Daniel 8:16-26

Holman Christian Standard Bible

¹⁶I heard a human voice calling from the middle of the Ulai: “Gabriel,^(A) explain the vision to this man.”

¹⁷So he approached where I was standing; when he came near, I was terrified and fell facedown.^(B) “Son of man,” he said to me, “understand that the vision refers to the time of the end.”^(C) ¹⁸While he was speaking to me, I fell into a deep sleep,^(D) with my face to the ground. Then he touched me, made me stand up,^(E) ¹⁹and said, “I am here to tell you what will happen at the conclusion of the time of wrath, because it refers to the appointed time of the end.^(F) ²⁰The two-horned ram^(G) that you saw represents the kings of Media and Persia. ²¹The shaggy goat represents the king of Greece, and the large horn between his eyes represents the first king.^[a] ²²The four horns that took the place of the shattered horn represent four kingdoms. They will rise from that nation, but without its power.

²³Near the end of their kingdoms,
when the rebels have reached
the full measure of their sin,^[b]
an insolent king, skilled in intrigue,^[c]
will come to the throne.
²⁴His power will be great,
but it will not be his own.
He will cause terrible destruction^(H)
and succeed in whatever he does.
He will destroy the powerful
along with the holy people.^(I)
²⁵He will cause deceit to prosper
through his cunning and by his influence,
and in his own mind he will make himself great.
He will destroy many in a time of peace;
he will even stand against the Prince of princes.
Yet he will be shattered—not by human hands.^(J)
²⁶The vision of the evenings and the mornings
that has been told is true.
Now you must seal up the vision^(K)
because it refers to many days in the future.”