The  ¹elder to the chosen  ²lady and to her children, whom I love in  ³truthfulness, and not only I but also all  ⁴those who know the  ⁵truth,

 ¹For the sake of the  ²truth which abides in us and will be with us forever:

Grace, mercy, peace will be with  ¹us from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in  ²truth and love.

I  ¹rejoiced greatly that I have found some of your children walking in  ²truth, even as we received  ³commandment from the Father.

And now I ask you, lady, not as writing a new commandment to you but  ¹that which we have had  ²from the beginning, that we love one another.

And this is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, even as you heard from the beginning, that you walk in  ¹love.

For many  ¹deceivers went out into the world, those who  ²do not confess Jesus Christ coming  ³in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the  ⁴antichrist.

 ¹Look to yourselves that you do not  ²lose the  ³things which we wrought, but that you may receive a full  ⁴reward.

Everyone who  ¹goes beyond and does not abide in the  ²teaching of Christ does not have God; he who abides in the teaching, he  ³has both the Father and the Son.

If anyone comes to you and does not  ¹bring this teaching, do not receive  ²him into your house, and do not say to him,  ³Rejoice!

For he who says to him, Rejoice, shares in his  ¹evil works.

Though I have many things to write to you, I do not want to do so with paper and ink, but I am  ¹hoping to be with you and to speak  ²face to face that  ³our joy may be made full.

The  ¹children of your chosen  ²sister greet you.

In the  ¹first year of Belshazzar the king of Babylon Daniel saw a dream and  ²visions of his head upon his bed. Then he wrote down the dream; he related the sum of the matters.

Daniel responded and said, I was watching in my vision by night, and there were the  ¹four winds of heaven, stirring up the  ²Great Sea.

And four great  ¹beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other.

The  ¹first was like a lion and had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were plucked and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man; and a man's heart was given to it.

And there was  ¹another beast, a second one, resembling a bear. And it was raised up on one side, and three ribs were in its mouth between its teeth; and they said thus to it, Arise, devour much flesh.

After this I watched and there was  ¹another beast, like a leopard; and it had four wings of a bird on its back; and the beast had four heads, and dominion was given to it.

After this I watched in the night visions, and there was a  ¹fourth beast, dreadful and frightful and exceedingly strong; and it had large iron teeth; it devoured and crushed and trampled down the remainder with its feet; and it was different from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.

I was considering the horns; then there was another horn, a  ¹small one, which came up among them; and three of the first horns were uprooted from before it. And there were  ²eyes like the eyes of a man in this horn and a  ²mouth speaking great things.

I watched
Until thrones were set,
And the Ancient of Days sat down.
His clothing was like white  ¹snow,
And the hair of His head was like pure  ¹wool;
His throne was flames of  ²fire;
Its wheels, burning fire.

A stream of fire issued forth
And came out from before Him.
Thousands of thousands ministered to Him,
And ten thousands of ten thousands stood before Him.
The  ¹court of judgment sat,
And the books were opened.

I watched then because of the sound of the great things that the horn was speaking; I watched until the beast was  ¹slain and its body was destroyed and given to the burning fire.

And as for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but an  ¹extension of life was given to them for a season and a time.

I watched in the night visions,
And there with the clouds of heaven
One like a  ¹Son of Man was coming;
And He came to the Ancient of Days,
And they brought Him near before Him.

And to Him was  ¹given dominion, glory, and a kingdom,
That all the peoples, nations, and languages might serve Him.
His dominion is an eternal dominion, which will not pass away;
And His kingdom is one that will not be destroyed.

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

I came near to one of those standing by and asked of him the exact meaning of all this. So he told me and made the interpretation of the things known to me:

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

But the  ¹saints of the Most High will receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, indeed, forever and ever.

Then I wished to know the exact meaning of the fourth beast, which was different from all the others, exceedingly dreadful, with its teeth of iron and its claws of bronze, which devoured, crushed, and trampled under the remainder with its feet,

And of the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn that came up, and before which three horns fell, even that horn that had eyes and a mouth speaking great things and whose appearance was greater than that of its companions.

I watched and that horn  ¹waged war with the saints and prevailed against them,

Until the Ancient of Days came; and judgment was given to the saints of the Most High; and the time came when the saints possessed the kingdom.

Thus he said, The fourth beast will be the fourth kingdom upon the earth, which will be different from all the other kingdoms; and it will devour the whole earth and tread it down and crush it.

