1 In the first year of Belshazzar, king of Babylon, Daniel saw a dream, and visions came into his head on his bed: then he put the dream in writing.
2 I had a vision by night, and saw the four winds of heaven violently moving the great sea.
3 And four great beasts came up from the sea, different one from another.
4 The first was like a lion and had eagle's wings; while I was watching its wings were pulled off, and it was lifted up from the earth and placed on two feet like a man, and a man's heart was given to it.
5 And I saw another beast, like a bear, and it was lifted up on one side, and three side-bones were in its mouth, between its teeth: and they said to it, Up! take much flesh.
6 After this I saw another beast, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings like those of a bird; and the beast had four heads, and the power of a ruler was given to it.
7 After this, in my vision of the night, I saw a fourth beast, a thing causing fear and very troubling, full of power and very strong; and it had great iron teeth: it took its food, crushing some of it to bits and stamping down the rest with its feet: it was different from all the beasts before it; and it had ten horns.
8 I was watching the horns with care, and I saw another coming up among them, a little one, before which three of the first horns were pulled up by the roots: and there were eyes like a man's eyes in this horn, and a mouth saying great things.
9 I went on looking till the seats of kings were placed, and one like a very old man took his seat: his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head was like clean wool; his seat was flames of fire and its wheels burning fire.
10 A stream of fire was flowing and coming out from before him: a thousand thousands were his servants, and ten thousand times ten thousand were in their places before him: the judge was seated and the books were open.
11 Then I saw--because of the voice of the great words which the horn said--I saw till the beast was put to death, and its body was given to destruction, and the beast was given to the burning of fire.
12 As for the rest of the beasts, their authority was taken away: but they let them go on living for a measure of time.
13 I saw in visions of the night, and there was coming with the clouds of heaven one like a man, and he came to the one who was very old, and they took him near before him.
14 And to him was given authority and glory and a kingdom; and all peoples, nations, and languages were his servants: his authority is an eternal authority which will not come to an end, and his kingdom is one which will not come to destruction.
15 As for me, Daniel, my spirit was pained because of this, and the visions of my head were troubling me.
16 I came near to one of those who were waiting there, questioning him about what all this was. And he said to me that he would make clear to me the sense of these things.
17 These great beasts are four kings who will be cut off from the earth.
18 But the saints of the Most High will take the kingdom, and it will be theirs for ever, even for ever and ever.
19 Then it was my desire to have certain knowledge about the fourth beast, which was different from all the others, a cause of great fear, whose teeth were of iron and his nails of brass; who took his food, crushing some of it to bits and stamping on the rest with his feet;
20 And about the ten horns on his head and the other which came up, causing the fall of three; that horn which had eyes, and a mouth saying great things, which seemed to be greater than the other horns.
21 And I saw how that horn made war on the saints and overcame them,
22 Till he came, who was very old, and the decision was made and the authority was given to the saints of the Most High; and the time came when the saints took the kingdom.
23 This is what he said: The fourth beast is a fourth kingdom which will come on earth, different from all the kingdoms, and it will overcome all the earth, crushing it down and smashing it.
24 And as for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings will come to power; and after them another will come up: he will be different from the first ones and will put down three kings.
25 And he will say words against the Most High, attempting to put an end to the saints of the Most High; and he will have the idea of changing times and law; and the saints will be given into his hands for a time and times and half a time.
26 But the judge will be seated, and they will put an end to his authority, to overcome it and send complete destruction on it.
27 And the kingdom and the authority and the power of the kingdoms under all the heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Most High: his kingdom is an eternal kingdom, and all powers will be his servants and do his pleasure.
28 Here is the end of the account. As for me, Daniel, I was greatly troubled by my thoughts, and the colour went from my face: but I kept the thing in my heart.
1 NELL’anno primo di Belsasar, re di Babilonia, Daniele vide un sogno, e delle visioni del suo capo, sopra il suo letto. Allora egli scrisse il sogno, e dichiarò la somma delle cose.
2 Daniele adunque prese a dire: Io riguardava nella mia visione, di notte, ed ecco, i quattro venti del cielo salivano impetuosamente in sul mar grande.
3 E quattro gran bestie salivano fuor del mare, differenti l’una dall’altra.
4 La prima era simile ad un leone, ed avea delle ale d’aquila; io stava riguardando, finchè le furono divelte le ale, e fu fatta levar da terra, e che si rizzò in piè, a guisa d’uomo; e le fu dato cuor d’uomo.
5 Poi, ecco un’altra seconda bestia, simigliante ad un orso, la quale si levò da un lato, ed avea tre costole in bocca, fra i suoi denti. E le fu detto così: Levati, mangia molta carne.
