Day 339 of 730

¹In the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar a vision appeared to me, Daniel, after that which appeared to me previously.

²And I saw in the vision, and when I looked, I was in the citadel of Susa, which is in the province of Elam. And I saw in the vision, and I was by the river Ulai.

³Then I lifted up my eyes, and saw, and behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns. And the two horns were long, but one was longer than the other, and the longer one came up last.

⁴I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward; and no animals could stand before him, neither was there any who could deliver out of his hand. But he did according to his will, and became great.

⁵As I was considering, behold, a male goat came from the west over the surface of the whole earth, and did not touch the ground. And the goat had a prominent horn between his eyes.

⁶He came to the ram that had the two horns, which I saw standing before the river, and rushed at him in the fury of his power.

⁷I 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 threw him down to the ground and trampled on him, and there was no one who could deliver the ram from his power.

⁸The male goat became very strong. But when he was strong, the large horn was broken; and instead of it there came up four prominent horns toward the four winds of heaven.

⁹Out of one of them came forth a little horn, which grew exceeding great, toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the beautiful land.

¹⁰It grew so great that it reached to the host of heaven, and some of the host and of the stars it cast down to the ground, and trampled on them.

¹¹And it magnified itself, even against the Prince of the host; and it took away from him the daily sacrifice, and the place of his sanctuary was thrown down.

¹²The host was given over to it together with the daily sacrifice because of transgression. And it cast down truth to the ground, and kept prospering.

¹³Then I heard a holy one speaking; and another holy one said to that certain one who spoke, "How long shall be the vision concerning the daily sacrifice, and the transgression that makes desolate, to give both the sanctuary and the host to be trampled?"

¹⁴He said to me, "To two thousand and three hundred evenings and mornings; then shall the sanctuary be restored to its rightful state."

¹⁵It came about when I, Daniel, had seen the vision, that I sought to understand it. And behold, there stood before me someone who appeared to be a man.

¹⁶I heard a man's voice between the banks of the Ulai, and called out and said, "Gabriel, make this man understand the vision."

¹⁷So he came near where I stood, and when he came I was frightened, and fell prostrate. But he said to me, "Understand, son of man, that the vision belongs to the time of the end."

¹⁸Now as he was speaking with me, I fell into a deep sleep with my face toward the ground; but he touched me, and stood me upright.

¹⁹He said, "Behold, I will make you know what shall be in the latter time of wrath, for it belongs to the appointed time of the end.

²⁰The ram which you saw, that had the two horns, they are the kings of Media and Persia.

²¹The male goat is the king of Greece, and the large horn that is between his eyes is the first king.

²²As for that which was broken, in the place where four stood up, four kingdoms shall arise out of his nation, but not with his power.

²³In the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors have reached their full measure, a rash and deceitful king shall arise.

²⁴His power shall be great, but not by his own strength; and he shall cause terrible destruction, and shall succeed in whatever he does. And he shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.

²⁵Through his cunning he shall cause deceit to prosper by his influence, and he shall be great in his own mind, and without warning he shall destroy many. He shall also stand up against the Prince of princes; but he shall be shattered, but not by human hands.

²⁶The vision of the evenings and mornings which has been told is true; but seal up the vision because it refers to many days from now."

²⁷I, Daniel, was overcome, and was ill for days. Then I rose up, and carried out the king's business. And I was astonished by the vision, but there was no one to explain it.

¹In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of Median descent, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans--

²in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood from the books the number of the years about which the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the prophet, for the completion of the desolation of Jerusalem, seventy years.

³And I turned to the Lord God, to seek by prayer and petitions, with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.

⁴I prayed to the Lord my God, and made this confession, "O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant and loving kindness with those who love him and keep his commandments.

⁵We have sinned, and have done what is wrong and wicked, and have rebelled, even turning aside from your commandments and from your ordinances.

⁶Neither have we listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land.

⁷Lord, righteousness belongs to you, but to us open shame, as at this day, to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, who are near, and who are far off, through all the countries where you have driven them, because of their unfaithful deeds that they have committed against you.

⁸Lord, to us belongs open shame, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against you.

⁹To the Lord our God belong compassion and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against him.

¹⁰And have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.

¹¹Yes, all Israel has transgressed your law, and turned away, refusing to obey your voice. Therefore has the curse been poured out on us, and the oath that is written in the Law of Moses the servant of God, for we have sinned against you.

¹²He has confirmed his words, which he spoke against us, and against our rulers who ruled us, by bringing on us a great calamity; for under the whole heaven such has not been done as has been done on Jerusalem.

¹³As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this calamity has come on us. Yet have we not tried to gain the favor of the Lord our God, that we should turn from our iniquities, and have discernment in your truth.

¹⁴Therefore has the Lord watched over the calamity, and brought it on us, for the Lord our God is just in all he has done, and we have not obeyed his voice.

¹⁵"And now, Lord our God, who has brought your people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and have made a name for yourself, even to this day; we have sinned, we have done wickedly.

