1. In Belshazzar’s third year as king, I, Daniel, saw a vision. This vision came after the one I saw earlier.
2. In my vision I saw myself in the fortress of Susa in the province of Elam. In my vision I saw myself at Ulai Gate.
3. I looked up and saw a single ram standing beside the gate. The ram had two long horns, one longer than the other, though the longer one had grown up later.
4. I saw the ram charging west, north, and south. No other animal could stand in front of it, and no one could escape from its power. It did anything it pleased and continued to grow.
5. As I was watching closely, I saw a male goat coming from the west. It crossed the whole earth without touching it. This goat had a prominent horn between its eyes.
6. The goat was coming toward the two-horned ram that I had seen standing beside the gate. It furiously ran at the ram.
7. I saw it come closer to the ram. The goat was extremely angry with the ram, so it attacked the ram. It broke both of the ram’s horns. The ram didn’t have the strength to stand up against the goat. So the ram was thrown down on the ground and trampled. No one could rescue the ram from the goat’s power.
8. The male goat became very important. But when the goat became powerful, his large horn broke off. In its place grew four horns. They corresponded to the four winds of heaven.
9. Out of one of the horns came a small horn. It gained power over the south, the east, and the beautiful land.
10. It continued to gain power until it reached the army of heaven. It threw some of the army of heaven, the stars, down on the ground and trampled them.
11. Then it attacked the commander of the army so that it took the daily burnt offering from him and wrecked his holy place.
12. In its rebelliousness it was given an army to put a stop to the daily burnt offering. It threw truth on the ground. The horn was successful in everything it did.
13. Then I heard a holy one speaking. Another holy one said to the one who was speaking, “How long will the things in this vision—the daily burnt offering, the destructive rebellion, the surrender of the holy place, and the trampling of the army—take place?”
14. He told me, “For 2,300 evenings and mornings. Then the holy place will be made acceptable to God.”
15. Now as I, Daniel, watched the vision and tried to understand it, I saw someone who looked like a man standing in front of me.
16. I heard a man in Ulai ⌊Gate⌋ call loudly, “Gabriel, explain the vision to this man.”
17. Gabriel came up beside me, and when he came, I was terrified and immediately knelt down.He said to me, “Son of man, understand that the vision is about the end times.”
18. As he spoke to me, I fainted facedown on the ground, but he touched me and made me stand up.