Vision of a Ram and a Goat
1 In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar a vision appearedtome—to me, Daniel—after the one that appeared to methe first time.
2 I saw in the vision, and it so happened while I was looking, that IwasinShushan, the citadel, whichisin the province of Elam; and I saw in the vision that I was by the River Ulai.
3 Then I lifted my eyes and saw, and there, standing beside the river, was a ram which had two horns, and the two hornswerehigh; but onewashigher than the other, and the higheronecame up last.
4 I saw the ram pushing westward, northward, and southward, so that no animal could withstand him; norwasthereanythat could deliver from his hand,but he did according to his will and became great.
5 And as I was considering, suddenly a male goat came from the west, across the surface of the whole earth, without touching the ground; and the goathada notablehorn between his eyes.
6 Then he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing beside the river, and ran at him with furious power.
7 And I saw him confronting the ram; he was moved with rage against him, attacked the ram, and broke his two horns. There was no power in the ram to withstand him, but he cast him down to the ground and trampled him; and there was no one that could deliver the ram from his hand.
8 Therefore the male goat grew very great; but when he became strong, the large horn was broken, and in place of itfour notable ones came up toward the four winds of heaven.
9 And out of one of them came a little horn which grew exceedingly great toward the south,toward the east, and toward theGloriousLand.
10 And it grew up tothe host of heaven; andit cast downsomeof the host andsomeof the stars to the ground, and trampled them.
11 He even exaltedhimselfas high asthe Prince of the host;and by himthe dailysacrificeswere taken away, and the place of His sanctuary was cast down.
12 Because of transgression,an army was given overtothehornto oppose the dailysacrifices;and he casttruth down to the ground. Hedidallthisand prospered.
13 Then I hearda holy one speaking; andanotherholy one said to that certainonewho was speaking, “How longwillthe visionbe, concerningthe dailysacrificesand the transgression of desolation, the giving of both the sanctuary and the host to be trampled underfoot?”
14 And he said to me, “For two thousand three hundred days; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.”
Gabriel Interprets the Vision
15 Then it happened, when I, Daniel, had seen the vision andwas seeking the meaning, that suddenly there stood before meone having the appearance of a man.
16 And I heard a man’s voicebetweenthebanksofthe Ulai, who called, and said,“Gabriel, make thismanunderstand the vision.”
17 So he came near where I stood, and when he came I was afraid andfell on my face; but he said to me, “Understand, son of man, that the visionrefersto the time of the end.”
18 Now, as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep with my face to the ground;but he touched me, and stood me upright.
19 And he said, “Look, I am making known to you what shall happen in the latter time of the indignation;for at the appointed time the endshallbe.
20 The ram which you saw, having the two horns—theyarethe kings of Media and Persia.
21 And the male goatisthe kingdom of Greece. The large horn thatisbetween its eyesisthe first king.
22 As for the brokenhornand the four that stood up in its place, four kingdoms shall arise out of that nation, but not with its power.
23 “And in the latter time of their kingdom,
When the transgressors have reached their fullness,
A king shall arise,
# Having fierce features,
Who understands sinister schemes.
24 His power shall be mighty,but not by his own power;
He shall destroy fearfully,
# And shall prosper and thrive;
# He shall destroy the mighty, andalsothe holy people.
25 “Throughhis cunning
He shall cause deceit to prosper under his rule;
# And he shall exalthimselfin his heart.
He shall destroy many intheirprosperity.
# He shall even rise against the Prince of princes;
# But he shall bebroken withouthumanmeans.
26 “And the vision of the evenings and mornings
Which was told is true;
# Therefore seal up the vision,
Foritrefersto many daysinthefuture.”
27 And I, Daniel, fainted and was sick for days; afterward I arose and went about the king’s business. I was astonished by the vision, but no one understood it.