Daniel’s Vision of the Ram and the Goat
8 In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar,[a] a vision appeared to me—I, Daniel—after the one that appeared to me previously.
2 I saw the vision, and as I watched, I was in the citadel[b] of Susa, which is in the province of Elam. I saw in the vision that I was beside the Ulai Canal. 3 I looked up and right there in front of me I saw a ram standing beside the canal. He had two horns. The two horns were large. One, however, was larger than the other, but the larger one had grown up later. 4 I saw the ram pushing toward the west, north, and south, and no beast was able to stand in his way. Nothing could rescue anyone from his power. So he did as he pleased and made himself great.
5 As I was thinking about this, I saw a male goat coming from the west, moving across the surface of the whole earth without touching the ground. The goat had a conspicuous horn between his eyes. 6 He came up to the ram with the two horns that I saw standing beside the canal, and he ran at him with fierce anger. 7 I saw him coming up to the ram, and he was enraged against him. He struck the ram and broke his two horns. The ram had no power to stand up against him, so the goat threw the ram to the ground and trampled him. There was no one who could rescue the ram from his power.
8 The male goat made himself very great. But as he became strong, his large horn was broken, and four conspicuous horns grew up in its place toward the four winds of heaven.
9 Then from one of these horns a single horn came up. It began small, but it became very large toward the south and the east and toward the beautiful land. 10 It exalted itself against the army of heaven. It made some of that army and some of the stars fall to earth, and it trampled them. 11 It exalted itself against the Prince of the Army. It deprived him of the continual sacrifice, and the place of his sanctuary was thrown down. 12 The army and the continual sacrifice will be handed over to the horn during the rebellion, and it will throw truth to the ground. It will succeed in doing this.
13 Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to the one speaking, “How long is the vision about the continual sacrifice and the rebellion that causes desolation going to last—this handing over of both the Holy Place and the army to be trampled?”
14 He said to him, “Until two thousand three hundred evenings and mornings, and then the Holy Place will be consecrated.”
Gabriel Explains the Vision of the Ram and the Goat
15 When I, Daniel, had seen the vision, I tried to understand it. Then suddenly there was someone standing in front of me who had the appearance of a man. 16 I heard a human voice coming from between the banks of the Ulai. It called out and said, “Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.”
17 So he came beside the spot where I stood, and when he came, I was terrified and fell facedown. He said to me, “Understand, son of man, that the vision concerns the time of the end.” 18 When he had spoken with me, I fell into a deep sleep, facedown on the ground. He touched me and made me stand up.
19 He said, “Listen, I am about to make known to you what will happen during the last part of the furious anger, because this concerns the appointed time of the end.
20 “The ram that you saw had two horns, the kings of Media and Persia. 21 The male goat is the king of Greece, and the large horn between his eyes is the first king.[c] 22 He is the one who was broken, and four others arose in his place. Four kingdoms will arise from his nation, but not with the same power he had.
23 “In the latter part of their kingdom, when the rebels have reached their full measure, a merciless king who understands intrigue will arise.[d] 24 His power will be very great, but not from his own power. He will destroy wonderful things, and he will succeed in doing this. He will destroy mighty men[e] and the people of the saints. 25 Through his cunning, he will deceive in order to succeed by his power and will also exalt himself in his heart. He will destroy many who are at ease,[f] and he will rise up against the Prince of Princes. However, he will be broken, but not by human power. 26 The vision of the evenings and the mornings that was spoken is true. But you—seal the vision, because it concerns a time many days in the future.”
27 I, Daniel, was exhausted and sick for days. Then I got up and carried out the king’s business. I was stunned by the vision, but I did not understand it.
Footnotes
- Daniel 8:1 About 551 bc, after Daniel had been in exile more than 50 years
- Daniel 8:2 The term citadel or fortress-city identifies a city as one of the capital cities of the Persian Empire. Persia and Elam are located in present-day Iran.
- Daniel 8:21 Alexander the Great of Macedon, around 330 bc
- Daniel 8:23 This section predicts the persecution of the Jews by Antiochus Epiphanes in about 168 bc. See chapter 11.
- Daniel 8:24 Or many people
- Daniel 8:25 Or unsuspecting