Daniel 8

In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision appeared unto me, even unto me Daniel, after that which appeared unto me at the first.

1It was the third year that Belshazzar was king. God showed me, Daniel, a picture in my mind. That kind of picture is called a vision. I had already seen one like it before.

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

2In the vision I was in the strong city of Shushan. That city is in the land called Elam. I was standing beside the river Ulai.

3Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns: and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last.

3I looked up and saw a ram standing beside the river. He had two long horns. One horn was longer than the other, and it grew up later.

4I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; so that no beasts might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and became great.

4The ram pushed west, and north, and south. No animal could stand against him. No one could get away from his power. He did whatever he wanted, and he became great.

5And as I was considering, behold, an he goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes.

5While I was thinking about this, a male goat came from the west. He crossed the whole earth without touching the ground. He had one big horn between his eyes.

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

6The goat came toward the ram with the two horns. That was the ram I saw by the river. He ran at him with all his angry strength.

7And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with choler against him, and smote the ram, and brake his two horns: and there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground, and stamped upon him: and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand.

7I saw the goat come close to the ram. He was full of anger. He hit the ram and broke both his horns. The ram had no strength left to stand. The goat threw him down and stepped on him. No one could save the ram.

8Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven.

8So the goat became very great. But when he was strongest, his big horn broke off. Four large horns grew up in its place. They pointed out toward the four winds, one in each direction.

9And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land.

9Out of one of those horns grew a little horn. It grew very big toward the south and toward the east. It also grew toward the beautiful land.

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

10It grew as high as the army of heaven, the stars. It threw some of that army and some stars down to the ground. Then it stepped on them.

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

11It even made itself as big as the leader of that army. It stopped the gift that was given to God every day. It knocked down the place of God's holy house.

12And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised, and prospered.

12People turned against God, so the army and the daily gift were handed over to the horn. It threw the truth down on the ground. Everything it did went well for it.

13Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot?

13Then I heard a holy one speaking. Another holy one asked him a question. 'How long will this vision last? How long will the daily gift be stopped? How long will people turn against God and leave the holy place empty? How long will the holy house and God's people be stepped on?'

14And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.

14He said to me, 'It will last 2,300 evenings and mornings. Then the holy house will be made clean and right again.'

NoteThe KJV says 'days,' but the count is really 'evenings and mornings' — 2,300 of them.

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

15I, Daniel, had seen this vision. I was trying to understand what it meant. Then someone who looked like a man stood in front of me.

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

16I heard a man's voice come from between the banks of the Ulai. The voice called out, 'Gabriel, help this man understand the vision.'

17So he came near where I stood: and when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face: but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man: for at the time of the end shall be the vision.

17So he came close to where I was standing. I was afraid and fell down with my face to the ground. He called me 'son of man,' which means a human being. He said, 'Understand this. The vision is about the time of the end.'

18Now as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep on my face toward the ground: but he touched me, and set me upright.

18While he was talking to me, I fell into a deep sleep. My face was down on the ground. Then he touched me and stood me up on my feet.

19And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end shall be.

19He said, 'Listen. I will show you what happens at the end of God's anger. The end will come at the time God has chosen.'

20The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia.

20'The ram with two horns that you saw means the kings of Media and Persia.'

21And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king.

21'The shaggy goat means the king of Greece. The big horn between his eyes is the first king.'

22Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power.

22'That horn broke, and four horns grew up in its place. They mean four kingdoms will rise up from that nation. But they will not be as strong as the first king.'

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

23'Near the end of those kingdoms, wrongdoing will be at its worst. Then a bold, hard-faced king will rise up. He will be very good at tricks and secrets.'

24And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.

24'He will be very strong, but the power will not be his own. He will destroy in a terrible way. Whatever he does will go well for him. He will destroy strong men and God's holy people.'

Note'Destroy wonderfully' is old English. It means destroy in a shocking, terrible way, not a good way.

25And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand.

25'He is clever, and his lies will work well for him. Inside himself he will think he is very great. He will destroy many people while they feel safe. He will even stand up against the Prince of princes, the greatest ruler. But he will be broken, and no human hand will do it.'

Note'Policy' and 'craft' here mean sneaky, clever plans. 'By peace shall destroy many' means he attacks while people feel safe.

26And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true: wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for many days.

26'What you were told about the evenings and mornings is true. Now close up the vision and keep it safe. It is about a time far away.'

27And I Daniel fainted, and was sick certain days; afterward I rose up, and did the king’s business; and I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it.

27I, Daniel, was worn out, and I was sick for several days. Then I got up and did the king's work. The vision left me shaken. No one could explain what it meant.

Note'Fainted' in old English means worn out and weak for a while, not just passing out for a moment.