Gog and Allies Attack Israel

38 Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ^2 (A)“Son of man, ^(B)set your face against ^(C)Gog, of the land of ^(D)Magog, ^[a]the prince of Rosh, ^(E)Meshech, and Tubal, and prophesy against him, ³ and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal. ^4 (F)I will turn you around, put hooks into your jaws, and ^(G)lead you out, with all your army, horses, and horsemen, ^(H)all splendidly clothed, a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords. ⁵ Persia, ^[b]Ethiopia, and ^[c]Libya are with them, all of them with shield and helmet; ^6 (I)Gomer and all its troops; the house of ^(J)Togarmah from the far north and all its troops—many people are with you.

^7 (K)“Prepare yourself and be ready, you and all your companies that are gathered about you; and be a guard for them. ^8 (L)After many days ^(M)you will be visited. In the latter years you will come into the land of those brought back from the sword ^(N)and gathered from many people on ^(O)the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate; they were brought out of the nations, and now all of them ^(P)dwell safely. ⁹ You will ascend, coming ^(Q)like a storm, covering the ^(R)land like a cloud, you and all your troops and many peoples with you.”

¹⁰ ‘Thus says the Lord God: “On that day it shall come to pass that thoughts will arise in your mind, and you will make an evil plan: ¹¹ You will say, ‘I will go up against a land of ^(S)unwalled villages; I will ^(T)go to a peaceful people, ^(U)who dwell ^[d]safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates’— ¹² to take plunder and to take booty, to stretch out your hand against the waste places that are again inhabited, ^(V)and against a people gathered from the nations, who have acquired livestock and goods, who dwell in the midst of the land. ^13 (W)Sheba, ^(X)Dedan, the merchants ^(Y)of Tarshish, and all ^(Z)their young lions will say to you, ‘Have you come to take plunder? Have you gathered your army to take booty, to carry away silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods, to take great plunder?’ ” ’

¹⁴ “Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say to Gog, ‘Thus says the Lord God: ^(AA)“On that day when My people Israel ^(AB)dwell safely, will you not know it? ^15 (AC)Then you will come from your place out of the far north, you and many peoples with you, all of them riding on horses, a great company and a mighty army. ¹⁶ You will come up against My people Israel like a cloud, to cover the land. It will be in the latter days that I will bring you against My land, so that the nations may ^(AD)know Me, when I am ^(AE)hallowed in you, O Gog, before their eyes.” ¹⁷ Thus says the Lord God: “Are you he of whom I have spoken in former days by My servants the prophets of Israel, who prophesied for years in those days that I would bring you against them?

Judgment on Gog

¹⁸ “And it will come to pass at the same time, when Gog comes against the land of Israel,” says the Lord God, “that My fury will show in My face. ¹⁹ For ^(AF)in My jealousy ^(AG)and in the fire of My wrath I have spoken: ^(AH)‘Surely in that day there shall be a great ^[e]earthquake in the land of Israel, ²⁰ so that ^(AI)the fish of the sea, the birds of the heavens, the beasts of the field, all creeping things that creep on the earth, and all men who are on the face of the earth shall shake at My presence. ^(AJ)The mountains shall be thrown down, the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.’ ²¹ I will ^(AK)call for ^(AL)a sword against Gog throughout all My mountains,” says the Lord God. ^(AM)“Every man’s sword will be against his brother. ²² And I will ^(AN)bring him to judgment with ^(AO)pestilence and bloodshed; ^(AP)I will rain down on him, on his troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, flooding rain, ^(AQ)great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. ²³ Thus I will magnify Myself and ^(AR)sanctify Myself, ^(AS)and I will be known in the eyes of many nations. Then they shall know that I am the Lord.” ’

Gog’s Armies Destroyed

39 “And ^(AT)you, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Behold, I am against you, O Gog, ^[f]the prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal; ² and I will ^(AU)turn you around and lead you on, ^(AV)bringing you up from the far north, and bring you against the mountains of Israel. ³ Then I will knock the bow out of your left hand, and cause the arrows to fall out of your right hand. ^4 (AW)You shall ^[g]fall upon the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops and the peoples who are with you; ^(AX)I will give you to birds of prey of every sort and to the beasts of the field to be devoured. ⁵ You shall ^[h]fall on ^[i]the open field; for I have spoken,” says the Lord God. ^6 (AY)“And I will send fire on Magog and on those who live ^[j]in security in ^(AZ)the coastlands. Then they shall know that I am the Lord. ^7 (BA)So I will make My holy name known in the midst of My people Israel, and I will not let them ^(BB)profane My holy name anymore. ^(BC)Then the nations shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel. ^8 (BD)Surely it is coming, and it shall be done,” says the Lord God. “This is the day ^(BE)of which I have spoken.

