Daniel 7 - 12

The Vision of the Four Beasts

In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel saw a dream and visions in his head as he lay on his bed; then he wrote the dream down and said the following summary of the matter. 2 Daniel answered and said, “I was looking in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. 3 And four great beasts were coming up from the sea, different from one another. 4 The first was like a lion and had the wings of an eagle. I kept looking until its wings were plucked, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man; and a heart of a man was given to it. 5 And behold, another beast, a second one in the likeness of a bear. And it was raised up on one side, and three ribs were in its mouth between its teeth; and thus they said to it, ‘Arise, devour much meat!’ 6 After this I kept looking, and behold, another one, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird; the beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it. 7 After this I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, fearsome and terrifying and extraordinarily strong; and it had large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed and trampled down the remainder with its feet; and it was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns. 8 While I was contemplating the horns, behold, another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots before it; and behold, this horn possessed eyes like the eyes of a man and a mouth speaking great boasts.

The Ancient of Days

“I kept looking

Until thrones were set up,

And the Ancient of Days was seated;

His clothing was like white snow

And the hair of His head like pure wool.

His throne was ablaze with fire,

Its wheels were a burning fire.

A river of fire was flowing

And coming out from before Him;

Thousands upon thousands were attending Him,

And myriads upon myriads were standing before Him;

The court sat,

And the books were opened.

11 Then I kept looking because of the sound of the great boastful words which the horn was speaking; I kept looking until the beast was killed, and its body was destroyed and given to the burning fire. 12 As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but an extension of life was given to them for an appointed season of time.

The Son of Man

“I kept looking in the night visions,

And behold, with the clouds of heaven

One like a Son of Man was coming,

And He came up to the Ancient of Days

And came near before Him.

And to Him was given dominion,

Glory, and a kingdom,

That all the peoples, nations, and men of every tongue

Might serve Him.

His dominion is an everlasting dominion

Which will not be taken away;

And His kingdom is one

Which will not be destroyed.

The Vision Interpreted

15 “As for me, Daniel, my spirit was distressed within me, and the visions of my head kept alarming me. 16 I came near to one of those who were standing by and began seeking out from him the exact meaning of all this. So he said it to me and made known to me the interpretation of these things: 17 ‘These great beasts, which are four in number, are four kings who will arise from the earth. 18 But the saints of the Highest One will receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, for all ages to come.’ 19 “Then I desired to know the exact meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others, extraordinarily fearsome, with its teeth of iron and its claws of bronze, and which devoured, crushed, and trampled down the remainder with its feet, 20 and the meaning of the ten horns that were on its head and the other horn which came up and before which three of them fell, namely, that horn which had eyes and a mouth speaking great boasts and which was larger in appearance than its associates. 21 I kept looking, and that horn was waging war with the saints and overcoming them 22 until the Ancient of Days came and judgment was given in favor of the saints of the Highest One, and the season arrived when the saints took possession of the kingdom. 23 “Thus he said: ‘The fourth beast will be a fourth kingdom on the earth, which will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth and tread it down and crush it. 24 As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings will arise; and another will arise after them, and he will be different from the previous ones and will make low three kings. 25 He will speak words against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One, and he will intend to make changes in seasons and in law; and they will be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time. 26 But the court will sit for judgment, and his dominion will be taken away, annihilated and destroyed forever. 27 Then the reign, the dominion, and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Highest One; His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all the dominions will serve and obey Him.’ 28 “At this point the matter of this revelation ended. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts were greatly alarming me, and the splendor of my face changed, but I kept the matter in my heart.”

