⁵ Do you not know that the Lord God of Israel gave the kingship over Israel forever to David and his sons by a covenant of salt?^(A)

¹⁹ All the holy offerings that the Israelites present to the Lord I have given to you, together with your sons and daughters, as a perpetual due; it is a covenant of salt forever before the Lord for you and your descendants as well.”^(A)

¹³ All your grain offerings you shall season with salt; you shall not omit from your grain offerings the salt of the covenant with your God; with all your offerings you shall offer salt.^(A)

⁴⁹ “For everyone will be salted with fire.^{[a](A) 50} Salt is good, but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it?^[b] Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”^(B)

²⁰ Now the Lord has fulfilled the promise that he made, for I have risen in the place of my father David; I sit on the throne of Israel, as the Lord promised, and have built the house for the name of the Lord, the God of Israel.^(A)

¹² When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body, and I will establish his kingdom.^{(A) 13} He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.^{(B) 14} I will be a father to him, and he shall be a son to me. When he commits iniquity, I will punish him with a rod such as mortals use, with blows inflicted by human beings.^{(C) 15} But I will not take^[a] my steadfast love from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you.^{(D) 16} Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me;^[b] your throne shall be established forever.”^(E)

³¹ And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.^{(A) 32} He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David.^{(B) 33} He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”^(C)

²⁵ You shall be driven away from human society, and your dwelling shall be with the wild animals. You shall be made to eat grass like oxen, you shall be bathed with the dew of heaven, and seven times shall pass over you, until you have learned that the Most High has sovereignty over the kingdom of mortals and gives it to whom he will.^{(A) 26} As it was commanded to leave the stump and roots of the tree, your kingdom shall be reestablished for you from the time that you learn that Heaven is sovereign.^{(B) 27} Therefore, O king, may my counsel be acceptable to you: atone for^[a] your sins with righteousness and your iniquities with mercy to the oppressed, so that your prosperity may be prolonged.”^(C)

Nebuchadnezzar’s Humiliation

²⁸ All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar.^{(D) 29} At the end of twelve months he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, ³⁰ and the king said, “Is this not magnificent Babylon, which I have built as a royal capital by my mighty power and for my glorious majesty?”^{(E) 31} While the words were still in the king’s mouth, a voice came down from heaven: “O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is declared: The kingdom is taken from you!^{(F) 32} You shall be driven away from human society, and your dwelling shall be with the animals of the field. You shall be made to eat grass like oxen, and seven times shall pass over you, until you have learned that the Most High has sovereignty over the kingdom of mortals and gives it to whom he will.”

²⁴ You shall present them before the Lord, and the priests shall throw salt on them and offer them up as a burnt offering to the Lord.^(A)