⁵ So they decreed to make a proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beer-sheba to Dan, that the people should come and keep the Passover to the Lord the God of Israel, at Jerusalem, for they had not kept it in great numbers as prescribed.^(A)

The Other Tribes Attack Benjamin

20 Then all the Israelites came out, from Dan to Beer-sheba, including the land of Gilead, and the congregation assembled in one body before the Lord at Mizpah.^(A)

Head Coverings

² I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions just as I handed them on to you.^(A)

⁸ Now, O king, establish the interdict and sign the document, so that it cannot be changed, according to the law of the Medes and the Persians, which cannot be revoked.”^(A)

Nebuchadnezzar’s Second Dream

4 ^[a]King Nebuchadnezzar to all peoples, nations, and languages that live throughout the earth: May you have abundant prosperity!^{(A) 2} The signs and wonders that the Most High God has worked for me I am pleased to recount.^(B)

^4 [b]I, Nebuchadnezzar, was living at ease in my home and prospering in my palace.^{(D) 5} I saw a dream that frightened me; my fantasies in bed and the visions of my head terrified me.^{(E) 6} So I made a decree that all the wise men of Babylon should be brought before me, in order that they might tell me the interpretation of the dream.^{(F) 7} Then the magicians, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the diviners came in, and I told them the dream, but they could not tell me its interpretation.^{(G) 8} At last Daniel came in before me—he who was named Belteshazzar after the name of my god and who is endowed with a spirit of the holy gods^[c]—and I told him the dream:^{(H) 9} “O Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, I know that you are endowed with a spirit of the holy gods^[d] and that no mystery is too difficult for you. Hear^[e] the dream that I saw, and tell me its interpretation.^(I)

¹³ “I continued looking, in the visions of my head as I lay in bed, and there was a holy watcher coming down from heaven.^{(L) 14} He cried aloud and said:

¹⁸ “This is the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, saw. Now you, Belteshazzar, declare the interpretation, since all the wise men of my kingdom are unable to tell me the interpretation. You are able, however, for you are endowed with a spirit of the holy gods.”^[g](P)

Daniel Interprets the Second Dream

¹⁹ Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was severely distressed for a while. His thoughts terrified him. The king said, “Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or the interpretation terrify you.” Belteshazzar answered, “My lord, may the dream be for those who hate you and its interpretation for your enemies!^{(Q) 20} The tree that you saw, which grew great and strong so that its top reached to heaven and was visible to the whole earth,^{(R) 21} whose foliage was beautiful and its fruit abundant, and which provided food for all, under which animals of the field lived and in whose branches the birds of the air had nests— ²² it is you, O king! You have grown great and strong. Your greatness has increased and reaches to heaven, and your sovereignty to the ends of the earth.^{(S) 23} And whereas the king saw a holy watcher coming down from heaven and saying, ‘Cut down the tree and destroy it, but leave its stump and roots in the ground, with a band of iron and bronze, in the grass of the field, and let him be bathed with the dew of heaven, and let his lot be with the animals of the field, until seven times pass over him’^(T)— ²⁴ this is the interpretation, O king, and it is a decree of the Most High that has come upon my lord the king: 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.^{(U) 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.^{(V) 27} Therefore, O king, may my counsel be acceptable to you: atone for^[h] your sins with righteousness and your iniquities with mercy to the oppressed, so that your prosperity may be prolonged.”^(W)

Nebuchadnezzar’s Humiliation

²⁸ All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar.^{(X) 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?”^{(Y) 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!^{(Z) 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.” ³³ Immediately the sentence was fulfilled against Nebuchadnezzar. He was driven away from human society, he ate grass like oxen, and his body was bathed with the dew of heaven, until his hair grew as long as eagles’ feathers and his nails became like birds’ claws.^(AA)

²⁰ Mordecai recorded these things and sent letters to all the Jews who were in all the provinces of King Ahasuerus, both near and far, ²¹ enjoining them that they should keep the fourteenth day of the month Adar and also the fifteenth day of the same month, year by year,

⁸ You may write as you please with regard to the Jews, in the name of the king, and seal it with the king’s ring, for an edict written in the name of the king and sealed with the king’s ring cannot be revoked.”^(A)

⁹ The king’s secretaries were summoned at that time, in the third month, which is the month of Sivan, on the twenty-third day, and an edict was written, according to all that Mordecai commanded, to the Jews and to the satraps and the governors and the officials of the provinces from India to Cush, one hundred twenty-seven provinces, to every province in its own script and to every people in its own language, and also to the Jews in their script and their language.^{(B) 10} He wrote letters in the name of King Ahasuerus, sealed them with the king’s ring, and sent them by mounted couriers riding on fast steeds bred from the royal herd.^[a](C)

¹² Then the king’s secretaries were summoned on the thirteenth day of the first month, and an edict, according to all that Haman commanded, was written to the king’s satraps and to the governors over all the provinces and to the officials of all the peoples, to every province in its own script and every people in its own language; it was written in the name of King Ahasuerus and sealed with the king’s ring.^{(A) 13} Letters were sent by couriers to all the king’s provinces, giving orders to destroy, to kill, and to annihilate all Jews, young and old, children and women, in one day, the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month of Adar, and to plunder their goods.^{(B) 14} A copy of the document was to be issued as a decree in every province by proclamation, calling on all the peoples to be ready for that day.^{(C) 15} The couriers went quickly by order of the king, and the decree was issued in the citadel of Susa. The king and Haman sat down to drink, but the city of Susa was thrown into confusion.^(D)

⁸ Moreover, I make a decree regarding what you shall do for these elders of the Jews for the rebuilding of this house of God: the cost is to be paid to these people, in full and without delay, from the royal revenue, the tribute of the province Beyond the River. ⁹ Whatever is needed—young bulls, rams, or sheep for burnt offerings to the God of heaven, wheat, salt, wine, or oil, as the priests in Jerusalem require—let that be given to them day by day without fail, ¹⁰ so that they may offer pleasing sacrifices to the God of heaven and pray for the life of the king and his children.^{(A) 11} Furthermore, I decree that, if anyone alters this edict, a beam shall be pulled out of the house of the perpetrator, who then shall be impaled on it. The house shall be made a dunghill.^{(B) 12} May the God who has established his name there overthrow any king or people who shall put forth a hand to alter this or to destroy this house of God in Jerusalem. I, Darius, make a decree; let it be done with all diligence.”^(C)