Daniel 8

1. In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar a vision appeared to me—to me, Daniel—after that which appeared to me at the first.

2. And I saw in the vision, and it came to pass when I looked, I was at Shushan the palace, which is in the province of Elam. And in the vision I looked, and I was by the river Ulai.

3. Then I lifted up my eyes, and looked. And behold, a ram stood before the river having two horns, and the two horns were high, but one was higher than the other, and the higher one came up last.

4. I saw the ram pushing westward and northward and southward, and no beast could stand before him, nor any that could deliver out of his hand. But he did according to his will and became great.

5. And as I was considering, behold, a he-goat came from the west, over the face of all the earth, and did not touch the ground. And the he-goat had a notable horn between his eyes.

6. And he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing before the river, and ran at him in the fury of his power.

7. And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with anger against him, and struck the ram and shattered his two horns. And there was no power in the ram to stand before him. But he threw him down to the ground and stamped upon him. And none could deliver the ram out of his hand.

8. Then the he-goat became very great. And when he was strong, the great horn was broken. And in its place there came up the appearance of four horns toward the four winds of the heavens.

9. And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which became very great, toward the south and toward the east and toward the glorious land.

10. And it became great, even to the host of heaven. And it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and trampled upon them.

11. Yea, he magnified himself, even to the Prince of the host, and the daily sacrifice was taken away by him, and the place of His sanctuary was cast down.

12. And the host was given to it together with the daily sacrifice because of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground. And it practiced and prospered.

13. Then I heard a certain holy one speaking, and another holy one said to that certain one who spoke, “How long shall the vision last, concerning the daily sacrifice and the transgression that causes desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trampled under foot?”

14. And he said to me, “Unto two thousand, three hundred evenings and mornings. Then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.”

15. And it came to pass when I, even I, Daniel, had seen the vision and sought to understand it, then, behold, there stood before me one having the appearance of a man.

16. And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of Ulai, which called and said, “Gabriel, make this one understand the vision.”

17. So he came near where I stood. And when he came, I was terrified and fell upon my face. But he said to me, “Understand, O son of man, for the vision is for the time of the end.”

18. Now as he was speaking with me, I fell into a deep sleep, my face toward the ground. But he touched me and set me upright.

19. And he said, “Behold, I will make you know what shall happen in the latter time of the indignation, because it belongs to the appointed time of the end.

20. The ram which you saw having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia.

21. And the shaggy goat is the king of Greece. And the great horn between his eyes is the first king.

22. Now that being broken, then four stood up in its place; four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not with its power.

23. And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors have come to the full, a king, fierce of countenance and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up.

24. And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power. And he shall destroy marvelously, and shall prosper and do his own will, and destroy the mighty and the holy people.

25. And also through his cunning he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand. And he shall magnify himself in his heart, and in time of security shall destroy many. He also shall stand up against the Prince of princes. But he shall be broken without a human hand.

26. And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true. But you shall shut up the vision, for it belongs to many days to come.”

27. And I, Daniel, fainted, and was sick certain days. Afterward I rose up and did the king’s business. And I was astounded at the vision but did not understand it.