Daniel, Chapters 8-12: BIBLE, New American Standard Bible == BIBLE-CENTER

¹ In the third year of the reign of Belshazzar the king a vision appeared to me,^aDaniel, subsequent to the one which appeared to me^bpreviously. ² I looked in the vision, and while I was looking I was in the citadel of Susa, which is in the province of Elam; and I looked in the vision and I myself was beside the Ulai^cCanal. ³ Then I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, a ram which had two horns was standing in front of the^dcanal. Now the two horns were^elong, but one was^flonger than the other, with the^glonger one coming up last. ⁴ I saw the ram butting westward, northward, and southward, and no other beasts could stand before him nor was there anyone to rescue from his^hpower, but he did as he pleased and magnified himself.

⁵ While I was observing, behold, a male goat was coming from the west over the surface of the whole earth without touching the ground; and theⁱgoat had a conspicuous horn between his eyes. ⁶ He came up to the ram that had the two horns, which I had seen standing in front of the^jcanal, and rushed at him in his mighty wrath. ⁷ I saw him come beside the ram, and he was enraged at him; and he struck the ram and shattered his two horns, and the ram had no strength to withstand him. So he hurled him to the ground and trampled on him, and there was none to rescue the ram from his^kpower. ⁸ Then the male goat magnified himself exceedingly. But as soon as he was mighty, the large horn was broken; and in its place there came up four conspicuous horns toward the four winds of heaven.

⁹ Out of one of them came forth a rather small horn which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the^lBeautiful Land. ¹⁰ It grew up to the host of heaven and caused some of the host and some of the stars to fall to the earth, and it trampled them down. ¹¹ It even magnified itself^mto be equal with theⁿCommander of the host; and it removed the regular sacrifice from Him, and the place of His sanctuary was thrown down. ¹² And on account of transgression the host will be given over to the horn along with the regular sacrifice; and it will fling truth to the ground and perform its will and prosper. ¹³ Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to that particular one who was speaking, “How long will the vision about the regular sacrifice apply,^owhile the transgression causes horror, so as to allow both the holy place and the host^pto be trampled?” ¹⁴ He said to me, “For 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the holy place will be^qproperly restored.”

¹⁵ When I, Daniel, had seen the vision, I sought^rto understand it; and behold, standing before me was one^swho looked like a man. ¹⁶ And I heard the voice of a man between the banks of Ulai, and he called out and said, “Gabriel, give this man an understanding of the vision.” ¹⁷ So he came near to where I was standing, and when he came I was frightened and fell on my face; but he said to me, “Son of man, understand that the vision pertains to the time of the end.”

¹⁸ Now while he was talking with me, I sank into a deep sleep with my face to the ground; but he touched me and made me stand^tupright. ¹⁹ He said, “Behold, I am going to let you know what will occur at the final period of the indignation, for it pertains to the appointed time of the end.

²⁰ The ram which you saw with the two horns represents the kings of Media and Persia.

²¹ The shaggy^ugoat represents the^vkingdom of Greece, and the large horn that is between his eyes is the first king. ²² The broken horn and the four horns that arose in its place represent four kingdoms which will arise from his nation, although not with his power.

²³

“In the latter period of their^wrule,
When the transgressors have^xrun their course,
A king will arise,
^yInsolent and skilled in^zintrigue.

²⁴

“His power will be mighty, but not by his own power,
And he will^aadestroy to an extraordinary degree
And prosper and perform his will;
He will^abdestroy mighty men and^acthe holy people.

²⁵

“And through his shrewdness
He will cause deceit to succeed by his^adinfluence;
And he will magnify himself in his heart,
And he will^aedestroy many while they are^afat ease.
He will even^agoppose the Prince of princes,
But he will be broken without^ahhuman agency.

²⁶

“The vision of the evenings and mornings
Which has been told is true;
But keep the vision secret,
For it pertains to many days in the future.”

²⁷ Then I, Daniel, was^aiexhausted and sick for days. Then I got up again and carried on the king’s business; but I was astounded at the vision, and there was none to^ajexplain it.

¹ In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of Median descent, who was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans— ² in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, observed in the books the number of the years which was revealed as the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years. ³ So I^agave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes. ⁴ I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed and said, “Alas, O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, ⁵ we have sinned, committed iniquity, acted wickedly and rebelled, even turning aside from Your commandments and ordinances. ⁶ Moreover, we have not listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, our princes, our fathers and all the people of the land.

