Daniel 7

¹In the firste yeer of Balthasar, kyng of Babiloyne, Danyel siy a sweuene. Forsothe he wroot the visioun of his hed in his bed, and the dreem, and comprehendide in schort word; and he touchide schortli the sentence,

²and seide, Y siy in my visioun in niyt, and lo! foure wyndis of heuene fouyten in the myddis of the greet see.

³And foure grete beestis dyuerse bitwixe hem silf stieden fro the see.

⁴The firste beeste was as a lionesse, and hadde wyngis of an egle. Y bihelde til the wyngis therof weren pullid awei, and it was takun awei fro erthe, and it stood as a man on the feet, and the herte therof was youun to it.

⁵And lo! another beeste, lijk a bere in parti, stood, and thre ordris weren in the mouth therof, and thre princes in the teeth therof. And thus thei seiden to it, Rise thou, ete thou ful many fleischis.

⁶Aftir these thingis Y bihelde, and lo! anothir beeste as a pard, and it hadde on it silf foure wyngis of a brid, and foure heedis weren in the beeste, and power was youun to it.

⁷Aftir these thingis Y bihelde in the visioun of niyt, and lo! the fourthe beeste, ferdful, and wondirful, and ful strong. It hadde grete irun teeth, and it ete, and made lesse, and defoulide with hise feet othere thingis; forsothe it was vnlijk othere beestis, which Y hadde seyn bifore it, and it hadde ten hornes.

⁸Y bihelde the hornes, and lo! an other litil horn cam forth of the myddis of tho, and thre of the firste hornes weren drawun out fro the face therof; and lo! iyen as iyen of a man weren in this horn, and a mouth spekynge grete thingis.

⁹Y bihelde, til that trones weren set, and the elde of daies sat; his cloth was whijt as snow, and the heeris of his heed weren as cleene wolle, his trone was as flawmes of fier, hise wheelis weren fier kyndlid.

¹⁰A flood of fier and rennynge faste yede out fro his face, a thousynde thousynde mynistriden to hym, and ten sithis a thousynde sithis an hundrid thousynde stoden niy hym; the dom sat, and bookis weren opened.

¹¹Y bihelde for the vois of grete wordis whiche thilke horn spak; and Y siy that the beeste was slayn, and his bodi was perischid, and was youun to be brent in fier.

¹²And Y siy that the power of othere beestis was takun awei, and the tymes of lijf weren ordeyned to hem, til to tyme and tyme.

¹³Therfor Y bihelde in the visyoun of niyt, and lo! as a sone of man cam with the cloudis of heuene; and he cam fulli til to the elde of daies, and in the siyt of hym thei offriden hym.

¹⁴And he yaf to hym power, and onour, and rewme, and alle the puplis, lynagis, and langagis schulen serue hym; his power is euerlastynge power, that schal not be takun awei, and his rewme, that schal not be corrupt.

¹⁵My spirit hadde orrour, ether hidousnesse; Y, Danyel, was aferd in these thingis, and the siytis of myn heed disturbliden me.

¹⁶Y neiyede to oon of the stonderis niy, and Y axide of hym the treuthe of alle these thingis. And he seide to me the interpretyng of wordis, and he tauyte me.

¹⁷These foure grete beestis ben foure rewmes, that schulen rise of erthe.

¹⁸Forsothe hooli men schulen take the rewme of hiyeste God, and thei schulen holde the rewme, til in to the world, and `til in to the world of worldis.

¹⁹Aftir these thingis Y wolde lerne diligentli of the fourthe beeste, that was greetli vnlijk fro alle, and was ful ferdful, the teeth and nailis therof weren of irun; it eet, and made lesse, and defoulide with hise feet othere thingis.

²⁰And of ten hornes whiche it hadde in the heed, and of the tother horn, that cam forth, bifore which thre hornes fellen doun, and of that horn that hadde iyen, and a mouth spekynge grete thingis, and was grettere than othere;

²¹I bihelde, and lo! thilke horn made batel ayens hooli men, and hadde maistrie of hem,

²²til the elde of daies cam, and hiy God yaf doom to hooli men; and lo! tyme cam, and hooli men goten rewme.

²³And he seide thus, The fourthe beeste schal be the fourthe rewme in erthe, that schal be more than alle rewmes, and it schal deuoure al erthe, and it schal defoule, and make lesse that erthe.

²⁴Forsothe ten hornes schulen be ten kyngis of that rewme; and another kyng schal rise after hem, and he schal be miytiere than the formere, and he schal make low thre kyngis.

²⁵And he schal speke wordis ayens the hiy God, and he schal defoule the seyntis of the hiyeste; and he schal gesse, that he mai chaunge tymes and lawis; and thei schulen be youun in to his hondis, til to tyme, and times, and the half of tyme.

²⁶And doom schal sitte, that the power be takun awei, and be al to-brokun, and perische til in to the ende.

²⁷Sotheli that the rewme, and power, and the greetnesse of rewme, which is vndur ech heuene, be youun to the puple of the seintis of the hiyeste, whos rewme is euerlastynge rewme, and alle kingis schulen serue, and obeie to hym.

²⁸Hidur to is the ende of the word. Y, Danyel, was disturblid myche in my thouytis, and my face was chaungid in me; forsothe Y kepte the word in myn herte.

Daniel 7

¹In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon Daniel had a dream and visions of his head upon his bed: then he wrote the dream, and told the sum of the matters.

²Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea.

³And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.

⁴The 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 stand upon the feet as a man, and a man’s heart was given to it.

⁵And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and it raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.

⁶After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had also four heads; and dominion was given to it.

⁷After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.

⁸I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among them another little horn, before whom there were three of the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking great things.

⁹I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire.

¹⁰A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.

¹¹I beheld then because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame.

¹²As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away: yet their lives were prolonged for a season and time.

¹³I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.

¹⁴And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, 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.

¹⁵I Daniel was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my body, and the visions of my head troubled me.

¹⁶I came near unto one of them that stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation of the things.

¹⁷These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth.

¹⁸But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.

¹⁹Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast, which was diverse from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet;

²⁰And of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than his fellows.

²¹I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them;

²²Until the Ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom.

²³Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.

²⁴And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.

²⁵And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.

²⁶But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end.

²⁷And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.

²⁸Hitherto is the end of the matter. As for me Daniel, my cogitations much troubled me, and my countenance changed in me: but I kept the matter in my heart.