Daniel’s Vision of the Four Beasts

1 In the first year of ^pBelshazzar king of Babylon, ^qDaniel saw a dream and ^rvisions of his head as he lay in his bed. Then he wrote down the dream and told the sum of the matter. 2 Daniel declared,¹ “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, ^sthe four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. 3 And four great beasts ^tcame up out of the sea, different from one another. 4 The first was like a lion and had eagles’ wings. Then as I looked its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man, and the mind of a man was given to it. 5 And behold, ^uanother beast, a second one, like a bear. It was raised up on one side. It had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth; and it was told, ‘Arise, devour much flesh.’ 6 After this I looked, and behold, another, like a ^vleopard, with four wings of a bird on its back. And the beast had four heads, and ^wdominion was given to it. 7 After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, ^xterrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth; ^xit devoured and broke in pieces ^xand stamped what was left with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and ^yit had ten horns. 8 I considered the horns, and behold, ^zthere came up among them another horn, a little one, ^zbefore which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots. And behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and ^aa mouth speaking great things.

The Ancient of Days Reigns

9 “As I looked,

11 “I looked then because of the sound of ^athe great words that the horn was speaking. And as I looked, ^mthe beast was killed, and its body destroyed ^mand given over to be burned with fire. 12 As for the rest of the beasts, ⁿtheir dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.

The Son of Man Is Given Dominion

13 “I saw in the night visions,

Daniel’s Vision Interpreted

15 “As for me, Daniel, my spirit within me² was anxious, and ^sthe visions of my head alarmed me. 16 I approached one of those who stood there and asked him the truth concerning all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of the things. 17 ^t‘These four great beasts are four kings who shall arise out of the earth. 18 But ^uthe saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, forever and ever.’

19 “Then I desired to know the truth about ^vthe fourth beast, which was different from all the rest, exceedingly terrifying, with its teeth of iron and claws of bronze, and which devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet, 20 ^wand about the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn that came up and before which three of them fell, the horn that had eyes and a mouth that spoke great things, and that seemed greater than its companions. 21 As I looked, this horn ^xmade war with the saints and prevailed over them, 22 until the ^yAncient of Days came, and ^ujudgment was given for the saints of the Most High, and the time came when ^uthe saints possessed the kingdom.

23 “Thus he said: ‘As for ^vthe fourth beast,

28 “Here is the end of the matter. ^hAs for me, Daniel, my ⁱthoughts greatly alarmed me, ^jand my color changed, but ^kI kept the matter in my heart.”

Daniel’s Vision of the Ram and the Goat

1 In the third year of the reign of ^lKing Belshazzar a vision appeared to me, Daniel, ^mafter that which appeared to me ^mat the first. 2 And I saw in the vision; and when I saw, I was in ⁿSusa the citadel, which is in the province of ^oElam. And ^pI saw in the vision, ^pand I was at the ^qUlai canal. 3 I raised my eyes and saw, and behold, ^ra 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. 4 I saw ^sthe ram charging westward and northward and southward. No ^tbeast ^ucould stand before him, ^vand there was no one who could rescue from his power. ^wHe did as he pleased and ^xbecame great.

5 As I was considering, behold, a ^ymale goat came from the west across the face of the whole earth, without touching the ground. And the goat had ^ya conspicuous horn between his eyes. 6 He came to ^zthe ram with the two horns, which I had seen standing on the bank of the canal, ^aand he ran at him in his powerful wrath. 7 I saw him come close to the ram, ^band he was enraged against him and struck the ram and broke his two horns. ^cAnd the ram had no power to stand before him, but he ^dcast him down to the ground and trampled on him. And there was no one who could rescue the ram from his power. 8 Then ^ythe goat ^ebecame exceedingly great, but when he was strong, the great horn was broken, and instead of it there came up four ^fconspicuous horns toward ^fthe four winds of heaven.

9 Out of one of them came ^ga little horn, which grew exceedingly great toward ^hthe south, toward the east, and toward ⁱthe glorious land. 10 ^jIt grew great, ^keven to the host of heaven. And some of the host ^kand some⁴ of ^lthe stars it threw down to the ground and ^mtrampled on them. 11 ⁿIt became great, even as great as ^othe Prince of the host. ^pAnd the regular burnt offering was taken away from him, and the place of his sanctuary was overthrown. 12 And a host will be given over to it together with the regular burnt offering because of transgression,⁵ and it will throw truth to the ground, and ^qit will act and prosper. 13 Then I heard ^ra holy one speaking, and another holy one said to the one who spoke, ^s“For how long is the vision concerning the regular burnt offering, ^tthe transgression that makes desolate, and the giving over of the sanctuary and host to be trampled underfoot?” 14 And he said to me,⁶ “For 2,300 ^uevenings and mornings. Then the sanctuary shall be restored to its rightful state.”

The Interpretation of the Vision

15 When I, Daniel, had seen the vision, I ^vsought to understand it. And behold, there stood before me one having ^wthe appearance of a man. 16 ^xAnd I heard a man’s voice ^xbetween the banks of the ^yUlai, and it called, ^z“Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.” 17 So he came near where I stood. And when he came, ^aI was frightened ^band fell on my face. But he said to me, “Understand, ^cO son of man, that the vision is for ^dthe time of the end.”

