Daniel — Chapter 8
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1In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision appeared unto me, even unto me Daniel, after that which appeared unto me at the first.
2And I saw in a vision; and it came to pass, when I saw, that I was at Shushan in the palace, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in a vision, and I was by the river of Ulai.
3Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns: and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last.
4I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; so that no beasts might stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and became great.
5And as I was considering, behold, an he goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes.
6And he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing before the river, and ran unto him in the fury of his power.
7And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with choler against him, and smote the ram, and brake his two horns: and there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but he cast him down to the ground, and stamped upon him: and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand.
8Therefore the he goat waxed very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and for it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven.
9And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the pleasant land.
10And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and it cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground, and stamped upon them.
11Yea, he magnified himself even to the prince of the host, and by him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down.
12And an host was given him against the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it practised, and prospered.
13Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint which spake, How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression of desolation, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot?
14And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.
15And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, and sought for the meaning, then, behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man.
16And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision.
17So he came near where I stood: and when he came, I was afraid, and fell upon my face: but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man: for at the time of the end shall be the vision.
18Now as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep on my face toward the ground: but he touched me, and set me upright.
19And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end shall be.
20The ram which thou sawest having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia.
21And the rough goat is the king of Grecia: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king.
22Now that being broken, whereas four stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not in his power.
23And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up.
24And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.
25And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand.
26And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true: wherefore shut thou up the vision; for it shall be for many days.
27And I Daniel fainted, and was sick certain days; afterward I rose up, and did the king’s business; and I was astonished at the vision, but none understood it.
1In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision appeared unto me, even unto me, Daniel, after that which appeared unto me at the first.
2And I saw in the vision; now it was so, that when I saw, I was in Shushan the palace, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in the vision, and I was by the river Ulai.
3Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns: and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last.
4I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; and no beasts could stand before him, neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and magnified himself.
5And as I was considering, behold, a he-goat came from the west over the face of the whole earth, and touched not the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes.
6And he came to the ram that had the two horns, which I saw standing before the river, and ran upon him in the fury of his power.
7And I saw him come close unto the ram, and he was moved with anger against him, and smote the ram, and brake his two horns; and there was no power in the ram to stand before him; but he cast him down to the ground, and trampled upon him; and there was none that could deliver the ram out of his hand.
8And the he-goat magnified himself exceedingly: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and instead of it there came up four notable [horns] toward the four winds of heaven.
9And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the glorious [land].
10And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and some of the host and of the stars it cast down to the ground, and trampled upon them.
11Yea, it magnified itself, even to the prince of the host; and it took away from him the continual [burnt-offering], and the place of his sanctuary was cast down.
12And the host was given over [to it] together with the continual [burnt-offering] through transgression; and it cast down truth to the ground, and it did [its pleasure] and prospered.
13Then I heard a holy one speaking; and another holy one said unto that certain one who spake, How long shall be the vision [concerning] the continual [burnt-offering], and the transgression that maketh desolate, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot?
14And he said unto me, Unto two thousand and three hundred evenings [and] mornings; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.
15And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, that I sought to understand it; and, behold, there stood before me as the appearance of a man.
16And I heard a man`s voice between [the banks of] the Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision.
17So he came near where I stood; and when he came, I was affrighted, and fell upon my face: but he said unto me, Understand, O son of man; for the vision belongeth to the time of the end.
18Now as he was speaking with me, I fell into a deep sleep with my face toward the ground; but he touched me, and set me upright.
19And he said, Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the latter time of the indignation; for it belongeth to the appointed time of the end.
20The ram which thou sawest, that had the two horns, they are the kings of Media and Persia.
21And the rough he-goat is the king of Greece: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king.
22And as for that which was broken, in the place whereof four stood up, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation, but not with his power.
23And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up.
24And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper and do [his pleasure]; and he shall destroy the mighty ones and the holy people.
25And through his policy he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and in [their] security shall he destroy many: he shall also stand up against the prince of princes; but he shall be broken without hand.
26And the vision of the evenings and mornings which hath been told is true: but shut thou up the vision; for it belongeth to many days [to come].
27And I, Daniel, fainted, and was sick certain days; then I rose up, and did the king`s business: and I wondered at the vision, but none understood it.
1In the third year of King Belshazzar’s reign, a vision appeared to me, Daniel, after the one that had appeared to me previously.
