8. So the male goat became very great. But when he was strong, his big horn broke off. Then four horns grew in place of the one big horn. Those four horns were easy to see. They pointed in four different directions.
9. Then a little horn grew from one of those four horns. It became very big. It grew to the south and the east and toward the beautiful land of Judah.
10. That little horn grew until it reached to the sky. It even threw some of the army of heaven to the ground. And it walked on them.
11. That little horn became very strong against God, the commander of heaven’s armies. It stopped the daily sacrifices that were offered to the commander. The place where people worshiped the commander was pulled down.
12. There was a turning away from God. Because of this the people stopped the daily sacrifices. It was like throwing truth down to the ground. The horn was successful in everything it did.
13. Then I heard one angel speaking. Another angel asked the first one, “How long will the things in this vision last? The vision is about the daily sacrifices. It is about the turning away from God that brings destruction. It is about the Temple being pulled down. It is about the army of heaven being walked on.”
14. He said to me, “This will happen for 2,300 evenings and mornings. Then the holy place will be repaired.”
15. I, Daniel, saw this vision. And I tried to understand what it meant. Then someone who looked like a man suddenly stood before me.
16. And I heard a man’s voice calling from the Ulai River: “Gabriel, explain the vision to this man.”
17. Gabriel came to where I was standing. When he came close to me, I was very afraid. I bowed facedown on the ground. But Gabriel said to me, “Human being, understand that this vision is about the time of the end.”
18. While Gabriel was speaking, I fell into a deep sleep. My face was on the ground. Then he touched me and lifted me to my feet.
19. He said, “Now, I will explain the vision to you. I will tell you what will happen later, in the time of God’s anger. Your vision was about the set time of the end.
20. “You saw a male sheep with two horns. Those horns are the kings of Media and Persia.
21. The male goat is the king of Greece. The big horn between its eyes is the first king.
22. After that horn broke, four horns grew in its place. Those four horns are four kingdoms. Those four kingdoms will come from the nation of the first king. But they will not be as strong as the first king.