Dan 7, Dan 9 | ESV | STEP | In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon , Daniel saw a dream and visions of his head as he lay in his bed . Then he wrote down the dream and told the sum of the matter .

1 In the first year of ^aBelshazzar king of Babylon, ^bDaniel saw a dream and ^cvisions 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, ^{▼▼Aramaic answered and said} “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, ^ethe four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. 3 And four great beasts ^fcame 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, ^ganother 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 ^hleopard, with four wings of a bird on its back. And the beast had four heads, and ⁱdominion was given to it. 7 After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, ^jterrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth; ^kit devoured and broke in pieces ^land stamped what was left with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and ^mit had ten horns. 8 I considered the horns, and behold, ⁿthere came up among them another horn, a little one, ^obefore 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 ^pa mouth speaking great things.

The Ancient of Days Reigns

9 “As I looked,

^qthrones were placed,
and the ^rAncient of Days took his seat;
^shis clothing was white as snow,
and ^tthe hair of his head like pure wool;
his throne was fiery flames;
^uits wheels were burning fire.
10 ^vA stream of fire issued
and came out from before him;
^wa thousand thousands ^xserved him,
^yand ten thousand times ten thousand ^zstood before him;
the ^aacourt sat in judgment,
and ^abthe books were opened.
11 “I looked then because of the sound of ^acthe great words that the horn was speaking. And as I looked, ^adthe beast was killed, and its body destroyed ^aeand given over to be burned with fire. 12 As for the rest of the beasts, ^aftheir 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 ^agbehold, with the clouds of heaven
there came one like a son of man,
and he came to the ^ahAncient of Days
and was presented before him.
14 ^aiAnd to him was given dominion
and glory and a kingdom,
that all ^ajpeoples, nations, and languages
should serve him;
^akhis dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away,
and his kingdom one
that shall not be destroyed.

Daniel’s Vision Interpreted

15 “As for me, Daniel, my spirit within me ^{▼▼Aramaic within its sheath} was anxious, and ^amthe 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 ^an‘These four great beasts are four kings who shall arise out of the earth. 18 But ^aothe 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 ^apthe 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 ^aqand 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 ^armade war with the saints and prevailed over them, 22 until the ^asAncient of Days came, and ^atjudgment was given for the saints of the Most High, and the time came when ^authe saints possessed the kingdom.

23 “Thus he said: ‘As for ^avthe 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 As 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 ^awHe shall speak words against the Most High,
and shall wear out the saints of the Most High,
and shall think to ^axchange the times and the law;
and they shall be given into his hand
for ^aya time, times, and half a time.
26 ^azBut the court shall sit in judgment,
and ^bahis dominion shall be taken away,
to be consumed and destroyed ^bbto the end.
27 ^bcAnd the kingdom and the dominion
and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven
shall be given to the people of ^bdthe saints of the Most High;
^behis kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom,
and all dominions shall serve and obey him.’ ^{▼▼Or their kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey them}
28 “Here is the end of the matter. ^bgAs for me, Daniel, my ^bhthoughts greatly alarmed me, ^biand my color changed, but ^bjI kept the matter in my heart.”

Daniel 9

Daniel’s Prayer for His People

1 ^bkIn the first year of ^blDarius the son of Ahasuerus, by descent a ^bmMede, who was made king over the realm of the ^bnChaldeans— 2 in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, perceived in the books the number of years that, according to ^bothe 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 ^bpprayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. 4 I prayed to the Lord my God and ^bqmade confession, saying, ^br“O Lord, the ^bsgreat and awesome God, who ^btkeeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, 5 ^buwe have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly ^bvand rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and rules. 6 ^bwWe have not listened to ^bxyour servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to ^byour kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. 7 To you, ^bzO 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, ^cathose who are near and ^cbthose who are far away, in ^ccall the lands to which you have driven them, because of ^cdthe 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 ^cewe have sinned against you. 9 ^cfTo the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against him 10 ^cgand have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God by walking in his laws, which he set before us by ^chhis servants the prophets. 11 ^ciAll Israel has transgressed your law and turned aside, ^cjrefusing to obey your voice. ^ckAnd the curse and oath ^clthat are written in the Law of ^cmMoses the servant of God have been poured out upon us, because ^cnwe have sinned against him. 12 He has confirmed his words, which he spoke against us and against ^coour rulers who ruled us, ^{▼▼Or our judges who judged us} by ^cqbringing upon us a great calamity. ^crFor under the whole heaven there has not been done anything like what has been done against Jerusalem. 13 ^csAs 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, ^ctturning from our iniquities and gaining insight by your truth. 14 ^cuTherefore the Lord has kept ready the calamity and has brought it upon us, ^cvfor the Lord our God is righteous in all the works that he has done, and ^cwwe have not obeyed his voice. 15 And now, O Lord our God, who brought your people out of the land of Egypt ^cxwith a mighty hand, and ^cyhave made a name for yourself, as at this day, ^czwe have sinned, we have done wickedly.

16 “O Lord, ^daaccording to all your righteous acts, let your anger and your wrath turn away from your city Jerusalem, ^dbyour holy hill, ^dcbecause for our sins, and for ^ddthe iniquities of our fathers, ^deJerusalem and your people have become ^dfa 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, ^{▼▼Hebrew for the Lord’s sake} ^dhmake your face to shine upon ^diyour sanctuary, which is desolate. 18 ^djO my God, incline your ear and hear. Open your eyes and see ^dkour desolations, and ^dlthe 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. ^dmDelay not, ^dnfor your own sake, O my God, because ^doyour city and ^dpyour people are called by your name.”

Gabriel Brings an Answer

20 ^dqWhile 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 ^drthe holy hill of my God, 21 while I was speaking in prayer, the man ^dsGabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the first, ^dtcame to me in swift flight at ^duthe time of the evening sacrifice. 22 ^dvHe made me understand, speaking with me and saying, “O Daniel, I have now come out to give you ^dwinsight and understanding. 23 ^dxAt the beginning of your pleas for mercy a word went out, ^dyand I have come to tell it to you, for ^dzyou are greatly loved. Therefore consider the word ^eaand understand the vision.

The Seventy Weeks

24 ^eb“Seventy weeks ^{▼▼Or sevens; also twice in verse 25 and once in verse 26} are decreed about your people and ^edyour holy city, to finish ^eethe transgression, to put an end to sin, ^efand to atone for iniquity, ^egto bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and ^ehto anoint a most holy place. ^{▼▼Or thing, or one} 25 ^ejKnow therefore and understand that ^ekfrom the going out of the word to restore and ^elbuild Jerusalem to the coming of an ^emanointed one, a ^enprince, there shall be seven weeks. Then for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again ^{▼▼Or there shall be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks. It shall be built again} with squares and moat, ^epbut in a troubled time. 26 And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall ^eqbe cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come ^ershall destroy the city and the sanctuary. ^esIts ^{▼▼Or His} end shall come with a flood, ^euand to the end there shall be war. ^evDesolations are decreed. 27 And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, ^{▼▼Or seven; twice in this verse} and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. ^exAnd on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until ^eythe decreed end is poured out on the desolator.”