2In this vision I saw myself in Susa the citadel, which is located in the province of Elam. In the vision I saw myself at the Ulai Canal.
3I looked up and saw a ram with two horns standing at the canal. Its two horns were both long, but one was longer than the other. The longer one was coming up after the shorter one.
4I saw that the ram was butting westward, northward, and southward. No animal was able to stand before it, and there was none who could deliver from its power. It did as it pleased and acted arrogantly.
5While I was contemplating all this, a male goat was coming from the west over the surface of all the land without touching the ground. This goat had a conspicuous horn between its eyes.
6It came to the two-horned ram that I had seen standing beside the canal and rushed against it with raging strength.
7I saw it approaching the ram. It went into a fit of rage against the ram and struck it and broke off its two horns. The ram had no ability to resist it. The goat hurled the ram to the ground and trampled it. No one could deliver the ram from its power.
8The male goat acted even more arrogantly. But no sooner had the large horn become strong than it was broken, and there arose four conspicuous horns in its place, extending toward the four winds of the sky.
9From one of them came a small horn, but it grew to be very great toward the south and the east and toward the beautiful land.
10It grew so great it reached the army of heaven, and it brought about the fall of some of the army and some of the stars to the ground, where it trampled them.
11It also acted arrogantly against the Prince of the army, from whom the daily sacrifice was removed and whose sanctuary was thrown down.
12The army was given over, along with the daily sacrifice, in the course of his sinful rebellion. It hurled truth to the ground and enjoyed success.
13Then I heard a holy one speaking. Another holy one said to the one who was speaking, “To what period of time does the vision pertain—this vision concerning the daily sacrifice and the destructive act of rebellion and the giving over of both the sanctuary and army to be trampled?”
14He said to me, “To 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary will be put right again.”
15While I, Daniel, was watching the vision, I sought to understand it. Now one who appeared to be a man was standing before me.
16Then I heard a human voice coming from between the banks of the Ulai. It called out, “Gabriel, enable this person to understand the vision.”
17So he approached the place where I was standing. As he came, I felt terrified and fell flat on the ground. Then he said to me, “Understand, son of man, that the vision pertains to the time of the end.”
18As he spoke with me, I fell into a trance with my face to the ground. But he touched me and stood me upright.
19Then he said, “I am going to inform you about what will happen in the latter time of wrath, for the vision pertains to the appointed time of the end.
20The ram that you saw with the two horns stands for the kings of Media and Persia.
21The male goat is the king of Greece, and the large horn between its eyes is the first king.
22The horn that was broken and in whose place there arose four others stands for four kingdoms that will arise from his nation, though they will not have his strength.
23Toward the end of their rule, when rebellious acts are complete, a rash and deceitful king will arise.
24His power will be great, but it will not be by his strength alone. He will cause terrible destruction. He will be successful in what he undertakes. He will destroy powerful people and the people of the holy ones.
25By his treachery he will succeed through deceit. He will have an arrogant attitude, and he will destroy many who are unaware of his schemes. He will rise up against the Prince of princes, yet he will be broken apart—but not by human agency.
26The vision of the evenings and mornings that was told to you is correct. But you should seal up the vision, for it refers to a time many days from now.”
27I, Daniel, was exhausted and sick for days. Then I got up and again carried out the king’s business. But I was astonished at the vision, and there was no one to explain it.
1In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision appeared to me, even to me, Daniel, after that which appeared to me at the first.
2I saw the vision. Now it was so, that when I saw, I was in the citadel of Susa, which is in the province of Elam. I saw in the vision, and I was by the river Ulai.
3Then I lifted up my eyes, and saw, and behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns. The two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last.
4I saw the ram pushing westward, northward, and southward. No animals could stand before him. There wasn’t any who could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and magnified himself.
5As I was considering, behold, a male goat came from the west over the surface of the whole earth, and didn’t touch the ground. The goat had a notable horn between his eyes.
6He came to the ram that had the two horns, which I saw standing before the river, and ran on him in the fury of his power.
7I saw him come close to the ram, and he was moved with anger against him, and struck the ram, and broke his two horns. There was no power in the ram to stand before him; but he cast him down to the ground, and trampled on him. There was no one who could deliver the ram out of his hand.
8The male goat magnified himself exceedingly. When he was strong, the great horn was broken; and instead of it there came up four notable horns toward the four winds of the sky.
9Out of one of them came out a little horn, which grew exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the glorious land.
