Vision of the Four Beasts

7 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, ^(A)Daniel ^[a]had a dream and ^(B)visions of his head while on his bed. Then he wrote down the dream, telling ^[b]the main facts.

² Daniel spoke, saying, “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the Great Sea. ³ And four great beasts ^(C)came up from the sea, each different from the other. ⁴ The first was ^(D)like a lion, and had eagle’s wings. I watched till its wings were plucked off; and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man, and a ^(E)man’s heart was given to it.

^5 (F)“And suddenly another beast, a second, like a bear. It was raised up on one side, and had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. And they said thus to it: ‘Arise, devour much flesh!’

⁶ “After this I looked, and there was another, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird. The beast also had ^(G)four heads, and dominion was given to it.

⁷ “After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, ^(H)a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, ^(I)and it had ten horns. ⁸ I was considering the horns, and ^(J)there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes ^(K)of a man, ^(L)and a mouth speaking ^[c]pompous words.

Vision of the Ancient of Days

¹¹ “I watched then because of the sound of the ^[f]pompous words which the horn was speaking; ^(T)I watched till the beast was slain, and its body destroyed and given to the burning flame. ¹² As for the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away, yet their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.

Daniel’s Visions Interpreted

¹⁵ “I, Daniel, was grieved in my spirit ^[g]within my body, and the visions of my head troubled me. ¹⁶ I came near to one of those who stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of these things: ¹⁷ ‘Those great beasts, which are four, are four ^[h]kings which arise out of the earth. ¹⁸ But ^(Y)the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever.’

¹⁹ “Then I wished to know the truth about the fourth beast, which was different from all the others, exceedingly dreadful, with its teeth of iron and its nails of bronze, which devoured, broke in pieces, and trampled the residue with its feet; ²⁰ and the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn which came up, before which three fell, namely, that horn which had eyes and a mouth which spoke ^[i]pompous words, whose appearance was greater than his fellows.

²¹ “I was watching; ^(Z)and the same horn was making war against the saints, and prevailing against them, ²² until the Ancient of Days came, ^(AA)and a judgment was made in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom.

²³ “Thus he said:

²⁸ “This is the end of the ^[k]account. As for me, Daniel, ^(AN)my thoughts greatly troubled me, and my countenance changed; but I ^(AO)kept the matter in my heart.”

Vision of a Ram and a Goat

8 In^[l] the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar a vision appeared to me—to me, Daniel—after the one that appeared to me ^(AP)the first time. ² I saw in the vision, and it so happened while I was looking, that I was in ^(AQ)Shushan,^[m] the ^[n]citadel, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in the vision that I was by the River Ulai. ³ Then I lifted my eyes and saw, and there, standing beside the river, was a ram which had two horns, and the two horns were high; but one was ^(AR)higher than the other, and the higher one came up last. ⁴ I saw the ram pushing westward, northward, and southward, so that no animal could ^[o]withstand him; nor was there any that could deliver from his hand, ^(AS)but he did according to his will and became great.

⁵ And as I was considering, suddenly a male goat came from the west, across the surface of the whole earth, without touching the ground; and the goat had a notable ^(AT)horn between his eyes. ⁶ Then he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing beside the river, and ran at him with furious power. ⁷ And I saw him confronting the ram; he was moved with rage against him, ^[p]attacked the ram, and broke his two horns. There was no power in the ram to withstand him, but he cast him down to the ground and trampled him; and there was no one that could deliver the ram from his hand.

⁸ Therefore the male goat grew very great; but when he became strong, the large horn was broken, and in place of it ^(AU)four notable ones came up toward the four winds of heaven. ^9 (AV)And out of one of them came a little horn which grew exceedingly great toward the south, ^(AW)toward the east, and toward the ^(AX)Glorious Land. ^10 (AY)And it grew up to ^(AZ)the host of heaven; and ^(BA)it cast down some of the host and some of the stars to the ground, and trampled them. ^11 (BB)He even exalted himself as high as ^(BC)the Prince of the host; ^(BD)and by him ^(BE)the daily sacrifices were taken away, and the place of ^[q]His sanctuary was cast down. ¹² Because of transgression, ^(BF)an army was given over to the horn to oppose the daily sacrifices; and he cast ^(BG)truth down to the ground. He ^(BH)did all this and prospered.

¹³ Then I heard ^(BI)a holy one speaking; and another holy one said to that certain one who was speaking, “How long will the vision be, concerning the daily sacrifices and the transgression ^[r]of desolation, the giving of both the sanctuary and the host to be trampled underfoot?”

¹⁴ And he said to me, “For two thousand three hundred ^[s]days; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.”

