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Daniel 7
New English Translation

Daniel has a Vision of Four Animals Coming up from the Sea

7 In the first[a] year of King Belshazzar of Babylon, Daniel had[b] a dream filled with visions[c] while he was lying on his bed. Then he wrote down the dream in summary fashion.[d] 2 Daniel explained:[e] “I was watching in my vision during the night as[f] the four winds of the sky[g] were stirring up the great sea.[h] 3 Then four large beasts came up from the sea; they were different from one another.

4 “The first one was like a lion with eagles’ wings. As I watched, its wings were pulled off and it was lifted up from the ground. It was made to stand on two feet like a human being, and a human mind[i] was given to it.[j]

5 “Then[k] a second beast appeared, like a bear. It was raised up on one side, and there were three ribs[l] in its mouth between its teeth.[m] It was told,[n] ‘Get up and devour much flesh!’

6 “After these things,[o] as I was watching, another beast[p] like a leopard appeared, with four bird-like wings on its back.[q] This beast had four heads,[r] and ruling authority was given to it.

7 “After these things, as I was watching in the night visions[s] a fourth beast appeared—one dreadful, terrible, and very strong.[t] It had two large rows[u] of iron teeth. It devoured and crushed, and anything that was left it trampled with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that came before it, and it had ten horns.

8 “As I was contemplating the horns, another horn—a small one—came up between them, and three of the former horns were torn out by the roots to make room for it.[v] This horn had eyes resembling human eyes and a mouth speaking arrogant[w] things.

9 “While I was watching,

thrones were set up,
and the Ancient of Days[x] took his seat.
His attire was white like snow;
the hair of his head was like lamb’s[y] wool.
His throne was ablaze with fire
and its wheels were all aflame.[z]
10 A river of fire was streaming forth
and proceeding from his presence.
Many thousands were ministering to him;
many tens of thousands stood ready to serve him.[aa]
The court convened[ab]
and the books were opened.

11 “Then I kept on watching because of the arrogant words of the horn that was speaking. I was watching[ac] until the beast was killed and its body destroyed and thrown into[ad] the flaming fire. 12 As for the rest of the beasts, their ruling authority had already been removed, though they were permitted to go on living[ae] for a time and a season.

13 “I was watching in the night visions,
And with[af] the clouds of the sky[ag]
one like a son of man[ah] was approaching.
He went up to the Ancient of Days
and was escorted[ai] before him.
14 To him was given ruling authority, honor, and sovereignty.
All peoples, nations, and language groups were serving[aj] him.
His authority is eternal and will not pass away.[ak]
His kingdom will not be destroyed.[al]

An Angel Interprets Daniel’s Vision

15 “As for me, Daniel, my spirit was distressed,[am] and the visions of my mind[an] were alarming me. 16 I approached one of those standing nearby and asked him about the meaning[ao] of all this. So he spoke with me and revealed[ap] to me the interpretation of the vision:[aq] 17 ‘These large beasts, which are four in number, represent four kings who will arise from the earth. 18 The holy ones[ar] of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will take possession of the kingdom forever and ever.’

19 “Then I wanted to know the meaning[as] of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others. It was very dreadful, with two rows of iron teeth and bronze claws, and it devoured, crushed, and trampled anything that was left with its feet. 20 I also wanted to know[at] the meaning of the ten horns on its head, and of that other horn that came up and before which three others fell. This was the horn that had eyes[au] and a mouth speaking arrogant things, whose appearance was more formidable than the others.[av] 21 While I was watching, that horn began to wage war against the holy ones and was defeating[aw] them, 22 until the Ancient of Days arrived and judgment was rendered[ax] in favor of the holy ones of the Most High. Then the time came for the holy ones to take possession of the kingdom.

23 “This is what he told me:[ay]

‘The fourth beast means that there will be a fourth kingdom on earth
that will differ from all the other kingdoms.
It will devour all the earth
and will trample and crush it.
24 The ten horns mean that ten kings
will arise from that kingdom.
Another king will arise after them,
but he will be different from the earlier ones.
He will humiliate[az] three kings.
25 He will speak words against the Most High.
He will harass[ba] the holy ones of the Most High continually.
His intention will be[bb] to change times established by law.[bc]
The holy ones will be delivered into his hand
for a time, times,[bd] and half a time.
26 But the court will convene,[be] and his ruling authority will be removed—
destroyed and abolished forever!
27 Then the kingdom, authority,
and greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven
will be delivered to the people of the holy ones[bf] of the Most High.
His kingdom is an eternal kingdom;
all authorities will serve him and obey him.’

