, Daniel, watched the vision and tried to understand it, I saw someone who looked like a man standing in front of me. ¹⁶ I heard a man in Ulai ⌞Gate⌟ call loudly, “Gabriel, explain the vision to this man.”

¹⁷ Gabriel came up beside me, and when he came, I was terrified and immediately knelt down.

He said to me, “Son of man, understand that the vision is about the end times.” ¹⁸ As he spoke to me, I fainted facedown on the ground, but he touched me and made me stand up. ¹⁹ He said, “I will tell you what will happen in the last days, ⌞the time of God’s⌟ anger, because the end time has been determined.

²⁰ “The two-horned ram that you saw represents the kingdoms of Media and Persia. ²¹ The hairy male goat is the kingdom of Greece, and the large horn between its eyes is its first king. ²² The horn broke off, and four horns replaced it. Four kingdoms will come out of that nation, but they won’t be as strong as the first king was.

²³ “In the last days of those kingdoms, when rebellions are finished, a stern-looking king who understands mysterious things will rise to power. ²⁴ He will become very strong, but not by his own strength. He will cause astounding destruction and will be successful in everything he does. He will destroy those who are powerful along with some holy people. ²⁵ He will cleverly use his power to deceive others successfully. He will consider himself to be great and destroy many people when they don’t expect it. He will oppose the Commander of Commanders, but he will be defeated, though not by any human power. ²⁶ The vision about the ⌞2,300⌟ evenings and mornings that was explained to you is true. Seal the vision, because it is about things that will happen in the distant future.”

²⁷ I, Daniel, was exhausted and sick for days. Then I got up and worked for the king. The vision horrified me because I couldn’t understand it.

Daniel’s Prayer about Jerusalem Is Answered

9 Xerxes’ son Darius, who was a Mede by birth, was made ruler of the kingdom of Babylon. ² In the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, learned from the Scriptures the number of years that Jerusalem would remain in ruins. The Lord had told the prophet Jeremiah that Jerusalem would remain in ruins for 70 years. ³ So I turned to the Lord God and looked to him for help. I prayed, pleaded, and fasted in sackcloth and ashes.

⁴ I prayed to the Lord my God. I confessed and said, “Lord, you are great and deserve respect as the only God. You keep your promise ^[b] and show mercy to those who love you and obey your commandments. ⁵ We have sinned, done wrong, acted wickedly, rebelled, and turned away from your commandments and laws. ⁶ We haven’t listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, leaders, ancestors, and all the common people. ⁷ You, Lord, are righteous. But we—the men of Judah, the citizens of Jerusalem, and all the Israelites whom you scattered in countries near and far—are still ashamed because we have been unfaithful to you. ⁸ We, our kings, leaders, and ancestors are ashamed because we have sinned against you, Lord.

⁹ “But you, Lord our God, are compassionate and forgiving, although we have rebelled against you. ¹⁰ We never listened to you or lived by the teachings you gave us through your servants the prophets. ¹¹ All Israel has ignored your teachings and refused to listen to you. So you brought on us the curses you swore in an oath, the curses written in the Teachings of your servant Moses. We sinned against you. ¹² So you did what you said you would do to us and our rulers by bringing a great disaster on us. Nowhere in the world has anything ever happened like what has happened to Jerusalem. ¹³ This entire disaster happened to us, exactly as it was written in Moses’ Teachings. Lord our God, we never tried to gain your favor by turning from our wrongs and dedicating ourselves to your truth. ¹⁴ So you were prepared to bring this disaster on us. Lord our God, you are righteous in everything you do. But we never listened to you.

¹⁵ “Lord our God, you brought your people out of Egypt with your strong hand and made yourself famous even today. We have sinned and done evil things. ¹⁶ Lord, since you are very righteous, turn your anger and fury away from your city, Jerusalem, your holy mountain. Jerusalem and your people are insulted by everyone around us because of our sins and the wicked things our ancestors did.

¹⁷ “Our God, listen to my prayer and request. For your own sake, Lord, look favorably on your holy place, which is lying in ruins. ¹⁸ Open your ears and listen, my God. Open your eyes and look at our ruins and at the city called by your name. We are not requesting this from you because we are righteous, but because you are very compassionate. ¹⁹ Listen to us, Lord. Forgive us, Lord. Pay attention, and act. Don’t delay! Do this for your sake, my God, because your city and your people are called by your name.”

²⁰ I continued to pray, confessing my sins and the sins of my people Israel. I humbly placed my request about my God’s holy mountain in front of the Lord my God. ²¹ While I was praying, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the first vision, came to me about the time of the evening sacrifice. He was exhausted. ²² He informed me, “Daniel, this time I have come to give you insight. ²³ As soon as you began to make your request, a reply was sent. I have come to give you the reply because you are highly respected. So study the message, and understand the vision.

²⁴ “Seventy sets of seven time periods have been assigned for your people and your holy city. These time periods will serve to bring an end to rebellion, to stop sin, to forgive wrongs, to usher in everlasting righteousness, to put a seal on a prophet’s vision, and to anoint the Most Holy One. ²⁵ Learn, then, and understand that from the time the command is given to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the anointed prince comes, seven sets of seven time periods and sixty-two sets of seven time periods will pass. Jerusalem will be restored and rebuilt with a city square and a moat during the troubles of those times. ²⁶ But after the sixty-two sets of seven time periods, the Anointed One ^[c] will be cut off and have nothing. The city and the holy place will be destroyed with the prince who is to come.^[d] His end will come with a flood until the end of the destructive war that has been determined. ²⁷ He will confirm his promise with many for one set of seven time periods. In the middle of the seven time periods, he will stop the sacrifices and food offerings. This will happen along with disgusting things that cause destruction until ⌞those time periods⌟ come to an end. It has been determined that this will happen to those who destroy ⌞the city⌟.”