Daniel 8
8
Daniel’s Vision of the Ram and the Goat
1In the third year of the reign of #See ch. 5:1 King Belshazzar a vision appeared to me, Daniel, #[ch. 7:1]after that which appeared to me #[ch. 7:1]at the first. 2And I saw in the vision; and when I saw, I was in #See Neh. 1:1 Susa the citadel, which is in the province of #See Isa. 11:11 Elam. And #See Ezek. 1:1 I saw in the vision, #See Ezek. 1:1 and I was at the #ver. 16Ulai canal. 3I raised my eyes and saw, and behold, #[ver. 20]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. 4I saw #[Deut. 33:17; Ezek. 34:21] the ram charging westward and northward and southward. No #[ch. 7:17] beast #[ver. 7] could stand before him, #[ch. 3:15] and there was no one who could rescue from his power. #[ch. 11:3, 16, 36] He did as he pleased and #ver. 8became great.
5As I was considering, behold, a #[ver. 21]male goat came from the west across the face of the whole earth, without touching the ground. And the goat had #[ver. 21]a conspicuous horn between his eyes. 6He came to #[ver. 20] the ram with the two horns, which I had seen standing on the bank of the canal, #[Job 15:26]and he ran at him in his powerful wrath. 7I saw him come close to the ram, #ch. 11:11 and he was enraged against him and struck the ram and broke his two horns. #[ver. 4] And the ram had no power to stand before him, but he #[Ps. 7:5]cast him down to the ground and trampled on him. And there was no one who could rescue the ram from his power. 8Then #[See ver. 5 above] the goat #ver. 4 became exceedingly great, but when he was strong, the great horn was broken, and instead of it there came up four #[ver. 5]; See ch. 7:2, 3conspicuous horns toward #[ver. 5]; See ch. 7:2, 3the four winds of heaven.
9Out of one of them came #ch. 7:8 a little horn, which grew exceedingly great toward #[ch. 11:25] the south, toward the east, and toward #ch. 11:16, 41; [Ps. 48:2; Ezek. 20:6, 15]the glorious land. 10#[ch. 11:28] It grew great, #Isa. 14:13 even to the host of heaven. And some of the host #Isa. 14:13 and some#8:10 Or host, that is, some of #[Rev. 12:4] the stars it threw down to the ground and #ver. 7trampled on them. 11#ver. 25; See ch. 11:36 It became great, even as great as #Josh. 5:14 the Prince of the host. #ch. 11:31; 12:11And the regular burnt offering was taken away from him, and the place of his sanctuary was overthrown. 12And a host will be given over to it together with the regular burnt offering because of transgression,#8:12 Or in an act of rebellion and it will throw truth to the ground, and #ver. 24; ch. 11:28, 30it will act and prosper. 13Then I heard #See ch. 4:13 a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to the one who spoke, #ch. 12:6; [Rev. 6:10]; See ch. 9:21-27 “For how long is the vision concerning the regular burnt offering, #See ch. 11:31the transgression that makes desolate, and the giving over of the sanctuary and host to be trampled underfoot?” 14And he said to me,#8:14 Hebrew; Septuagint, Theodotion, Vulgate to him “For 2,300 #[ver. 26]evenings and mornings. Then the sanctuary shall be restored to its rightful state.”
The Interpretation of the Vision
15When I, Daniel, had seen the vision, I #[1 Pet. 1:10, 11] sought to understand it. And behold, there stood before me one having #ch. 7:13; 10:16, 18; Ezek. 1:26; Rev. 1:13the appearance of a man. 16#See ch. 12:5-7 And I heard a man’s voice #See ch. 12:5-7 between the banks of the #ver. 2 Ulai, and it called, #ch. 9:21; Luke 1:19, 26“Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.” 17So he came near where I stood. And when he came, #[Luke 1:12] I was frightened #Ezek. 1:28 and fell on my face. But he said to me, “Understand, #See Ezek. 2:1 O son of man, that the vision is for #[ver. 19; ch. 11:27, 35, 40; 12:4, 9]the time of the end.”
18And when he had spoken to me, #ch. 10:9; [Luke 9:32] I fell into a deep sleep with my face to the ground. But #ch. 9:21; 10:10, 18he touched me and made me stand up. 19He said, “Behold, I will make known to you what shall be at the latter end of #ch. 11:36 the indignation, for it refers to #[Ps. 102:13]; See ver. 17the appointed time of the end. 20As for #[ver. 3] the ram that you saw with the two horns, these are the kings of #[ch. 6:8]Media and Persia. 21And #[ver. 5] the goat#8:21 Or the shaggy goat is the king of Greece. And #[ver. 5] the great horn between his eyes is #ch. 10:20; 11:3the first king. 22#ver. 8 As for the horn that was broken, in place of which four others arose, four kingdoms shall arise from his#8:22 Theodotion, Septuagint, Vulgate; Hebrew a nation, #ver. 24but not with his power. 23And 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. 24His power shall be great—#Rev. 17:17 but not by his own power; and he shall cause fearful destruction #ver. 12; ch. 11:28, 30 and shall succeed in what he does, #[ch. 7:21]and destroy mighty men and the people who are the saints. 25#[ch. 11:23] By his cunning he shall make deceit prosper under his hand, and in his own mind #ver. 11 he shall become great. #[ch. 11:21, 24] Without warning he shall destroy many. And he #ver. 11 shall even rise up against the Prince of princes, and he shall be broken—but #See ch. 2:34by no human hand. 26The vision of #[ver. 14] the evenings and the mornings that has been told #[ch. 10:1] is true, but #[ch. 12:4, 9] seal up the vision, #ch. 10:14for it refers to many days from now.”