28 “This is the conclusion of the matter. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts troubled me greatly, and the color drained from my face.[bg] But I kept the matter to myself.”[bh]

Footnotes

  1. Daniel 7:1 sn The first year of Belshazzar’s reign would have been ca. 553 b.c. Daniel would have been approximately 67 years old at the time of this vision.
  2. Daniel 7:1 tn Aram “saw.”
  3. Daniel 7:1 tn Aram “and visions of his head.” The Aramaic is difficult here. Some scholars add a verb thought to be missing (e.g., “the visions of his head [were alarming him]”), but there is no external evidence to support such a decision, and the awkwardness of the text at this point may be original.
  4. Daniel 7:1 tn Aram “head of words.” The phrase is absent in Theodotion. Cf. NIV’s “the substance of his dream.”
  5. Daniel 7:2 tn Aram “answered and said.”
  6. Daniel 7:2 tn Aram “and behold.”
  7. Daniel 7:2 tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.
  8. Daniel 7:2 sn The referent of the great sea is unclear. The common view that the expression refers to the Mediterranean Sea is conjectural.
  9. Daniel 7:4 tn Aram “heart of a man.”
  10. Daniel 7:4 sn The identity of the first animal, derived from v. 17 and the parallels in chap. 2, is Babylon. The reference to the plucking of its wings is probably a reference to the time of Nebuchadnezzar’s insanity (cf. chap. 4). The latter part of v. 4 then describes the restoration of Nebuchadnezzar. The other animals have traditionally been understood to represent respectively Media-Persia, Greece, and Rome, although most of modern scholarship identifies them as Media, Persia, and Greece. For a biblical parallel to the mention of lion, bear, and leopard together, see Hos 13:7-8.
  11. Daniel 7:5 tn Aram “and behold.”
  12. Daniel 7:5 sn The three ribs held securely in the mouth of the bear, perhaps representing Media-Persia, apparently symbolize military conquest, but the exact identity of the “ribs” is not clear. Possibly it is a reference to the Persian conquest of Lydia, Egypt, and Babylonia.
  13. Daniel 7:5 tc The LXX lacks the phrase “between its teeth.”
  14. Daniel 7:5 tn Aram “and thus they were saying to it.”
  15. Daniel 7:6 tn Aram “this,” as also in v. 7.
  16. Daniel 7:6 tn Aram “and behold, another one.”
  17. Daniel 7:6 tn Or “sides.”
  18. Daniel 7:6 sn If the third animal is Greece, the most likely identification of these four heads is the fourfold division of the empire of Alexander the Great following his death (see note on Dan 8:8).
  19. Daniel 7:7 tn The Aramaic text has also “and behold,” as also in vv. 8, 13.
  20. Daniel 7:7 sn The fourth animal differs from the others in that it is nondescript. Apparently it was so fearsome that Daniel could find nothing with which to compare it. Attempts to identify this animal as an elephant or other known creature are conjectural.
  21. Daniel 7:7 tn The Aramaic word for “teeth” is dual rather than plural, suggesting two rows of teeth.
  22. Daniel 7:8 tn Aram “were uprooted from before it.”
  23. Daniel 7:8 tn Aram “great,” as also in vv. 11, 20.
  24. Daniel 7:9 tn Or “the Ancient One” (NAB, NRSV, NLT), although the traditional expression has been retained in the present translation because it is familiar to many readers (cf. TEV “One who had been living for ever”; CEV “the Eternal God”).
  25. Daniel 7:9 tn Traditionally the Aramaic word נְקֵא (neqeʾ) has been rendered “pure,” but here it more likely means “of a lamb.” Cf. the Syriac neqyaʾ (“a sheep, ewe”). On this word, see further, M. Sokoloff, “ʾamar neqeʾ, ‘Lamb’s Wool’ (Dan 7:9),” JBL 95 (1976): 277-79.
  26. Daniel 7:9 tn Aram “a flaming fire.”
  27. Daniel 7:10 tn Aram “were standing before him.”
  28. Daniel 7:10 tn Aram “judgment sat.”
  29. Daniel 7:11 tc The LXX and Theodotion lack the words “I was watching” here. It is possible that these words in the MT are a dittography from the first part of the verse.
  30. Daniel 7:11 tn Aram “and given over to” (so NRSV).
  31. Daniel 7:12 tn Aram “a prolonging of life was granted to them.”
  32. Daniel 7:13 tc The LXX has ἐπί (epi, “upon”) here (cf. Matt 24:30; 26:64). Theodotion has μετά (meta, “with”) here (cf. Mark 14:62; Rev 1:7).
