Daniel 8
Daniel’s Vision of the Ram and the Goat
In the third year of the reign of aKing Belshazzar a vision appeared to me, Daniel, bafter that which appeared to me bat the first. 2 And I saw in the vision; and when I saw, I was in aSusa the citadel, which is in the province of bElam. And cI saw in the vision, cand I was at the dUlai canal. 3 I raised my eyes and saw, and behold, aa ram standing on the bank of the canal. It had two horns, and both horns were high, but one was higher than the other, and the higher one came up last. 4 I saw athe ram charging westward and northward and southward. No bbeast ccould stand before him, dand there was no one who could rescue from his power. eHe did as he pleased and fbecame great.
5 As I was considering, behold, a amale goat came from the west across the face of the whole earth, without touching the ground. And the goat had aa conspicuous horn between his eyes. 6 He came to athe ram with the two horns, which I had seen standing on the bank of the canal, band he ran at him in his powerful wrath. 7 I saw him come close to the ram, aand he was enraged against him and struck the ram and broke his two horns. bAnd the ram had no power to stand before him, but he ccast him down to the ground and trampled on him. And there was no one who could rescue the ram from his power. 8 Then athe goat bbecame exceedingly great, but when he was strong, the great horn was broken, and instead of it there came up four cconspicuous horns toward cthe four winds of heaven.
9 Out of one of them came aa little horn, which grew exceedingly great toward bthe south, toward the east, and toward cthe glorious land. 10 aIt grew great, beven to the host of heaven. And some of the host band some of cthe stars it threw down to the ground and dtrampled on them. 11 aIt became great, even as great as bthe Prince of the host. cAnd the regular burnt offering was taken away from him, and the place of his sanctuary was overthrown. 12 And a host will be given over to it together with the regular burnt offering because of transgression, and it will throw truth to the ground, and ait will act and prosper. 13 Then I heard aa holy one speaking, and another holy one said to the one who spoke, b“For how long is the vision concerning the regular burnt offering, cthe transgression that makes desolate, and the giving over of the sanctuary and host to be trampled underfoot?” 14 And he said to me, “For 2,300 aevenings and mornings. Then the sanctuary shall be restored to its rightful state.”
The Interpretation of the Vision
15 When I, Daniel, had seen the vision, I asought to understand it. And behold, there stood before me one having bthe appearance of a man. 16 aAnd I heard a man’s voice abetween the banks of the bUlai, and it called, c“Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.” 17 So he came near where I stood. And when he came, aI was frightened band fell on my face. But he said to me, “Understand, cO son of man, that the vision is for dthe time of the end.”
18 And when he had spoken to me, aI fell into a deep sleep with my face to the ground. But bhe touched me and made me stand up. 19 He said, “Behold, I will make known to you what shall be at the latter end of athe indignation, for it refers to bthe appointed time of the end. 20 As for athe ram that you saw with the two horns, these are the kings of bMedia and Persia. 21 And athe goat is the king of Greece. And athe great horn between his eyes is bthe first king. 22 aAs for the horn that was broken, in place of which four others arose, four kingdoms shall arise from his nation, bbut not with his power. 23 And at the latter end of their kingdom, when the transgressors have reached their limit, a king of bold face, one who understands riddles, shall arise. 24 His power shall be great—abut not by his own power; and he shall cause fearful destruction band shall succeed in what he does, cand destroy mighty men and the people who are the saints. 25 aBy his cunning he shall make deceit prosper under his hand, and in his own mind bhe shall become great. cWithout warning he shall destroy many. And he bshall even rise up against the Prince of princes, and he shall be broken—but dby no human hand. 26 The vision of athe evenings and the mornings that has been told bis true, but cseal up the vision, dfor it refers to many days from now.”
27 And aI, Daniel, was overcome and lay sick for some days. Then I rose and went about the king’s business, but I was appalled by the vision band did not understand it.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway,
a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.