Dan 7:7-28, Hab 1:14-17 | ESV | STEP | After this I saw in the night visions , and behold , a fourth 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 ten horns .

7 After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, ^aterrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth; ^bit devoured and broke in pieces ^cand stamped what was left with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and ^dit had ten horns. 8 I considered the horns, and behold, ^ethere came up among them another horn, a little one, ^fbefore 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 ^ga mouth speaking great things.

The Ancient of Days Reigns

9 “As I looked,

^hthrones were placed,
and the ⁱAncient of Days took his seat;
^jhis clothing was white as snow,
and ^kthe hair of his head like pure wool;
his throne was fiery flames;
^lits wheels were burning fire.
10 ^mA stream of fire issued
and came out from before him;
ⁿa thousand thousands ^oserved him,
^pand ten thousand times ten thousand ^qstood before him;
the ^rcourt sat in judgment,
and ^sthe books were opened.
11 “I looked then because of the sound of ^tthe great words that the horn was speaking. And as I looked, ^uthe beast was killed, and its body destroyed ^vand given over to be burned with fire. 12 As for the rest of the beasts, ^wtheir 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 ^xbehold, with the clouds of heaven
there came one like a son of man,
and he came to the ^yAncient of Days
and was presented before him.
14 ^zAnd to him was given dominion
and glory and a kingdom,
that all ^aapeoples, nations, and languages
should serve him;
^abhis 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 ^adthe 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 ^ae‘These four great beasts are four kings who shall arise out of the earth. 18 But ^afthe 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 ^agthe 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 ^ahand 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 ^aimade war with the saints and prevailed over them, 22 until the ^ajAncient of Days came, and ^akjudgment was given for the saints of the Most High, and the time came when ^althe saints possessed the kingdom.

23 “Thus he said: ‘As for ^amthe 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 ^anHe shall speak words against the Most High,
and shall wear out the saints of the Most High,
and shall think to ^aochange the times and the law;
and they shall be given into his hand
for ^apa time, times, and half a time.
26 ^aqBut the court shall sit in judgment,
and ^arhis dominion shall be taken away,
to be consumed and destroyed ^asto the end.
27 ^atAnd the kingdom and the dominion
and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven
shall be given to the people of ^authe saints of the Most High;
^avhis 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. ^axAs for me, Daniel, my ^aythoughts greatly alarmed me, ^azand my color changed, but ^baI kept the matter in my heart.”

Habakkuk 1:14-17

14 You make mankind like the fish of the sea,
like crawling things that have no ruler.
15 ^bbHe ^{▼▼That is, the wicked foe} brings all of them up ^bdwith a hook;
he drags them out with his net;
he gathers them in his dragnet;
so he rejoices and is glad.
16 ^beTherefore he sacrifices to his net
and makes offerings to his dragnet;
for by them he lives in luxury, ^{▼▼Hebrew his portion is fat}
and his food is rich.
17 Is he then to keep on emptying his net
^bgand mercilessly killing nations forever?