  33. Daniel 7:13 tn Or “the heavens.” The Hebrew term שָׁמַיִם (shamayim) may be translated “heavens” or “sky” depending on the context.
  34. Daniel 7:13 sn This text is probably the main OT background for Jesus’ use of the term “son of man.” In both Jewish and Christian circles the reference in the book of Daniel has traditionally been understood to refer to an individual, usually in a messianic sense. Many modern scholars, however, understand the reference to have a corporate identity. In this view, the “son of man” is to be equated with the “holy ones” (vv. 18, 21, 22, 25) or the “people of the holy ones” (v. 27) and understood as a reference to the Jewish people. Others understand Daniel’s reference to be to the angel Michael.
  35. Daniel 7:13 tn Aram “they brought him near.”
  36. Daniel 7:14 tn Some take “serving” here in the sense of “worshiping.”
  37. Daniel 7:14 tn Aram “is an eternal authority that will not pass away.”
  38. Daniel 7:14 tn Aram “is one that will not be destroyed.”
  39. Daniel 7:15 tn The Aramaic text includes the phrase “in its sheath,” apparently viewing the body as a container or receptacle for the spirit somewhat like a sheath or scabbard is for a knife or a sword (cf. NAB “within its sheath of flesh”). For this phrase the LXX and Vulgate have “in these things.”
  40. Daniel 7:15 tn Aram “head.”
  41. Daniel 7:16 tn Aram “what is certain.”
  42. Daniel 7:16 tn Aram “and made known.”
  43. Daniel 7:16 tn Aram “matter,” but the matter at hand is of course the vision.
  44. Daniel 7:18 sn The expression holy ones is either a reference to angels, to human beings devoted to God, or to both. The context is an earthly kingdom the holy ones will possess, and man was appointed to rule the earth (Gen 1:28). The holy ones are defeated and harassed by an earthly ruler in 7:21, 25, and human rulers cannot defeat and harass angels. So the holy ones are almost certainly human beings devoted to God.
  45. Daniel 7:19 tn Aram “to make certain.”
  46. Daniel 7:20 tn The words “I also wanted to know” are added in the translation for stylistic reasons.
  47. Daniel 7:20 tc The conjunction in the MT before “eyes” is odd. The ancient versions do not seem to presuppose it.
  48. Daniel 7:20 tn Aram “greater than its companions.”
  49. Daniel 7:21 tn Aram “prevailing against” (KJV, ASV both similar); NASB “overpowering them”; TEV “conquered them.”
  50. Daniel 7:22 tc In the LXX, Syriac, and Vulgate the verb is active, understanding “judgment” to be the object rather than the subject of the verb (i.e., “the Ancient of Days rendered judgment”). This presupposes a different vocalization of the verb ( יְהַב [yehav] rather than the MT יְהִב [yehiv]).
  51. Daniel 7:23 tn Aram “thus he said.”
  52. Daniel 7:24 tn Or “subjugate”; KJV, NASB, NIV “subdue”; ASV, NRSV “put down.”
  53. Daniel 7:25 tn Aram “wear out” (so KJV, ASV, NRSV); NASB, NLT “wear down.” The word is a hapax legomenon in biblical Aramaic, but in biblical Hebrew it especially refers to wearing out such things as garments. Here it is translated “harass…continually.”
  54. Daniel 7:25 tn Aram “he will think.”
  55. Daniel 7:25 tn Aram “times and law.” The present translation is based on the understanding that the expression is a hendiadys.
  56. Daniel 7:25 sn Although the word times is vocalized in the MT as a plural, it probably should be regarded as a dual. The Masoretes may have been influenced here by the fact that in late Aramaic (and Syriac) the dual forms fall out of use. The meaning would thus be three and a half “times.”
  57. Daniel 7:26 tn Aram “judgment will sit” (KJV similar).
  58. Daniel 7:27 tn If the “holy ones” are angels, then this probably refers to the angels as protectors of God’s people. If the “holy ones” are God’s people, then this is an appositional construction, “the people who are the holy ones.” See 8:24 for the corresponding Hebrew phrase and the note there.
  59. Daniel 7:28 tn Aram “my brightness was changing on me.”
  60. Daniel 7:28 tn Aram “in my heart.”
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Daniel 7
New International Version

Daniel’s Dream of Four Beasts

7 In the first year of Belshazzar(A) king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream, and visions(B) passed through his mind(C) as he was lying in bed.(D) He wrote(E) down the substance of his dream.

