Wycliffe's Bible 1In the first year of Belshazzar, king of Babylon, Daniel saw a sweven, either a dream. Forsooth he wrote the vision of his head in his bed, and the dream, and comprehended in short word; (In the first year of Belshazzar, the king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream. And he wrote down the vision in his head, the dream that he had on his bed, and recorded it in a few words;)
2and he touched shortly the sentence, and said, I saw in my vision in (the) night, and lo! four winds of heaven fought in the midst of the great sea. (yea, he touched briefly upon it, and said, I saw in my vision in the night, and lo! the four winds of the heavens fought in the midst of the Great Sea.)
3And four great beasts, diverse betwixt themselves, went up from the sea.
4The first beast was as a lioness, and had wings of an eagle. I beheld till the wings thereof were pulled away, and it was taken away from [the] earth, and it stood as a man on the feet, and the heart thereof was given to it. (The first beast was like a lioness, and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were pulled off, and it was lifted up from the ground, and it stood upon its feet like a man, and the mind of a man was given to it.)
5And lo! another beast, like a bear in part, stood, and three orders were in the mouth thereof, and three princes in the teeth thereof (And lo! another beast, like a bear in part, stood up, and it had three ribs in its teeth). And thus they said to it, Rise thou, eat thou full many fleshes.
6After these things I beheld, and lo! another beast as a leopard, and it had on itself four wings of a bird; and four heads were in the beast (and four heads were on that beast), and power was given to it.
7After these things I beheld in the vision of (the) night, and lo! the fourth beast, fearedful, and wonderful, and full strong. It had great iron teeth, and it ate, and made less, and defouled with his feet other things; forsooth it was unlike (the) other beasts, which I had seen before it, and it had ten horns. (After these things I saw in the vision of the night, and lo! the fourth beast, fearful, and wonderful, and very strong. It had great iron teeth, and it ate, and devoured, and it defiled, or trampled upon, everything with its feet; and it was unlike the other beasts, which I had seen before it, for it had ten horns.)
8I beheld the horns, and lo! another little horn came forth (out) of the midst of those, and three of the first horns were drawn out from the face thereof (and three of the first horns were drawn out to make room for it); and lo! eyes as (the) eyes of a man were in this horn, and a mouth speaking great things. 9I beheld, till that thrones were set, and the Eld of days sat; his cloth was white as snow, and the hairs of his head were as clean wool; his throne was as flames of fire, his wheels were as fire kindled. (I watched, until the thrones were set in place, and the Old, or the Ancient, of Days sat down; his cloak was as white as snow, and the hair on his head was like clean wool; his throne was like flames of fire, and its wheels were like kindled fire.) 10A flood of fire and running fast went out from (before) his face; a thousand thousands ministered to him, and ten times a thousand times an hundred thousand stood nigh [to] him; the doom sat, and books were opened. (A river of fire, running fast, went out from before his face; a thousand thousands served him, and ten times a thousand times a hundred thousand stood near to him; the court sat, and the books were opened.) 11I beheld for the voice of great words which that horn spake; and I saw that the beast was slain, and his body was perished, and was given to be burnt in fire. (I watched because of the great words which that horn spoke; and I saw that the beast was killed, and its body perished, and it was given to be burned in the fire.) 12And I saw that the power of (the) other beasts was taken away, and the times of life were ordained to them, till to time and time. 13Therefore I beheld in the vision of (the) night, and lo! (one) as a son of man came with the clouds of heaven; and he came fully till to the Eld of days, and in the sight of him they offered him. (And so I watched in the vision of the night, and lo! one like the son of a man/one like the Son of man came with the clouds of the heavens; and he came unto the Old, or the Ancient, of Days, and was presented to him.) 14And he gave to him power, and honour, and realm, and all the peoples, lineages, and languages shall serve him; his power is everlasting power, that shall not be taken away, and his realm, that shall not be corrupted. (And he gave to him power, and honour, and kingdom, so that all the peoples, and tribes, or nations, of every language, would serve him; his power is everlasting power, that shall never be taken away, and his kingdom shall never be corrupted, or shall never end.) 15My spirit had horror, either hideousness; I, Daniel, was afeared in these things, and the sights of mine head disturbed me. (My spirit felt horror, or terror; and I, Daniel, was afraid of these things, and the sights in my head disturbed me.) 16I nighed to one of the standers nigh, and I asked of him the truth of all these things. And he said to me the interpreting of these words, and he taught me (And he told me the interpretation of these things, and he taught me). 