10It grew great, even to the army of the sky; and it cast down some of the army and of the stars to the ground, and trampled on them.
11Yes, it magnified itself, even to the prince of the army; and it took away from him the continual burnt offering, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down.
12The army was given over to it together with the continual burnt offering through disobedience. It cast down truth to the ground, and it did its pleasure and prospered.
13Then I heard a holy one speaking; and another holy one said to that certain one who spoke, “How long will the vision about the continual burnt offering, and the disobedience that makes desolate, to give both the sanctuary and the army to be trodden under foot be?”
14He said to me, “To two thousand and three hundred evenings and mornings. Then the sanctuary will be cleansed.”
15When I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, I sought to understand it. Then behold, there stood before me something like the appearance of a man.
16I heard a man’s voice between the banks of the Ulai, which called, and said, “Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.”
17So he came near where I stood; and when he came, I was frightened, and fell on my face; but he said to me, “Understand, son of man; for the vision belongs to the time of the end.”
18Now as he was speaking with me, I fell into a deep sleep with my face toward the ground; but he touched me, and set me upright.
19He said, “Behold, I will make you know what will be in the latter time of the indignation; for it belongs to the appointed time of the end.
20The ram which you saw, that had the two horns, they are the kings of Media and Persia.
21The rough male goat is the king of Greece. The great horn that is between his eyes is the first king.
22As for that which was broken, in the place where four stood up, four kingdoms will stand up out of the nation, but not with his power.
23“In the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors have come to the full, a king of fierce face, and understanding dark sentences, will stand up.
24His power will be mighty, but not by his own power. He will destroy awesomely, and will prosper in what he does. He will destroy the mighty ones and the holy people.
25Through his policy he will cause deceit to prosper in his hand. He will magnify himself in his heart, and he will destroy many in their security. He will also stand up against the prince of princes; but he will be broken without hand.
26“The vision of the evenings and mornings which has been told is true; but seal up the vision, for it belongs to many days to come.”
27I, Daniel, fainted, and was sick for some days. Then I rose up, and did the king’s business. I wondered at the vision, but no one understood it.
Summary
Daniel sees a ram with two horns (Media-Persia) trampling everything until a goat with one great horn (Greece/Alexander) shatters it. The great horn breaks and four horns replace it (Alexander's four generals). From one grows a "little horn" (Antiochus Epiphanes) who defiles the sanctuary, halts daily sacrifices, and tramples truth — for 2,300 days until the sanctuary is cleansed.
Authorship & Background
- The Ram: Medo-Persia Conquering (vv.1-4)
- The Goat: Greece/Alexander Attacks (vv.5-8)
- The Great Horn Broken; Four Horns Rise (v.8)
- The Little Horn: Antiochus Epiphanes (vv.9-12)
- "How Long?" — 2,300 Days (vv.13-14)
- Gabriel Interprets the Vision (vv.15-26)
- Daniel Overcome and Astonished (v.27)
Commentary
- Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com
- Charles Spurgeon: "Truth cast to the ground! How often this has happened — Scriptures burned, saints martyred, worship forbidden, the Word silenced. But notice: truth CAST DOWN is not truth DESTROYED. The Psalmist said, 'For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.' You may trample it on earth; you cannot touch it in heaven. And the sanctuary SHALL be cleansed."
Reflection
- 1. God names empires before they exist (vv.20-21). Persia and Greece are named by NAME — 200 years before Alexander was born. Nothing surprises God. Whatever "empire" looms over your life — He named it before it arose and He has already determined its end.
- 2. Evil prospers for a measured time (v.12). "It practised, and prospered." Temporarily. 2,300 days — not forever. If you watch evil prospering today, remember: its days are NUMBERED. God has a "then" (v.14) — "THEN shall the sanctuary be cleansed."
- 3. "Broken without hand" (v.25). God doesn't always use armies or politics to end oppression. Sometimes He simply... ends it. A mysterious disease, an unexpected death, a sudden collapse. God has tools you cannot see.
- 4. Gabriel explains (vv.16-17). God doesn't leave Daniel to figure it out alone. He sends an interpreter. When you're confused by what you see in the world — ask. "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God" (James 1:5). Understanding is available.
- 5. Daniel was "astonished" and "sick certain days" (v.27). Some revelations are HEAVY. The weight of seeing future suffering physically affected Daniel. If the state of the world burdens you — you're in good company. Feel the weight, then look at the throne.