⁹ “Then those who dwell in the cities of Israel will go out and set on fire and burn the weapons, both the shields and bucklers, the bows and arrows, the ^[k]javelins and spears; and they will make fires with them for seven years. ¹⁰ They will not take wood from the field nor cut down any from the forests, because they will make fires with the weapons; ^(BF)and they will plunder those who plundered them, and pillage those who pillaged them,” says the Lord God.

The Burial of Gog

¹¹ “It will come to pass in that day that I will give Gog a burial place there in Israel, the valley of those who pass by east of the sea; and it will obstruct travelers, because there they will bury Gog and all his multitude. Therefore they will call it the Valley of ^[l]Hamon Gog. ¹² For seven months the house of Israel will be burying them, ^(BG)in order to cleanse the land. ¹³ Indeed all the people of the land will be burying, and they will gain ^(BH)renown for it on the day that ^(BI)I am glorified,” says the Lord God. ¹⁴ “They will set apart men regularly employed, with the help of ^[m]a search party, to pass through the land and bury those bodies remaining on the ground, in order ^(BJ)to cleanse it. At the end of seven months they will make a search. ¹⁵ The search party will pass through the land; and when anyone sees a man’s bone, he shall ^[n]set up a marker by it, till the buriers have buried it in the Valley of Hamon Gog. ¹⁶ The name of the city will also be ^[o]Hamonah. Thus they shall ^(BK)cleanse the land.” ’

A Triumphant Festival

¹⁷ “And as for you, son of man, thus says the Lord God, ^(BL)‘Speak to every sort of bird and to every beast of the field:

Israel Restored to the Land

^21 (BT)“I will set My glory among the nations; all the nations shall see My judgment which I have executed, and ^(BU)My hand which I have laid on them. ^22 (BV)So the house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God from that day forward. ^23 (BW)The Gentiles shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity; because they were unfaithful to Me, therefore ^(BX)I hid My face from them. I ^(BY)gave them into the hand of their enemies, and they all fell by the sword. ^24 (BZ)According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions I have dealt with them, and hidden My face from them.” ’

²⁵ “Therefore thus says the Lord God: ^(CA)‘Now I will bring back the captives of Jacob, and have mercy on the ^(CB)whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for My holy name— ^26 (CC)after they have borne their shame, and all their unfaithfulness in which they were unfaithful to Me, when they ^(CD)dwelt safely in their own land and no one made them afraid. ^27 (CE)When I have brought them back from the peoples and gathered them out of their enemies’ lands, and I ^(CF)am hallowed in them in the sight of many nations, ^28 (CG)then they shall know that I am the Lord their God, who sent them into captivity among the nations, but also brought them back to their land, and left none of them ^[p]captive any longer. ^29 (CH)And I will not hide My face from them anymore; for I shall have ^(CI)poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,’ says the Lord God.”

A New City, a New Temple

40 In the twenty-fifth year of our captivity, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after ^(CJ)the city was ^[q]captured, on the very same day ^(CK)the hand of the Lord was upon me; and He took me there. ^2 (CL)In the visions of God He took me into the land of Israel and ^(CM)set me on a very high mountain; on it toward the south was something like the structure of a city. ³ He took me there, and behold, there was a man whose appearance was ^(CN)like the appearance of bronze. ^(CO)He had a line of flax ^(CP)and a measuring rod in his hand, and he stood in the gateway.

⁴ And the man said to me, ^(CQ)“Son of man, look with your eyes and hear with your ears, and ^[r]fix your mind on everything I show you; for you were brought here so that I might show them to you. ^(CR)Declare to the house of Israel everything you see.” ⁵ Now there was ^(CS)a wall all around the outside of the ^[s]temple. In the man’s hand was a measuring rod six ^[t]cubits long, each being a cubit and a handbreadth; and he measured the width of the wall structure, one rod; and the height, one rod.

The Eastern Gateway of the Temple

⁶ Then he went to the gateway which faced ^(CT)east; and he went up its stairs and measured the threshold of the gateway, which was one rod wide, and the other threshold was one rod wide. ⁷ Each gate chamber was one rod long and one rod wide; between the gate chambers was a space of five cubits; and the threshold of the gateway by the vestibule of the inside gate was one rod. ⁸ He also measured the vestibule of the inside gate, one rod. ⁹ Then he measured the vestibule of the gateway, eight cubits; and the gateposts, two cubits. The vestibule of the gate was on the inside. ¹⁰ In the eastern gateway were three gate chambers on one side and three on the other; the three were all the same size; also the gateposts were of the same size on this side and that side.

