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

²Daniel answered and said: I was gazing in my vision by night, and look: the four winds of the skies were churning up the great sea.

³And four great beasts came up out of the sea, each different from the other.

⁴The first was like a lion, and it had an eagle's wings. I kept watching until its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted from the land and made to stand on two feet like a man, and a man's heart was given to it.

⁵And look, another beast, a second, resembling a bear. It was raised up on one side, with three ribs in its mouth between its teeth; and thus they were saying to it: Arise, devour a great deal of flesh.

⁶After this I kept looking, and there was another one, like a leopard, and it had four wings of a bird on its back; the animal also had four heads, and dominion was given to it.

⁷After this I kept looking in the visions of the night, and there was a fourth animal, terrifying and dreadful and strong beyond measure; it had great iron teeth, devouring and crushing, and trampling the rest with its feet. It was different from all the animals before it, and it had ten horns.

⁸I kept watching the horns, and there was another horn, a small one, that came up between them; three of the first horns were uprooted before it. And there were eyes like the eyes of a man in this horn, and a mouth speaking great things.

⁹I kept looking until thrones were set in place, and an Ancient of days took a seat. His clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like clean wool. His throne was flames of fire, its wheels blazing fire.

¹⁰A river of fire was flowing and coming out from before him; a thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court took its seat, and books were opened.

¹¹I kept watching then, because of the sound of the great words that the horn was speaking; I kept watching until the beast was killed, and its body destroyed and given to the blaze of fire.

¹²As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, yet an extension of life was given to them for a season and a time.

¹³I was seeing in the visions of the night, and look, with the clouds of heaven one like a son of man was coming; he reached the Ancient of Days, and they brought him near before him.

¹⁴To him were given dominion, honor, and a kingdom, so that all peoples, nations, and languages would serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom one that will not be destroyed.

¹⁵As for me, Daniel, my breath was distressed within my body, and the visions of my head alarmed me.

¹⁶I approached one of those standing there, and asked him for the truth about all this. He said to me and made known to me the interpretation of the matters.

¹⁷These great beasts, which are four, are four kings who will arise from the land.

¹⁸But the holy ones of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will take hold of the kingdom forever, even to the age of ages.

¹⁹Then I wanted to be certain about the fourth beast, which was different from all of them, exceedingly fearsome, with teeth of iron and claws of bronze, devouring, crushing, and trampling what remained with its feet,

²⁰and about the ten horns that were on its head, and the other one that came up, and before which three fell; and that horn had eyes, and a mouth speaking great things, and its appearance was greater than its companions.

²¹I kept watching, and that horn waged war against the holy ones and prevailed over them,

²²until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given for the holy ones of the Most High, and the appointed time arrived, and the holy ones took hold of the kingdom.

²³Thus he said: The fourth beast will be a fourth kingdom on the land, which will be different from all the kingdoms; it will devour the whole land, trample it down and crush it.

²⁴And the ten horns in it are ten kings who will set up; and another will set up after them, and he will change in the former, and three he will humble.

²⁵He will speak words against the Most High, and wear down the holy ones of the Most High; he will intend to change times and law, and they will be given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time.

²⁶But the court will sit, and they will take away his dominion, to destroy it and make it perish to the very end.

²⁷And the kingdom and the dominion and the greatness who the kingdom of under all the heavens was given to the peoples of the holy of the Most High; his kingdom is the kingdom of the forever, and all the dominions will worship it and they will hear.

²⁸Up to here is the end of the matter. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts greatly alarmed me, and my color changed on me, but I kept the matter in my heart.