Daniel 7:3
New International Version
Four great beasts, each different from the others, came up out of the sea.

New Living Translation
Then four huge beasts came up out of the water, each different from the others.

English Standard Version
And four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another.

Berean Standard Bible
Then four great beasts came up out of the sea, each one different from the others:

King James Bible
And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.

New King James Version
And four great beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other.

New American Standard Bible
And four great beasts were coming up from the sea, different from one another.

NASB 1995
“And four great beasts were coming up from the sea, different from one another.

NASB 1977
“And four great beasts were coming up from the sea, different from one another.

Legacy Standard Bible
And four great beasts were coming up from the sea, different from one another.

Amplified Bible
And four great beasts, each different from the other, were coming up out of the sea [in succession].

Christian Standard Bible
Four huge beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Four huge beasts came up from the sea, each different from the other.”

American Standard Version
And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.

Contemporary English Version
when suddenly four powerful beasts came out of the sea. Each beast was different.

English Revised Version
And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Four large animals, each one different from the others, came out of the sea.

Good News Translation
Four huge beasts came up out of the ocean, each one different from the others.

International Standard Version
Four magnificent animals were rising from the sea, each different from the other.

Majority Standard Bible
Then four great beasts came up out of the sea, each one different from the others:

NET Bible
Then four large beasts came up from the sea; they were different from one another.

New Heart English Bible
Four great animals came up from the sea, different from one another.

Webster's Bible Translation
And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.

World English Bible
Four great animals came up from the sea, different from one another.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
and four great beasts are coming up from the sea, diverse from one another.

Young's Literal Translation
and four great beasts are coming up from the sea, diverse one from another.

Smith's Literal Translation
And four great beasts went up from the sea, different this from this.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
And four great beasts, different one from another, came up out of the sea.

Catholic Public Domain Version
And four great beasts, different from one another, ascended from the sea.

New American Bible
from which emerged four immense beasts, each different from the others.

New Revised Standard Version
and four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
And four great beasts came up out of the sea, differing one from another.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
And four great beasts arose from the sea, and were different, each from the other
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And there came up four great beasts out of the sea, differing from one another.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Daniel's Vision of the Four Beasts
2Daniel declared: “In my vision in the night I looked, and suddenly the four winds of heaven were churning up the great sea. 3Then four great beasts came up out of the sea, each one different from the others: 4The first beast was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. I watched until its wings were torn off and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man, and given the mind of a man.…

Cross References
Revelation 13:1-2
Then I saw a beast with ten horns and seven heads rising out of the sea. There were ten royal crowns on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads. / The beast I saw was like a leopard, with the feet of a bear and the mouth of a lion. And the dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority.

Revelation 17:8-12
The beast that you saw—it was, and now is no more, but is about to come up out of the Abyss and go to its destruction. And those who dwell on the earth whose names were not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world will marvel when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet will be. / This calls for a mind with wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sits. / There are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, and the other has not yet come. But when he does come, he must remain for only a little while. ...

Daniel 2:31-45
As you, O king, were watching, a great statue appeared. A great and dazzling statue stood before you, and its form was awesome. / The head of the statue was pure gold, its chest and arms were silver, its belly and thighs were bronze, / its legs were iron, and its feet were part iron and part clay. ...

Revelation 12:3
Then another sign appeared in heaven: a huge red dragon with seven heads, ten horns, and seven royal crowns on his heads.

Revelation 17:3
And the angel carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, where I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was covered with blasphemous names and had seven heads and ten horns.

Isaiah 27:1
In that day the LORD will take His sharp, great, and mighty sword, and bring judgment on Leviathan the fleeing serpent—Leviathan the coiling serpent—and He will slay the dragon of the sea.

Ezekiel 1:5-10
and within it was the form of four living creatures. And this was their appearance: They had a human form, / but each had four faces and four wings. / Their legs were straight, and the soles of their feet were like the hooves of a calf, gleaming like polished bronze. ...

Revelation 4:6-7
And before the throne was something like a sea of glass, as clear as crystal. In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, covered with eyes in front and back. / The first living creature was like a lion, the second like a calf, the third had a face like a man, and the fourth was like an eagle in flight.

Revelation 5:6
Then I saw a Lamb who appeared to have been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which represent the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.

Isaiah 13:1-22
This is the burden against Babylon that Isaiah son of Amoz received: / Raise a banner on a barren hilltop; call aloud to them. Wave your hand, that they may enter the gates of the nobles. / I have commanded My sanctified ones; I have even summoned My warriors to execute My wrath and exult in My triumph. ...

Jeremiah 51:34
“Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has devoured me; he has crushed me. He has set me aside like an empty vessel; he has swallowed me like a monster; he filled his belly with my delicacies and vomited me out.

Hosea 13:7-8
So like a lion I will pounce on them; like a leopard I will lurk by the path. / Like a bear robbed of her cubs I will attack them, and I will tear open their chests. There I will devour them like a lion, like a wild beast tearing them apart.

Revelation 11:7
When the two witnesses have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will wage war with them, and will overpower and kill them.

Revelation 19:19-20
Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies assembled to wage war against the One seated on the horse, and against His army. / But the beast was captured along with the false prophet, who on its behalf had performed signs deceiving those who had the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. Both the beast and the false prophet were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.

Job 7:12
Am I the sea, or the monster of the deep, that You must keep me under guard?


Treasury of Scripture

And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another.

four.

Daniel 7:17
These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth.

