Daniel 7:1 - Forerunner Commentary

Daniel 7:1

Vision of the Four Beasts

1 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, ^aDaniel had a dream and ^bvisions of his head while on his bed. Then he wrote down the dream, telling² the main facts.

2 Daniel spoke, saying, “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the Great Sea.

3 And four great beasts ^acame up from the sea, each different from the other.

4 The first was ^alike a lion, and had eagle’s wings. I watched till its wings were plucked off; and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man, and a ^bman’s heart was given to it.

5 ^a“And suddenly another beast, a second, like a bear. It was raised up on one side, and had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. And they said thus to it: ‘Arise, devour much flesh!’

6 “After this I looked, and there was another, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird. The beast also had ^afour heads, and dominion was given to it.

7 “After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, ^aa fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, ^band it had ten horns.

8 I was considering the horns, and ^athere was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes ^bof a man, ^cand a mouth speaking pompous words.

Vision of the Ancient of Days

9 “I^a watched till thrones were put in place,
And ^bthe Ancient of Days was seated;
^cHis garment was white as snow,
And the hair of His head was like pure wool.
His throne was a fiery flame,
^dIts wheels a burning fire;

10 ^aA fiery stream issued
And came forth from before Him.
^bA thousand thousands ministered to Him;
Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him.
^cThe¹ court was seated,
And the books were opened.

11 “I watched then because of the sound of the¹ pompous words which the horn was speaking; ^aI watched till the beast was slain, and its body destroyed and given to the burning flame.

12 As for the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away, yet their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.

13 “I was watching in the night visions,
And behold, ^aOne like the Son of Man,
Coming with the clouds of heaven!
He came to the Ancient of Days,
And they brought Him near before Him.

14 ^aThen to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom,
That all ^bpeoples, nations, and languages should serve Him.
His dominion is ^can everlasting dominion,
Which shall not pass away,
And His kingdom the one
Which shall not be destroyed.

Daniel’s Visions Interpreted

15 “I, Daniel, was grieved in my spirit¹ within my body, and the visions of my head troubled me.

16 I came near to one of those who stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of these things:

17 ‘Those great beasts, which are four, are four¹ kings which arise out of the earth.

18 But ^athe saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever.’

19 “Then I wished to know the truth about the fourth beast, which was different from all the others, exceedingly dreadful, with its teeth of iron and its nails of bronze, which devoured, broke in pieces, and trampled the residue with its feet;

20 and the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn which came up, before which three fell, namely, that horn which had eyes and a mouth which spoke¹ pompous words, whose appearance was greater than his fellows.

21 “I was watching; ^aand the same horn was making war against the saints, and prevailing against them,

22 until the Ancient of Days came, ^aand a judgment was made in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom.

23 “Thus he said:
‘The fourth beast shall be
^aA fourth kingdom on earth,
Which shall be different from all other kingdoms,
And shall devour the whole earth,
Trample it and break it in pieces.

24 ^aThe ten horns are ten kings
Who shall arise from this kingdom.
And another shall rise after them;
He shall be different from the first ones,
And shall subdue three kings.

25 ^aHe shall speak pompous words against the Most High,
Shall ^bpersecute the saints of the Most High,
And shall ^cintend to change times and law.
Then ^dthe saints shall be given into his hand
^eFor a time and times and half a time.

26 ‘But^a the court shall be seated,
And they shall ^btake away his dominion,
To consume and destroy it forever.

27 Then the ^akingdom and dominion,
And the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven,
Shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High.
^bHis kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
^cAnd all dominions shall serve and obey Him.’

28 “This is the end of the¹ account. As for me, Daniel, ^amy thoughts greatly troubled me, and my countenance changed; but I ^bkept the matter in my heart.”

Verse Comparison: Daniel 7:1

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Daniel 7:2 >>

American Standard Version
In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream and told the sum of the matters.

Amplified® Bible
IN THE first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions in his head as he was lying upon his bed. Then he wrote down the dream and told the gist of the matter.

Contemporary English Version
Daniel wrote: In the first year of King Belshazzar of Babylonia, I had some dreams and visions while I was asleep one night, and I wrote them down. The four winds were stirring up the mighty sea,

Darby English Version
In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel saw a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream; he told the sum of the matters.

Good News Bible
In the first year that Belshazzar was king of Babylonia, I had a dream and saw a vision in the night. I wrote the dream down, and this is the record

King James Version
In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream, and told the sum of the matters.

New American Standard Bible
In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel saw a dream and visions in his mind {as he lay} on his bed; then he wrote the dream down {and} related the {following} summary of it.

New International Version
In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and visions passed through his mind as he was lying on his bed. He wrote down the substance of his dream.

New King James Version
In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream and visions of his head while on his bed. Then he wrote down the dream, telling the main facts.

N.A.S.B. in E-Prime
In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel saw a dream and visions in his mind as he lay on his bed; then he wrote the dream down and related the following summary of it.

Revised Standard Version
In the first year of Belshaz'zar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream and visions of his head as he lay in his bed. Then he wrote down the dream, and told the sum of the matter.

Young's Literal Translation
In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel hath seen a dream, and the visions of his head on his bed, then the dream he hath written, the chief of the things he hath said.

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Vision of the Four Beasts

Vision of the Ancient of Days

Daniel’s Visions Interpreted

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