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Chapter 8
Daniel's Vision of a Ram and a Goat
1In the third year of King Belshazzar's reign, I, Daniel, had a vision, after the one that had already appeared to me.
2In my vision I saw myself in the citadel of Susa in the province of Elam; in the vision I was beside the Ulai Canal.
3I looked up, and there before me was a ram with two horns, standing beside the canal, and the horns were long. One of the horns was longer than the other but grew up later.
4I watched the ram as he charged toward the west and the north and the south. No animal could stand against him, and none could rescue from his power. He did as he pleased and became great.
5As I was thinking about this, suddenly a goat with a prominent horn between his eyes came from the west, crossing the whole earth without touching the ground.
6He came toward the two-horned ram I had seen standing beside the canal and charged at him in great rage.
7I saw him attack the ram furiously, striking the ram and shattering his two horns. The ram was powerless to stand against him; the goat knocked him to the ground and trampled on him, and none could rescue the ram from his power.
8The goat became very great, but at the height of his power his large horn was broken off, and in its place four prominent horns grew up toward the four winds of heaven.
9Out of one of them came another horn, which started small but grew in power to the south and to the east and toward the Beautiful Land.
10It grew until it reached the host of the heavens, and it threw some of the starry host down to the earth and trampled on them.
11It set itself up to be as great as the Prince of the host; it took away the daily sacrifice from him, and the place of his sanctuary was brought low.
12Because of rebellion, the host of the saintsOr rebellion, the armies and the daily sacrifice were given over to it. It prospered in everything it did, and truth was thrown to the ground.
13Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to him, “How long will it take for the vision to be fulfilled—the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, the rebellion that causes desolation, and the surrender of the sanctuary and of the host that will be trampled underfoot?”
14He said to me, “It will take 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary will be reconsecrated.”
The Interpretation of the Vision
15While I, Daniel, was watching the vision and trying to understand it, there before me stood one who looked like a man.
16And I heard a man's voice from the Ulai calling, “Gabriel, tell this man the meaning of the vision.”
17As he came near the place where I was standing, I was terrified and fell prostrate. “Son of man,” he said to me, “understand that the vision concerns the time of the end.”
18While he was speaking to me, I was in a deep sleep, with my face to the ground. Then he touched me and raised me to my feet.
19He said: “I am going to tell you what will happen later in the time of wrath, because the vision concerns the appointed time of the end.Or because the end will be at the appointed time
20The two-horned ram that you saw represents the kings of Media and Persia.
21The shaggy goat is the king of Greece, and the large horn between his eyes is the first king.
22The four horns that replaced the one that was broken off represent four kingdoms that will emerge from his nation but will not have the same power.
23“In the latter part of their reign, when rebels have become completely wicked, a stern-faced king, a master of intrigue, will arise.
24He will become very strong, but not by his own power. He will cause astounding devastation and will succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy the mighty men and the holy people.
25He will cause deceit to prosper, and he will consider himself superior. When they feel secure, he will destroy many and take his stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be destroyed, but not by human power.
26“The vision of the evenings and mornings that has been given you is true, but seal up the vision, for it concerns the distant future.”
27I, Daniel, was exhausted and lay ill for several days. Then I got up and went about the king's business. I was appalled by the vision; it was beyond understanding.
Chapter 9
Daniel's Prayer
1In the first year of Darius son of XerxesHebrew Ahasuerus (a Mede by descent), who was made ruler over the BabylonianOr Chaldean kingdom—
2in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the LORD given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years.
3So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes.
4I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed:
“O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with all who love him and obey his commands,
5we have sinned and done wrong. We have been wicked and have rebelled; we have turned away from your commands and laws.
6We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.
7“Lord, you are righteous, but this day we are covered with shame—the men of Judah and people of Jerusalem and all Israel, both near and far, in all the countries where you have scattered us because of our unfaithfulness to you.
8O LORD, we and our kings, our princes and our fathers are covered with shame because we have sinned against you.
9The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him;
10we have not obeyed the LORD our God or kept the laws he gave us through his servants the prophets.
11All Israel has transgressed your law and turned away, refusing to obey you.
“Therefore the curses and sworn judgments written in the Law of Moses, the servant of God, have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against you.
12You have fulfilled the words spoken against us and against our rulers by bringing upon us great disaster. Under the whole heaven nothing has ever been done like what has been done to Jerusalem.
