Dan 8 | AB | STEP | In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar a vision appeared to me, even to me, Daniel, after that which appeared to me at the first.

Daniel 8

1 In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar a vision appeared to me, even to me, Daniel, after that which appeared to me at the first. 2 And I was in Susa the palace, which is in the land of Elam, and I was on the bank of the Ulai. 3 And I lifted up my eyes and saw, and behold, a ram standing in front of the Ulai; and he had two horns; and one was higher than the other, and the higher one came up last. 4 And I saw the ram butting westward, northward, and southward; and no beast could stand before him, and there was none that could deliver out of his hand; and he did according to his will, and became great. 5 And as I was considering the ram, behold, a male goat came from the southwest on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the earth: and the goat had a horn between his eyes. 6 And he came to the ram that had the two horns, which I had seen standing in front of the Ulai, and he ran at him with the violence of his strength. 7 And I saw him coming up close to the ram, and he was exceedingly enraged against him, and he attacked the ram, and broke both his horns: and there was no strength in the ram to withstand him, but he cast him on the ground, and trampled on him; and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand. 8 And the male goat grew exceedingly great. And when he was strong, his great horn was broken; and four other horns rose up in its place toward the four winds of heaven. 9 And out of one of them came forth one strong horn, and it grew very great toward the south, and toward the host. 10 And it magnified itself to the host of heaven; and there fell to the earth some of the host of heaven and of the stars, and they trampled on them. 11 And this shall be until the Chief Captain has delivered the captivity: and by reason of the horn the sacrifice was disturbed, and he prospered; and the holy place shall be made desolate. 12 And a sin offering was given for the sacrifice, and righteousness was cast down to the ground; and he did all this, and prospered. 13 And I heard one saint speaking, and a saint said to a certain one speaking, How long shall the vision continue, even the removal of the sacrifice, and the bringing in of the sin of desolation; and how long shall the sanctuary and host be trampled? 14 And he said to him, Evening and morning there shall be two thousand three hundred days; and then the sanctuary shall be cleansed. 15 And it came to pass, as I, Daniel, saw the vision, and sought to understand it, that behold, there stood before me one having the appearance of a man. 16 And I heard the voice of a man between the banks of the Ulai; and he called, and said, Gabriel, cause this man to understand the vision. 17 And he came and stood near where I stood. And when he came, I was struck with awe, and fell upon my face. But he said to me, Understand, son of man, for the vision is yet for an appointed time. 18 And while he spoke with me, I fell upon my face to the earth. And he touched me, and set me on my feet. 19 And he said, Behold, I will make known to you the things that shall come to pass at the end of the wrath: for the vision is yet for an appointed time. 20 The ram which you saw that had the two horns is the king of the Medes and Persians. 21 The male goat is the king of the Greeks: and the great horn which was between his eyes, he is the first king. 22 And as for the one that was broken, in whose place there stood up four horns, four kings shall arise out of his nation, but not in their own strength. 23 And at the latter time of their kingdom, when their sins are coming to the full, there shall arise a king of fierce countenance, who understands riddles; 24 and his power shall be great, and he shall destroy fearfully, and shall prosper and thrive, and shall destroy the mighty men, and the holy people. 25 And the yoke of his chain shall prosper: there is underhanded treachery in his hand, and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by deceit he shall destroy many, and shall stand up for the destruction of many, and shall crush them like eggs in his hand. 26 And the vision of the evening and morning that was mentioned is true: seal up the vision; for it is for many days. 27 And I, Daniel, fell asleep, and was sick. Then I arose, and did the king's business; and I was astonished by the vision, and there was none that understood it.