¹¹ He measured the width of the entrance to the gateway, ten cubits; and the length of the gate, thirteen cubits. ¹² There was a ^[u]space in front of the gate chambers, one cubit on this side and one cubit on that side; the gate chambers were six cubits on this side and six cubits on that side. ¹³ Then he measured the gateway from the roof of one gate chamber to the roof of the other; the width was twenty-five cubits, as door faces door. ¹⁴ He measured the gateposts, sixty cubits high, and the court all around the gateway extended to the gatepost. ¹⁵ From the front of the entrance gate to the front of the vestibule of the inner gate was fifty cubits. ¹⁶ There were ^(CU)beveled window frames in the gate chambers and in their intervening archways on the inside of the gateway all around, and likewise in the vestibules. There were windows all around on the inside. And on each gatepost were ^(CV)palm trees.

The Outer Court

¹⁷ Then he brought me into ^(CW)the outer court; and there were ^(CX)chambers and a pavement made all around the court; ^(CY)thirty chambers faced the pavement. ¹⁸ The pavement was by the side of the gateways, corresponding to the length of the gateways; this was the lower pavement. ¹⁹ Then he measured the width from the front of the lower gateway to the front of the inner court exterior, one hundred cubits toward the east and the north.

The Northern Gateway

²⁰ On the outer court was also a gateway facing north, and he measured its length and its width. ²¹ Its gate chambers, three on this side and three on that side, its gateposts and its archways, had the same measurements as the first gate; its length was fifty cubits and its width twenty-five cubits. ²² Its windows and those of its archways, and also its palm trees, had the same measurements as the gateway facing east; it was ascended by seven steps, and its archway was in front of it. ²³ A gate of the inner court was opposite the northern gateway, just as the eastern gateway; and he measured from gateway to gateway, one hundred cubits.

The Southern Gateway

²⁴ After that he brought me toward the south, and there a gateway was facing south; and he measured its gateposts and archways according to these same measurements. ²⁵ There were windows in it and in its archways all around like those windows; its length was fifty cubits and its width twenty-five cubits. ²⁶ Seven steps led up to it, and its archway was in front of them; and it had palm trees on its gateposts, one on this side and one on that side. ²⁷ There was also a gateway on the inner court, facing south; and he measured from gateway to gateway toward the south, one hundred cubits.

Gateways of the Inner Court

²⁸ Then he brought me to the inner court through the southern gateway; he measured the southern gateway according to these same measurements. ²⁹ Also its gate chambers, its gateposts, and its archways were according to these same measurements; there were windows in it and in its archways all around; it was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. ³⁰ There were archways all around, ^(CZ)twenty-five cubits long and five cubits wide. ³¹ Its archways faced the outer court, palm trees were on its gateposts, and going up to it were eight steps.

³² And he brought me into the inner court facing east; he measured the gateway according to these same measurements. ³³ Also its gate chambers, its gateposts, and its archways were according to these same measurements; and there were windows in it and in its archways all around; it was fifty cubits long and twenty-five cubits wide. ³⁴ Its archways faced the outer court, and palm trees were on its gateposts on this side and on that side; and going up to it were eight steps.

³⁵ Then he brought me to the north gateway and measured it according to these same measurements— ³⁶ also its gate chambers, its gateposts, and its archways. It had windows all around; its length was fifty cubits and its width twenty-five cubits. ³⁷ Its gateposts faced the outer court, palm trees were on its gateposts on this side and on that side, and going up to it were eight steps.

Where Sacrifices Were Prepared

³⁸ There was a chamber and its entrance by the gateposts of the gateway, where they ^(DA)washed the burnt offering. ³⁹ In the vestibule of the gateway were two tables on this side and two tables on that side, on which to slay the burnt offering, ^(DB)the sin offering, and ^(DC)the trespass offering. ⁴⁰ At the outer side of the vestibule, as one goes up to the entrance of the northern gateway, were two tables; and on the other side of the vestibule of the gateway were two tables. ⁴¹ Four tables were on this side and four tables on that side, by the side of the gateway, eight tables on which they slaughtered the sacrifices. ⁴² There were also four tables of hewn stone for the burnt offering, one cubit and a half long, one cubit and a half wide, and one cubit high; on these they laid the instruments with which they slaughtered the burnt offering and the sacrifice. ⁴³ Inside were hooks, a handbreadth wide, fastened all around; and the flesh of the sacrifices was on the tables.

