Daniel’s Vision of the Ram and the Goat 1 UST During the third year that Belshazzar was the king of Babylon, I, Daniel, had a vision, after the one that I had earlier. BSB BSB: In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar, a vision appeared to me, Daniel, subsequent to the one that had appeared to me earlier.
2 UST In that vision, I saw that I was in Susa, the capital city of the province of Elam. I saw that I was standing alongside the Ulai Canal. BSB BSB: And in the vision I saw myself in the citadel of Susa, in the province of Elam. I saw in the vision that I was beside the Ulai Canal.
3 UST I looked up and saw a ram standing alongside the canal. It had two long horns. One of the horns was longer than the other. The ram had grown the longer horn after the shorter one. BSB BSB: Then I lifted up my eyes and saw a ram with two horns standing beside the canal. The horns were long, but one was longer than the other, and the longer one grew up later.
4 UST I saw the ram butting away the animals that were around it in all directions. No other animal could resist it, and none could rescue other animals from it. The ram did whatever it wanted to do, and it became very powerful. BSB BSB: I saw the ram charging toward the west and the north and the south. No animal could stand against him, and there was no deliverance from his power. He did as he pleased and became great.
5 UST I kept looking, and the next thing I saw was a goat coming from the west. It ran across the whole world so quickly that its feed seemed not to touch the ground. This goat had one very large horn in the middle of its forehead. BSB BSB: As I was contemplating all this, suddenly a goat with a prominent horn between his eyes came out of the west, crossing the surface of the entire earth without touching the ground.
6 UST It came to the ram that I had seen standing alongside the canal, the ram that had two horns. It was very angry, and it ran straight at the ram. BSB BSB: He came toward the two-horned ram I had seen standing beside the canal and rushed at him with furious power.
7 UST I saw that when the goat got to the ram, it struck it furiously. That broke off the ram’ s two horns, and so the ram was not able to defend itself. The goat knocked the ram down and trampled on it. No one could rescue the ram from the goat. BSB BSB: I saw him approach the ram in a rage against him, and he struck the ram and shattered his two horns. The ram was powerless to stand against him, and the goat threw him to the ground and trampled him, and no one could deliver the ram from his power.
8 UST The goat became very powerful. But when its power was very great, its large horn broke off. Four other large horns grew in its place. They pointed to the north, south, east, and west. BSB BSB: Thus the goat became very great, but at the height of his power, his large horn was broken off, and four prominent horns came up in its place, pointing toward the four winds of heaven.
9 UST A little horn grew from one of those horns. It became very large. It pointed toward the south and then toward the east and then toward the beautiful land{ of Israel}. BSB BSB: From one of these horns a little horn emerged and grew extensively toward the south and the east and toward the Beautiful Land.
10 UST That horn became so strong that it even attacked the angels in heaven. It threw some of the angels and some of the stars from the sky onto the earth, and it trampled on them. BSB BSB: It grew as high as the host of heaven, and it cast down some of the host and some of the stars to the earth and trampled them.
11 UST The horn wanted people to worship it instead of{ Yahweh,} the commander of the heavenly army. It prevented his priests from offering the regular sacrifices to him each morning and evening. It also ruined his temple. BSB BSB: It magnified itself, even to the Prince of the host; it removed His daily sacrifice and overthrew the place of His sanctuary.
12 UST Many Israelites disobeyed Yahweh and instead obeyed the horn, who had stopped the priests from offering sacrifices to Yahweh each morning and evening. The horn prevented people from worshiping Yahweh truly. It succeeded in doing what it wanted to do. BSB BSB: And in the rebellion, the host and the daily sacrifice were given over to the horn, and it flung truth to the ground and prospered in whatever it did.
13 UST Then I heard an angel saying something. Another angel asked the one who was talking,“This vision shows that someone will prevent the priests from sacrificing to Yahweh. It shows that many of the Israelites will disobey Yahweh and that this will allow someone to ruin his temple and harm his people. How long will these things continue?” BSB BSB: Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to him, “How long until the fulfillment of the vision of the daily sacrifice, the rebellion that causes desolation, and the surrender of the sanctuary and of the host to be trampled?”
