Old/New Testament
The Vision of the Ram and Goat
8 In the third year of the reign of Belshazzar the king, a vision appeared to me, [a]Daniel, after the one which appeared to me [b]previously. 2 And I (A)looked in the vision. And it happened that while I was looking, I was in the citadel of (B)Susa, which is in the province of (C)Elam; and I looked in the vision, and I myself was beside the Ulai [c]Canal. 3 Then I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, a (D)ram which had two horns was standing in front of the [d]canal. Now the two horns were [e]long, but one was [f]longer than the other, with the [g]longer one coming up last. 4 I saw the ram (E)butting westward, northward, and southward, and no other beasts could stand before it, nor was there anyone to deliver from its [h]power, but (F)it did as it pleased and magnified itself.
5 And while I was considering, behold, a male goat was coming from the west over the surface of the whole earth without touching the ground; and the [i]goat had a (G)conspicuous horn between its eyes. 6 Then it came up to the ram that had the two horns, which I had seen standing in front of the [j]canal, and ran at it in his strong wrath. 7 And I saw it reach the side of the ram, and it was enraged at it; and it struck the ram and broke its two horns in pieces, and the ram had no strength to stand in [k]opposition to it. So it threw it down to the ground and trampled on it, and there was none to deliver the ram from its [l]power. 8 Then the male goat magnified itself exceedingly. But as soon as (H)it was mighty, the (I)large horn was broken; and in its place there came up four conspicuous horns toward the (J)four winds of [m]heaven.
The Small Horn
9 And out of one of them came forth a rather (K)small horn. And it grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the [n](L)Beautiful Land. 10 Then it grew up to the host of heaven and caused some of the host and some of the (M)stars to fall to the earth, and it (N)trampled them down. 11 And it even (O)magnified itself [o]to be equal with the [p]Commander of the host; and it removed the (P)regular sacrifice from Him, and the place of His sanctuary was thrown down. 12 And on account of transgression the host will be given over to the horn along with the regular sacrifice; and it will (Q)throw truth down to the ground and do its will and succeed. 13 Then I heard a (R)holy one speaking, and another holy one said to that particular one who was speaking, “(S)How long will the vision about the regular sacrifice apply, [q]while the transgression causes desolation, so as to allow both the holy place and the host [r]to be (T)trampled?” 14 He said to me, “For (U)2,300 evenings and mornings; then the holy place will be [s]made righteous.”
Daniel Seeks to Understand the Vision
15 Now it happened when (V)I, Daniel, had seen the vision, that I sought [t]to understand it; and behold, standing before me was one [u]who had the appearance of a (W)man. 16 And I heard the voice of a man between the banks of Ulai, and he called out and said, “(X)Gabriel, give this man an understanding of what has appeared.” 17 So he came near to where I was standing, and when he came I was terrified and (Y)fell on my face; but he said to me, “Son of man, understand that the vision pertains to the (Z)time of the end.”
18 Now while he was talking with me, I (AA)sank into a deep sleep with my face to the ground; but he (AB)touched me and made me stand [v]upright. 19 Then he said, “Behold, I am going to (AC)let you know what will happen at the final period of the indignation, for it pertains to the appointed time of the end. 20 The (AD)ram which you saw with the two horns is the kings of Media and Persia. 21 Now the shaggy [w]goat is the [x]king of Greece, and the large horn that is between his eyes is the first king. 22 And the (AE)broken horn and the four horns that stood in its place are four kingdoms which will take their stand from his nation, although not with his power.
23 In the latter period of their [y]reign,
When the transgressors have [z]run their course,
A king will stand,
[aa]Insolent and skilled in [ab]intrigue.
24 His power will be mighty, but not by his own power,
And he will [ac](AF)destroy to an [ad]astonishing degree
And succeed and do his will;
He will [ae]destroy mighty men and [af]the holy people.
25 And through his insight
He will cause deceit to succeed by his hand;
And he will magnify himself in his heart,
And he will [ag]destroy many while they are [ah]at ease.
He will even (AG)stand against the Prince of princes,
But he will be broken (AH)without hands.
26 And what had appeared about the evenings and mornings
Which has been told is (AI)true;
But as for you, (AJ)conceal the vision,
For it pertains to many (AK)days in the future.”
27 Then I, Daniel, was [ai](AL)exhausted and sick for days. Then I rose up again and (AM)did the king’s work; but I was appalled at what had appeared, and there was none to make me understand it.
