World English Bible · The Persian return
Daniel 7
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In the first year of king of , had a and of his head while on his bed. Then he wrote the and told the sum of the matters. spoke and said, "I saw in my by night, and, behold, the four winds of broke out on the great sea. Four great animals came up from the sea, different from one another. "The first was like a lion, and had eagle's . I watched until its were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on two feet as a man. A man's was given to it. "Behold, there was another animal, a second, like a bear. It was up on one side, and three ribs were in its between its teeth. They said this to it: 'Arise! Devour much !' "After this I saw, and behold, another, like a leopard, which had on its back four of a bird. The animal also had four heads; and was given to it. "After this I saw in the night , and, behold, there was a fourth animal, awesome, powerful, and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth. It devoured and broke in pieces, and stamped the residue with its feet. It was different from all the animals that were before it. It had ten . "I considered the , and behold, there came up among them another , a little one, before which three of the first were plucked up by the roots; and behold, in this were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a speaking arrogantly. "I watched until were placed, and one who was Ancient of Days sat. His clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool. His was flames, and its wheels burning . A stream issued and came out from before him. Thousands of thousands ministered to him. Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The was set. The books were opened. "I watched at that time because of the voice of the arrogant words which spoke. I watched even until the animal was slain, and its body destroyed, and it was given to be burned with . As for the rest of the animals, their was taken away; yet their lives were prolonged for a season and a time. "I saw in the night , and behold, there came with the clouds of one like a , and he came even to the Ancient of Days, and they brought him near before him. was given him, and , and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and should him. His is an , which will not pass away, and one that will not be destroyed. "As for me, , was grieved within my body, and the of my head troubled me. I came near to one of those who stood by, and asked him the truth concerning all this. "So he told me, and made me know the of the things. 'These great animals, which are four, are four kings, who will arise out of the earth. But of will receive , and possess , even and ever.' "Then I to know the truth concerning the fourth animal, which was different from all of them, exceedingly terrible, whose teeth were of iron, and its nails of bronze; which devoured, broke in pieces, and stamped the residue with its feet; and concerning the ten that were on its head and the other which came up, and before which three fell, even that that had eyes and a that spoke arrogantly, whose look was more stout than its fellows. I saw, and the same made war with , and prevailed against them, until the Ancient of Days came, and was given to of , and the time came that . "So he said, 'The fourth animal will be a fourth kingdom on earth, which will be different from all the kingdoms, and will devour the whole earth, and will tread it down and break it in pieces. As for the ten , ten kings will arise out of this kingdom. Another will arise after them; and he will be different from the former, and he will put down three kings. He will speak words against , and will wear out of . He will plan to change the times and ; and they will be given into his hand until a time and times and half a time. "'But the will be set, and they will take away his , to consume and to destroy it to the end. and the , and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole sky, will be given to the people of of . is an kingdom, and all dominions will and him.' "Here is the end of the matter. As for me, , my troubled me greatly, and was changed in me; but I kept the matter in ."
A public domain modern English translation, free to read and share. Notes and cards are EKLI’s own.
The world at this moment · The Persian return, 539 BC to 332 BC ›
Persia takes Babylon and reverses its policy, sending exiled peoples home to rebuild their temples. Judah returns as a small province, rebuilding under imperial permission rather than independence.
- Persia
- The largest empire the world had yet seen, from the Indus to the Aegean, run through provinces, a royal road, and a postal system. Its policy on conquered peoples was to send them home and fund their temples, in exchange for loyalty and prayers for the king. The Cyrus Cylinder states the policy in Cyrus's own words, and Ezra opens with the same policy applied to Judah.
- Judah
- A small, poor province called Yehud, a fraction of the old kingdom, with a rebuilt temple that made the people who remembered the first one weep. No king, and no prospect of one. Leadership passes to priests and scribes, which shapes everything afterward.
- Greece
- Persia and Greece collide at Marathon and Salamis, Persia loses, and Athens spends the following decades on the Parthenon, tragedy, and Socrates. Herodotus writes the first history in order to explain that war. Then Plato and Aristotle, whose vocabulary the church will still be using at Nicaea eight centuries later.
- Further afield
- Rome throws out its kings and becomes a republic. In India and China this is the age of the Buddha's early followers and of Confucian teaching taking hold. More of what the world still thinks with was invented in this era than in almost any other.