And as for the ten horns, out of this kingdom ten kings will arise, and another will arise after them, and he will be different from the previous ones; and he will subdue three kings.

And he will speak things against the Most High and wear out the saints of the Most High; and his intention will be to change the  ¹times and the law; and they will be given into his hand for  ²a time and times and half a time.

But the court of judgment will sit, and they will take away his dominion, so as to annihilate and destroy it unto the end.

And the kingdom and dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Most High; His kingdom is an eternal kingdom, and all the dominions will serve and obey Him.

Here is the end of the matter. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts alarmed me greatly, and my countenance was changed, but I kept the matter in my heart.

In the  ¹third year of the reign of Belshazzar the king a vision appeared to me, Daniel, after the one that appeared to me at the beginning.

And I looked in the vision, and while I looked, now I was in the fortress of Shushan, which is in the province of Elam; and while I looked in the vision, I was beside the river Ulai.

Then I lifted my eyes, and I looked, and there was a  ¹ram, standing before the river, and he had two horns. And the two horns were high, but one was higher than the other; and the higher one came up last.

I saw the ram  ¹pushing westward, northward, and southward; and no beast could stand before him, and there was no one who could deliver from his power; but he  ²did as he pleased, and he became great.

And while I considered this, there was a  ¹male goat, coming from the west over the face of the whole earth without touching the ground; and the goat had a  ²conspicuous horn between his eyes.

And he came up to the ram that had the two horns, which I had seen standing before the river, and ran toward him in his mighty wrath.

And I saw him come close to the ram, and he was enraged at him; and he struck the ram and  ¹broke his two horns; and the ram had no strength to withstand him, but the goat threw him down to the ground and trampled him; and there was none to deliver the ram from his power.

And the male goat became very  ¹great. But once he became strong, the great horn was  ¹broken, and in its place  ²four conspicuous ones came up toward the four winds of heaven.

And out of one of them came forth a  ¹little horn, which grew very great toward the south, toward the east, and toward that which is beautiful.

And it grew great,  ¹as high as the host of heaven; and it caused some of the host and some of the stars to fall to the earth, and it trampled them.

Indeed, he grew in greatness to that of the  ¹Prince of the host; and  ²from Him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of His sanctuary was thrown down.

And an army was given to him together with the daily sacrifice because of transgression; and he cast truth down to the ground, and he took action and prospered.

Then I heard a  ¹holy one speaking; and another  ¹holy one said to the particular one who was speaking, How long will the vision concerning the daily sacrifice and the transgression that desolates apply, so that the sanctuary and the host are trampled down?

And he said to me, For  ¹two thousand three hundred nights and days; then the sanctuary will be  ²cleansed.

And when I, Daniel, had seen the vision, I sought an understanding of it; and immediately there was someone with an appearance like that of a man standing before me.

And I heard the voice of a man between the banks of the Ulai; and He called out and said, Gabriel, cause this man to understand the vision.

So he came near to where I stood; and when he came, I was afraid, and I fell on my face; but he said to me, Understand, O son of man, that the vision pertains to the end time.

And as he was speaking with me, I fell into a deep sleep on my face upon the ground; but he touched me and made me stand in my place.

And he said, I now make known to you what will happen at the end of the indignation, for the vision pertains to the appointed time of the end.

The ram that you saw, which had the two horns, are the kings of Media and Persia.

And the hairy goat is the king of  ¹Javan; and the great horn which was between its eyes is the first king.

And the broken horn and the four horns that arose in its place are four kingdoms that will arise from his nation, but not with his power.

And in the latter time of their kingdom,
When the transgressors have filled up their transgressions,
A  ¹king will arise,
 ²Of fierce countenance and skilled in  ³ambiguities.

And his power will be mighty, but not by his own power.
And he will destroy in an extraordinary manner
And will prosper and take action.
He will destroy mighty men
And the holy people.

Through his craftiness
He will also cause deceit to prosper in his hand;
And he will magnify himself in his heart;
And he will destroy many who are complacently secure.
And against the Prince of princes he will stand up;
But he will be broken, yet not by human hands.

And the vision of the evenings and the mornings,
Which has been told, is true.
But shut the vision up,
For it pertains to something many days from now.

Then I, Daniel, was spent, and I was sick for days. Then I arose and conducted the king's affairs; but I was astonished at the vision, and there was no one to explain it.