The Writing on the Wall Interpreted

¹³ Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king said to Daniel, “So you are Daniel, one of the exiles of Judah, whom my father the king brought from Judah?^(A)

¹³ Then they responded to the king, “Daniel, one of the exiles from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or to the interdict you have signed, but he is saying his prayers three times a day.”^(A)

¹¹ There is a man in your kingdom who is endowed with a spirit of the holy gods.^[a] In the days of your father he was found to have enlightenment, understanding, and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods. Your father, King Nebuchadnezzar, made him chief of the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and diviners,^[b](A)

²⁵ Then Arioch quickly brought Daniel before the king and said to him: “I have found among the exiles from Judah a man who can tell the king the interpretation.”^(A)

The Passover Celebrated

¹⁹ On the fourteenth day of the first month the returned exiles kept the Passover.^{(A) 20} For both the priests and the Levites had purified themselves; all of them were clean. So they slaughtered the Passover lamb for all the returned exiles, for their fellow priests, and for themselves.^(B)

¹⁶ The people of Israel, the priests and the Levites, and the rest of the returned exiles celebrated the dedication of this house of God with joy.^(A)

Resistance to Rebuilding the Temple

4 When the adversaries of Judah and Benjamin heard that the returned exiles were building a temple to the Lord, the God of Israel,^(A)

³ So his brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea so that your disciples also may see the works you are doing,^(A)

The Unbelief of Jesus’s Brothers

7 After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He did not wish to go about in Judea because the Jews were looking for an opportunity to kill him.^(A)

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.^(A)