Dan 8 | NASB2020 | STEP | In 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 .

Daniel 8

Vision of the Ram and Goat

1 In the third year of the reign of Belshazzar the king, a vision appeared to me, ^{▼▼Lit I, Daniel}Daniel, subsequent to the one which appeared to me ^{▼▼Lit at the beginning}previously. 2 I ^clooked in the vision, and while I was looking, I was in the citadel of ^dSusa, which is in the province of ^eElam; and I looked in the vision, and I myself was beside the Ulai Canal. 3 Then I raised my eyes and looked, and behold, a ^fram which had two horns was standing in front of the canal. Now the two horns were ^{▼▼Lit high(er)}long, but one was ^{▼▼Lit high(er)}longer than the other, with the ^{▼▼Lit high(er)}longer one coming up last. 4 I saw the ram ^jbutting westward, northward, and southward, and no other beasts could stand against him nor was there anyone to rescue from his ^{▼▼Lit hand}power, but ^lhe did as he pleased and made himself great.

5 While I was observing, behold, a male goat was coming from the west over the surface of the entire earth without touching the ground; and the goat had a ^mprominent horn between his eyes. 6 He 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. 7 And I saw him come up beside the ram, and he was enraged at him; and he struck the ram and smashed 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 no one to rescue the ram from his ^{▼▼Lit hand}power. 8 Then the male goat made himself exceedingly great. But once ^ohe became powerful, the ^plarge horn was broken; and in its place four prominent horns came up toward the ^qfour winds of heaven.

The Little Horn

9 And out of one of them came a rather ^rsmall horn which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the ^{▼▼I.e., Israel
,} ^tBeautiful Land. 10 It grew up to the heavenly ^{▼▼Lit host}lights, and some of the ^{▼▼Lit host}lights, ^{▼▼Or and some of the stars}that is, some of the ^xstars it threw down to the earth, and it ^ytrampled them. 11 It even ^zexalted itself ^{▼▼Lit up to the}to be equal with the ^{▼▼Or Prince}Commander of the army; and it removed the ^acregular sacrifice from Him, and the place of His sanctuary was overthrown. 12 And because of ^{▼▼Or a wrongdoing}an offense the army will be given to the horn along with the regular sacrifice; and it will ^aehurl truth to the ground and do as it pleases and be successful. 13 Then I heard a ^afholy one speaking, and another holy one said to that particular one who was speaking, “ ^agHow long will the vision about the regular sacrifice apply, ^{▼▼Or possibly and the offense that horrifies}while the offense causes horror, so as to allow both the sanctuary and the army ^{▼▼Lit as a trampling}to be ^ajtrampled?” 14 And he said to me, “For ^ak2,300 evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary will be ^{▼▼Lit justified}properly restored.”

Interpretation of the Vision

15 When ^amI, Daniel, had seen the vision, I sought ^{▼▼Lit understanding}to understand it; and behold, standing before me was one ^{▼▼Lit like the appearance of a man}who looked like a ^apman. 16 And I heard the voice of a man between the banks of Ulai, and he called out and said, “ ^aqGabriel, explain the vision to this man.” 17 So he came near to where I was standing, and when he came I was frightened and ^arfell on my face; and he said to me, “Son of man, understand that the vision pertains to the ^astime of the end.”

18 Now while he was talking with me, I was ^atdazed with my face to the ground; but he ^autouched me and made me stand at my place. 19 And he said, “Behold, I am going to ^avinform you of what will occur at the final period of the indignation, because it pertains to the appointed time of the end.

The Ram’s Identity

20 The ^awram which you saw with the two horns represents the kings of Media and Persia.

The Goat

21 The shaggy ^{▼▼Lit buck}goat represents the ^{▼▼Lit king}kingdom of Greece, and the large horn that is between his eyes is the first king. 22 The ^azbroken horn and the four horns that came up in its place represent four kingdoms which will arise from his nation, although not with his power.

23 “And in the latter period of their ^{▼▼Or kingdom}dominion,
When the wrongdoers have ^{▼▼Lit finished}run their course,
A king will arise,
^{▼▼Lit Strong of face}Insolent and skilled in ^{▼▼Or ambiguous speech}intrigue.
24 “And his power will be mighty, but not by his own power,
And he will ^{▼▼Or ruin extraordinary things
,} ^bfdestroy to an extraordinary degree
And be successful and do as he pleases;
He will ^{▼▼Or ruin}destroy mighty men and ^{▼▼Lit people of the saints}the holy people.
25 “And through his shrewdness
He will make deceit a success by his ^{▼▼Lit hand}influence;
And he will make himself great in his ^{▼▼Lit heart}own mind,
And he will ^{▼▼Or ruin}destroy many while they are ^{▼▼Or secure}at ease.
He will even ^{▼▼Lit stand against
,} ^bnoppose the Prince of princes,
But he will be broken ^bowithout ^{▼▼Lit hand}human agency.
26 “And the vision of the evenings and mornings
Which has been told is ^bqtrue;
But as for you, ^brkeep the vision secret,
Because it pertains to many ^bsdays in the future.”
27 Then I, Daniel, was ^{▼▼Or done in
,} ^buexhausted and sick for days. Then I got up and ^bvcarried on the king’s business; but I was astounded at the vision, and there was no one to explain it.