Daniel

7* In the year one of King Belshassar of Babylon, Daniel had a dream and sights came to his head in his bed. Then he wrote down the dream. (Beginning of statement.) 2 He said “Said Daniel, I saw in my visions during the night that the four winds of the sky were churning the great sea, 3* and four great beasts came up out of the sea, all different.

4 “The first was like a lion with a vulture’s wings; I saw till its wings were pulled off and it was raised from the earth and set on two feet like a man and given a human heart.

5 “And on came another beast, a second, resembling a bear, which had got on its feet on one side, and had in its mouth three ribs between its teeth; and they said to it ‘Up, eat much flesh!’

6 “After this I saw, and on came another, like a leopard with four bird wings on its back; and the beast had four heads, and was given sovereign power.

7 “After this I saw in night visions, and on came a fourth beast, fearful and terrible and surpassingly strong, with great iron teeth; it was eating and mangling and trampling the remnants underfoot; and it was different from all the beasts before it, and it had ten horns. 8 I was noticing the horns, and up between them came another horn, a tiny one, and three of the previous horns were uprooted before it; and eyes there were in this horn like human eyes, and a mouth talking big words.

9 “I saw till thrones were placed and an Aged One took his seat, whose clothing was like white snow and the hair of his head like clean wool. His throne was flames of fire, and its wheels fire burning; 10* a river of fire streamed out from before him. A thousand thousand were waiting on him and a million million stood before him. The court took its seat and books were opened.

11 “I saw: then, at the sound of the big words the horn talked, I saw till the beast was killed and its body wrecked and put for burning up. 12 And the rest of the beasts had their sovereignty discontinued, but were given prolongation of life till a time and a tide.

13 “I saw in night visions that with the clouds of the sky there came the like of a human being, and he came up to the Ancient One and presented himself before him; 14 and he was given sovereignty and glory and empire, and all the peoples, nations, and languages became his subjects. His sovereignty is sovereignty eternal, inalienable, and his empire impregnable.

15* “I, Daniel, was excited over this, and the sights that had come to my head alarmed me. 16 I approached one of those who were standing there and asked him for the precise significance of this; and he told me, and made the interpretation known, 17* ‘These great beasts, of which there are four, are four kings to stand upon the earth; 18 but the holy ones of the Most High shall take over the empire, and shall rule the empire forever, world without end.’

19 “Then I wanted the precise significance of the fourth beast that was different from all of them, surpassingly fearful, its teeth iron and its claws bronze, which ate and mangled and trampled the remnants underfoot, 20 and of the ten horns on its head and another that came up and three fell before it, and that horn had eyes and a mouth talking big words, and the look of being larger than its mates; 21 I had seen that that horn made war with holy ones and got the best of them 22* till an Ancient One came and judgment was given for the holy ones of the Most High, and the time arrived and holy ones ruled the empire.

23 “He said thus: ‘The fourth beast is a fourth empire that there shall be on earth, which shall be different from all empires and shall eat up all the earth and kick it to pieces and mangle it; 24 and the ten horns, out of that empire ten kings shall stand up, and another shall stand up after them; and he shall be different from the preceding ones, and shall bring three kings down, 25* and shall talk in words pointing at God on high, and shall wear down the holy ones of the Most High, and shall think to change times and law; and they shall be given into his hands through a time and times and half a time. 26 But the court shall sit, and they shall take off his sovereignty for definitive destroying and extirpating; and empire, and the sovereignty and greatness of all the empires under the sky, was given to the people of the holy ones of the Most High. 27* Its empire is an empire forever, and all sovereignties shall be its subjects and obey it.’

28* “With this the whole was at an end. I, Daniel, was much alarmed by the things I thought of, and changed color. But I laid the matter up in my mind.”