The Daily Audio Bible

8 In the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar a vision appeared to me, Daniel, after the one that appeared to me at the first.

² And I saw in the vision and it seemed that I was at Shushan the palace or fortress [in Susa, the capital of Persia], which is in the province of Elam, and I saw in the vision and I was by the river of Ulai.

³ And I lifted up my eyes and saw, and behold, there stood before the river a [single] ram which had two horns [representing two kings of Medo-Persia: Darius the Mede, then Cyrus]; and the two horns were high, but one [Persia] was higher than the other, and the higher one came up last.

⁴ I looked and saw the ram [Medo-Persia] pushing and charging westward and northward and southward; no beast could stand before him, neither could anyone rescue from his power, but he did according to his [own] will and pleasure and magnified himself.^(A)

⁵ As I was considering, behold, a he-goat [the king of Greece] came from the west across the face of the whole earth without touching the ground, and the goat had a conspicuous and remarkable horn between his eyes [symbolizing Alexander the Great].^(B)

⁶ And he came to the ram that had the two horns which I had seen standing on the bank of the river and ran at him in the heat of his power.

⁷ [In my vision] I saw him come close to the ram [Medo-Persia], and he was moved with anger against him and he [Alexander the Great] struck the ram and broke his two horns; and there was no power in the ram to stand before him, but the goat threw him to the ground and trampled on him. And there was no one who could rescue the ram from his power.

⁸ And the he-goat [Alexander the Great] magnified himself exceedingly, and when he was [young and] strong, the ^[a]great horn [he] was [suddenly] broken; and instead of [him] there came up four notable horns [to whom the kingdom was divided, one] toward [each of] the four winds of the heavens.

⁹ Out of littleness and small beginnings one of them came forth [Antiochus Epiphanes], a ^[b]horn whose [impious presumption and pride] grew exceedingly great toward the south and toward the east and toward the ornament [the precious, blessed land of Israel].^(C)

¹⁰ And [in my vision this horn] grew great, even against the host of heaven [God’s true people, the saints], and some of the host and of the stars [priests] it cast down to the ground and trampled on them,

¹¹ Yes, [this horn] magnified itself, even [matching itself] against the Prince of the host [of heaven]; and from Him the continual [burnt offering] was taken away and the place of [God’s] sanctuary was cast down and profaned.

¹² And the host [the chosen people] was given [to the wicked horn] together with the continual burnt offering because of the transgression [of God’s people—their abounding irreverence, ungodliness, and lack of piety]. And righteousness and truth were cast down to the ground, and it [the wicked horn] accomplished this [by divine permission] and prospered.

¹³ Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to the one that spoke, For how long is the vision concerning the continual offering, the transgression that makes desolate, and the giving over of both the sanctuary and the host [of the people] to be trampled underfoot?^(D)

¹⁴ And he said to him and to me, For 2,300 evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed and restored.

¹⁵ When I, even I, Daniel, had seen the vision, I sought to understand it; then behold, there stood before me one [Gabriel] with the appearance of a man.

¹⁶ And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of the [river] Ulai which called and said, Gabriel, make this man [Daniel] understand the vision.^(E)

¹⁷ So he came near where I stood, and when he came, I was frightened and fell on my face. But he said to me, Understand, O son of man, for the [fulfillment of the] vision belongs to [events that shall occur in] the time of the end.

¹⁸ Now as he [Gabriel] was speaking with me, I fell stunned and in deep unconsciousness with my face to the ground; but he touched me and set me upright [where I had stood].

¹⁹ And he said, Behold, I will make you know what will be in the latter time of the indignation [of God upon the ungodly], for it has to do with the time of the end.

²⁰ The ram you saw having two horns, they are the kings of Media and Persia.

²¹ And the shaggy and rough he-goat is the king of Greece, and the great horn between his eyes is the first king [who consolidated the whole realm, Alexander the Great].

²² And as for the horn which was shattered, in whose place four others arose, four kingdoms shall arise out of his nation but not having his [Alexander’s] power.

²³ And at the latter end of their kingdom, when the transgressors [the apostate Jews] have reached the fullness [of their wickedness, taxing the limits of God’s mercy], a king of fierce countenance and understanding dark trickery and craftiness shall stand up.