2 Daniel said: “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me were the four winds of heaven(F) churning up the great sea. 3 Four great beasts,(G) each different from the others, came up out of the sea.

4 “The first was like a lion,(H) and it had the wings of an eagle.(I) I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted from the ground so that it stood on two feet like a human being, and the mind of a human was given to it.

5 “And there before me was a second beast, which looked like a bear. It was raised up on one of its sides, and it had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. It was told, ‘Get up and eat your fill of flesh!’(J)

6 “After that, I looked, and there before me was another beast, one that looked like a leopard.(K) And on its back it had four wings like those of a bird. This beast had four heads, and it was given authority to rule.

7 “After that, in my vision(L) at night I looked, and there before me was a fourth beast—terrifying and frightening and very powerful. It had large iron(M) teeth; it crushed and devoured its victims and trampled(N) underfoot whatever was left.(O) It was different from all the former beasts, and it had ten horns.(P)

8 “While I was thinking about the horns, there before me was another horn, a little(Q) one, which came up among them; and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. This horn had eyes like the eyes of a human being(R) and a mouth that spoke boastfully.(S)

9 “As I looked,

“thrones were set in place,
    and the Ancient of Days(T) took his seat.(U)
His clothing was as white as snow;(V)
    the hair of his head was white like wool.(W)
His throne was flaming with fire,
    and its wheels(X) were all ablaze.
10 A river of fire(Y) was flowing,
    coming out from before him.(Z)
Thousands upon thousands attended him;
    ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.
The court was seated,
    and the books(AA) were opened.

11 “Then I continued to watch because of the boastful words the horn was speaking.(AB) I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire.(AC) 12 (The other beasts had been stripped of their authority, but were allowed to live for a period of time.)

13 “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man,[a](AD) coming(AE) with the clouds of heaven.(AF) He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. 14 He was given authority,(AG) glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him.(AH) His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom(AI) is one that will never be destroyed.(AJ)

The Interpretation of the Dream

15 “I, Daniel, was troubled in spirit, and the visions that passed through my mind disturbed me.(AK) 16 I approached one of those standing there and asked him the meaning of all this.

“So he told me and gave me the interpretation(AL) of these things: 17 ‘The four great beasts are four kings that will rise from the earth. 18 But the holy people(AM) of the Most High will receive the kingdom(AN) and will possess it forever—yes, for ever and ever.’(AO)

19 “Then I wanted to know the meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others and most terrifying, with its iron teeth and bronze claws—the beast that crushed and devoured its victims and trampled underfoot whatever was left. 20 I also wanted to know about the ten horns(AP) on its head and about the other horn that came up, before which three of them fell—the horn that looked more imposing than the others and that had eyes and a mouth that spoke boastfully.(AQ) 21 As I watched, this horn was waging war against the holy people and defeating them,(AR) 22 until the Ancient of Days came and pronounced judgment in favor of the holy people of the Most High, and the time came when they possessed the kingdom.(AS)

23 “He gave me this explanation: ‘The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom that will appear on earth. It will be different from all the other kingdoms and will devour the whole earth, trampling it down and crushing it.(AT) 24 The ten horns(AU) are ten kings who will come from this kingdom. After them another king will arise, different from the earlier ones; he will subdue three kings. 25 He will speak against the Most High(AV) and oppress his holy people(AW) and try to change the set times(AX) and the laws. The holy people will be delivered into his hands for a time, times and half a time.[b](AY)

26 “‘But the court will sit, and his power will be taken away and completely destroyed(AZ) forever. 27 Then the sovereignty, power and greatness of all the kingdoms(BA) under heaven will be handed over to the holy people(BB) of the Most High.(BC) His kingdom will be an everlasting(BD) kingdom, and all rulers will worship(BE) and obey him.’

28 “This is the end of the matter. I, Daniel, was deeply troubled(BF) by my thoughts,(BG) and my face turned pale,(BH) but I kept the matter to myself.”

Footnotes

  1. Daniel 7:13 The Aramaic phrase bar enash means human being. The phrase son of man is retained here because of its use in the New Testament as a title of Jesus, probably based largely on this verse.
  2. Daniel 7:25 Or for a year, two years and half a year
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