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Vision of the Four Beasts 1In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel saw a dream and visions [a]in his mind as he lay on his bed; then he wrote the dream down and told the [b]following summary of [c]it.
2Daniel [d]said, “I was looking in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea.
3And four great beasts were coming up from the sea, different from one another.
4The first was like a lion but had the wings of an eagle. I kept looking until its wings were plucked, and it was lifted up from the ground and set up on two feet like a man; a human [e]mind also was given to it.
5And behold, another beast, a second one, resembling a bear. And it was raised up on one side, and three ribs were in its mouth between its teeth; and they said this to it: ‘Arise, devour much meat!’
6After this I kept looking, and behold, another one, like a leopard, which had on its [f]back four wings of a bird; the beast also had four heads, and dominion was given to it.
7After this I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and extremely strong; and it had large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed, and trampled down the remainder with its feet; and it was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had ten horns.
8While I was thinking about the horns, behold, another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the previous horns were plucked out before it; and behold, [g]this horn possessed eyes like human eyes, and a mouth uttering great boasts.
The Ancient of Days Reigns 9“I kept looking Until thrones were set up, And the Ancient of Days took His seat; His garment was white as snow, And the hair of His head like pure wool. His throne was [h]ablaze with flames, Its wheels were a burning fire.
10“A river of fire was flowing And coming out from before Him; Thousands upon thousands were serving Him, And myriads upon myriads were standing before Him; The court [i]convened, And the books were opened.
11Then I kept looking because of the sound of the [j]boastful words which the horn was speaking; I kept looking until the beast was killed, and its body was destroyed and given to the burning [k]fire.
12As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but an extension of life was granted to them for an appointed period of time.
The Son of Man Presented 13“I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a son of man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him.
14“And to Him was given dominion, Honor, and [l]a kingdom, So that all the peoples, nations, and populations of all [m]languages Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed.
The Vision Interpreted 15“As for me, Daniel, my spirit was distressed within [n]me, and the visions [o]in my mind kept alarming me.
16I approached one of those who were standing by and began requesting of him the [p]exact meaning of all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of these things:
17‘These great beasts, which are four in number, are four kings who will arise from the earth.
18But the [q]saints of the Highest One will receive the kingdom and take possession of the kingdom forever, [r]for all ages to come.’
19“Then I desired to know the [s]exact meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all [t]the others, exceedingly dreadful, with its teeth of iron and its claws of bronze, and which devoured, crushed, and trampled down the remainder with its feet,
20and the meaning of the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn which came up, and before which three of the horns fell, namely, that horn which had eyes and a mouth uttering great boasts, and [u]which was larger in appearance than its associates.
21I kept looking, and that horn was waging war with the [v]saints and prevailing against them,
22until the Ancient of Days came and judgment was [w]passed in favor of the [x]saints of the Highest One, and the time arrived when the [y]saints took possession of the kingdom.
23“This is what he said: ‘The fourth beast will be a fourth kingdom on the earth which will be different from all the other kingdoms, and will devour the whole earth and trample it down and crush it.
24As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings will arise; and another will arise after them, and he will be different from the previous ones and will [z]humble three kings.
25And he will [aa]speak against the Most High and wear down the [ab]saints of the Highest One, and he will intend to make alterations in times and in law; and [ac]they will be handed over to him for a [ad]time, [ae]times, and half a [af]time.
26But the court will [ag]convene for judgment, and his dominion will be taken away, [ah]annihilated and destroyed [ai]forever.
27Then the [aj]sovereignty, the dominion, and the greatness of all the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the [ak]saints of the Highest One; His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all the empires will serve and obey Him.’
28“[al]At this point the revelation ended. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts were greatly alarming me and my [am]face became pale, but I kept the matter [an]to myself.”
1 Lit of his head
1 Or beginning
1 Lit words
2 Lit began speaking and said
4 Lit heart
6 Or sides
8 Lit in this horn were eyes
9 Lit flames of fire
10 Lit took its place
11 Lit great
11 Lit of the fire
14 Or sovereignty
14 Lit tongues
15 Lit its sheath
15 Lit of my head
16 Lit what was certain
18 Lit holy ones; i.e., God’s people
18 Lit and unto the age of the ages
19 Lit truth concerning
19 Lit of them
20 Lit its appearance was larger
21 Lit holy ones; i.e., God’s people
22 Lit given for
22 Lit holy ones; i.e., God’s people
22 Lit holy ones; i.e., God’s people
24 Or humiliate
25 Lit speak words
25 Lit holy ones; i.e., God’s people
25 I.e., the saints
25 I.e., year(s)
25 I.e., year(s)
25 I.e., year(s)
26 Lit take its place
26 Lit to annihilate and to destroy
26 Lit to the end
27 Or kingdom
27 Lit holy ones; i.e., God’s people
28 Lit To here the end of the word
28 Lit brightness was changing upon me
28 Lit in my heart
New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit www.lockman.org
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