27And #[ch. 7:28] 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 #[ver. 16]and did not understand it.
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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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Daniel 8
8
1 IN THE third year of the reign of King Belshazzar a vision appeared to me, Daniel, after the one that appeared to me at the first.
2 And I saw in the vision and it seemed that I was at Shushan the palace or fortress [in Susa, the capital of Persia], which is in the province of Elam, and I saw in the vision and I was by the river of Ulai.
3 And I lifted up my eyes and saw, and behold, there stood before the river a [single] ram which had two horns [representing two kings of Medo-Persia: Darius the Mede, then Cyrus]; and the two horns were high, but one [Persia] was higher than the other, and the higher one came up last.
4 I looked and saw the ram [Medo-Persia] pushing and charging westward and northward and southward; no beast could stand before him, neither could anyone rescue from his power, but he did according to his [own] will and pleasure and magnified himself. [Dan. 8:20.]
5 As I was considering, behold, a he-goat [the king of Greece] came from the west across the face of the whole earth without touching the ground, and the goat had a conspicuous and remarkable horn between his eyes [symbolizing Alexander the Great]. [Dan. 8:21.]
6 And he came to the ram that had the two horns which I had seen standing on the bank of the river and ran at him in the heat of his power.
7 [In my vision] I saw him come close to the ram [Medo-Persia], and he was moved with anger against him and he [Alexander the Great] struck the ram and broke his two horns; and there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but the goat threw him to the ground and trampled on him. And there was no one who could rescue the ram from his power.
8 And the he-goat [Alexander the Great] magnified himself exceedingly, and when he was [young and] strong, the great horn [he] was [suddenly] broken; and instead of [him] there came up four notable horns [to whom the kingdom was divided, one] toward [each of] the four winds of the heavens.
9 Out of littleness and small beginnings one of them came forth [Antiochus Epiphanes], a horn whose [impious presumption and pride] grew exceedingly great toward the south and toward the east and toward the ornament [the precious, blessed land of Israel]. [Dan. 8:23.]
10 And [in my vision this horn] grew great, even against the host of heaven [God's true people, the saints], and some of the host and of the stars [priests] it cast down to the ground and trampled on them,
11 Yes, [this horn] magnified itself, even [matching itself] against the Prince of the host [of heaven]; and from Him the continual [burnt offering] was taken away and the place of [God's] sanctuary was cast down and profaned.
12 And the host [the chosen people] was given [to the wicked horn] together with the continual burnt offering because of the transgression [of God's people–their abounding irreverence, ungodliness, and lack of piety]. And righteousness and truth were cast down to the ground, and it [the wicked horn] accomplished this [by divine permission] and prospered.
13 Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to the one that spoke, For how long is the vision concerning the continual offering, the transgression that makes desolate, and the giving over of both the sanctuary and the host [of the people] to be trampled underfoot? [Luke 21:24.]
14 And he said to him and to me, For 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed and restored.
15 When I, even I, Daniel, had seen the vision, I sought to understand it; then behold, there stood before me one [Gabriel] with the appearance of a man.
16 And I heard a man's voice between the banks of the [river] Ulai which called and said, Gabriel, make this man [Daniel] understand the vision. [Dan. 9:21; Luke 1:19, 26.]
17 So he came near where I stood, and when he came, I was frightened and fell on my face. But he said to me, Understand, O son of man, for the [fulfillment of the] vision belongs to [events that shall occur in] the time of the end.
18 Now as he [Gabriel] was speaking with me, I fell stunned and in deep unconsciousness with my face to the ground; but he touched me and set me upright [where I had stood].
19 And he said, Behold, I will make you know what will be in the latter time of the indignation [of God upon the ungodly], for it has to do with the time of the end.
20 The ram you saw having two horns, they are the kings of Media and Persia.
21 And the shaggy and rough he-goat is the king of Greece, and the great horn between his eyes is the first king [who consolidated the whole realm, Alexander the Great].
22 And as for the horn which was shattered, in whose place four others arose, four kingdoms shall arise out of his nation but not having his [Alexander's] power.
23 And at the latter end of their kingdom, when the transgressors [the apostate Jews] have reached the fullness [of their wickedness, taxing the limits of God's mercy], a king of fierce countenance and understanding dark trickery and craftiness shall stand up.
24 And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; and he shall corrupt and destroy astonishingly and shall prosper and do his own pleasure, and he shall corrupt and destroy the mighty men and the holy people (the people of the saints). [Dan. 8:9-12; II Thess. 2:3-10; Rev. 13:4-10.]
25 And through his policy he shall cause trickery to prosper in his hand; he shall magnify himself in his heart and mind, and in their security he will corrupt and destroy many. He shall also stand up against the Prince of princes, but he shall be broken and that by no [human] hand. [Rev. 19:19, 20.]
26 The vision of the evenings and the mornings which has been told you is true. But seal up the vision, for it has to do with and belongs to the [now] distant future.
27 And I, Daniel, fainted and was sick [for several] days. Afterward I rose up and did the king's business; and I wondered at the vision, but there was no one who understood it or could make it understood.
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