14 UST The other angel replied,“They will continue for a total of 2, 300 evenings and mornings{, or 1, 150 days}. After that, the temple will become a holy place again.” BSB BSB: He said to me, “It will take 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary will be properly restored.”
Gabriel Interprets Daniel’s Vision 15 UST After I, Daniel, had seen this vision, I was trying to understand what it meant. Suddenly someone in the form of a human being appeared in front of me. BSB BSB: While I, Daniel, was watching the vision and trying to understand it, there stood before me one having the appearance of a man.
16 UST Then I heard someone calling out from the middle of the Ulai Canal. His voice sounded human. He said,“Gabriel, explain to him what his vision means.” BSB BSB: And I heard the voice of a man calling from between the banks of the Ulai: “Gabriel, explain the vision to this man.”
17 UST So Gabriel came and stood next to me. This made me so afraid that I fell onto the ground. But he told me,“You mortal, understand that your vision shows something that will happen when the world is about to end.” BSB BSB: As he came near to where I stood, I was terrified and fell facedown. “Son of man,” he said to me, “understand that the vision concerns the time of the end.”
18 UST As he was speaking to me, I fainted. I was unconscious on the ground, but Gabriel took hold of me and picked me up so I was standing again. BSB BSB: While he was speaking with me, I fell into a deep sleep, with my face to the ground. Then he touched me, helped me to my feet,
19 UST Then he said,“I have come to tell you what will happen as God finishes punishing people. He has determined to do that at the end of the world, and your vision shows this. BSB BSB: and said, “Behold, I will make known to you what will happen in the latter time of wrath, because it concerns the appointed time of the end.
20 UST You saw a ram that had two horns. Those horns represent the kingdoms of Media and Persia. BSB BSB: The two-horned ram that you saw represents the kings of Media and Persia.
21 UST The goat that you saw represents the kingdom of Javan. The large horn in the middle of its forehead represents its first king. BSB BSB: The shaggy goat represents the king of Greece, and the large horn between his eyes is the first king.
22 UST The four horns that grew after the first horn broke off represent four kingdoms into which his kingdom will divide. None of them will be as strong as the original kingdom was. BSB BSB: The four horns that replaced the broken one represent four kingdoms that will rise from that nation but will not have the same power.
23 UST The people in those kingdoms will become very wicked. Near the time when those kingdoms will end, one of them will have a king who defeats his enemies in battle. That king will also be very deceitful. BSB BSB: In the latter part of their reign, when the rebellion has reached its full measure, an insolent king, skilled in intrigue, will come to the throne.
24 UST That king will become very powerful, but only because God allows that to happen. He will violently destroy many things, and he will succeed in doing what he wants to do. He will destroy powerful opponents, and he will also destroy some of God’ s people. BSB BSB: His power will be great, but it will not be his own. He will cause terrible destruction and succeed in whatever he does. He will destroy the mighty men along with the holy people.
25 UST Because he will be so treacherous, he will achieve what he wants by deceiving people. He will be very proud of himself. He will make people think that they are safe, but he will then destroy many of them. He will even try to oppose God, who rules over all earthly kings. But God, not a human being, will destroy him. BSB BSB: Through his craft and by his hand, he will cause deceit to prosper, and in his own mind he will make himself great. In a time of peace he will destroy many, and he will even stand against the Prince of princes. Yet he will be broken off, but not by human hands.
26 UST Your vision showed how this king will prevent Yahweh’ s priests from sacrificing to him each morning and evening. That will happen. But{ for now,} do not tell others what you saw, because those things will not happen until many years from now.” BSB BSB: The vision of the evenings and the mornings that has been spoken is true. Now you must seal up the vision, for it concerns the distant future.”
27 UST Then I, Daniel, had no strength left. I was sick for several days. After that, I got up and went back to work for the king. But I did not understand the vision, and that disturbed me. BSB BSB: I, Daniel, was exhausted and lay ill for days. Then I got up and went about the king’s business. I was confounded by the vision; it was beyond understanding.
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.