17These four great beasts be four realms, that shall rise of [the] earth. (And he said, These four great beasts be four kingdoms, that shall rise upon the earth.) 18Forsooth holy men shall take the realm of highest God, and they shall hold the realm, till into the world, and unto the world of worlds. (But the holy men of the Most High God shall receive the kingdom, and they shall hold the kingdom, until forever and ever.) 19After these things I would learn diligently of the fourth beast, that was greatly unlike from all (the others), and was full fearedful, (for) the teeth and nails thereof were of iron; it ate, and made less, and defouled with his feet other things. (After these things I wanted to learn about the fourth beast, that was greatly unlike all the others, and was very fearful, for its teeth and its claws were made of iron; it ate, and devoured, and defiled, or trampled upon, everything with its feet.) 20And of ten horns which it had in the head, and of the tother horn that came forth, before which three horns fell down; and of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth speaking great things, and was greater than others; (And about the ten horns which it had on its head, and about the other horn that came forth, before which three horns fell down; and that horn had eyes, and a mouth speaking great things, and it was greater than the other horns;) 21I beheld, and lo! that horn made battle against holy men, and had mastery of them, (I watched, and lo! that horn made battle against the holy people, and had the mastery over them,) 22till the Eld of days came, and high God gave doom to holy men; and lo! time came, and holy men got realm. (until the Old, or the Ancient, of Days came, and the Most High God gave judgement in favour of the holy people; and lo! the time came, and the holy people got the kingdom.) 23And he said thus, The fourth beast shall be the fourth realm in (the) earth, that shall be more than all realms, and it shall devour all (the) earth, and it shall defoul, and make less that earth. (And he said this, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom on the earth, that shall be more than all the other kingdoms, and it shall devour all the earth, and it shall defile, or trample upon, and break in pieces all the earth.) 24Forsooth (the) ten horns shall be ten kings of that realm; and another king shall rise (up) after them, and he shall be mightier than the former, and he shall make low three kings. 25And he shall speak words against the high God, and he shall defoul the saints of the Highest; and he shall guess, that he may change times and laws (And he shall speak words against the Most High God, and he shall defile, or shall oppress, the saints of the Most High God; and he shall think, that he can change the times for the feasts, and the laws); and they shall be given into his hands, till to time, and times, and the half of time. 26And (the) doom shall sit, that the power be taken away, and be all-broken, and perish till into the end. (Then the court shall sit, and his power shall be taken away, and be altogether broken, and destroyed forever.) 27Soothly that the realm, and power, and the greatness of realm, which is under each heaven, be given to the people of the saints of the Highest, whose realm is (an) everlasting realm, and all kings shall serve, and obey to him. (Truly the kingdom, and the power, and the greatness of the kingdom, which is under all heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High God, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all kings shall serve him, and obey him.) 28Hitherto is the end of the word. I, Daniel, was disturbed much in my thoughts, and my face was changed in me; forsooth I kept the word in mine heart. (Heretofore is the end of the word. I, Daniel, was very disturbed in my thoughts about all of this, and my face grew pale; but I kept all these things in my heart.) WYCLIFFE’S BIBLE Comprising of Wycliffe’s Old Testament and Wycliffe’s New Testament (Revised Edition) Translated by JOHN WYCLIFFE and JOHN PURVEY A modern-spelling edition of their 14TH century Middle English translation, the first complete English vernacular version, with an Introduction by TERENCE P. NOBLE Used by Permission Bible Hub |