¹⁶Lord, according to all your righteousness, let your anger and please let your wrath be turned away from your city Jerusalem, your holy mountain; because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and your people have become a reproach to all who are around us.

¹⁷Now therefore, our God, listen to the prayer of your servant, and to his petitions, and cause your face to shine on your sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake.

¹⁸My God, turn your ear, and hear; open your eyes, and see our desolation, and the city which is called by your name. For we do not present our petitions before you for our righteousness, but for your great mercy.

¹⁹Lord, hear! Lord, forgive! Lord, listen and take action! Do not delay, for your own sake, my God, because your city and your people are called by your name."

²⁰While I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my petition before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God,

²¹while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, came to me in my weariness about the time of the evening sacrifice.

²²He instructed me, and talked with me, and said, "Daniel, I have now come forth to give you wisdom and understanding.

²³At the beginning of your petitions the commandment went forth, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly loved. Therefore consider the matter, and understand the vision.

²⁴Seventy weeks are decreed on your people and on your holy city, to put an end to the transgression, and to make an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most holy place.

²⁵Know therefore and understand that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem until the time of an anointed prince, there shall be seven weeks, and sixty-two weeks. It shall be built again, with open spaces and a moat, but in times of distress.

²⁶After the sixty-two weeks an anointed one shall be cut off, and shall have nothing: and the people of the prince who shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and his end shall come with a flood, and until the end there shall be war; desolations are decreed.

²⁷He shall make a firm covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the offering to cease. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who destroys, and even until a complete destruction, until the decreed end is poured out on the one who destroys."

¹I said, "I will watch my ways, so that I do not sin with my tongue. I will keep my mouth with a bridle while the wicked is before me."

²I was mute with silence. I held my peace, even from good. My sorrow was stirred.

³My heart was hot within me. While I meditated, the fire burned: I spoke with my tongue:

⁴"Lord, show me my end, what is the measure of my days. Let me know how frail I am.

⁵Behold, you have made my days handbreadths. My lifetime is as nothing before you. Surely every man stands as a breath." Selah.

⁶"Surely every man walks like a shadow. Surely they busy themselves in vain. He heaps up, and doesn't know who shall gather.

⁷Now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in you.

⁸Deliver me from all my transgressions. Do not make me the reproach of the foolish.

⁹I was mute. I did not open my mouth, because you did it.

¹⁰Remove your scourge away from me. I am overcome by the blow of your hand.

¹¹When you rebuke and correct man for iniquity, You consume his wealth like a moth. Surely every man is but a breath." Selah.

¹²"Hear my prayer, Lord, and give ear to my cry. Do not be silent at my tears. For I am a stranger with you, a foreigner, as all my fathers were.

¹³Oh spare me, that I may recover strength, before I go away, and exist no more."

¹He who is often rebuked and stiffens his neck will be destroyed suddenly, with no remedy.

²When the righteous thrive, the people rejoice; but when the wicked rule, the people groan.

³Whoever loves wisdom brings joy to his father; but a companion of prostitutes squanders his wealth.

⁴The king by justice makes the land stable, but he who takes bribes tears it down.

⁵A man who flatters his neighbor spreads a net for his feet.

⁶An evil man is snared by his sin, but the righteous can sing and be glad.

⁷The righteous care about justice for the poor. The wicked aren't concerned about knowledge.

⁸Mockers stir up a city, but wise men turn away anger.

⁹If a wise man goes to court with a foolish man, the fool rages or scoffs, and there is no peace.

¹⁰The bloodthirsty hate a man of integrity; and they seek the life of the upright.

¹¹A fool vents all of his anger, but a wise man brings himself under control.

¹²If a ruler listens to lies, all of his officials are wicked.

¹³The poor man and the oppressor have this in common: The Lord gives sight to the eyes of both.

¹⁴The king who fairly judges the poor, his throne shall be established forever.

¹⁵The rod of correction gives wisdom, but a child left to himself causes shame to his mother.

¹⁶When the wicked increase, sin increases; but the righteous will see their downfall.

¹⁷Correct your son, and he will give you peace; yes, he will bring delight to your soul.

¹⁸Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; but one who keeps the Law is blessed.

¹⁹A servant can't be corrected by words. Though he understands, yet he will not respond.

²⁰Do you see a man who is hasty in his words? There is more hope for a fool than for him.

²¹He who pampers his servant from youth will have him become a son in the end.

²²An angry man stirs up strife, and a wrathful man abounds in sin.

²³A man's pride brings him low, but one of lowly spirit gains honor.

²⁴Whoever is an accomplice of a thief is an enemy of his own soul. He takes an oath, but dares not testify.

²⁵The fear of man proves to be a snare, but whoever puts his trust in the Lord is kept safe.

²⁶Many seek the ruler's favor, but a man's justice comes from the Lord.

²⁷A dishonest man detests the righteous, and the upright in their ways detest the wicked.