The Vision of the Ram and Goat

In the third year of the reign of Belshazzar the king, a vision appeared to me, Daniel, after the one which appeared to me previously. 2 And I looked in the vision. And it happened that while I was looking, I was in the citadel of Susa, which is in the province of Elam; and I looked in the vision, and I myself was beside the Ulai Canal. 3 Then I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, a ram which had two horns was standing in front of the canal. Now the two horns were long, but one was longer than the other, with the longer one coming up last. 4 I saw the ram butting westward, northward, and southward, and no other beasts could stand before it, nor was there anyone to deliver from its power, but it did as it pleased and magnified itself. 5 And while I was considering, behold, a male goat was coming from the west over the surface of the whole earth without touching the ground; and the goat had a conspicuous horn between its eyes. 6 Then it came up to the ram that had the two horns, which I had seen standing in front of the canal, and ran at it in his strong wrath. 7 And I saw it reach the side of the ram, and it was enraged at it; and it struck the ram and broke its two horns in pieces, and the ram had no strength to stand in opposition to it. So it threw it down to the ground and trampled on it, and there was none to deliver the ram from its power. 8 Then the male goat magnified itself exceedingly. But as soon as it was mighty, the large horn was broken; and in its place there came up four conspicuous horns toward the four winds of heaven.

The Small Horn

9 And out of one of them came forth a rather small horn. And it grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the Beautiful Land. 10 Then it grew up to the host of heaven and caused some of the host and some of the stars to fall to the earth, and it trampled them down. 11 And it even magnified itself to be equal with the Commander of the host; and it removed the regular sacrifice from Him, and the place of His sanctuary was thrown down. 12 And on account of transgression the host will be given over to the horn along with the regular sacrifice; and it will throw truth down to the ground and do its will and succeed. 13 Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to that particular one who was speaking, “How long will the vision about the regular sacrifice apply, while the transgression causes desolation, so as to allow both the holy place and the host to be trampled?” 14 He said to me, “For 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the holy place will be made righteous.”

Daniel Seeks to Understand the Vision

15 Now it happened when I, Daniel, had seen the vision, that I sought to understand it; and behold, standing before me was one who had the appearance of a man. 16 And I heard the voice of a man between the banks of Ulai, and he called out and said, “Gabriel, give this man an understanding of what has appeared.” 17 So he came near to where I was standing, and when he came I was terrified and fell on my face; but he said to me, “Son of man, understand that the vision pertains to the time of the end.” 18 Now while he was talking with me, I sank into a deep sleep with my face to the ground; but he touched me and made me stand upright. 19 Then he said, “Behold, I am going to let you know what will happen at the final period of the indignation, for it pertains to the appointed time of the end. 20 The ram which you saw with the two horns is the kings of Media and Persia. 21 Now the shaggy goat is the king of Greece, and the large horn that is between his eyes is the first king. 22 And the broken horn and the four horns that stood in its place are four kingdoms which will take their stand from his nation, although not with his power. 23

In the latter period of their reign,

When the transgressors have run their course,

A king will stand,

Insolent and skilled in intrigue.

His power will be mighty, but not by his own power,

And he will destroy to an astonishing degree

And succeed and do his will;

He will destroy mighty men and the holy people.

And through his insight

He will cause deceit to succeed by his hand;

And he will magnify himself in his heart,

And he will destroy many while they are at ease.

He will even stand against the Prince of princes,

But he will be broken without hands.

And what had appeared about the evenings and mornings

Which has been told is true;

But as for you, conceal the vision,

For it pertains to many days in the future.”

27 Then I, Daniel, was exhausted and sick for days. Then I rose up again and did the king’s work; but I was appalled at what had appeared, and there was none to make me understand it.