18 And when he had spoken to me, ^eI fell into a deep sleep with my face to the ground. But ^fhe touched me and made me stand up. 19 He said, “Behold, I will make known to you what shall be at the latter end of ^gthe indignation, for it refers to ^hthe appointed time of the end. 20 As for ⁱthe ram that you saw with the two horns, these are the kings of ^jMedia and Persia. 21 And ^kthe goat⁷ is the king of Greece. And ^kthe great horn between his eyes is ^lthe first king. 22 ^mAs for the horn that was broken, in place of which four others arose, four kingdoms shall arise from his⁸ nation, ⁿbut not with his power. 23 And 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. 24 His power shall be great—^obut not by his own power; and he shall cause fearful destruction ^pand shall succeed in what he does, ^qand destroy mighty men and the people who are the saints. 25 ^rBy his cunning he shall make deceit prosper under his hand, and in his own mind ^she shall become great. ^tWithout warning he shall destroy many. And he ^sshall even rise up against the Prince of princes, and he shall be broken—but ^uby no human hand. 26 The vision of ^vthe evenings and the mornings that has been told ^wis true, but ^xseal up the vision, ^yfor it refers to many days from now.”

27 And ^zI, 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 ^aand did not understand it.

Daniel’s Prayer for His People

1 ^bIn the first year of ^cDarius the son of Ahasuerus, by descent a ^dMede, who was made king over the realm of the ^eChaldeans— 2 in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, perceived in the books the number of years that, according to ^fthe word of the Lord to Jeremiah the prophet, must pass before the end of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years.

3 Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by ^gprayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. 4 I prayed to the Lord my God and ^hmade confession, saying, ⁱ“O Lord, the ⁱgreat and awesome God, who ^jkeeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, 5 ^kwe have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly ^land rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules. 6 ^mWe have not listened to ⁿyour servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to ^oour kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. 7 To you, ^pO Lord, belongs righteousness, but to us open shame, as at this day, to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, ^qthose who are near and ^qthose who are far away, in ^rall the lands to which you have driven them, because of ^sthe treachery that they have committed against you. 8 To us, O Lord, belongs open shame, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because ^kwe have sinned against you. 9 ^tTo the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against him 10 ^mand have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God by walking in his laws, which he set before us by ⁿhis servants the prophets. 11 ^uAll Israel has transgressed your law and turned aside, ^vrefusing to obey your voice. ^wAnd the curse and oath ^xthat are written in the Law of ^yMoses the servant of God have been poured out upon us, because ^kwe have sinned against him. 12 He has confirmed his words, which he spoke against us and against ^zour rulers who ruled us,⁹ by ^abringing upon us a great calamity. ^bFor under the whole heaven there has not been done anything like what has been done against Jerusalem. 13 ^xAs it is written in the Law of Moses, all this calamity has come upon us; yet we have not entreated the favor of the Lord our God, ^cturning from our iniquities and gaining insight by your truth. 14 ^dTherefore the Lord has kept ready the calamity and has brought it upon us, ^efor the Lord our God is righteous in all the works that he has done, and ^fwe have not obeyed his voice. 15 And now, O Lord our God, who brought your people out of the land of Egypt ^gwith a mighty hand, and ^hhave made a name for yourself, as at this day, ⁱwe have sinned, we have done wickedly.

16 “O Lord, ^jaccording to all your righteous acts, let your anger and your wrath turn away from your city Jerusalem, ^kyour holy hill, ^lbecause for our sins, and for ^mthe iniquities of our fathers, ⁿJerusalem and your people have become ^oa byword among all who are around us. 17 Now therefore, O our God, listen to the prayer of your servant and to his pleas for mercy, and for your own sake, O Lord,^{10 p}make your face to shine upon ^qyour sanctuary, which is desolate. 18 ^rO my God, incline your ear and hear. Open your eyes and see ^sour desolations, and ^tthe city that is called by your name. For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy. 19 O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive. O Lord, pay attention and act. ^uDelay not, ^vfor your own sake, O my God, because ^tyour city and ^wyour people are called by your name.”

Gabriel Brings an Answer

20 ^xWhile I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my plea before the Lord my God for ^ythe holy hill of my God, 21 while I was speaking in prayer, the man ^zGabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the first, ^acame to me in swift flight at ^bthe time of the evening sacrifice. 22 ^cHe made me understand, speaking with me and saying, “O Daniel, I have now come out to give you ^dinsight and understanding. 23 ^eAt the beginning of your pleas for mercy a word went out, ^fand I have come to tell it to you, for ^gyou are greatly loved. Therefore consider the word ^hand understand the vision.

The Seventy Weeks

24 ⁱ“Seventy weeks¹¹ are decreed about your people and ^jyour holy city, to finish ^kthe transgression, to put an end to sin, ^land to atone for iniquity, ^mto bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and ⁿto anoint a most holy place.¹² 25 ^oKnow therefore and understand that ^pfrom the going out of the word to restore and ^qbuild Jerusalem to the coming of an ^ranointed one, a ^sprince, there shall be seven weeks. Then for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again¹³ with squares and moat, ^tbut in a troubled time. 26 And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall ^ube cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come ^vshall destroy the city and the sanctuary. ^wIts¹⁴ end shall come with a flood, ^xand to the end there shall be war. ^yDesolations are decreed. 27 And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week,¹⁵ and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. ^zAnd on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until ^athe decreed end is poured out on the desolator.”

Trust in the Name of the Lord Our God

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.