Daniel 7 - 8, James 2:14-3:18, Proverbs 20

The Vision of the Four Beasts

7In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel saw a ^adream and visions in his head as he lay on his bed; then he ^bwrote the dream down and said the ¹following summary of the matter. ²Daniel answered and said, “I was ^alooking in my vision by night, and behold, the ^bfour winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea. ³“And four great ^abeasts were coming up from the sea, different from one another. ⁴“The first was ^alike 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, ^alike a leopard, which had on its ¹back four wings of a bird; the beast also had ^bfour heads, and ²dominion was given to it. ⁷“After this I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, a ^afourth 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 ^bten horns. ⁸“While I was contemplating the horns, behold, ^aanother horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were pulled out by the roots before it; and behold, ¹this horn possessed eyes like the eyes of a man and ^ba mouth speaking great boasts.

The Ancient of Days

⁹“I kept lookingUntil ^athrones were set up,And the Ancient of Days was seated;His ^bclothing was like white snowAnd the ^chair of His head like pure wool.His ^dthrone was ¹ablaze with fire,Its ^ewheels were a burning fire.¹⁰“A river of ^afire was flowingAnd coming out from before Him;^bThousands upon thousands were attending Him,And myriads upon myriads were standing before Him;The ^ccourt sat,And ^dthe 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 ^aburning ¹fire. ¹²“As for the rest of the beasts, their ¹dominion was taken away, but an extension of life was given to them for an appointed season of time.

The Son of Man

¹³“I kept looking in the night visions,And behold, with the clouds of heavenOne like a ^aSon of Man was coming,And He came up to the Ancient of DaysAnd came near before Him.¹⁴“And to Him was given ¹^,^adominion,Glory, and ^ba kingdom,^cThat all the peoples, nations, and men of every tongueMight serve Him.^dHis ²dominion is an everlasting ³dominionWhich will not be taken away;^eAnd His kingdom is oneWhich will not be destroyed.

The Vision Interpreted

¹⁵“As for me, Daniel, my spirit was distressed ¹within me, and the ^avisions of my head kept ^balarming me. ¹⁶“I came near to one of those who were ^astanding by and began seeking out from him the ¹exact meaning of all this. So he ^bsaid 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 ¹^,^asaints of the Highest One will ^breceive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, ²for all ages to come.’

¹⁹“Then I desired to know the ¹exact meaning of the ^afourth beast, which was different from all ²the 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, ²⁰and 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 ¹which was larger in appearance than its associates. ²¹“I kept looking, and that horn was ^awaging war with the saints and overcoming them ²²until the Ancient of Days came and ^ajudgment 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 ^aten 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 ^aspeak words against the ^bMost High and ^cwear down the saints of the Highest One, and he will intend to make ^dchanges in seasons and in law; and ¹they will be given into his hand for a ²^,^etime, ³times, and half a ⁴time. ²⁶‘But the court will sit for judgment, and his dominion will be ^ataken away, ¹annihilated and destroyed ²forever. ²⁷‘Then the ¹^,^areign, 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 ^beverlasting kingdom, and all the dominions will ^cserve and obey Him.’

²⁸“¹At this point the matter of this revelation ended. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts were ^agreatly alarming me, and the ²splendor of my face changed, but I ^bkept the matter in my heart.”

The Vision of the Ram and Goat

8In the third year of the reign of Belshazzar the king, a vision appeared to me, ¹Daniel, after the one which appeared to me ²previously. ²And I ^alooked in the vision. And it happened that while I was looking, I was in the citadel of ^bSusa, which is in the province of ^cElam; and I looked in the vision, and I myself was beside the Ulai ¹Canal. ³Then I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, a ^aram which had two horns was standing in front of the ¹canal. Now the two horns were ²long, but one was ³longer than the other, with the ⁴longer one coming up last. ⁴I saw the ram ^abutting westward, northward, and southward, and no other beasts could stand before it, nor was there anyone to deliver from its ¹power, but ^bit did as it pleased and magnified itself.

⁵And 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 ¹goat had a ^aconspicuous horn between its eyes. ⁶Then it came up to the ram that had the two horns, which I had seen standing in front of the ¹canal, and ran at it in his strong wrath. ⁷And 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 ¹opposition to it. So it threw it down to the ground and trampled on it, and there was none to deliver the ram from its ²power. ⁸Then the male goat magnified itself exceedingly. But as soon as ^ait was mighty, the ^blarge horn was broken; and in its place there came up four conspicuous horns toward the ^cfour winds of ¹heaven.