Daniel’s Prayer of Supplication

In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, from the seed of the Medes, who was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans— 2 in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, discerned in the books the number of the years concerning which the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah the prophet for the fulfillment of the laying waste of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years. 3 So I gave my face to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. 4 And I prayed to Yahweh my God and confessed and said, “Alas, O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, 5 we have sinned and committed iniquity and acted wickedly and rebelled, even turning aside from Your commandments and judgments. 6 Moreover, we have not listened to Your slaves the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, our princes, our fathers, and all the people of the land. 7 “To You, O Lord, belongs righteousness, but to us open shame, as it is this day—to the men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and all Israel, those who are nearby and those who are far away in all the countries to which You have banished them, because of their unfaithful deeds which they have committed against You. 8 O Yahweh, to us belongs open shame, to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, because we have sinned against You. 9 To the Lord our God belong compassion and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against Him; 10 nor have we listened to the voice of Yahweh our God, to walk in His laws which He put before us through His slaves the prophets. 11 Indeed all Israel has trespassed against Your law, even turning aside, not listening to Your voice; so the curse has been poured out on us, along with the oath which is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, for we have sinned against Him. 12 Thus He has established His words which He had spoken against us and against our judges who judged us, to bring on us great calamity; for under the whole heaven there has not been done anything like what was done to Jerusalem. 13 As it is written in the law of Moses, all this calamity has come on us; yet we have not entreated the favor of Yahweh our God by turning from our iniquity and acting wisely in Your truth. 14 Therefore Yahweh has watched over the calamity and brought it on us; for Yahweh our God is righteous with respect to all His deeds which He has done, but we have not listened to His voice. 15 “So now, O Lord our God, who have brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a strong hand and have made a name for Yourself, as it is this day—we have sinned; we have acted wickedly. 16 O Lord, in accordance with all Your righteousness, let now Your anger and Your wrath turn away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; for because of our sins and the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people have become a reproach to all those around us. 17 So now, our God, listen to the prayer of Your slave and to his supplications, and for Your sake, O Lord, let Your face shine on Your desolate sanctuary. 18 O my God, incline Your ear and listen! Open Your eyes and see our desolations and the city which is called by Your name; for we are not presenting our supplications before You on account of any righteousness of our own, but on account of Your abundant compassion. 19 O Lord, listen! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, give heed and take action! For Your own sake, O my God, do not delay, because Your city and Your people are called by Your name.”

Gabriel Brings Understanding

20 Now while I was speaking and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before Yahweh my God in behalf of the holy mountain of my God, 21 and while I was still speaking in prayer, then the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision previously, touched me in my extreme weariness about the time of the evening offering. 22 Then he made me understand and spoke with me and said, “O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you insight with understanding. 23 At the beginning of your supplications the word was issued, so I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed; so understand the message and gain understanding in what has appeared.

Seventy Weeks and the Messiah

24 “Seventy weeks have been determined for your people and for your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Holy of Holies. 25 So you are to know and have insight that from the going out of a word to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be restored and rebuilt, with plaza and moat, even in times of distress. 26 Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are decreed. 27 And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will make sacrifice and grain offering cease; and on the wing of abominations will come one who makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who makes desolate.”

Daniel’s Terrifying Vision of a Man

In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia, a word was revealed to Daniel, who was named Belteshazzar; and the word was true and one of great conflict, but he understood the word and had an understanding of what had appeared. 2 In those days, I, Daniel, had been mourning for three entire weeks. 3 I did not eat any tasty food, nor did meat or wine enter my mouth, nor did I use any ointment at all until the entire three weeks were fulfilled. 4 And on the twenty-fourth day of the first month, while I was by the bank of the great river, that is, the Tigris, 5 I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, there was a certain man dressed in linen, whose loins were girded with a belt of pure fine gold of Uphaz. 6 His body also was like beryl, his face had the appearance of lightning, his eyes were like flaming torches, his arms and feet like the gleam of burnished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a multitude. 7 Now I, Daniel, alone saw the vision that appeared, but the men who were with me did not see the vision that appeared; nevertheless, a great terror fell on them, and they ran away to hide themselves. 8 So I alone remained and saw this great vision that appeared; yet no might remained in me, for my outward splendor turned to a deathly pallor, and I retained no might. 9 But I heard the sound of his words; and as soon as I heard the sound of his words, I fell into a deep sleep on my face, with my face to the ground.

