Daniel 8
8
Vision of the Ram and Goat
1In the third year of the reign of Belshazzar the king a vision appeared to me, Daniel, subsequent to the one which appeared to me previously. 2I looked in the vision, and while I was looking I was in the citadel of Susa, which is in the province of Elam; and I looked in the vision and I myself was beside the Ulai Canal. 3Then I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, a ram which had two horns was standing in front of the canal. Now the two horns were long, but one was longer than the other, with the longer one coming up last. 4I saw the ram butting westward, northward, and southward, and no other beasts could stand before him nor was there anyone to rescue from his power, but he did as he pleased and magnified himself.
5While I was observing, behold, a male goat was coming from the west over the surface of the whole earth without touching the ground; and the goat had a conspicuous horn between his eyes. 6He came up to the ram that had the two horns, which I had seen standing in front of the canal, and rushed at him in his mighty wrath. 7I saw him come beside the ram, and he was enraged at him; and he struck the ram and shattered his two horns, and the ram had no strength to withstand him. So he hurled him to the ground and trampled on him, and there was none to rescue the ram from his power. 8Then the male goat magnified himself exceedingly. But as soon as he was mighty, the large horn was broken; and in its place there came up four conspicuous horns toward the four winds of heaven.
The Little Horn
9Out of one of them came forth a rather small horn which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the #I.e. PalestineBeautiful Land. 10It grew up to the host of heaven and caused some of the host and some of the stars to fall to the earth, and it trampled them down. 11It even magnified itself to be equal with the Commander of the host; and it removed the regular sacrifice from Him, and the place of His sanctuary was thrown down. 12And on account of transgression the host will be given over to the horn along with the regular sacrifice; and it will fling truth to the ground and perform its will and prosper. 13Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to that particular one who was speaking, “How long will the vision about the regular sacrifice apply, while the transgression causes horror, so as to allow both the holy place and the host to be trampled?” 14He said to me, “For 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the holy place will be properly restored.”
Interpretation of the Vision
15When I, Daniel, had seen the vision, I sought to understand it; and behold, standing before me was one who looked like a man. 16And I heard the voice of a man between the banks of Ulai, and he called out and said, “Gabriel, give this man an understanding of the vision.” 17So he came near to where I was standing, and when he came I was frightened and fell on my face; but he said to me, “Son of man, understand that the vision pertains to the time of the end.”
18Now while he was talking with me, I sank into a deep sleep with my face to the ground; but he touched me and made me stand upright. 19He said, “Behold, I am going to let you know what will occur at the final period of the indignation, for it pertains to the appointed time of the end.
The Ram’s Identity
20The ram which you saw with the two horns represents the kings of Media and Persia.
The Goat
21The shaggy goat represents the kingdom of Greece, and the large horn that is between his eyes is the first king. 22The broken horn and the four horns that arose in its place represent four kingdoms which will arise from his nation, although not with his power.
23In the latter period of their rule,
When the transgressors have run their course,
A king will arise,
Insolent and skilled in intrigue.
24His power will be mighty, but not by his own power,
And he will destroy to an extraordinary degree
And prosper and perform his will;
He will destroy mighty men and the holy people.
25And through his shrewdness
He will cause deceit to succeed by his influence;
And he will magnify himself in his heart,
And he will destroy many while they are at ease.
He will even oppose the Prince of princes,
But he will be broken without human agency.
26The vision of the evenings and mornings
Which has been told is true;
But keep the vision secret,
For it pertains to many days in the future.”
27Then I, Daniel, was exhausted and sick for days. Then I got up again and carried on the king’s business; but I was astounded at the vision, and there was none to explain it.
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Daniel 8: NASB1995
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Daniel 8
8
Vision of a Ram and a Goat
1Daniel wrote:
In the third year of King Belshazzar of Babylonia,#8.1 third year … Babylonia: 552 b.c., two years after the first vision (see 7.1,2). I had a second vision 2in which I was in Susa, the chief city of Babylonia's Elam Province. I was beside the Ulai River,#8.2 River: Or “Gate.” 3when I looked up and saw a ram standing there with two horns on its head—both of them were long, but the second one was longer than the first. 4The ram went charging toward the west, the north, and the south. No other animals were strong enough to oppose him, and nothing could save them from his power. So he did as he pleased and became even more powerful.
5I kept on watching and saw a goat come from the west and charge across the entire earth, without even touching the ground. Between his eyes was a powerful horn,#8.5 powerful horn: Hebrew “horn of vision.” 6and with tremendous anger the goat started toward the ram that I had seen beside the river.#8.6 river: See the note at 8.2. 7The goat was so fierce that its attack broke both horns of the ram, leaving him powerless. Then the goat trampled on the ram, and no one could do anything to help. 8After this, the goat became even more powerful. But at the peak of his power, his mighty horn was broken, and four other mighty horns took its place—one pointing to the north and one to the east, one to the south and one to the west.
9A little horn came from one of these, and its power reached to the south, the east, and even to the holy land.#8.9 holy land: Hebrew “the lovely land.” 10#Rev 12.4. It became so strong that it attacked the stars in the sky, which were heaven's army.#8.10 heaven's army: In verses 10-13 the Hebrew word translated “heaven's army” may also mean “God's people.” Then it threw some of them down to the earth and trampled on them. 11-12It humiliated heaven's army and dishonored its leader#8.11,12 leader: Hebrew “prince.” by keeping him from offering the daily sacrifices. In fact, it was so terrible that it even disgraced the temple and wiped out true worship. It also did everything else it wanted to do.
13Then one of the holy angels asked another, “When will the daily sacrifices be offered again? What about this horrible rebellion? When will the temple and heaven's army no longer be trampled in the dust?”
14The other answered, “It will be 2,300 evenings and mornings before the temple is dedicated and in use again.”
Gabriel Interprets the Vision
15Daniel wrote:
I was trying to figure out the meaning of the vision, when someone suddenly appeared there beside me. 16#Lk 1.19,26. And from beside the Ulai River,#8.16 River: See the note at 8.2. a voice like that of a human said, “Gabriel, help him understand the vision.”
17Gabriel came over, and I fell to the ground in fear. Then he said, “You are merely a human, but you need to understand that this vision is about the end of time.”
18While he was speaking, I fell facedown in a deep sleep. But he lifted me to my feet 19and said:
Listen, and I will tell you what will happen at the end of time, when God has chosen to show his anger. 20The two horns of the ram are the kings of Media and Persia, 21the goat is the kingdom of Greece, and the powerful horn between his eyes is the first of its kings. 22After this horn is broken, four other kingdoms will appear, but they won't be as strong.
23When these rulers have become as evil as possible, their power will end, and then a king who is dangerous and cannot be trusted will appear. 24He will gain strength, but not on his own, and he will cause terrible destruction. He will wipe out powerful leaders and God's people as well. 25His deceitful lies will make him so successful, that he will think he is really great. Suddenly he will kill many people, and he will even attack God, the Supreme Ruler. But God will crush him!
26This vision about the evenings and mornings is true, but these things won't happen for a long time, so don't tell it to others.
27After this, I was so worn out and weak that it was several days before I could get out of bed and go about my duties for the king. I was disturbed by this vision that made no sense to me.
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