⁷ “Righteousness belongs to You, O Lord, but to us^bopen shame, as it is this day—to the men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those who are nearby and those who are far away in all the countries to which You have driven them, because of their unfaithful deeds which they have committed against You. ⁸ ^cOpen shame belongs to us, O Lord, to our kings, our princes and our fathers, because we have sinned against You. ⁹ To the Lord our God belong compassion and forgiveness,^dfor we have rebelled against Him; ¹⁰ nor have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in His^eteachings which He set before us through His servants the prophets. ¹¹ Indeed all Israel has transgressed Your law and turned aside, not obeying Your voice; so the curse has been poured out on us, along with the oath which is written in the law of Moses the servant of God, for we have sinned against Him. ¹² Thus He has confirmed His words which He had spoken against us and against our^frulers who ruled us, to bring on us great calamity; for under the whole heaven there has not been done anything like what was done to Jerusalem. ¹³ As it is written in the law of Moses, all this calamity has come on us; yet we have not^gsought the favor of the LORD our God by turning from our iniquity and^hgiving attention to Your truth. ¹⁴ Therefore the LORD hasⁱkept the calamity in store and brought it on us; for the LORD our God is righteous with respect to all His deeds which He has done, but we have not obeyed His voice.

¹⁵ “And now, O Lord our God, who have brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand and have made a name for Yourself, as it is this day—we have sinned, we have been wicked. ¹⁶ O Lord, in accordance with all Your^jrighteous acts, let now Your anger and Your wrath turn away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; for because of our sins and the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people have become a reproach to all those around us. ¹⁷ So now, our God, listen to the prayer of Your servant and to his supplications, and for^kYour sake, O Lord, let Your face shine on Your desolate sanctuary. ¹⁸ O my God, incline Your ear and hear! Open Your eyes and see our desolations and the city which is called by Your name; for we are not^lpresenting our supplications before You on account of^many merits of our own, but on account of Your great compassion. ¹⁹ O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and take action! For Your own sake, O my God, do not delay, because Your city and Your people are called by Your name.”

²⁰ Now while I was speaking and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, andⁿpresenting my supplication before the LORD my God in behalf of the holy mountain of my God, ²¹ while I was still speaking in prayer, then the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision^opreviously,^pcame to me^qin my extreme weariness about the time of the evening offering. ²² He gave me instruction and talked with me and said, “O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you insight with understanding. ²³ At the beginning of your supplications the^rcommand was issued, and I have come to tell you, for you are^shighly esteemed; so give heed to the message and gain understanding of the vision.

²⁴ “Seventy^tweeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to^ufinish the transgression, to^vmake an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and^wprophecy and to anoint the most holy place. ²⁵ So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a^xdecree to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until^yMessiah the Prince there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be built again, with^zplaza and moat, even in times of distress. ²⁶ Then after the sixty-two weeks the^aaMessiah will be cut off and have^abnothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And^acits end will come with a flood; even to the end^adthere will be war; desolations are determined. ²⁷ And he will make a firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of^aeabominations will come one who^afmakes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who^agmakes desolate.”

¹ In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a^amessage was revealed to Daniel, who was named Belteshazzar; and the^bmessage was true and one of great^cconflict, but he understood the^dmessage and had an understanding of the vision.

² In those days, I, Daniel, had been mourning for three entire weeks. ³ I did not eat any^etasty food, nor did meat or wine enter my mouth, nor did I use any ointment at all until the entire three weeks were completed. ⁴ On the twenty-fourth day of the first month, while I was by the bank of the great river, that is, the^fTigris, ⁵ I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, there was a certain man dressed in linen, whose waist was girded with a belt of pure gold of Uphaz. ⁶ His body also was like^gberyl, his face^hhad the appearance of lightning, his eyes were like flaming torches, his arms and feet like the gleam of polished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of aⁱtumult. ⁷ Now I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, while the men who were with me did not see the vision; nevertheless, a great dread fell on them, and they ran away to hide themselves. ⁸ So I was left alone and saw this great vision; yet no strength was left in me, for my^jnatural color turned to^ka deathly pallor, and I retained no strength. ⁹ But I heard the sound of his words; and as soon as I heard the sound of his words, I fell into a deep sleep on my face, with my face to the ground.

¹⁰ Then behold, a hand touched me and set me trembling on my^lhands and knees. ¹¹ He said to me, “O Daniel, man of^mhigh esteem, understand the words that I am about to tell you and standⁿupright, for I have now been sent to you.” And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood up trembling. ¹² Then he said to me, “Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on humbling yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to your words. ¹³ But the prince of the kingdom of Persia was^owithstanding me for twenty-one days; then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia. ¹⁴ Now I have come to give you an understanding of what will happen to your people in the^platter days, for the vision pertains to the days yet future.”