Daniel Is Strengthened

10 Then behold, a hand touched me and set me shaking on my hands and knees. 11 And he said to me, “O Daniel, man of high esteem, understand the words that I am about to speak to you and stand upright, for I have now been sent to you.” And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood up trembling. 12 Then he said to me, “Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you gave your heart to understand this and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to your words. 13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia was standing against me for twenty-one days; then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me. Now I had been left there with the kings of Persia. 14 Now I have come to give you an understanding of what will happen to your people in the last days, for the vision pertains to the days yet future.” 15 Now when he had spoken to me according to these words, I turned my face toward the ground and became speechless. 16 And behold, one in the likeness of the sons of men was touching my lips; then I opened my mouth and spoke and said to him who was standing before me, “O my lord, as a result of the vision that appeared, pains have come upon me, and I have retained no might. 17 Now how can such a servant of my lord talk with such as my lord? As for me, right now no might stands within me, nor does any breath remain within me.” 18 Then this one with the appearance of a man touched me again and strengthened me. 19 And he said, “O man of high esteem, do not be afraid. Peace be with you; gather strength and be strong!” Now as soon as he spoke to me, I received strength and said, “May my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.” 20 Then he said, “Do you know why I came to you? But I shall now return to fight against the prince of Persia; so I am going forth, and behold, the prince of Greece is about to come. 21 However, I will tell you what is inscribed in the writing of truth. Now there is no one who exerts strength with me against these forces except Michael your prince.

Kingdoms and Wars

“Now I, in the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood to strengthen and to be a fortress for him. 2 So now I will tell you the truth. Behold, three more kings are going to stand in Persia. Then a fourth will gain far more riches than all of them; as soon as he becomes strong through his riches, he will arouse the whole empire against the kingdom of Greece. 3 And a mighty king will stand, and he will dominate with great domination and do as he pleases. 4 But as soon as he stands, his kingdom will be broken up and parceled out toward the four winds of heaven, but not to his own descendants, nor according to his domination with which he dominated, for his kingdom will be uprooted and given to others besides them. 5 “Then the king of the South will grow strong, along with one of his princes who will grow strong over him and obtain dominion; indeed, his domain will be a great dominion. 6 And after some years they will form an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the South will come to the king of the North to carry out an equitable arrangement. But she will not retain her position of power, nor will he continue to stand with his power, but she will be given up, along with those who brought her in and the one who fathered her as well as he who strengthened her in those times. 7 But one of the descendants of her line will stand in his place, and he will come against their military force and enter the fortress of the king of the North, and he will deal with them and display strength. 8 And also their gods with their metal images and their desirable vessels of silver and gold he will bring into captivity to Egypt, and he on his part will stand back from attacking the king of the North for some years. 9 Then the latter will enter the kingdom of the king of the South, but will return to his own land. 10 “And his sons will wage war. So they will gather a multitude of great forces; and one of them will keep on coming and overflow and pass through, that he may again wage war up to his very fortress. 11 And the king of the South will be enraged and go forth and fight with the king of the North. Then the latter will cause a great multitude to stand, but that multitude will be given into the hand of the former. 12 Then the multitude will be carried away, his heart will be lifted up, and he will cause tens of thousands to fall; yet he will not prevail. 13 And the king of the North will again cause a much greater multitude than the former to stand, and at the end of the times of those years, he will keep on coming with a great military force and much equipment. 14 “Now in those times many will stand against the king of the South; the violent ones among your people will also lift themselves up in order to cause the vision to stand, but they will fall down. 15 Then the king of the North will come, cast up a siege ramp, and capture a well-fortified city; and the might of the South will not stand, not even their choicest troops, for there will be no strength to make a stand. 16 But he who comes against him will do as he pleases, and no one will be able to stand in opposition to him; he will also stand for a time in the Beautiful Land, with destruction in his hand. 17 And he will set his face to come with the authority of his whole kingdom, bringing with him an equitable proposal which he will put into effect; he will also give him the daughter of women to destroy it. But she will not take a stand for him or be on his side. 18 Then he will turn his face to the coastlands and capture many. But a ruler will make his reproach against him cease; moreover, he will repay him for his reproach. 19 So he will turn his face toward the fortresses of his own land, but he will stumble and fall and be found no more. 20 “Then in his place one will stand who will have an oppressor pass through the Jewel of his kingdom; yet within a few days he will be broken, though not in anger nor in battle. 