Chambers for Singers and Priests

⁴⁴ Outside the inner gate were the chambers for ^(DD)the singers in the inner court, one facing south at the side of the northern gateway, and the other facing north at the side of the ^[v]southern gateway. ⁴⁵ Then he said to me, “This chamber which faces south is for ^(DE)the priests who have charge of the temple. ⁴⁶ The chamber which faces north is for the priests ^(DF)who have charge of the altar; these are the sons of ^(DG)Zadok, from the sons of Levi, who come near the Lord to minister to Him.”

Dimensions of the Inner Court and Vestibule^(DH)

⁴⁷ And he measured the court, one hundred cubits long and one hundred cubits wide, foursquare. The altar was in front of the temple. ⁴⁸ Then he brought me to the ^(DI)vestibule of the temple and measured the doorposts of the vestibule, five cubits on this side and five cubits on that side; and the width of the gateway was three cubits on this side and three cubits on that side. ^49 (DJ)The length of the vestibule was twenty cubits, and the width eleven cubits; and by the steps which led up to it there were ^(DK)pillars by the doorposts, one on this side and another on that side.

Dimensions of the Sanctuary

41 Then he ^(DL)brought me into the ^[w]sanctuary and measured the doorposts, six cubits wide on one side and six cubits wide on the other side—the width of the tabernacle. ² The width of the entryway was ten cubits, and the side walls of the entrance were five cubits on this side and five cubits on the other side; and he measured its length, forty cubits, and its width, twenty cubits.

³ Also he went inside and measured the doorposts, two cubits; and the entrance, six cubits high; and the width of the entrance, seven cubits. ^4 (DM)He measured the length, twenty cubits; and the width, twenty cubits, beyond the sanctuary; and he said to me, “This is the Most Holy Place.”

The Side Chambers on the Wall

⁵ Next, he measured the wall of the ^[x]temple, six cubits. The width of each side chamber all around the temple was four cubits on every side. ^6 (DN)The side chambers were in three stories, one above the other, thirty chambers in each story; they rested on ^[y]ledges which were for the side chambers all around, that they might be supported, but ^(DO)not fastened to the wall of the temple. ⁷ As one went up from story to story, the side chambers ^(DP)became wider all around, because their supporting ledges in the wall of the temple ascended like steps; therefore the width of the structure increased as one went up from the lowest story to the highest by way of the middle one. ⁸ I also saw an elevation all around the temple; it was the foundation of the side chambers, ^(DQ)a full rod, that is, six cubits high. ⁹ The thickness of the outer wall of the side chambers was five cubits, and so also the remaining terrace by the place of the side chambers of the ^[z]temple. ¹⁰ And between it and the wall chambers was a width of twenty cubits all around the temple on every side. ¹¹ The doors of the side chambers opened on the terrace, one door toward the north and another toward the south; and the width of the terrace was five cubits all around.

The Building at the Western End

¹² The building that faced the separating courtyard at its western end was seventy cubits wide; the wall of the building was five cubits thick all around, and its length ninety cubits.

Dimensions and Design of the Temple Area

¹³ So he measured the temple, one ^(DR)hundred cubits long; and the separating courtyard with the building and its walls was one hundred cubits long; ¹⁴ also the width of the eastern face of the temple, including the separating courtyard, was one hundred cubits. ¹⁵ He measured the length of the building behind it, facing the separating courtyard, with its ^(DS)galleries on the one side and on the other side, one hundred cubits, as well as the inner ^[aa]temple and the porches of the court, ¹⁶ their doorposts and ^(DT)the beveled window frames. And the galleries all around their three stories opposite the threshold were paneled with ^(DU)wood from the ground to the windows—the windows were covered— ¹⁷ from the space above the door, even to the inner ^[ab]room, as well as outside, and on every wall all around, inside and outside, by measure.

¹⁸ And it was made ^(DV)with cherubim and ^(DW)palm trees, a palm tree between cherub and cherub. Each cherub had two faces, ^19 (DX)so that the face of a man was toward a palm tree on one side, and the face of a young lion toward a palm tree on the other side; thus it was made throughout the temple all around. ²⁰ From the floor to the space above the door, and on the wall of the sanctuary, cherubim and palm trees were carved.

²¹ The ^(DY)doorposts of the temple were square, as was the front of the sanctuary; their appearance was similar. ^22 (DZ)The altar was of wood, three cubits high, and its length two cubits. Its corners, its length, and its sides were of wood; and he said to me, “This is ^(EA)the table that is ^(EB)before the Lord.”