Daniel’s Prayer of Supplication
9 In the first year of (AN)Darius the son of Ahasuerus, from the seed of the Medes, who was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans— 2 in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, discerned in the books the (AO)number of the years concerning which the word of [aj]Yahweh came to (AP)Jeremiah the prophet for the fulfillment of the laying waste of Jerusalem, namely, (AQ)seventy years. 3 So I gave my face to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. 4 And I prayed to Yahweh my God and confessed and said, “Alas, O Lord, the (AR)great and awesome God, who (AS)keeps His covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, 5 (AT)we have sinned and committed iniquity and acted wickedly and (AU)rebelled, even (AV)turning aside from Your commandments and judgments. 6 Moreover, we have not (AW)listened to Your slaves the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, our princes, our fathers, and all the people of the land.
7 “(AX)To You, O Lord, belongs righteousness, but to us [ak](AY)open shame, as it is this day—to the men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and all Israel, those who are nearby and those who are far away in (AZ)all the countries to which You have banished them, because of their unfaithful deeds which they have committed against You. 8 O Yahweh, to us belongs [al]open shame, to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, because we have sinned against You. 9 To the Lord our God belong (BA)compassion and forgiveness, [am]for we have (BB)rebelled against Him; 10 nor have we listened to the voice of Yahweh our God, to walk in His [an]laws which He (BC)put before us through His slaves the prophets. 11 Indeed (BD)all Israel has trespassed against Your law, even turning aside, not listening to Your voice; so the (BE)curse has been poured out on us, along with the oath which is written in the [ao]law of Moses the [ap]servant of God, for we have sinned against Him. 12 Thus He has (BF)established His words which He had spoken against us and against our (BG)judges who judged us, to bring on us great calamity; for under the whole heaven there has (BH)not been done anything like what was done to Jerusalem. 13 As it is written in the [aq](BI)law of Moses, all this calamity has come on us; yet we have (BJ)not [ar]entreated the favor of Yahweh our God by (BK)turning from our iniquity and acting wisely in Your truth. 14 Therefore Yahweh has (BL)watched over the calamity and brought it on us; for Yahweh our God is (BM)righteous with respect to all His deeds which He has done, but we have not listened to His voice.
15 “So now, O Lord our God, who have (BN)brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a strong hand and have (BO)made a name for Yourself, as it is this day—we have sinned; we have acted wickedly. 16 O Lord, in accordance with all Your righteousness, let now Your (BP)anger and Your wrath turn away from Your city Jerusalem, Your (BQ)holy mountain; for because of our sins and the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people have become a (BR)reproach to all those around us. 17 So now, our God, listen to the prayer of Your slave and to his supplications, and for [as]Your sake, O Lord, (BS)let Your face shine on Your (BT)desolate sanctuary. 18 O my God, (BU)incline Your ear and listen! Open Your eyes and (BV)see our desolations and the city which is (BW)called by Your name; for we are not [at](BX)presenting our supplications before You on account of any righteousness of our own, but on account of Your abundant compassion. 19 O Lord, listen! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, give heed and take action! For Your own sake, O my God, (BY)do not delay, because Your city and Your people are called by Your name.”
Gabriel Brings Understanding
20 Now while I was (BZ)speaking and praying, and (CA)confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and [au]presenting my supplication before Yahweh my God in behalf of the holy mountain of my God, 21 and while I was still speaking in prayer, then the man (CB)Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision [av]previously, [aw]touched me [ax]in my extreme weariness about the time of the (CC)evening offering. 22 Then he made me understand and spoke with me and said, “O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you insight with (CD)understanding. 23 At the (CE)beginning of your supplications the word was issued, so I have come to tell you, for you are [ay](CF)highly esteemed; so understand the message and gain (CG)understanding in what has appeared.
Seventy Weeks and the Messiah
24 “Seventy [az](CH)weeks have been determined for your people and for your holy city, to [ba]finish the transgression, to [bb]make an end of sin, to (CI)make atonement for iniquity, to bring in (CJ)everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and [bc]prophecy, and to anoint the Holy of Holies. 25 So you are to know and have insight that from the going out of a [bd](CK)word to restore and rebuild Jerusalem until [be](CL)Messiah the (CM)Prince, there will be seven weeks and sixty-two weeks; it will be restored and rebuilt, with [bf]plaza and moat, even in times of distress. 26 Then after the sixty-two weeks the [bg]Messiah will be (CN)cut off and have [bh]nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will (CO)destroy the city and the sanctuary. And [bi]its end will come with a (CP)flood; even to the end [bj]there will be war; desolations are decreed. 27 And he will make a [bk]firm covenant with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will make sacrifice and grain offering cease; and on the wing of [bl](CQ)abominations will come one who [bm]makes desolate, even until a (CR)complete destruction, one that is decreed, is poured out on the one who [bn]makes desolate.”
Daniel’s Terrifying Vision of a Man
10 In the third year of (CS)Cyrus king of Persia, a word was revealed to (CT)Daniel, who was named Belteshazzar; and the (CU)word was true and one of great [bo]conflict, but he understood the word and had an (CV)understanding of what had appeared.
