Chapter
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Verse

Daniel 8:3

ESV I raised my eyes and saw, and behold, a ram standing on the bank of the canal. It had two horns, and both horns were high, but one was higher than the other, and the higher one came up last.
NIV I looked up, and there before me was a ram with two horns, standing beside the canal, and the horns were long. One of the horns was longer than the other but grew up later.
NASB Then I raised my eyes and looked, and behold, a ram which had two horns was standing in front of the canal. Now the two horns were long, but one was longer than the other, with the longer one coming up last.
CSB I looked up, and there was a ram standing beside the canal. He had two horns. The two horns were long, but one was longer than the other, and the longer one came up last.
NLT As I looked up, I saw a ram with two long horns standing beside the river. One of the horns was longer than the other, even though it had grown later than the other one.
KJV Then I lifted up mine eyes, and saw, and, behold, there stood before the river a ram which had two horns: and the two horns were high; but one was higher than the other, and the higher came up last.

What does Daniel 8:3 mean?

The first thing Daniel sees in his second vision (Daniel 7:1; 8:1–2) is a ram: a male sheep. The animal's horns are large but mismatched. Daniel's comment that one horn "came up" later implies that he's seeing them grow. The later growing one became the larger of the two. Later in this chapter, Daniel will be told that this ram represents the Medo-Persian empire (Daniel 8:20). This book contains several prophetic references to Medo-Persia, most of which mention a two-part nature.

Nebuchadnezzar's dream depicted Medo-Persia as the two-armed torso of a statue (Daniel 2:32). Daniel's recent vision saw it as a bear, with one side raised above the other (Daniel 7:5). Both Nebuchadnezzar's dream and Daniel's vision depicted future events. Over time, the Persian part of the empire became dominant. Yet the Medo-Persians had not eclipsed the Babylonian empire when Nebuchadnezzar dreamed about the statue, when Daniel dreamed of the bear, or when Daniel saw the ram in his vision. History told in advance is one of the supernatural markers of God's written Word. It provides evidence that Scripture is inspired.
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