In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel {Aramaic: saw.}had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream and told the sum of the matters.
Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of heaven brake forth upon the great sea.
And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.
The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made to stand upon two feet as a man; and a man's heart was given to it.
And, behold, another beast, a second, like to a bear; and {Or, as otherwise read, it raised up one dominion}it was raised up on one side, and three ribs were in its mouth between its teeth: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.
After this I beheld, and, lo, another, like a leopard, which had upon its back four wings of a bird; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.
After this I saw in the night-visions, and, behold, a fourth beast, terrible and {Or, dreadful}powerful, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth; it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with its feet: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.
I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another horn, a little one, before 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 a mouth speaking great things.
I beheld till thrones were {Or, cast down}placed, and one that was ancient of days did sit: his raiment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames, and the wheels thereof burning fire.
A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousands of thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.
I beheld at that time because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake; I beheld even till the beast was slain, and its body destroyed, and it was given {Aramaic: to the burning of fire.}to be burned with fire.
And as for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.
I saw in the night-visions, and, behold, there came with the clouds of heaven one like unto a son of man, and he came even to the ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and languages should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.
As for me, Daniel, my spirit was grieved in the midst of {Aramaic: the sheath.}my body, and the visions of my head troubled me.
I came near unto one of them that stood by, and asked him the truth concerning all this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things.
These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, that shall arise out of the earth.
But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.
Then I desired to know the truth concerning the fourth beast, which was diverse from all of them, exceeding terrible, whose teeth were of iron, and its nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with its feet;
and concerning the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn which came up, and before which three fell, even that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake great things, whose look was more stout than its fellows.
I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them;
until the ancient of days came, and judgment was given {Or, for}to the saints of the Most High, and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.
Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all the kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall {Or, thresh it}tread it down, and break it in pieces.
And as for the ten horns, out of this kingdom shall ten kings arise: and another shall arise after them; and he shall be diverse from the former, and he shall put down three kings.
And he shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High; and he shall think to change the times and the law; and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and half a time.
But the judgment shall be set, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end.
And the kingdom and the dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High: his kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.
{Aramaic: Hitherto.}Here is the end of the matter. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts much troubled me, and my {Aramaic: brightness.}countenance was changed in me: but I kept the matter in my heart.
Querverweise zu Daniel 7,9 Dan 7,9
Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon its feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them in pieces.
I saw in the night-visions, and, behold, there came with the clouds of heaven one like unto a son of man, and he came even to the ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia;Out of ivory palaces stringed instruments have made thee glad.
Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins {Or, one should sit}he would set one upon his throne;
Who layeth the beams of his chambers in the waters;Who maketh the clouds his chariot;Who walketh upon the wings of the wind;
Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken in pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors; and the wind carried them away, so that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great {Or, rock}mountain, and filled the whole earth.
until the ancient of days came, and judgment was given {Or, for}to the saints of the Most High, and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.
Who coverest thyself with light as with a garment;Who stretchest out the heavens like a curtain;
Being therefore {Or, at }by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he hath poured forth this, which ye see and hear.
Who maketh {Or, his angels winds}winds his messengers;Flames of fire his ministers;
And in the days of those kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall the sovereignty thereof be left to another people; but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.
Before the mountains were brought forth,Or ever thou {Hebrew: gavest birth to.}hadst formed the earth and the world,Even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.
and he was transfigured before them; and his face did shine as the sun, and his garments became white as the light.
and to you that are afflicted rest with us, at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with the angels of his power in flaming fire,
As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, like the appearance of torches: the fire went up and down among the living creatures; and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning.
And the living creatures ran and returned as the appearance of a flash of lightning.
Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold, one wheel upon the earth beside the living creatures, for each of the four faces thereof.
The appearance of the wheels and their work was like unto a beryl: and they four had one likeness; and their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel {Hebrew: in the mist of.}within a wheel.
When they went, they went {Hebrew: on their four sides.}in their four directions: they turned not when they went.
As for their {Or, felloes}rims, they were high and dreadful; and they four had their rims full of eyes round about.
