I, Daniel, was overcome and lay ill for days. Then I got up and went about the king’s business. I was greatly disturbed by the vision and could not understand it.
I heard, and I trembled within; my lips quivered at the sound. Rottenness entered my bones; I trembled where I stood. Now I must quietly wait for the day of distress to come against the people invading us.
Suddenly one with human likeness touched my lips. I opened my mouth and said to the one standing in front of me, ‘My lord, because of the vision, anguish overwhelms me and I am powerless.
I saw him approaching the ram and, infuriated with him, he struck the ram, breaking his two horns, and the ram was not strong enough to stand against him. The goat threw him to the ground and trampled him, and there was no one to rescue the ram from his power.
Then Daniel, whose name is Belteshazzar, was stunned for a moment, and his thoughts alarmed him. The king said, ‘Belteshazzar, don’t let the dream or its interpretation alarm you.’ Belteshazzar answered, ‘My lord, may the dream apply to those who hate you, and its interpretation to your enemies!
So he approached where I was standing; when he came near, I was terrified and fell face down. ‘Son of man,’ he said to me, ‘understand that the vision refers to the time of the end.’