13Just as it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us, yet we have not sought the favor of the LORD our God by turning from our sins and giving attention to your truth.
14The LORD did not hesitate to bring the disaster upon us, for the LORD our God is righteous in everything he does; yet we have not obeyed him.
15“Now, O Lord our God, who brought your people out of Egypt with a mighty hand and who made for yourself a name that endures to this day, we have sinned, we have done wrong.
16O Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts, turn away your anger and your wrath from Jerusalem, your city, your holy hill. Our sins and the iniquities of our fathers have made Jerusalem and your people an object of scorn to all those around us.
17“Now, our God, hear the prayers and petitions of your servant. For your sake, O Lord, look with favor on your desolate sanctuary.
18Give ear, O God, and hear; open your eyes and see the desolation of the city that bears your Name. We do not make requests of you because we are righteous, but because of your great mercy.
19O Lord, listen! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, hear and act! For your sake, O my God, do not delay, because your city and your people bear your Name.”
The Seventy “Sevens”
20While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and making my request to the LORD my God for his holy hill—
21while I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice.
22He instructed me and said to me, “Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding.
23As soon as you began to pray, an answer was given, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed. Therefore, consider the message and understand the vision:
24“Seventy ‘sevens’Or ‘weeks’; also in verses 25 and 26 are decreed for your people and your holy city to finishOr restrain transgression, to put an end to sin, to atone for wickedness, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy.Or Most Holy Place; or most holy One
25“Know and understand this: From the issuing of the decreeOr word to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until the Anointed One,Or an anointed one; also in verse 26 the ruler, comes, there will be seven ‘sevens,’ and sixty-two ‘sevens.’ It will be rebuilt with streets and a trench, but in times of trouble.
26After the sixty-two ‘sevens,’ the Anointed One will be cut off and will have nothing.Or off and will have no one; or off, but not for himself The people of the ruler who will come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. The end will come like a flood: War will continue until the end, and desolations have been decreed.
27He will confirm a covenant with many for one ‘seven.’Or ‘week’ In the middle of the ‘seven’Or ‘week’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on a wing of the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.Or it” Or And one who causes desolation will come upon the pinnacle of the abominable temple, until the end that is decreed is poured out on the desolated city
Chapter 10
Daniel's Vision of a Man
1In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia, a revelation was given to Daniel (who was called Belteshazzar). Its message was true and it concerned a great war.Or true and burdensome The understanding of the message came to him in a vision.
2At that time I, Daniel, mourned for three weeks.
3I ate no choice food; no meat or wine touched my lips; and I used no lotions at all until the three weeks were over.
4On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was standing on the bank of the great river, the Tigris,
5I looked up and there before me was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of the finest gold around his waist.
6His body was like chrysolite, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude.
7I, Daniel, was the only one who saw the vision; the men with me did not see it, but such terror overwhelmed them that they fled and hid themselves.
8So I was left alone, gazing at this great vision; I had no strength left, my face turned deathly pale and I was helpless.
9Then I heard him speaking, and as I listened to him, I fell into a deep sleep, my face to the ground.
10A hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees.
11He said, “Daniel, you who are highly esteemed, consider carefully the words I am about to speak to you, and stand up, for I have now been sent to you.” And when he said this to me, I stood up trembling.
12Then he continued, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them.
13But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia.
14Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come.”
15While he was saying this to me, I bowed with my face toward the ground and was speechless.
16Then one who looked like a manMost manuscripts of the Masoretic Text; one manuscript of the Masoretic Text, Dead Sea Scrolls and Septuagint Then something that looked like a man's hand touched my lips, and I opened my mouth and began to speak. I said to the one standing before me, “I am overcome with anguish because of the vision, my lord, and I am helpless.
17How can I, your servant, talk with you, my lord? My strength is gone and I can hardly breathe.”
18Again the one who looked like a man touched me and gave me strength.
19“Do not be afraid, O man highly esteemed,” he said. “Peace! Be strong now; be strong.”
When he spoke to me, I was strengthened and said, “Speak, my lord, since you have given me strength.”
20So he said, “Do you know why I have come to you? Soon I will return to fight against the prince of Persia, and when I go, the prince of Greece will come;
21but first I will tell you what is written in the Book of Truth. (No one supports me against them except Michael, your prince.

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