The Prophet Daniel

⭑ Douay-Rheims :: World English Bible Catholic ⭑

- Chapter 8 -

In the third year of the reign of king Baltasar, a vision appeared to me. I Daniel, after what I had seen in the beginning,

Saw in my vision when I was in the castle of Susa, which is in the province of Elam: and I saw in the vision that I was over the gate of Ulai.

And I lifted up my eyes, and saw: and behold a ram stood before the water, having two high horns, and one higher than the other, and growing up. Afterward

I saw the ram pushing with his horns against the west, and against the north, and against the south: and no beasts could withstand him, nor be delivered out of his hand: and he did according to his own will, and became great.

And I understood: and behold a he goat came from the west on the face of the whole earth, and he touched not the ground, and the he goat had a notable horn between his eyes.

And he went up to the ram that had the horns, which I had seen standing before the gate, and he ran towards him in the force of his strength.

And when he was come near the ram, he was enraged against him, and struck the ram: and broke his two horns, and the ram could not withstand him: and when he had cast him down on the ground, he stamped upon him, and none could deliver the ram out of his hand.

And the he goat became exceeding great: and when he was grown, the great horn was broken, and there came up four horns under it towards the four winds of heaven.

And out of one of them came forth a little horn: and it became great against the south, and against the east, and against the strength.

And it was magnified even unto the strength of heaven: and it threw down of the strength, and of the stars, and trod upon them.

And it was magnified even to the prince of the strength: and it took away from him the continual sacrifice, and cast down the place of his sanctuary.

And strength was given him against the continual sacrifice, because of sins: and truth shall be cast down on the ground, and he shall do and shall prosper.

And I heard one of the saints speaking, and one saint said to another, I know not to whom that was speaking: How long shall be the vision, concerning the continual sacrifice, and the sin of the desolation that is made: and the sanctuary, and the strength be trodden under foot?

And he said to him: Unto evening and morning two thousand three hundred days: and the sanctuary shall be cleansed.

Gabriel Interprets Daniel’s Vision

And it came to pass when I Daniel saw the vision, and sought the meaning, that behold there stood before me as it were the appearance of a man.

And I heard the voice of a man between Ulai: and he called, and said: Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision.

And he came and stood near where I stood: and when he was come, I fell on my face trembling, and he said to me: Understand, O son of man, for in the time of the end the vision shall be fulfilled.

And when he spoke to me I fell flat on the ground: and he touched me, and set me upright,

And he said to me: I will shew thee what things are to come to pass in the end of the malediction: for the time hath its end.

The ram, which thou sawest with horns, is the king of the Medes and Persians.

And the he goat, is the king of the Greeks, and the great horn that was between his eyes, the same is the first king.

But whereas when that was broken, there arose up four for it: four kings shall rise up of his nation, but not with his strength.

And after their reign, when iniquities shall be grown up, there shall arise a king of a shameless face, and understanding dark sentences.

And his power shall be strengthened, but not by his own force: and he shall lay all things waste, and shall prosper, and do more than can be believed. And he shall destroy the mighty, and the people of the saints,

According to his will, and craft shall be successful in his hand: and his heart shall be puffed up, and in the abundance of all things he shall kill many: and he shall rise up against the prince of princes, and shall be broken without hand.

And the vision of the evening and the morning, which was told, is true: thou therefore seal up the vision, because it shall come to pass after many days.

And I Daniel languished, and was sick for some days: and when I was risen up, I did the king’s business, and I was astonished at the vision, and there was none that could interpret it.

In 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.

I 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.

Then I lifted up my eyes and saw, and behold, a ram which had two horns stood before the river. The two horns were high, but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last.

I 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.

As 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.

He 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.

I 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.

The 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.

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

It 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.

Yes, 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.

The 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.

Then 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?”

He said to me, “To two thousand and three hundred evenings and mornings. Then the sanctuary will be cleansed.”

Gabriel Interprets Daniel’s Vision

When I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, I sought to understand it. Then behold, there stood before me someone with the appearance of a man.

I heard a man’s voice between the banks of the Ulai, which called and said, “Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.”

So 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.”

Now 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.

He 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.

The ram which you saw, that had the two horns, they are the kings of Media and Persia.

The rough male goat is the king of Greece. The great horn that is between his eyes is the first king.

As 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.

“In the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors have come to the full, a king of fierce face, and understanding riddles, will stand up.

His 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.

Through 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 human hands.

“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.”

I, 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.