Gabriel Interprets the Vision

¹⁵ Then it happened, when I, Daniel, had seen the vision and ^(BJ)was seeking the meaning, that suddenly there stood before me ^(BK)one having the appearance of a man. ¹⁶ And I heard a man’s voice ^(BL)between the banks of the Ulai, who called, and said, ^(BM)“Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.” ¹⁷ So he came near where I stood, and when he came I was afraid and ^(BN)fell on my face; but he said to me, “Understand, son of man, that the vision refers to the time of the end.”

^18 (BO)Now, as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep with my face to the ground; ^(BP)but he touched me, and stood me upright. ¹⁹ And he said, “Look, I am making known to you what shall happen in the latter time of the indignation; ^(BQ)for at the appointed time the end shall be. ²⁰ The ram which you saw, having the two horns—they are the kings of Media and Persia. ²¹ And the ^[t]male goat is the ^[u]kingdom of Greece. The large horn that is between its eyes ^(BR)is the first king. ^22 (BS)As for the broken horn and the four that stood up in its place, four kingdoms shall arise out of that nation, but not with its power.

^27 (CC)And I, Daniel, fainted and was sick for days; afterward I arose and went about the king’s business. I was ^[z]astonished by the vision, but no one understood it.

Longing for Zion in a Foreign Land

Satan Tempts Jesus^(A)

4 Then ^(B)Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and ^(C)was led by the Spirit ^[a]into the wilderness, ² being ^[b]tempted for forty days by the devil. And ^(D)in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.

³ And the devil said to Him, “If You are ^(E)the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”

⁴ But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ^(F)‘Man shall not live by bread alone, ^[c]but by every word of God.’ ”

^5 [d]Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. ⁶ And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for ^(G)this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. ⁷ Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.”

⁸ And Jesus answered and said to him, ^[e]“Get behind Me, Satan! ^[f]For it is written, ^(H)‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’ ”

^9 (I)Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here. ¹⁰ For it is written:

¹¹ and,

¹² And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, ^(L)‘You shall not ^[g]tempt the Lord your God.’ ”

¹³ Now when the devil had ended every ^[h]temptation, he departed from Him ^(M)until an opportune time.

Jesus Begins His Galilean Ministry^(N)

^14 (O)Then Jesus returned ^(P)in the power of the Spirit to ^(Q)Galilee, and ^(R)news of Him went out through all the surrounding region. ¹⁵ And He ^(S)taught in their synagogues, ^(T)being glorified by all.

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth^(U)

¹⁶ So He came to ^(V)Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, ^(W)He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. ¹⁷ And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written:

²⁰ Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. ²¹ And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is ^(Z)fulfilled in your hearing.” ²² So all bore witness to Him, and ^(AA)marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, ^(AB)“Is this not Joseph’s son?”

²³ He said to them, “You will surely say this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done in ^(AC)Capernaum,^[k] do also here in ^(AD)Your country.’ ” ²⁴ Then He said, “Assuredly, I say to you, no ^(AE)prophet is accepted in his own country. ²⁵ But I tell you truly, ^(AF)many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; ²⁶ but to none of them was Elijah sent except to ^[l]Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. ^27 (AG)And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.”

²⁸ So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were ^(AH)filled with ^[m]wrath, ^29 (AI)and rose up and thrust Him out of the city; and they led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff. ³⁰ Then ^(AJ)passing through the midst of them, He went His way.

Jesus Casts Out an Unclean Spirit^(AK)

³¹ Then ^(AL)He went down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and was teaching them on the Sabbaths. ³² And they were ^(AM)astonished at His teaching, ^(AN)for His word was with authority. ^33 (AO)Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon. And he cried out with a loud voice, ³⁴ saying, “Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? ^(AP)I know who You are—^(AQ)the Holy One of God!”

³⁵ But Jesus rebuked him, saying, ^[n]“Be quiet, and come out of him!” And when the demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him. ³⁶ Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, “What a word this is! For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out.” ³⁷ And the report about Him went out into every place in the surrounding region.

Peter’s Mother-in-Law Healed^(AR)

^38 (AS)Now He arose from the synagogue and entered Simon’s house. But Simon’s wife’s mother was ^[o]sick with a high fever, and they ^(AT)made request of Him concerning her. ³⁹ So He stood over her and ^(AU)rebuked the fever, and it left her. And immediately she arose and served them.

Many Healed After Sabbath Sunset^(AV)

^40 (AW)When the sun was setting, all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them. ^41 (AX)And demons also came out of many, crying out and saying, ^(AY)“You are ^[p]the Christ, the Son of God!”

And He, ^(AZ)rebuking them, did not allow them to ^[q]speak, for they knew that He was the Christ.

Jesus Preaches in Galilee^(BA)

^42 (BB)Now when it was day, He departed and went into a deserted place. And the crowd sought Him and came to Him, and tried to keep Him from leaving them; ⁴³ but He said to them, “I must ^(BC)preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent.” ^44 (BD)And He was preaching in the synagogues of ^[r]Galilee.