^23 (EC)The temple and the sanctuary had two doors. ²⁴ The doors had two ^(ED)panels apiece, two folding panels: two panels for one door and two panels for the other door. ²⁵ Cherubim and palm trees were carved on the doors of the temple just as they were carved on the walls. A wooden canopy was on the front of the vestibule outside. ²⁶ There were ^(EE)beveled window frames and palm trees on one side and on the other, on the sides of the vestibule—also on the side chambers of the temple and on the canopies.

The Chambers for the Priests

42 Then he ^(EF)brought me out into the outer court, by the way toward the ^(EG)north; and he brought me into ^(EH)the chamber which was opposite the separating courtyard, and which was opposite the building toward the north. ² Facing the length, which was one hundred cubits (the width was fifty cubits), was the north door. ³ Opposite the inner court of twenty cubits, and opposite the ^(EI)pavement of the outer court, was ^(EJ)gallery against gallery in three stories. ⁴ In front of the chambers, toward the inside, was a walk ten cubits wide, at a distance of one cubit; and their doors faced north. ⁵ Now the upper chambers were shorter, because the galleries took away space from them more than from the lower and middle stories of the building. ⁶ For they were in three stories and did not have pillars like the pillars of the courts; therefore the upper level was ^[ac]shortened more than the lower and middle levels from the ground up. ⁷ And a wall which was outside ran parallel to the chambers, at the front of the chambers, toward the outer court; its length was fifty cubits. ⁸ The length of the chambers toward the outer court was fifty cubits, whereas that facing the temple was one ^(EK)hundred cubits. ⁹ At the lower chambers was the entrance on the east side, as one goes into them from the outer court.

¹⁰ Also there were chambers in the thickness of the wall of the court toward the east, opposite the separating courtyard and opposite the building. ^11 (EL)There was a walk in front of them also, and their appearance was like the chambers which were toward the north; they were as long and as wide as the others, and all their exits and entrances were according to plan. ¹² And corresponding to the doors of the chambers that were facing south, as one enters them, there was a door in front of the walk, the way directly in front of the wall toward the east.

¹³ Then he said to me, “The north chambers and the south chambers, which are opposite the separating courtyard, are the holy chambers where the priests who approach the Lord ^(EM)shall eat the most holy offerings. There they shall lay the most holy offerings—^(EN)the grain offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering—for the place is holy. ^14 (EO)When the priests enter them, they shall not go out of the holy chamber into the outer court; but there they shall leave their garments in which they minister, for they are holy. They shall put on other garments; then they may approach that which is for the people.”

Outer Dimensions of the Temple

¹⁵ Now when he had finished measuring the inner ^[ad]temple, he brought me out through the gateway that faces toward the ^(EP)east, and measured it all around. ¹⁶ He measured the east side with the ^[ae]measuring rod, five hundred rods by the measuring rod all around. ¹⁷ He measured the north side, five hundred rods by the measuring rod all around. ¹⁸ He measured the south side, five hundred rods by the measuring rod. ¹⁹ He came around to the west side and measured five hundred rods by the measuring rod. ²⁰ He measured it on the four sides; ^(EQ)it had a wall all around, ^(ER)five hundred cubits long and five hundred wide, to separate the holy areas from the ^[af]common.

The Temple, the Lord’s Dwelling Place

43 Afterward he brought me to the gate, the gate ^(ES)that faces toward the east. ^2 (ET)And behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east. ^(EU)His voice was like the sound of many waters; ^(EV)and the earth shone with His glory. ³ It was ^(EW)like the appearance of the vision which I saw—like the vision which I saw when ^[ag]I came ^(EX)to destroy the city. The visions were like the vision which I saw ^(EY)by the River Chebar; and I fell on my face. ^4 (EZ)And the glory of the Lord came into the ^[ah]temple by way of the gate which faces toward the east. ^5 (FA)The Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, ^(FB)the glory of the Lord filled the ^[ai]temple.

⁶ Then I heard Him speaking to me from the temple, while ^(FC)a man stood beside me. ⁷ And He said to me, “Son of man, this is ^(FD)the place of My throne and ^(FE)the place of the soles of My feet, ^(FF)where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel forever. ^(FG)No more shall the house of Israel defile My holy name, they nor their kings, by their ^[aj]harlotry or with ^(FH)the carcasses of their kings on their high places. ^8 (FI)When they set their threshold by My threshold, and their doorpost by My doorpost, with a wall between them and Me, they defiled My holy name by the abominations which they committed; therefore I have consumed them in My anger. ⁹ Now let them put their harlotry and the carcasses of their kings far away from Me, and I will dwell in their midst forever.

