Daniel, 8
Daniel's vision of the ram and the he goat interpreted by the angel Gabriel.
[1] In the third year of the reign of king Baltasar, a vision appeared to me. I, Daniel, after what I had seen in the beginning, •
[2] Saw in my vision when I was in the castle of Susa, which is in the province of Elam: and I saw in the vision that I was over the gate of Ulai. •
[3] And I lifted up my eyes, and saw: and behold a ram 1 stood before the water, having two high horns, and one higher than the other, and growing up. Afterward •
A ram: The empire of the Medes and Persians.
[4] I saw the ram pushing with his horns against the west, and against the north, and against the south: and no beasts could withstand him, nor be delivered out of his hand: and he did according to his own will, and became great. •
[5] And I understood: and behold a he goat 1 came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and he touched not the ground 2, and the he goat had a notable horn 3 between his eyes. •
A he goat: The empire of the Greeks, or Macedonians.
He touched not the ground: He conquered all before him, with so muchrapidity, that he seemed rather to fly, than to walk upon the earth.
A notable horn: Alexander the Great.
[6] And he went up to the ram that had the horns, which I had seen standing before the gate, and he ran towards him in the force of his strength.
[7] And when he was come near the ram, he was enraged against him, and struck the ram: and broke his two horns, and the ram could not withstand him: and when he had cast him down on the ground, he stamped upon him, and none could deliver the ram out of his hand. •
[8] And the he goat became exceeding great: and when he was grown, the great horn was broken, and there came up four horns 1 under it towards the four winds of heaven. •
Four horns: Seleucus, Antigonus, Philip, and Ptolemeus, the successors of Alexander, who divided his empire among them.
[9] And out of one of them came forth a little horn 1: and it became great against the south, and against the east, and against the strength. •
A little horn: Antiochus Epiphanes, a descendant of Seleucus. He grew against the south, and the east, by his victories over the kings of Egypt and Armenia: and against the strength, that is, against Jerusalem and the people of God.
[10] And it was magnified even unto the strength of heaven 1: and it threw down of the strength, and of the stars, and trod upon them. •
Unto the strength of heaven: or, against the strength of heaven. So are here called the army of the Jews, the people of God.
[11] And it was magnified even to the prince of the strength: and it took away from him the continual sacrifice, and cast down the place of his sanctuary. •
[12] And strength was given him against the continual sacrifice, because of sins: and truth shall be cast down on the ground, and he shall do and shall prosper. •
[13] And I heard one of the saints speaking, and one saint said to another I know not to whom, that was speaking: How long shall be the vision, concerning the continual sacrifice, and the sin of the desolation that is made: and the sanctuary, and the strength be trodden under foot? •
[14] And he said to him: Unto evening and morning two thousand three hundred days 1: and the sanctuary shall be cleansed. •
Unto evening and morning two thousand three hundred days: That is, six years and almost four months: which was the whole time from the beginning of the persecution of Antiochus till his death.
[15] And it came to pass when I, Daniel, saw the vision, and sought the meaning, that behold there stood before me as it were the appearance of a man.
[16] And I heard the voice of a man between Ulai: and he called, and said: Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision. •
[17] And he came, and stood near where I stood: and when he was come, I fell on my face, trembling, and he said to me: Understand, O son of man, for in the time of the end the vision shall be fulfilled. •
[18] And when he spoke to me, I fell flat on the ground: and he touched me, and set me upright. •
[19] And he said to me: I will shew thee what things are to come to pass in the end of the malediction: for the time hath its end. •
[20] The ram, which thou sawest with horns, is the king of the Medes and Persians.
[21] And the he goat, is the king of the Greeks, and the great horn that was between his eyes, the same is the first king. •
[22] But whereas when that was broken, there arose up four for it, four kings shall rise up of his nation, but not with his strength. •
[23] And after their reign, when iniquities shall be grown up, there shall arise a king of a shameless face, and understanding dark sentences. •
[24] And his power shall be strengthened, but not by his own force: and he shall lay all things waste, and shall prosper, and do more than can be believed. And he shall destroy the mighty, and the people of the saints, •
[25] According to his will, and craft shall be successful in his hand: and his heart shall be puffed up, and in the abundance of all things he shall kill many: and he shall rise up against the prince of princes, and shall be broken without hand. •
[26] And the vision of the evening and the morning, which was told, is true: thou, therefore, seal up the vision, because it shall come to pass after many days. •
[27] And I, Daniel, languished, and was sick for some days: and when I was risen up, I did the king's business, and I was astonished at the vision, and there was none that could interpret it. •