6 Poi io riguardava, ed eccone un’altra, simigliante ad un pardo, la quale avea quattro ale d’uccello in sul dosso; e quella bestia avea quattro teste, e le fu data la signoria.
7 Appresso, io riguardava nelle visioni di notte, ed ecco una quarta bestia, spaventevole, terribile, e molto forte, la quale avea di gran denti di ferro; ella mangiava, e tritava e calpestava il rimanente co’ piedi; ed era differente da tutte le bestie, ch’erano state davanti a lei, ed avea dieci corna.
8 Io poneva mente a queste corna, ed ecco un altro corno piccolo saliva fra quelle, e tre delle prime corna furono divelte d’innanzi a quello; ed ecco, quel corno avea degli occhi simiglianti agli occhi d’un uomo, ed una bocca che proferiva cose grandi
9 Io stava riguardando, finchè i troni furono posti, e che l’Antico de’ giorni si pose a sedere; il suo vestimento era candido come neve, e i capelli del suo capo erano simili a lana netta, e il suo trono era a guisa di scintille di fuoco, e le ruote d’esso simili a fuoco ardente.
10 Un fiume di fuoco traeva, ed usciva dalla sua presenza; mille migliaia gli ministravano, e diecimila decine di migliaia stavano davanti a lui; il giudicio si tenne, e i libri furono aperti.
11 Allora io riguardai, per la voce delle grandi parole, che quel corno proferiva; e riguardai, finchè la bestia fu uccisa, e il suo corpo fu distrutto, e fu dato ad essere arso col fuoco.
12 La signoria fu eziandio tolta alle altre bestie, e fu loro dato prolungamento di vita, fino ad un tempo, e termine costituito.
13 Io riguardava nelle visioni notturne, ed ecco, con le nuvole del cielo, veniva uno, simile ad un figliuol d’uomo; ed egli pervenne fino all’Antico de’ giorni, e fu fatto accostar davanti a lui.
14 Ed esso gli diede signoria, e gloria, e regno; e tutti i popoli, nazioni, e lingue, devono servirgli; la sua signoria è una signoria eterna, la qual non trapasserà giammai; e il suo regno è un regno che non sarà giammai distrutto
15 Quant’è a me Daniele lo spirito mi venne meno in mezzo del corpo, e le visioni del mio capo mi conturbarono.
16 E mi accostai ad uno de’ circostanti, e gli domandai la verità intorno a tutte queste cose; ed egli me la disse, e mi dichiarò l’interpretazione delle cose, dicendo:
17 Queste quattro gran bestie significano quattro re, che sorgeranno dalla terra.
18 E poi i santi dell’Altissimo riceveranno il regno, e lo possederanno in perpetuo, ed in sempiterno.
19 Allora io desiderai di sapere la verità intorno alla quarta bestia, ch’era differente da tutte le altre, ed era molto terribile; i cui denti erano di ferro, e le unghie di rame; che mangiava, tritava, e calpestava il rimanente co’ piedi;
20 e intorno alle dieci corna ch’ella avea in capo, e intorno a quell’ultimo, che saliva, e d’innanzi al quale tre erano cadute; e intorno a ciò che quel corno avea degli occhi, e una bocca che proferiva cose grandi; e che l’aspetto di esso era maggiore di quello de’ suoi compagni.
21 Io avea riguardato, e quel corno faceva guerra co’ santi, e li vinceva;
22 finchè l’Antico de’ giorni venne, e il giudicio fu dato a’ santi dell’Altissimo; e venne il tempo che i santi doveano possedere il regno.
23 E colui mi disse così: La quarta bestia significa un quarto regno che sarà in terra, il qual sarà differente da tutti quegli altri regni, e divorerà tutta le terra, e la calpesterà, e la triterà.
24 E le dieci corna significano dieci re, che sorgeranno di quel regno; ed un altro sorgerà dopo loro, il qual sarà differente da’ precedenti, ed abbatterà tre re.
25 E proferirà parole contro all’Altissimo, e distruggerà i santi dell’Altissimo; e penserà di mutare i tempi, e la Legge; e i santi gli saran dati nelle mani fino ad un tempo, più tempi, e la metà d’un tempo.
26 Poi si terrà il giudicio, e la sua signoria gli sarà tolta; ed egli sarà sterminato, e distrutto fino all’estremo.
27 E il regno, e la signoria, e la grandezza de’ regni, che sono sotto tutti i cieli, sarà data al popolo de’ santi dell’Altissimo; il regno d’esso sarà un regno eterno, e tutti gl’imperi gli serviranno, ed ubbidiranno.
28 Qui è la fine delle parole. Quant’è a me Daniele, i miei pensieri mi spaventarono forte, e il color del mio volto fu mutato in me; e conservai la cosa nel mio cuore