¹⁰ “Son of man, ^(FJ)describe the ^[ak]temple to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and let them measure the pattern. ¹¹ And if they are ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the design of the ^[al]temple and its arrangement, its exits and its entrances, its entire design and all its ^(FK)ordinances, all its forms and all its laws. Write it down in their sight, so that they may keep its whole design and all its ordinances, and ^(FL)perform them. ¹² This is the law of the ^[am]temple: The whole area surrounding ^(FM)the mountaintop is most holy. Behold, this is the law of the temple.

Dimensions of the Altar

¹³ “These are the measurements of the ^(FN)altar in cubits ^(FO)(the ^[an]cubit is one cubit and a handbreadth): the base one cubit high and one cubit wide, with a rim all around its edge of one span. This is the height of the altar: ¹⁴ from the base on the ground to the lower ledge, two cubits; the width of the ledge, one cubit; from the smaller ledge to the larger ledge, four cubits; and the width of the ledge, one cubit. ¹⁵ The altar hearth is four cubits high, with four ^(FP)horns extending upward from the ^[ao]hearth. ¹⁶ The altar hearth is twelve cubits long, twelve wide, ^(FQ)square at its four corners; ¹⁷ the ledge, fourteen cubits long and fourteen wide on its four sides, with a rim of half a cubit around it; its base, one cubit all around; and ^(FR)its steps face toward the east.”

Consecrating the Altar

¹⁸ And He said to me, “Son of man, thus says the Lord God: ‘These are the ordinances for the altar on the day when it is made, for sacrificing ^(FS)burnt offerings on it, and for ^(FT)sprinkling blood on it. ¹⁹ You shall give ^(FU)a young bull for a sin offering to ^(FV)the priests, the Levites, who are of the seed of ^(FW)Zadok, who approach Me to minister to Me,’ says the Lord God. ²⁰ ‘You shall take some of its blood and put it on the four horns of the altar, on the four corners of the ledge, and on the rim around it; thus you shall cleanse it and make atonement for it. ²¹ Then you shall also take the bull of the sin offering, and ^(FX)burn it in the appointed place of the ^[ap]temple, ^(FY)outside the sanctuary. ²² On the second day you shall offer a kid of the goats without blemish for a sin offering; and they shall cleanse the altar, as they cleansed it with the bull. ²³ When you have finished cleansing it, you shall offer a young bull without blemish, and a ram from the flock without blemish. ²⁴ When you offer them before the Lord, ^(FZ)the priests shall throw salt on them, and they will offer them up as a burnt offering to the Lord. ²⁵ Every day for ^(GA)seven days you shall prepare a goat for a sin offering; they shall also prepare a young bull and a ram from the flock, both without blemish. ²⁶ Seven days they shall make atonement for the altar and purify it, and so ^[aq]consecrate ^[ar]it. ^27 (GB)When these days are over it shall be, on the eighth day and thereafter, that the priests shall offer your burnt offerings and your peace offerings on the altar; and I will ^(GC)accept you,’ says the Lord God.”

The East Gate and the Prince

44 Then He brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary ^(GD)which faces toward the east, but it was shut. ² And the Lord said to me, “This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter by it, ^(GE)because the Lord God of Israel has entered by it; therefore it shall be shut. ³ As for the ^(GF)prince, because he is the prince, he may sit in it to ^(GG)eat bread before the Lord; he shall enter by way of the vestibule of the gateway, and go out the same way.”

Those Admitted to the Temple

⁴ Also He brought me by way of the north gate to the front of the ^[as]temple; so I looked, and ^(GH)behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord; ^(GI)and I fell on my face. ⁵ And the Lord said to me, ^(GJ)“Son of man, ^[at]mark well, see with your eyes and hear with your ears, all that I say to you concerning all the ^(GK)ordinances of the house of the Lord and all its laws. Mark well who may enter the house and all who go out from the sanctuary.

⁶ “Now say to the ^(GL)rebellious, to the house of Israel, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “O house of Israel, ^(GM)let Us have no more of all your abominations. ^7 (GN)When you brought in ^(GO)foreigners, ^(GP)uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in My sanctuary to defile it—My house—and when you offered ^(GQ)My food, ^(GR)the fat and the blood, then they broke My covenant because of all your abominations. ⁸ And you have not ^(GS)kept charge of My holy things, but you have set others to keep charge of My sanctuary for you.” ⁹ Thus says the Lord God: ^(GT)“No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart or uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter My sanctuary, including any foreigner who is among the children of Israel.

