1 In the firstyear of Belshazzarking of BabylonDanielsaw a 1dream and visions in his mind as he lay on his bed; then he 2wrote the dreamdown and related the following summary of it.
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Danielsaid*, "I was 3looking in my vision by night, and behold, the 4fourwinds of heaven were stirring up the greatsea.
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"And fourgreat5beasts were coming up from the sea, different from oneanother.
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"The first was 6like a lion and had the wings of an eagle. I keptlookinguntil* its wings were plucked, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man; a humanmind also was given to it.
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"And behold, anotherbeast, a second one, resembling a bear. And it was raised up on oneside, and threeribs were in its mouthbetween its teeth; and thus they said to it, 'Arise, devourmuchmeat!'
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"Afterthis I keptlooking, and behold, another one, 7like a leopard, which had on its backfourwings of a bird; the beast also had 8fourheads, and dominion was given to it.
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"Afterthis I keptlooking in the nightvisions, and behold, a 9fourthbeast, dreadful and terrifying and extremelystrong; and it had largeironteeth. It devoured and crushed and trampleddown the remainder with its feet; and it was different from all the beasts that were before it, and it had 10tenhorns.
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"While I was contemplating the horns, behold, 11anotherhorn, a littleone, came up among them, and three of the firsthorns were pulled out by the rootsbefore* it; and behold, thishorn possessed eyes like the eyes of a man and 12a mouthutteringgreat boasts.
The Ancient of Days Reigns
9 "I keptlookingUntil*13thrones were set up, And the Ancient of Daystook His seat; His 14vesture was like whitesnow And the 15hair of His head like purewool. His 16throne was ablaze with flames, Its 17wheels were a burningfire.
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"A river of 18fire was flowing And coming out from before Him; 19Thousands upon thousands were attending Him, And myriads upon myriads were standingbefore Him; The 20courtsat, And 21the books were opened.
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"Then I keptlookingbecause of the sound of the boastfulwordswhich the horn was speaking; I keptlookinguntil* the beast was slain, and its body was destroyed and given to the 22burningfire.
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"As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was takenaway, but an extension of life was granted to them for an appointedperiod of time.
The Son of Man Presented
13 "I keptlooking in the nightvisions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a 23Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presentedbefore Him.
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"And to Him was given24dominion, Glory and 25a kingdom, 26That all the peoples, nations and men of every language Might serve Him. 27His dominion is an everlastingdominionWhich will not passaway; 28And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed.
The Vision Interpreted
15 "As for me, Daniel, my spirit was distressedwithin me, and the 29visions in my mind kept 30alarming me.
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"I approachedone of those who were 31standing by and began asking him the exactmeaning of allthis. So he 32told me and madeknown to me the interpretation of these things:
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'Thesegreatbeasts, which are four in number, are fourkings who will arise from the earth.
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'But the 33saints of the HighestOne will 34receive the kingdom and possess the kingdomforever, for allages to come.'
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"Then I desired to know the exactmeaning of the 35fourthbeast, which was different from all the others, exceedinglydreadful, with its teeth of iron and its claws of bronze, and which devoured, crushed and trampleddown the remainder with its feet,
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and the meaning of the tenhorns that were on its head and the other horn whichcame up, and before* which three of them fell, namely, that horn which had eyes and a mouthutteringgreat boasts and which was larger in appearancethan its associates.
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"I keptlooking, and that horn was 36wagingwar with the saints and overpowering them
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until* the Ancient of Dayscame and 37judgment was passed in favor of the saints of the HighestOne, and the timearrived when the saintstookpossession of the kingdom.
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"Thus he said: 'The fourthbeast will be a fourthkingdom on the earth, which will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the wholeearth and tread it down and crush it.
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'As for the 38tenhorns, out of this kingdomtenkings will arise; and another will ariseafter them, and he will be different from the previousones and will subduethreekings.
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'He will 39speak out against the 40MostHigh and 41weardown the saints of the HighestOne, and he will intend to make42alterations in times and in law; and they will be given into his hand for a 43time, times, and half a time.
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'But the court will sit for judgment, and his dominion will be 44takenaway, annihilated and destroyedforever.
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'Then the 45sovereignty, the dominion and the greatness of all the kingdomsunder the wholeheaven will be given to the people of the saints of the HighestOne; His kingdom will be an 46everlastingkingdom, and all the dominions will 47serve and obey Him.'
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"At thispoint the revelationended. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts were 48greatlyalarming me and my facegrewpale, but I 49kept the matter to myself."