Daniel 2:32,33,37-40
This image's head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass, …

Zechariah 6:1-8
And I turned, and lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there came four chariots out from between two mountains; and the mountains were mountains of brass…

beasts.

Daniel 7:4-8,17
The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings: I beheld till the wings thereof were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man, and a man's heart was given to it…

Psalm 76:4
Thou art more glorious and excellent than the mountains of prey.

Ezekiel 19:3-8
And she brought up one of her whelps: it became a young lion, and it learned to catch the prey; it devoured men…

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Daniel 7
1. Daniel's vision of the four beasts,
9. and of God's kingdom.
15. The interpretation thereof.














And four great beasts
The phrase "four great beasts" introduces a vision of significant prophetic importance. In the Hebrew text, the word for "beasts" is "חֵיוָה" (chevah), which denotes living creatures of considerable power and ferocity. These beasts symbolize four successive empires, as later explained in the chapter. Historically, these empires are understood to be Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. The use of "great" emphasizes their vast influence and dominion over the earth, reflecting the magnitude of their power and the impact they had on the course of history.

came up out of the sea
The "sea" in biblical symbolism often represents chaos, turmoil, and the masses of humanity. In ancient Near Eastern literature, the sea is frequently depicted as a place of disorder and danger. The imagery of beasts emerging from the sea suggests that these empires arise from a world of chaos and conflict. This aligns with the historical context of these empires, which often emerged through conquest and upheaval. Theologically, it underscores the transient and unstable nature of earthly kingdoms compared to the eternal kingdom of God.

each different from the others
This phrase highlights the distinct characteristics and identities of each beast, or empire. The diversity among the beasts signifies the unique attributes and governing styles of each kingdom. Historically, Babylon was known for its grandeur and cultural achievements, Medo-Persia for its vast administrative system, Greece for its philosophical and military prowess, and Rome for its legal and structural innovations. Theologically, this diversity also points to the manifold ways in which human power can manifest, yet all fall short of the divine ideal. It serves as a reminder of the limitations and eventual downfall of human empires in contrast to God's unchanging sovereignty.

(3) Four great beasts.--The monstrous forms of the beasts are implied, rather than the hugeness of their size. Other instances of beasts being taken as emblems of kingdoms may be found in Isaiah 27:1; Ezekiel 29:3; Ezekiel 32:2. It must be observed that the beasts do not rise up simultaneously, but in succession to each other. In this way, and in the difference of their character, they form a parallel to the subject-matter of the vision recorded in Daniel 2.

Verse 3. - And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse one from another. The Septuagint rendering omits "great;" otherwise it is a closely accurate representation of the Massoretic text, save that the translator seems to have had, not דא מןאּדּא, but as in the Syriac, חדא מן־חדא, as he renders ε{ν παρὰ τὸ ἕν. Theodotion has μεγάλα, but does not so slavishly follow the Aramaic construction at the end. The Peshitta is very close to the Massoretic, save that in the last clause it agrees with the LXX. The number four is, in apocalyptic writings, significant of the world; "the four winds" mean the whole world. Here it is human history that is summed up in the four beasts. So in Zechariah we have "four horns" that symbolize the oppressors of the people of God (Daniel 1:18; Daniel 2:1). We have "four" chariots in the sixth chapter of Zechariah, which seem to be symbols of the same thing. Beasts. Animals of one sort or another are used of nations in the prophets; thus Egypt is symbolized in Isaiah 27, as "leviathan," presumably a crocodile (Isaiah 51:7), as "a dragon" in Ezekiel 29:3 Babylonia is figured as an eagle (Ezekiel 17:3). Composite beings are used as symbols also, as Tyro is addressed as a '"covering cherub." In the Book of Revelation Rome is figured as a beast with seven heads and ten horns (Revelation 13:1). In the Book of Enoch (85. - 90.) we find this figurative use of animals carried much further. Assyria and Babylonia and, following them, Persia made great use of composite, monstrous animal forms as symbols, not so much, however, of political as of spiritual powers. This distinction is the less important, that political events were regarded as the production of spiritual activity.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Then four
וְאַרְבַּ֤ע (wə·’ar·ba‘)
Conjunctive waw | Number - feminine singular
Strong's 703: Four

great
רַבְרְבָ֔ן (raḇ·rə·ḇān)
Adjective - feminine plural
Strong's 7260: Very great things

beasts
חֵיוָן֙ (ḥê·wān)
Noun - feminine plural
Strong's 2423: An animal

came up
סָלְקָ֖ן (sā·lə·qān)
Verb - Qal - Participle - feminine plural
Strong's 5559: To ascend

out of
מִן־ (min-)
Preposition
Strong's 4481: From, out of, by, by reason of, at, more than

the sea,
יַמָּ֑א (yam·mā)
Noun - masculine singular determinate
Strong's 3221: A sea, the Mediterranean Sea, large river, an artifical basin

each
דָּ֥א (dā)
Adjective - feminine singular
Strong's 1668: This

different
שָׁנְיָ֖ן (šā·nə·yān)
Verb - Qal - Participle - feminine plural
Strong's 8133: To change

from
מִן־ (min-)
Preposition
Strong's 4481: From, out of, by, by reason of, at, more than

the others.
דָּֽא׃ (dā)
Adjective - feminine singular
Strong's 1668: This


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OT Prophets: Daniel 7:3 Four great animals came up (Dan. Da Dn)
Daniel 7:2
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