Daniel's Vision of A Ram and A Goat

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 my 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, a male 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 at him in the fury of his power.

7And I saw him come close to the ram, and he was moved with rage against him, and struck the ram, and broke 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 male goat grew very great: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and instead of it came up four notable ones toward the four winds of heaven.

9And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which grew exceedingly great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the glorious land.

10And it grew 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 a host was given him to oppose the daily sacrifice by reason of transgression, and it cast down the truth to the ground; and it did this, and prospered.

13Then I heard one saint speaking, and another saint said unto that certain saint who spoke, 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, For two thousand and three hundred days; then shall the sanctuary be cleansed.

The Interpretation by Gabriel

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 one having 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: that for the time of the end shall be the vision.

18Now as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep with my face toward the ground: but he touched me, and set me upright.

19And he said, Behold, I will make you know what shall be in the latter end of the indignation: for at the time appointed the end shall be.

20The ram which you saw having two horns are the kings of Media and Persia.

21And the male goat is the king of Greece: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king.

22As for that horn being broken, and the four that stood up in its place, four kingdoms shall stand up out of that nation, but not with its power.

23And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors have come to their fullness, a king of bold countenance, and understanding riddles, shall stand up.

24And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power: and he shall destroy awesomely, and shall prosper, and thrive, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.

25And through his cunning also he shall cause deceit to prosper under his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and without warning shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken, by no human hand.

26And the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true: therefore shut up the vision; for it shall be many days hence.

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.