2 In those days, I, Daniel, had been (CW)mourning for three entire [bp]weeks. 3 I (CX)did not eat any [bq]tasty food, nor did meat or wine enter my mouth, nor did I use any ointment at all until the entire three [br]weeks were fulfilled.
4 And on the twenty-fourth day of the first month, while I was by the bank of the great (CY)river, that is, the [bs]Tigris, 5 I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, there was a certain man (CZ)dressed in linen, whose loins were (DA)girded with a belt of pure (DB)fine gold of Uphaz. 6 His body also was like [bt]beryl, his face [bu]had the appearance of lightning, (DC)his eyes were like flaming torches, his arms and feet like the gleam of burnished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a multitude. 7 Now I, Daniel, (DD)alone saw the vision that appeared, but the (DE)men who were with me did not see the vision that appeared; nevertheless, a great (DF)terror fell on them, and they ran away to hide themselves. 8 So I alone (DG)remained and saw this great vision that appeared; yet (DH)no might remained in me, for my outward splendor turned to [bv]a deathly pallor, and I retained no might. 9 But I heard the sound of his words; and as soon as I heard the sound of his words, I (DI)fell into a deep sleep on my face, with my face to the ground.
Daniel Is Strengthened
10 Then behold, a hand (DJ)touched me and set me shaking on my [bw]hands and knees. 11 And he said to me, “O (DK)Daniel, man of [bx]high esteem, (DL)understand the words that I am about to speak to you and (DM)stand [by]upright, for I have now been sent to you.” And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood up (DN)trembling. 12 Then he said to me, “(DO)Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you gave your heart to understand this and to (DP)humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response (DQ)to your words. 13 But the [bz]prince of the kingdom of Persia was [ca]standing against me for twenty-one days; then behold, (DR)Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me. Now I had been left there with the kings of Persia. 14 Now I have come to (DS)give you an understanding of what will happen to your people in the [cb](DT)last days, for the vision pertains to (DU)the days yet future.” 15 Now when he had spoken to me according to these words, I [cc]turned my face toward the ground and became (DV)speechless.
16 And behold, (DW)one [cd]in the likeness of the sons of men was (DX)touching my lips; then I opened my mouth and spoke and said to him who was standing before me, “O my lord, as a result of the vision that appeared, (DY)pains have come upon me, and I have retained no might. 17 Now (DZ)how can such a servant of my lord talk with such as my lord? As for me, right now (EA)no might stands within me, nor does any breath remain within me.”
18 Then this one with the appearance of a man touched me again and (EB)strengthened me. 19 And he said, “O man of [ce]high esteem, (EC)do not be afraid. Peace [cf]be with you; gather (ED)strength and be strong!” Now as soon as he spoke to me, I received strength and said, “May my lord speak, for you have (EE)strengthened me.” 20 Then he said, “Do you know why I came to you? But I shall now return to fight against the [cg]prince of Persia; so I am going forth, and behold, the [ch](EF)prince of [ci]Greece is about to come. 21 However, I will tell you what is [cj]inscribed in the writing of (EG)truth. Now there is no one who [ck]exerts strength with me against these forces except (EH)Michael your prince.
Walking in the Truth
1 (A)The elder to the beloved (B)Gaius, whom I (C)love in truth.
2 Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers. 3 For I (D)rejoiced greatly when (E)brothers came and bore witness to your truth, that is, how you (F)are walking in truth. 4 I have no greater joy than [a]this, to hear that (G)my children are (H)walking in the truth.
5 Beloved, you are acting faithfully in whatever [b]work you do for the (I)brothers, and are doing this though they are (J)strangers; 6 and they bore witness to your love before the church. You will do well to (K)send them on their way in a manner (L)worthy of God. 7 For they went out for the sake of (M)the Name, (N)receiving nothing from the Gentiles. 8 Therefore we ought to [c]support such men, so that we may [d]be fellow workers [e]with the truth.
9 I wrote something to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to (O)be first among them, does not welcome [f]what we say. 10 For this reason, (P)if I come, I will bring to remembrance his deeds which he does, unjustly disparaging us with wicked words. And not satisfied with this, he himself does not (Q)welcome the (R)brothers either, and he forbids those who want to do so and (S)puts them out of the church.
11 Beloved, (T)do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. (U)The one who does good is of God; (V)the one who does evil has not seen God. 12 Demetrius (W)has received a good witness from everyone, and from the truth itself; and we add our witness, and (X)you know that our witness is true.
13 (Y)I had many things to write to you, but I am not willing to write them to you with pen and ink; 14 but I hope to see you shortly, and we will speak face to face.
15 (Z)Peace be to you. The friends greet you. Greet the friends (AA)by name.
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