Daniel

Stories of Daniel and his friends in exile and visions about future kingdoms and God's sovereignty.

Chapter 8

1 In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision appeared unto me, even unto me Daniel, after that which appeared unto me at the first.

*In the third year of King Belshazzar's rule, I, Daniel, had another vision, following the one from long ago.

2 And I saw in a vision; and it came to pass, when I saw, that I was at Shushan in the palace, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in a vision, and I was by the river of Ulai.

*I had a vision, and it happened when I looked that I was in Shushan's palace in Elam's province. In the vision, I also saw myself by the Ulai River.

3 Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns: and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last.

*Then I looked up and saw a ram with two horns by the river. The horns were tall, but one was taller than the other. The taller horn grew last.

4 I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; so that no beasts might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and became great.

*I saw a powerful ram moving in all directions. No other animals could stand against it, and none were saved from its control. It did whatever it wanted and grew stronger.

5 And as I was considering, behold, an he goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes.

*While thinking, I saw a goat coming from the west across the entire land without touching the ground. This goat had a big horn between its eyes.

6 And he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing before the river, and ran unto him in the fury of his power.

*He went to the ram with two horns, which I had seen by the river earlier, and quickly approached it using his great strength.

7 And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with choler against him, and smote the ram, and brake his two horns: and there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground, and stamped upon him: and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand.

*I saw a person get near a ram, become angry with it, and hit the ram, breaking its two horns. The ram couldn't fight back and fell to the ground. Nobody could save the ram from this person.

8 Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven.

*So the powerful goat grew very large. When it was strong, its big horn broke. Then, in place of the horn, four important ones appeared, going to the four corners of the sky.

9 And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land.

*From one of them, a small horn grew and became very big. It spread to the south, east, and the nice land.

10 And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them.

*It grew very large, including many heavenly beings; it knocked some of them and some stars out of the sky and trampled on them.

11 Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down.

*Yes, he boasted to the leader of the forces, and through him, the daily offering stopped, and the holy place was destroyed.

12 And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised, and prospered.

*A group was taken away from the daily offering because of disobedience, and it rejected the truth and put it on the ground. It acted unjustly and became successful.

13 Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot?

*Then, I heard a holy person talking, and another holy person asked that specific holy person, "How long will the vision about the daily offering and the terrible rebellion last, so both the sacred place and the people inside it can be walked on and crushed?"

14 And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.

*He told me it will take 2,300 days for the holy place to be purified.

15 And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, and sought for the meaning, then, behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man.

*One day, when I, Daniel, saw a vision and tried to understand it, suddenly, a person-like figure appeared in front of me.

16 And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision.

*I heard a person's voice near the river Ulai, saying, "Gabriel, explain the vision to this person."

17 So he came near where I stood: and when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face: but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man: for at the time of the end shall be the vision.

*He approached where I stood, and when he arrived, I became scared and fell on my face. But he told me, "Understand, son of man, because at the end time, this vision will happen."

18 Now as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep on my face toward the ground: but he touched me, and set me upright.

*As he talked to me, I fell into a deep sleep, facing downwards. But he touched me and made me stand up straight.

19 And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end shall be.

*He said, "I'll tell you about what will happen at the end of the anger. It will happen at the scheduled time."

20 The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia.

*The ram with two horns you saw represents the kings of Media and Persia.

21 And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king.

*And the hairy goat represents Greece's leader: the big horn between its eyes is the first king.

22 Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power.

*Now that it's broken, with four supporting it, four kingdoms will rise from the nation, but they won't be under his control.

23 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up.

*In the later years of their rule, when sinners have increased, a strong-faced king who understands secret messages will rise to power.

24 And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.

*His strength will be great, but not from his own abilities. He will amazingly destroy, succeed, act, and eliminate powerful and sacred groups of people.

25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand.

*Through his actions, he will help deceitfulness grow. He will think highly of himself and use peace to harm many. He will challenge the greatest leader, but in the end, he will be destroyed without anyone's help.

26 And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true: wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for many days.

*The night and day vision shared is real, so keep it hidden because it will last a long time.

27 And I Daniel fainted, and was sick certain days; afterward I rose up, and did the king’s business; and I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it.

*Daniel fainted and got sick for a few days. Afterward, he got better and continued his work for the king. He was amazed by a vision, but no one else understood it.

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