21 And in his place a despised person will stand, to whom the splendor of the kingdom has not been given, but he will come in a time of ease and take hold of the kingdom by intrigue. 22 But the overflowing might will be flooded away before him and broken, and also the prince of the covenant. 23 And after an alliance is made with him, he will practice deception, and he will go up and gain power with a small force of people. 24 In a time of ease he will enter the richest parts of the province, and he will do what his fathers never did, nor his fathers’ fathers; he will distribute plunder, spoil, and possessions among them, and he will devise his schemes against strongholds, but only for a time. 25 And he will stir up his strength and heart against the king of the South with a great military force; so the king of the South will wage war with an extremely large and mighty military force for war; but he will not stand, for schemes will be devised against him. 26 And those who eat his choice food will break him, and his military force will overflow, but many will fall down slain. 27 And as for both kings, their hearts will be intent on evil, and they will speak falsehood at the same table; but it will not succeed, for the end is still to come at the appointed time. 28 Then he will return to his land with great possessions; but his heart will be set against the holy covenant, and he will take action and then return to his own land. 29 “At the appointed time he will return and come into the South, but this last time it will not happen the way it did before. 30 Indeed, ships of Kittim will come against him; therefore he will be disheartened and will return and become indignant at the holy covenant and take action; so he will come back and show regard for those who forsake the holy covenant. 31 Mighty forces from him will stand, profane the sanctuary fortress, and abolish the regular sacrifice. And they will set up the abomination of desolation. 32 And by smooth words he will turn to godlessness those who act wickedly toward the covenant, but the people who know their God will display strength and take action. 33 And those who have insight among the people will give understanding to the many; yet they will fall by sword and by flame, by captivity and by plunder for many days. 34 Now when they fall, they will be granted a little help, and many will join with them in intrigue. 35 And some of those who have insight will fall, in order to refine, purge, and make them pure until the time of the end, because it is still to come at the appointed time. 36 “Then the king will do as he pleases, and he will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will speak astonishing things against the God of gods; and he will succeed until the indignation is finished, for that which is decreed will be done. 37 He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers or for the desire of women, nor will he show regard for any other god; for he will magnify himself above them all. 38 But instead he will honor a god of fortresses, a god whom his fathers did not know; he will honor him with gold, silver, costly stones, and desirable things. 39 And he will take action against the strongest of fortresses with the help of a foreign god; he will give great honor to those who recognize him and will cause them to rule over the many and will apportion land for a price. 40 “And at the time of the end, the king of the South will collide with him, and the king of the North will storm against him with chariots, with horsemen, and with many ships; and he will enter lands, overflow them, and pass through. 41 And he will also enter the Beautiful Land, and many countries will fall; but these will be rescued out of his hand: Edom, Moab, and the foremost of the sons of Ammon. 42 Then he will send forth his hand against other countries, and the land of Egypt will not escape. 43 But he will rule over the hidden treasures of gold and silver and over all the desirable things of Egypt; and Libyans and Ethiopians will follow at his heels. 44 But reports from the East and from the North will dismay him, and he will go forth with great wrath to destroy and devote many to destruction. 45 And he will pitch the tents of his royal pavilion between the seas and the beautiful Holy Mountain; yet he will come to his end, and no one will help him.

The End of the Days

“Now at that time, Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will stand. And there will be a time of distress such as never happened since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued. 2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to reproach and everlasting contempt. 3 And those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. 4 But as for you, Daniel, conceal these words and seal up the book until the time of the end; many will go to and fro, and knowledge will increase.” 5 Then I, Daniel, looked, and behold, two others were standing, one on this bank of the river and the other on that bank of the river. 6 And one said to the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, “How long will it be until the end of these wonders?” 7 And I heard the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, as he raised his right hand and his left toward heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever that it would be for a time, times, and half a time; and as soon as they complete shattering the power of the holy people, all these events will be completed. 8 As for me, I heard but could not understand; so I said, “My lord, what will be the outcome of these events?” 9 Then he said, “Go your way, Daniel, for these words are concealed and sealed up until the time of the end. 10 Many will be purged, purified, and refined, but the wicked will act wickedly; and none of the wicked will understand, but those who have insight will understand. 11 But from the time that the regular sacrifice is abolished and the abomination of desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days. 12 How blessed is he who keeps waiting and reaches the 1,335 days! 13 But as for you, go your way to the end; then you will enter into rest and stand again for your allotted portion at the end of the days.”