Daniel spoke and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the sky broke out on the great sea.
Parallel translations
- KJV Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and, behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great sea.
- BSB Daniel declared: “In my vision in the night I looked, and suddenly the four winds of heaven were churning up the great sea.
- NKJV Daniel spoke, saying, “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the Great Sea.
- NASB Daniel said, “I was looking in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the great sea.
- NLT In my vision that night, I, Daniel, saw a great storm churning the surface of a great sea, with strong winds blowing from every direction.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Daniel sees the four winds of heaven stirring up the great sea. The turbulent vision signals upheaval among the nations under God's control.
Overview
Daniel beholds the winds of heaven churning the sea, a common biblical image for the restless nations of the world. That the winds come from heaven hints that even this turmoil unfolds under God's sovereign hand. The scene sets the stage for the rise of successive empires symbolized by the beasts that follow.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 2
- Rev 7:1After this, I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, so that no wind would blow on the earth, or on the sea, or on any tree.
- Rev 17:15He said to me, “The waters which you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and languages.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Daniel sees the stone cut without hands that shatters the kingdoms, and 'one like a son of man' given everlasting dominion — titles and visions Jesus claims as his own.
How Daniel 7:2 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.