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Psalm 13

1  How long will you forget me, O Lord; for ever? ♦︎
   How long will you hide your face from me?
2  How long shall I have anguish in my soul
      and grief in my heart, day after day? ♦︎
   How long shall my enemy triumph over me?
3  Look upon me and answer, O Lord my God; ♦︎
   lighten my eyes, lest I sleep in death;
4  Lest my enemy say, ‘I have prevailed against him,’ ♦︎
   and my foes rejoice that I have fallen.
5  But I put my trust in your steadfast love; ♦︎
   my heart will rejoice in your salvation.
6  I will sing to the Lord, ♦︎
   for he has dealt so bountifully with me.

Gabriel Interprets the Vision

15 When I, Daniel, had seen the vision, I tried to understand it. Then someone appeared standing before me, having the appearance of a man, ¹⁶and I heard a human voice by the Ulai, calling, ‘Gabriel, help this man understand the vision.’ ¹⁷So he came near where I stood; and when he came, I became frightened and fell prostrate. But he said to me, ‘Understand, O mortal,^* that the vision is for the time of the end.’

18 As he was speaking to me, I fell into a trance, face to the ground; then he touched me and set me on my feet. ¹⁹He said, ‘Listen, and I will tell you what will take place later in the period of wrath; for it refers to the appointed time of the end. ²⁰As for the ram that you saw with the two horns, these are the kings of Media and Persia. ²¹The male goat^* is the king of Greece, and the great horn between its eyes is the first king. ²²As for the horn that was broken, in place of which four others arose, four kingdoms shall arise from his^* nation, but not with his power.
²³ At the end of their rule,
   when the transgressions have reached their full measure,
a king of bold countenance shall arise,
   skilled in intrigue.
²⁴ He shall grow strong in power,^*
   shall cause fearful destruction,
   and shall succeed in what he does.
He shall destroy the powerful
   and the people of the holy ones.
²⁵ By his cunning
   he shall make deceit prosper under his hand,
   and in his own mind he shall be great.
Without warning he shall destroy many
   and shall even rise up against the Prince of princes.
But he shall be broken, and not by human hands.
²⁶The vision of the evenings and the mornings that has been told is true. As for you, seal up the vision, for it refers to many days from now.’

27 So I, Daniel, was overcome and lay sick for some days; then I arose and went about the king’s business. But I was dismayed by the vision and did not understand it.

32 But recall those earlier days when, after you had been enlightened, you endured a hard struggle with sufferings, ³³sometimes being publicly exposed to abuse and persecution, and sometimes being partners with those so treated. ³⁴For you had compassion for those who were in prison, and you cheerfully accepted the plundering of your possessions, knowing that you yourselves possessed something better and more lasting. ³⁵Do not, therefore, abandon that confidence of yours; it brings a great reward. ³⁶For you need endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. ³⁷For yet
‘in a very little while,
   the one who is coming will come and will not delay;
³⁸ but my righteous one will live by faith.
   My soul takes no pleasure in anyone who shrinks back.’
³⁹But we are not among those who shrink back and so are lost, but among those who have faith and so are saved.