The Small Horn

⁹And out of one of them came forth a rather ^asmall horn. And it grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the ¹^,^bBeautiful Land. ¹⁰Then it grew up to the host of heaven and caused some of the host and some of the ^astars to fall to the earth, and it ^btrampled them down. ¹¹And it even ^amagnified itself ¹to be equal with the ²Commander of the host; and it removed the ^bregular sacrifice from Him, and the place of His sanctuary was thrown down. ¹²And on account of transgression the host will be given over to the horn along with the regular sacrifice; and it will ^athrow truth down to the ground and do its will and succeed. ¹³Then I heard a ^aholy one speaking, and another holy one said to that particular one who was speaking, “^bHow long will the vision about the regular sacrifice apply, ¹while the transgression causes desolation, so as to allow both the holy place and the host ²to be ^ctrampled?” ¹⁴He said to me, “For ^a2,300 evenings and mornings; then the holy place will be ¹made righteous.”

Daniel Seeks to Understand the Vision

¹⁵Now it happened when ^aI, Daniel, had seen the vision, that I sought ¹to understand it; and behold, standing before me was one ²who had the appearance of a ^bman. ¹⁶And I heard the voice of a man between the banks of Ulai, and he called out and said, “^aGabriel, give this man an understanding of what has appeared.” ¹⁷So he came near to where I was standing, and when he came I was terrified and ^afell on my face; but he said to me, “Son of man, understand that the vision pertains to the ^btime of the end.”

¹⁸Now while he was talking with me, I ^asank into a deep sleep with my face to the ground; but he ^btouched me and made me stand ¹upright. ¹⁹Then he said, “Behold, I am going to ^alet you know what will happen at the final period of the indignation, for it pertains to the appointed time of the end. ²⁰“The ^aram which you saw with the two horns is the kings of Media and Persia. ²¹“Now the shaggy ¹goat is the ²king of Greece, and the large horn that is between his eyes is the first king. ²²“And the ^abroken 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 ¹reign,When the transgressors have ²run their course,A king will stand,³Insolent and skilled in ⁴intrigue.²⁴“His power will be mighty, but not by his own power,And he will ¹^,^adestroy to an ²astonishing degreeAnd succeed and do his will;He will ³destroy mighty men and ⁴the holy people.²⁵“And through his insightHe will cause deceit to succeed by his hand;And he will magnify himself in his heart,And he will ¹destroy many while they are ²at ease.He will even ^astand against the Prince of princes,But he will be broken ^bwithout hands.²⁶“And what had appeared about the evenings and morningsWhich has been told is ^atrue;But as for you, ^bconceal the vision,For it pertains to many ^cdays in the future.”

²⁷Then I, Daniel, was ¹^,^aexhausted and sick for days. Then I rose up again and ^bdid the king’s work; but I was ²appalled at what had appeared, and there was none to make me understand it.

Faith and Works

¹⁴^aWhat use is it, ^bmy brothers, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can ¹that faith save him? ¹⁵^aIf a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, ¹⁶and one of you says to them, “^aGo in peace, ¹be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? ¹⁷Even so ^afaith, if it has no works, is ¹dead by itself.

¹⁸^aBut someone will say, “You have faith; and I have works. Show me your ^bfaith without the works, and I will ^cshow you my faith ^dby my works.” ¹⁹You believe that ¹^,^aGod is one. ^bYou do well; ^cthe demons also believe, and shudder. ²⁰But are you willing to recognize, ^ayou foolish fellow, that ^bfaith without works is useless? ²¹^aWas not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? ²²You see that ^afaith was working with his works, and ¹as a result of the ^bworks, faith was ²perfected. ²³And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “^aAnd Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness,” and he was called ^bthe friend of God. ²⁴You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. ²⁵And in the same way, was not ^aRahab the harlot also justified by works ^bwhen she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? ²⁶For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also ^afaith without works is dead.