Laws Governing Priests

^10 (GU)“And the Levites who went far from Me, when Israel went astray, who strayed away from Me after their idols, they shall bear their iniquity. ¹¹ Yet they shall be ministers in My sanctuary, ^(GV)as gatekeepers of the house and ministers of the house; ^(GW)they shall slay the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and ^(GX)they shall stand before them to minister to them. ¹² Because they ministered to them before their idols and ^(GY)caused^[au] the house of Israel to fall into iniquity, therefore I have ^(GZ)raised My hand in an oath against them,” says the Lord God, “that they shall bear their iniquity. ^13 (HA)And they shall not come near Me to minister to Me as priest, nor come near any of My holy things, nor into the Most Holy Place; but they shall ^(HB)bear their shame and their abominations which they have committed. ¹⁴ Nevertheless I will make them ^(HC)keep charge of the temple, for all its work, and for all that has to be done in it.

^15 (HD)“But the priests, the Levites, ^(HE)the sons of Zadok, who kept charge of My sanctuary ^(HF)when the children of Israel went astray from Me, they shall come near Me to minister to Me; and they ^(HG)shall stand before Me to offer to Me the ^(HH)fat and the blood,” says the Lord God. ¹⁶ “They shall ^(HI)enter My sanctuary, and they shall come near ^(HJ)My table to minister to Me, and they shall keep My charge. ¹⁷ And it shall be, whenever they enter the gates of the inner court, that ^(HK)they shall put on linen garments; no wool shall come upon them while they minister within the gates of the inner court or within the house. ^18 (HL)They shall have linen turbans on their heads and linen trousers on their bodies; they shall not clothe themselves with anything that causes sweat. ¹⁹ When they go out to the outer court, to the outer court to the people, ^(HM)they shall take off their garments in which they have ministered, leave them in the holy chambers, and put on other garments; and in their holy garments they shall ^(HN)not sanctify the people.

^20 (HO)“They shall neither shave their heads nor let their hair grow ^(HP)long, but they shall keep their hair well trimmed. ^21 (HQ)No priest shall drink wine when he enters the inner court. ²² They shall not take as wife a ^(HR)widow or a divorced woman, but take virgins of the descendants of the house of Israel, or widows of priests.

²³ “And ^(HS)they shall teach My people the difference between the holy and the unholy, and cause them to ^(HT)discern between the unclean and the clean. ^24 (HU)In controversy they shall stand as judges, and judge it according to My judgments. They shall keep My laws and My statutes in all My appointed meetings, ^(HV)and they shall hallow My Sabbaths.

²⁵ “They shall not defile themselves by coming near a dead person. Only for father or mother, for son or daughter, for brother or unmarried sister may they defile themselves. ^26 (HW)After he is cleansed, they shall count seven days for him. ²⁷ And on the day that he goes to the sanctuary to minister in the sanctuary, ^(HX)he must offer his sin offering ^(HY)in the inner court,” says the Lord God.

²⁸ “It shall be, in regard to their inheritance, that I ^(HZ)am their inheritance. You shall give them no ^(IA)possession in Israel, for I am their possession. ^29 (IB)They shall eat the grain offering, the sin offering, and the trespass offering; ^(IC)every dedicated thing in Israel shall be theirs. ³⁰ The ^(ID)best^[av] of all firstfruits of any kind, and every sacrifice of any kind from all your sacrifices, shall be the priest’s; also you ^(IE)shall give to the priest the first of your ground meal, ^(IF)to cause a blessing to rest on your house. ³¹ The priests shall not eat anything, bird or beast, that ^(IG)died naturally or was torn by wild beasts.

The Holy District

45 “Moreover, when you ^(IH)divide the land by lot into inheritance, you shall ^(II)set apart a district for the Lord, a holy section of the land; its length shall be twenty-five thousand cubits, and the width ten thousand. It shall be holy throughout its territory all around. ² Of this there shall be a square plot for the sanctuary, ^(IJ)five hundred by five hundred rods, with fifty cubits around it for an open space. ³ So this is the district you shall measure: twenty-five thousand cubits long and ten thousand wide; ^(IK)in it shall be the sanctuary, the Most Holy Place. ⁴ It shall be ^(IL)a holy section of the land, belonging to the priests, the ministers of the sanctuary, who come near to minister to the Lord; it shall be a place for their houses and a holy place for the sanctuary. ^5 (IM)An area twenty-five thousand cubits long and ten thousand wide shall belong to the Levites, the ministers of the ^[aw]temple; they shall have ^(IN)twenty^[ax] chambers as a possession.

Properties of the City and the Prince

^6 (IO)“You shall appoint as the property of the city an area five thousand cubits wide and twenty-five thousand long, adjacent to the district of the holy section; it shall belong to the whole house of Israel.

