1 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.
2 And I saw in the vision; now it was so, that when I saw, I was in Shushan the palace, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in the vision, and I was by the river Ulai.
3 Then I lifted up my eyes, and looked, and saw 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.
4 I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; and no beasts could stand before him, neither was there any who could deliver out of his hand; but he did according to his will, and magnified himself.
5 And as I was considering, look, a he-goat came from the west over the face of the whole earth, and did not touch the ground: and the goat had a notable horn between his eyes.
6 And 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.
7 And 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; and there was no power in the ram to stand before him; but he cast him down to the ground, and trampled on him; and there was none who could deliver the ram out of his hand.
8 And the he-goat magnified himself exceedingly: and when he was strong, the great horn was broken; and instead of it there came up four notable [horns] toward the four winds of heaven.
9 And out of one of them came forth a little horn, which waxed exceedingly great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the glorious [land].
10 And it waxed great, even to the host of heaven; and some of the host and of the stars it cast down to the ground, and trampled on them.
11 Yes, it magnified itself, even to the prince of the host; and it took away from him the continual [burnt-offering], and the place of his sanctuary was cast down.
12 And the host was given over [to it] together with the continual [burnt-offering] through transgression; and it cast down truth to the ground, and it did [its pleasure] and prospered.
13 Then I heard a holy one speaking; and another holy one said to that certain one who spoke, How long will be the vision [concerning] the continual [burnt-offering], and the transgression that makes desolate, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trodden under foot?
14 And he said to me, To two thousand and three hundred evenings [and] mornings; then the sanctuary will be cleansed.
15 And it came to pass, when I, even I Daniel, had seen the vision, that I sought to understand it; and, look, there stood before me as the appearance of a [prominent] man.
16 And I heard man's voice between [the banks of] the Ulai, which called, and said, Gabriel, make this man to understand the vision.
17 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, O Son of Man; for the vision belongs to the time of the end.
18 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.
19 And he said, Look, 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.
20 The ram which you saw, that had the two horns, they are the kings of Media and Persia.
21 The he-goat is the king of Greece: and the great horn that is between his eyes is the first king.
22 And as for that which was broken, in the place of which four stood up, four kingdoms will stand up out of the nation, but not with his power.
23 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors have come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, will stand up.
24 And his power will be mighty, but not by his own power; and he will destroy wonderfully, and will prosper and do [his pleasure]; and he will destroy the mighty ones and the holy people.
25 And through his policy he will cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he will magnify himself in his heart, and in [their] security he will destroy many: he will also stand up against the prince of princes; but he will be broken without hand.
26 And the vision of the evenings and mornings which has been told is true: but you shut up the vision; for it belongs to many days [to come].
27 And I, Daniel, fainted, and was sick certain days; then I rose up, and did the king's business: and I wondered at the vision, but none understood it.