¹⁵ When he had spoken to me according to these words, I^qturned my face toward the ground and became speechless. ¹⁶ And behold,^rone who resembled a human being was touching my lips; then I opened my mouth and spoke and said to him who was standing before me, “O my lord, as a result of the vision^sanguish has come upon me, and I have retained no strength. ¹⁷ For how can such a servant of my lord talk with such as my lord? As for me, there remains just now no strength in me, nor has any breath been left in me.”

¹⁸ Then this one with human appearance touched me again and strengthened me. ¹⁹ He said, “O man of^thigh esteem, do not be afraid. Peace^ube with you; take courage and be courageous!” Now as soon as he spoke to me, I received strength and said, “May my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.” ²⁰ Then he said, “Do you^vunderstand why I came to you? But I shall now return to fight against the^wprince of Persia; so I am going forth, and behold, the^xprince of^yGreece is about to come. ²¹ However, I will tell you what is inscribed in the writing of truth. Yet there is no one who^zstands firmly with me against these forces except Michael your prince.

¹ “In the first year of Darius the Mede,^aI arose to be^ban encouragement and a protection for him. ² And now I will tell you the truth. Behold, three more kings are going to arise^cin Persia. Then a fourth will gain far more riches than all of them; as soon as he becomes strong through his riches,^dhe will arouse the whole empire against the realm of^eGreece. ³ And a mighty king will arise, and he will rule with great authority and do as he pleases. ⁴ But as soon as he has arisen, his kingdom will be broken up and parceled out toward the four^fpoints of the compass, though not to his own descendants, nor according to his authority which he wielded, for his sovereignty will be uprooted and given to others besides^gthem.

⁵ “Then the king of the South will grow strong,^halong with one of his princesⁱwho will gain ascendancy over him and obtain dominion; his domain will be a great dominion indeed. ⁶ After some years they will form an alliance, and the daughter of the king of the South will come to the king of the North to carry out^ja peaceful arrangement. But she will not retain her^kposition of power, nor will he remain with his^lpower, but she will be given up, along with those who brought her in and the one who sired her as well as he who supported her in those times. ⁷ But one of the^mdescendants of her line will arise in his place, and he will come against their army and enter the fortress of the king of the North, and he will deal with them and display great strength. ⁸ Also their gods with theirⁿmetal images and their precious vessels of silver and gold he will take into captivity to Egypt, and he on his part will^orefrain from attacking the king of the North for some years. ⁹ Then^pthe latter will enter the realm of the king of the South, but will return to his own land.

¹⁰ “His sons will^qmobilize and assemble a multitude of great forces; and one of them will keep on coming and overflow and pass through, that he may^ragain wage war up to his very fortress. ¹¹ The king of the South will be enraged and go forth and fight^swith the king of the North. Then the latter will raise a great multitude, but that multitude will be given into^tthe hand of the former. ¹² When the multitude is carried away, his heart will be lifted up, and he will cause tens of thousands to fall; yet he will not prevail. ¹³ For the king of the North will again raise a greater multitude than the former, and^uafter an interval of some years he will^vpress on with a great army and much equipment.

¹⁴ “Now in those times many will rise up against the king of the South; the violent ones among your people will also lift themselves up in order to fulfill the vision, but they will^wfall down. ¹⁵ Then the king of the North will come, cast up a siege ramp and capture a well-fortified city; and the forces of the South will not stand their ground, not even^xtheir choicest troops, for there will be no strength to make a stand. ¹⁶ But he who comes against him will do as he pleases, and no one will be able to withstand him; he will also stay for a time in the^yBeautiful Land, with destruction in his hand. ¹⁷ He will set his face to come with the power of his whole kingdom,^zbringing with him^aaa proposal of peace which he will put into effect; he will also give him the daughter of women to ruin it. But she will not take a stand for him or be^abon his side. ¹⁸ Then he will turn his face to the coastlands and capture many. But a commander will put a stop to his scorn against him; moreover, he will repay him for his scorn. ¹⁹ So he will turn his face toward the fortresses of his own land, but he will stumble and fall and be found no more.

