God Will Judge with Equity
To the choirmaster: according to Do Not Destroy. A Psalm of Asaph. A Song.
1 kWe give thanks to you, O God;
we give thanks, for your name is near.
We1 recount your wondrous deeds.
2 “At the set time that I appoint
I will judge with equity.
3 When the earth totters, and all its inhabitants,
it is I who keep steady its pillars. Selah
4 I say to the boastful, ‘Do not boast,’
and lto the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horn;
5 do not lift up your horn on high,
or speak with haughty neck.’”
6 For not from the east or from the west
and not from the wilderness comes lifting up,
7 but it is mGod who executes judgment,
nputting down one and lifting up another.
8 For in the hand of the Lord there is a ocup
with foaming wine, well mixed,
and he pours out from it,
and all the wicked of the earth
shall pdrain it down to the dregs.
9 But I will declare it forever;
I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
10 All the horns of the wicked I will cut off,
but the horns of the righteous shall be lifted up.
Daniel’s Vision of the Four Beasts
1 In the first year of oBelshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel saw a dream and visions of his head pas 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, the qfour winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. 3 And four great rbeasts came up out of the sea, different from one another. 4 The first was slike 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, another 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 leopard, with four wings of a bird on its back. And the beast had four heads, and dominion was given to it. 7 After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a tfourth beast, terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth; it devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had uten horns. 8 I considered the horns, and behold, there came up among them another horn, a vlittle one, before 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 wa mouth speaking great things.
The Ancient of Days Reigns
9 “As I looked,
xthrones were placed,
and the Ancient of Days took his seat;
yhis clothing was white as snow,
and zthe hair of his head like pure wool;
his throne was fiery flames;
its wheels were burning fire.
10 aA stream of fire issued
and came out from before him;
ba thousand thousands served him,
and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him;
cthe court sat in judgment,
and dthe books were opened.
11 “I looked then because of the sound of the great words that the horn was speaking. And as I looked, ethe beast was killed, and its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire. 12 As for the rest of the beasts, their 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,
and behold, fwith the clouds of heaven
there came one like a gson of man,
and he came to the Ancient of Days
and was presented before him.
14 hAnd to him was given dominion
and glory and a kingdom,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
should serve him;
ihis dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away,
and jhis kingdom one
that shall not be destroyed.
Daniel’s Vision Interpreted
15 “As for me, Daniel, my spirit within me2 was anxious, and the visions of my head kalarmed 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 ‘These four great beasts are four kings who shall arise out of the earth. 18 But lthe 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 the 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 and 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 mmade war with the saints and prevailed over them, 22 until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given for the saints of the Most High, and the time came when the saints possessed the kingdom.
23 “Thus he said: ‘As for the fourth beast,
there shall be a fourth kingdom on earth,
which shall be different from all the kingdoms,
and it shall devour the whole earth,
and trample it down, and break it to pieces.
24 nAs for the ten horns,
out of this kingdom ten kings shall arise,
and another shall arise after them;
he shall be different from the former ones,
and shall put down three kings.
25 oHe shall speak words against the Most High,
and shall wear out the saints of the Most High,
and shall think to pchange the times and the law;
and they shall be given into his hand
qfor a time, times, and half a time.
26 But rthe court shall sit in judgment,
and his dominion shall be taken away,
to be consumed and destroyed to the end.
27 sAnd the kingdom and the dominion
and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven
shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High;
this kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom,
and all dominions shall serve and obey him.’3
28 “Here is the end of the matter. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts greatly ualarmed me, and vmy color changed, but I kept the matter in my heart.”
