1 In1 the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar a vision appeared to me—to me, Daniel—after the one that appeared to me athe first time.
2 I saw in the vision, and it so happened while I was looking, that I was in aShushan, the citadel, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in the vision that I was by the River Ulai.
3 Then I lifted my eyes and saw, and there, standing beside the river, was a ram which had two horns, and the two horns were high; but one wasahigher than the other, and the higher one came up last.
4 I saw the ram pushing westward, northward, and southward, so that no animal could1 withstand him; nor wasthereany that could deliver from his hand, abut he did according to his will and became great.
5 And as I was considering, suddenly a male goat came from the west, across the surface of the whole earth, without touching the ground; and the goat had a notable ahorn between his eyes.
6 Then he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing beside the river, and ran at him with furious power.
7 And I saw him confronting the ram; he was moved with rage against him,1 attacked the ram, and broke his two horns. There was no power in the ram to withstand him, but he cast him down to the ground and trampled him; and there was no one that could deliver the ram from his hand.
8 Therefore the male goat grew very great; but when he became strong, the large horn was broken, and in place of it afour notable ones came up toward the four winds of heaven.
9aAnd out of one of them came a little horn which grew exceedingly great toward the south, btoward the east, and toward the cGlorious Land.
10aAnd it grew up to bthe host of heaven; and cit cast down some of the host and some of the stars to the ground, and trampled them.
11aHe even exalted himself as high as bthe Prince of the host; cand by him dthe daily sacrifices were taken away, and the place of1 His sanctuary was cast down.
12 Because of transgression, aan army was given over tothehorn to oppose the daily sacrifices; and he cast btruth down to the ground. He cdid allthis and prospered.
13 Then I heard aa holy one speaking; and another holy one said to that certain one who was speaking, “How long will the vision be, concerning the daily sacrifices and the transgression1 of desolation, the giving of both the sanctuary and the host to be trampled underfoot?”
14 And he said to me, “For two thousand three hundred1 days; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.”
Gabriel Interprets the Vision
15 Then it happened, when I, Daniel, had seen the vision and awas seeking the meaning, that suddenly there stood before me bone having the appearance of a man.
16 And I heard a man’s voice abetween thebanksof the Ulai, who called, and said, b“Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.”
17 So he came near where I stood, and when he came I was afraid and afell on my face; but he said to me, “Understand, son of man, that the vision refers to the time of the end.”
18aNow, as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep with my face to the ground; bbut he touched me, and stood me upright.
19 And he said, “Look, I am making known to you what shall happen in the latter time of the indignation; afor at the appointed time the end shallbe.
20 The ram which you saw, having the two horns—theyare the kings of Media and Persia.
21 And the male goat is the kingdom of Greece. The large horn that is between its eyes ais the first king.
22aAs for the broken horn and the four that stood up in its place, four kingdoms shall arise out of that nation, but not with its power.
23 “And in the latter time of their kingdom, When the transgressors have reached their fullness, A king shall arise, aHaving fierce1 features, Who understands sinister schemes.
24 His power shall be mighty, abut not by his own power; He shall destroy1 fearfully, bAnd shall prosper and thrive; cHe shall destroy the mighty, and also the holy people.
25 “Througha his cunning He shall cause deceit to prosper under his1 rule; bAnd he shall exalt himself in his heart. He shall destroy many in their prosperity. cHe shall even rise against the Prince of princes; But he shall be dbroken without human means.
26 “And the vision of the evenings and mornings Which was told is true; aTherefore seal up the vision, For itrefers to many days inthefuture.”
27aAnd I, Daniel, fainted and was sick for days; afterward I arose and went about the king’s business. I was1 astonished by the vision, but no one understood it.
In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar - In regard to Belshazzar, see Intro. to Dan. 5 Section II.
A vision appeared unto me - This vision appears to have occurred to him when awake, or in an ecstasy; the former one occurred when he was asleep, Daniel 7:1. Compare Daniel 8:17-18, where the prophet represents himself as overpowered, and as falling down to the earth on account of the vision. The representation would seem to have been made to pass before his mind in open day, and when he was fully awake. Compare the case of Balaam, Numbers 24:4 : "Which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open."
After what appeared unto me at the first - That occurred in the first year of Belshazzar, Daniel 7:1.
Other Barnes' Notes entries containing Daniel 8:1:
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