²⁰ “Then in his place one will arise who will send an^acoppressor through the^adJewel of his kingdom; yet within a few days he will be shattered, though not in anger nor in battle. ²¹ In his place a despicable person will arise, on whom the honor of kingship has not been conferred, but he will come in a time of tranquility and seize the kingdom by intrigue. ²² The overflowing forces will be flooded away before him and shattered, and also the prince of the covenant. ²³ After an alliance is made with him he will practice deception, and he will go up and gain power with a small force of people. ²⁴ ^aeIn a time of tranquility he will enter the richest parts of the^afrealm, and he will accomplish what his fathers never did, nor his^agancestors; he will distribute plunder, booty and possessions among them, and he will devise his schemes against strongholds, but only for a time. ²⁵ He will stir up his strength and^ahcourage against the king of the South with a large army; so the king of the South will mobilize an extremely large and mighty army for war; but he will not stand, for schemes will be devised against him. ²⁶ Those who eat his choice food will^aidestroy him, and his army will^ajoverflow, but many will fall down slain. ²⁷ As for both kings, their hearts will be intent on evil, and they will speak lies to each other at the same table; but it will not succeed, for the end is still to come at the appointed time. ²⁸ Then he will return to his land with much^akplunder; but his heart will be set against the holy covenant, and he will take action and then return to his own land.

²⁹ “At the appointed time he will return and come into the South, but^althis last time it will not turn out the way it did before. ³⁰ For ships of^amKittim will come against him; therefore he will be disheartened and will return and become enraged at the holy covenant and take action; so he will come back and show regard for those who forsake the holy covenant. ³¹ Forces from him will arise, desecrate the sanctuary fortress, and do away with the regular sacrifice. And they will set up the abomination^anof desolation. ³² By smooth words he will^aoturn to godlessness those who act wickedly toward the covenant, but the people who know their God will display strength and take action. ³³ ^apThose who have insight among the people will give understanding to the many; yet they will fall by sword and by flame, by captivity and by plunder for many days. ³⁴ Now when they fall they will be granted a little help, and many will join with them in hypocrisy. ³⁵ Some of^aqthose who have insight will fall, in order to refine, purge and make them^arpure until the end time; because it is still to come at the appointed time.

³⁶ “Then the king will do as he pleases, and he will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will speak^asmonstrous things against the God of gods; and he will prosper until the indignation is finished, for that which is decreed will be done. ³⁷ He will show no regard for the^atgods of his fathers or for the desire of women, nor will he show regard for any other god; for he will magnify himself above them all. ³⁸ But^auinstead he will honor a god of fortresses, a god whom his fathers did not know; he will honor him with gold, silver, costly stones and treasures. ³⁹ He will take action against the strongest of fortresses with the help of a foreign god; he will give great honor to^avthose who acknowledge him and will cause them to rule over the many, and will parcel out land for a price.

⁴⁰ “At the end time the king of the South will collide with him, and the king of the North will storm against him with chariots, with horsemen and with many ships; and he will enter countries, overflow them and pass through. ⁴¹ He will also enter the^awBeautiful Land, and many countries will fall; but these will be rescued out of his hand: Edom, Moab and the foremost of the sons of Ammon. ⁴² Then he will stretch out his hand against other countries, and the land of Egypt will not escape. ⁴³ But he will^axgain control over the hidden treasures of gold and silver and over all the precious things of Egypt; and Libyans and Ethiopians will follow at his^ayheels. ⁴⁴ But rumors from the East and from the North will disturb him, and he will go forth with great wrath to destroy and^azannihilate many. ⁴⁵ He will pitch the tents of his royal pavilion between the seas and the beautiful Holy Mountain; yet he will come to his end, and no one will help him.

¹ “Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued. ² Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting^acontempt. ³ ^bThose who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the^cexpanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. ⁴ But as for you, Daniel, conceal these words and seal up the book until the end of time; many will go back and forth, and knowledge will increase.”

⁵ Then I, Daniel, looked and behold, two others were standing, one on this bank of the river and the other on that bank of the river. ⁶ And one said to the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, “How long will it be until the end of these wonders?” ⁷ I heard the man dressed in linen, who was above the waters of the river,^das he raised his right hand and his left toward heaven, and swore by Him who lives forever that it would be for a^etime,^ftimes, and half a^gtime; and as soon as^hthey finish shattering theⁱpower of the holy people, all these events will be completed. ⁸ As for me, I heard but could not understand; so I said, “My lord, what will be the^joutcome of these events?” ⁹ He said, “Go your way, Daniel, for these words are concealed and sealed up until the end time. ¹⁰ Many will be purged,^kpurified and refined, but the wicked will act wickedly; and none of the wicked will understand, but^lthose who have insight will understand. ¹¹ From the time that the regular sacrifice is abolished and the^mabomination of desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days. ¹² How blessed is he who keeps waiting and attains to the 1,335 days! ¹³ But as for you, go your way to theⁿend; then you will enter into rest and rise again for your allotted portion at the end of the^oage.”

Daniel, Chapter 8

Daniel, Chapter 9

Daniel, Chapter 10

Daniel, Chapter 11

Daniel, Chapter 12


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