And when the living creatures went, the wheels went beside them; and when the living creatures were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up.
Whithersoever the spirit was to go, they went; thither was the spirit to go: and the wheels were lifted up {Or, over against}beside them; for the spirit {Or, of life}of the living creature was in the wheels.
When those went, these went; and when those stood, these stood; and when those were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up {Or, over against}beside them: for the spirit {Or, of life}of the living creature was in the wheels.
Forasmuch as thou sawest that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.
I said, O my God, take me not away in the midst of my days:Thy years are throughout all generations.
and his garments became glistering, exceeding white, so as no fuller on earth can whiten them.
rendering vengeance to them that know not God, and to them that obey not the {Greek: good tidings: and so elsewhere. See marginal note on Matthew 4:23.}gospel of our Lord Jesus:
And he spake unto the man clothed in linen, and said, Go in between the whirling wheels, even under the cherub, and fill both thy hands with coals of fire from between the cherubim, and {Or, sprinkle}scatter them over the city. And he went in in my sight.
Now the cherubim stood on the right side of the house, when the man went in; and the cloud filled the inner court.
And the glory of Jehovah mounted up from the cherub, and stood over the threshold of the house; and the house was filled with the cloud, and the court was full of the brightness of Jehovah's glory.
And the sound of the wings of the cherubim was heard even to the outer court, as the voice of {Hebrew: El Shaddai.}God Almighty when he speaketh.
And it came to pass, when he commanded the man clothed in linen, saying, Take fire from between the whirling wheels, from between the cherubim, that he went in, and stood beside a wheel.
And the cherub stretched forth his hand from between the cherubim unto the fire that was between the cherubim, and took thereof, and put it into the hands of him that was clothed in linen, who took it and went out.
Then cometh the end, when he shall deliver up the kingdom to {Greek: the God and Father.}God, even the Father; when he shall have abolished all rule and all authority and power.
Of old didst thou lay the foundation of the earth;And the heavens are the work of thy hands.
and be found in him, {Or, not having as my righteousness that which is of the law}not having a righteousness of mine own, even that which is of the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God {Greek: upon.}by faith:
but the heavens that now are, and the earth, by the same word have been {Or, stored with fire}stored up for fire, being reserved against the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
But forget not this one thing, beloved, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some count slackness; but is longsuffering to you-ward, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
But the day of the Lord will come as a thief; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the {Or, heavenly bodies}elements shall be dissolved with fervent heat, and the earth and the works that are therein shall be {The most ancient manuscripts read discovered.}burned up.
For he must reign, till he hath put all his enemies under his feet.
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called {Or, Wonderful counsellor}Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, {Hebrew: Father of Eternity.}Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
who only hath immortality, dwelling in light unapproachable; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honor and power eternal. Amen.
that ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of {Or, military tribunes Greek: chiliarchs.}captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses and of them that sit thereon, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, and small and great.
And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat upon the horse, and against his army.
And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought the signs in his sight, wherewith he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast and them that {See marginal note on chapter 3:9}worshipped his image: they two were cast alive into the lake of fire that burneth with brimstone:
and the rest were killed with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, even the sword which came forth out of his mouth: and all the birds were filled with their flesh.
{[Chapter 5:1 in Hebrew.]}But thou, Beth-lehem Ephrathah, which art little to be among the {Or, families See Judges 6:15.}thousands of Judah, out of thee shall one come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth are from of old, {Or, from ancient days}from everlasting.
And this is the message which we have heard from him and announce unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain {Greek: upon.}in his hand.
And he laid hold on the dragon, the old serpent, which is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years,
and cast him into the abyss, and shut it, and sealed it over him, that he should deceive the nations no more, until the thousand years should be finished: after this he must be loosed for a little time.
And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and for the word of God, and such as {See marginal note on chapter 3:9}worshipped not the beast, neither his image, and received not the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand; and they lived, and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Art not thou from everlasting, O Jehovah my God, my Holy One? we shall not die. O Jehovah, thou hast ordained him for judgment; and thou, O Rock, hast established him for correction.
And his head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;