The Tongue Is a Fire

3^aDo not, many of you, become teachers, ^bmy brothers, knowing that we will receive a ¹stricter judgment. ²For we all ^astumble in many ways. ^bIf anyone does not stumble in ¹what he says, he is a ^cperfect man, able to ^dbridle the entire body as well. ³Now ^aif we put the bits into the horses’ mouths so that they will obey us, we direct their entire body as well. ⁴Look at the ships also, though they are so great and are driven by strong winds, they are still directed by a very small rudder wherever the inclination of the pilot wills. ⁵So also the tongue is a small part of the body, and yet it ^aboasts of great things. ^bBehold how great a forest is set aflame by such a small fire! ⁶And ^athe tongue is a fire, the very world of unrighteousness; the tongue is set among our members as that which ^bdefiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our ¹existence, and is set on fire by ²^,^chell. ⁷For every kind of beasts and birds, of reptiles and creatures of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. ⁸But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of ^adeadly poison. ⁹With it we bless ^aour Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, ^bwho have been made in the likeness of God. ¹⁰From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so. ¹¹Does a fountain pour forth from the same opening ¹fresh and bitter water? ¹²^aCan a fig tree, my brothers, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Nor can saltwater produce ¹fresh.

Wisdom from Above

¹³Who among you is wise and understanding? ^aLet him show by his ^bgood conduct his works in the gentleness of wisdom. ¹⁴But if you have bitter ^ajealousy and ¹selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against ^bthe truth. ¹⁵This wisdom is not coming down ^afrom above, but is ^bearthly, ¹^,^cnatural, ^ddemonic. ¹⁶For where ^ajealousy and ¹selfish ambition exist, ²there is disorder and every evil practice. ¹⁷But the wisdom ^afrom above is first ^bpure, then ^cpeaceable, ^dconsiderate, submissive, ^efull of mercy and good fruits, ^fwithout doubting, without hypocrisy. ¹⁸And the fruit of righteousness ^ais sown in peace ¹by those who make peace.

Hope in Yahweh and He Will Save You

20^aWine is a mocker, ^bstrong drink a brawler,And whoever is led astray by it is not wise.²The terror of a king is like the roar of a lion;He who provokes him to anger ^asins against his own soul.³It is a glory for a man to ^acease quarreling,But any ignorant fool will break out in dispute.⁴The ^asluggard does not plow from winter on,So he ¹begs during the harvest and has nothing.⁵Counsel in the heart of a man is like deep water,But a man of discernment draws it out.⁶Many a man will ^acall out his own lovingkindness,But a ^bfaithful man, who can find?⁷A righteous man who ^awalks in his integrity—^bHow blessed are his sons after him.⁸^aA king who sits on the throne of justice¹Disperses all evil with his eyes.⁹^aWho can say, “I have kept my heart pure,I am clean from my sin”?¹⁰¹^,^aDiffering weights and differing measures,Both of them are an abomination to Yahweh.¹¹It is by his deeds that a young man ^amakes himself knownIf his conduct is pure and right.¹²The hearing ^aear and the seeing eye,Yahweh has made both of them.¹³^aDo not love sleep, lest you become poor;Open your eyes, and you will be satisfied with ¹food.¹⁴“Bad, bad,” says the buyer,But when he goes his way, then he boasts.¹⁵There is gold, and an abundance of pearls;But the lips of knowledge are a more precious vessel.¹⁶Take his garment when he becomes a guarantor for a stranger;And for foreigners, hold him in pledge.¹⁷^aBread obtained by lying is sweet to a man,But afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel.¹⁸¹^,^aThoughts are established by counsel,So ^bmake war by guidance.¹⁹He who ^agoes about as a slanderer reveals secrets,Therefore do not associate with ¹^,^bone of loose lips.²⁰He who ^acurses his father or his mother,His ^blamp will go out in the ¹midst of darkness.²¹An inheritance gained hurriedly at the beginningIn the end will not be blessed.²²^aDo not say, “I will repay evil”;^bHope in Yahweh, and He will save you.²³¹^,^aDiffering weights are an abomination to Yahweh,And a ^bdeceitful balance is not good.²⁴^aThe steps of a man are from Yahweh,How then can man understand his way?²⁵It is a trap for a man to say rashly, “It is holy!”And ^aafter the vows to make inquiry.²⁶A ^awise king winnows the wicked,And turns the ^bthreshing wheel over them.²⁷The ¹^,^abreath of man is the lamp of Yahweh,Searching all the ²innermost parts of his body.²⁸Lovingkindness and ^atruth will guard the king,And he upholds his throne by lovingkindness.²⁹The honor of young men is their strength,And the ¹^,^amajesty of old men is their gray hair.³⁰^aStripes that wound scour away evil,And strokes reach the ¹innermost parts of the body.