Daniel’s Vision of the Four Beasts
1 In the first year of
1Belshazzar king of Babylon,
2Daniel saw a dream and
3visions of his head as he lay in his bed. Then he wrote down the dream and told the sum of the matter.
2
Daniel declared, “I saw in my vision by night, and behold,
4the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea.
3
And four great beasts
5came up out of the sea, different from one another.
4
The first was like a lion and had eagles’ wings. Then as I looked its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man, and the mind of a man was given to it.
5
And behold,
6another beast, a second one, like a bear. It was raised up on one side. It had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth; and it was told, ‘Arise, devour much flesh. ’
6
After this I looked, and behold, another, like a
7leopard, with four wings of a bird on its back. And the beast had four heads, and
8dominion was given to it.
7
After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast,
9terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth;
10it devoured and broke in pieces
11and stamped what was left with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, and
12it had ten horns.
8
I considered the horns, and behold,
13there came up among them another horn, a little one,
14before which three of the first horns were plucked up by the roots. And behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of a man, and
15a mouth speaking great things.
The Ancient of Days Reigns
9 “As I looked,
16thrones were placed, and the
17Ancient of Days took his seat;
18his clothing was white as snow, and
19the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames;
20its wheels were burning fire.
10
21A stream of fire issued and came out from before him;
22a thousand thousands
23served him,
24and ten thousand times ten thousand
25stood before him; the
26court sat in judgment, and
27the books were opened.
11
“I looked then because of the sound of
28the great words that the horn was speaking. And as I looked,
29the beast was killed, and its body destroyed
30and given over to be burned with fire.