²⁴ And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; and he shall corrupt and destroy astonishingly and shall prosper and do his own pleasure, and he shall corrupt and destroy the mighty men and the holy people (the people of the saints).^(F)

²⁵ And through his policy he shall cause trickery to prosper in his hand; he shall magnify himself in his heart and mind, and in their security he will corrupt and destroy many. He shall also stand up against the Prince of princes, but he shall be broken and that by no [human] hand.^(G)

²⁶ The vision of the evenings and the mornings which has been told you is true. But seal up the vision, for it has to do with and belongs to the [now] distant future.

²⁷ And I, Daniel, fainted and was sick [for several] days. Afterward I rose up and did the king’s business; and I wondered at the vision, but there was no one who understood it or could make it understood.

2 My little children, I write you these things so that you may not violate God’s law and sin. But if anyone should sin, we have an Advocate (One Who will intercede for us) with the Father—[it is] Jesus Christ [the all] righteous [upright, just, Who conforms to the Father’s will in every purpose, thought, and action].

² And He [^[a]that same Jesus Himself] is the propitiation (the atoning sacrifice) for our sins, and not for ours alone but also for [the sins of] the whole world.

³ And this is how we may discern [^[b]daily, by experience] that we are coming to know Him [to perceive, recognize, understand, and become better acquainted with Him]: if we keep (bear in mind, observe, practice) His teachings (precepts, commandments).

⁴ Whoever says, I know Him [I perceive, recognize, understand, and am acquainted with Him] but fails to keep and obey His commandments (teachings) is a liar, and the Truth [^[c]of the Gospel] is not in him.

⁵ But he who keeps (treasures) His Word [who bears in mind His precepts, who observes His message in its entirety], truly in him has the love of and for God been perfected (completed, reached maturity). By this we may perceive (know, recognize, and be sure) that we are in Him:

⁶ Whoever says he abides in Him ought [as ^[d]a personal debt] to walk and conduct himself in the same way in which He walked and conducted Himself.

⁷ Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the message which you have heard [the ^[e]doctrine of salvation through Christ].

⁸ Yet I am writing you a new commandment, which is true (is realized) in Him and in you, because the darkness (^[f]moral blindness) is clearing away and the true Light (^[g]the revelation of God in Christ) is already shining.

⁹ Whoever says he is in the Light and [yet] hates his brother [Christian, ^[h]born-again child of God his Father] is in darkness even until now.

¹⁰ Whoever loves his brother [believer] abides (lives) in the Light, and in It or in him there is no occasion for stumbling or cause for error or sin.

¹¹ But he who hates (detests, despises) his brother [^[i]in Christ] is in darkness and walking (living) in the dark; he is straying and does not perceive or know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.

¹² I am writing to you, little children, because for His name’s sake your sins are forgiven [pardoned through His name and on account of confessing His name].

¹³ I am writing to you, fathers, because you have come to know (recognize, be aware of, and understand) Him Who [has existed] from the beginning. I am writing to you, young men, because you have been victorious over the wicked [one]. I write to you, ^[j]boys (lads), because you have come to know (recognize and be aware) of the Father.

¹⁴ I write to you, fathers, because you have come to know (recognize, be conscious of, and understand) Him Who [has existed] from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong and vigorous, and the Word of God is [always] abiding in you (in your hearts), and you have been victorious over the wicked one.

¹⁵ Do not love or cherish the world or the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in him.

¹⁶ For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh [craving for sensual gratification] and the lust of the eyes [greedy longings of the mind] and the pride of life [assurance in one’s own resources or in the stability of earthly things]—these do not come from the Father but are from the world [itself].

¹⁷ And the world passes away and disappears, and with it the forbidden cravings (the passionate desires, the lust) of it; but he who does the will of God and carries out His purposes in his life abides (remains) forever.

Psalm 120

A Song of ^[a]Ascents.

¹ In my distress I cried to the Lord, and He answered me.

² Deliver me, O Lord, from lying lips and from deceitful tongues.

³ What shall be given to you? Or what more shall be done to you, you deceitful tongue?—

⁴ Sharp arrows of a [mighty] warrior, with [glowing] coals of the broom tree!

⁵ Woe is me that I sojourn with Meshech, that I dwell beside the tents of Kedar [as if among notoriously barbarous people]!^(A)

⁶ My life has too long had its dwelling with him who hates peace.

⁷ I am for peace; but when I speak, they are for war.

²⁵ He who is of a greedy spirit stirs up strife, but he who puts his trust in the Lord shall be enriched and blessed.

²⁶ He who leans on, trusts in, and is confident of his own mind and heart is a [self-confident] fool, but he who walks in skillful and godly Wisdom shall be delivered.^(A)