^7 (IP)“The prince shall have a section on one side and the other of the holy district and the city’s property; and bordering on the holy district and the city’s property, extending westward on the west side and eastward on the east side, the length shall be side by side with one of the tribal portions, from the west border to the east border. ⁸ The land shall be his possession in Israel; and ^(IQ)My princes shall no more oppress My people, but they shall give the rest of the land to the house of Israel, according to their tribes.”

Laws Governing the Prince

⁹ ‘Thus says the Lord God: ^(IR)“Enough, O princes of Israel! ^(IS)Remove violence and plundering, execute justice and righteousness, and stop dispossessing My people,” says the Lord God. ¹⁰ “You shall have ^(IT)honest scales, an honest ephah, and an honest bath. ¹¹ The ephah and the bath shall be of the same measure, so that the bath contains one-tenth of a homer, and the ephah one-tenth of a homer; their measure shall be according to the homer. ¹² The ^(IU)shekel shall be twenty gerahs; twenty shekels, twenty-five shekels, and fifteen shekels shall be your mina.

¹³ “This is the offering which you shall offer: you shall give one-sixth of an ephah from a homer of wheat, and one-sixth of an ephah from a homer of barley. ¹⁴ The ordinance concerning oil, the bath of oil, is one-tenth of a bath from a kor. A kor is a homer or ten baths, for ten baths are a homer. ¹⁵ And one lamb shall be given from a flock of two hundred, from the rich pastures of Israel. These shall be for grain offerings, burnt offerings, and peace offerings, ^(IV)to make atonement for them,” says the Lord God. ¹⁶ “All the people of the land shall give this offering for the prince in Israel. ¹⁷ Then it shall be the ^(IW)prince’s part to give burnt offerings, grain offerings, and drink offerings, at the feasts, the New Moons, the Sabbaths, and at all the appointed seasons of the house of Israel. He shall prepare the sin offering, the grain offering, the burnt offering, and the peace offerings to make atonement for the house of Israel.”

Keeping the Feasts^(IX)

¹⁸ ‘Thus says the Lord God: “In the first month, on the first day of the month, you shall take a young bull without blemish and ^(IY)cleanse the sanctuary. ^19 (IZ)The priest shall take some of the blood of the sin offering and put it on the doorposts of the ^[ay]temple, on the four corners of the ledge of the altar, and on the gateposts of the gate of the inner court. ²⁰ And so you shall do on the seventh day of the month ^(JA)for everyone who has sinned unintentionally or in ignorance. Thus you shall make atonement for the temple.

^21 (JB)“In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, you shall observe the Passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten. ²² And on that day the prince shall prepare for himself and for all the people of the land ^(JC)a bull for a sin offering. ²³ On the ^(JD)seven days of the feast he shall prepare a burnt offering to the Lord, seven bulls and seven rams without blemish, daily for seven days, ^(JE)and a kid of the goats daily for a sin offering. ^24 (JF)And he shall prepare a grain offering of one ephah for each bull and one ephah for each ram, together with a hin of oil for each ephah.

²⁵ “In the seventh month, on the fifteenth day of the month, at the ^(JG)feast, he shall do likewise for seven days, according to the sin offering, the burnt offering, the grain offering, and the oil.”

The Manner of Worship

46 ‘Thus says the Lord God: “The gateway of the inner court that faces toward the east shall be shut the six ^(JH)working days; but on the Sabbath it shall be opened, and on the day of the New Moon it shall be opened. ^2 (JI)The prince shall enter by way of the vestibule of the gateway from the outside, and stand by the gatepost. The priests shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings. He shall worship at the threshold of the gate. Then he shall go out, but the gate shall not be shut until evening. ³ Likewise the people of the land shall worship at the entrance to this gateway before the Lord on the Sabbaths and the New Moons. ⁴ The burnt offering that ^(JJ)the prince offers to the Lord on the ^(JK)Sabbath day shall be six lambs without blemish, and a ram without blemish; ^5 (JL)and the grain offering shall be one ephah for a ram, and the grain offering for the lambs, ^[az]as much as he wants to give, as well as a hin of oil with every ephah. ⁶ On the day of the New Moon it shall be a young bull without blemish, six lambs, and a ram; they shall be without blemish. ⁷ He shall prepare a grain offering of an ephah for a bull, an ephah for a ram, ^[ba]as much as he wants to give for the lambs, and a hin of oil with every ephah. ^8 (JM)When the prince enters, he shall go in by way of the vestibule of the gateway, and go out the same way.

⁹ “But when the people of the land ^(JN)come before the Lord on the appointed feast days, whoever enters by way of the north ^(JO)gate to worship shall go out by way of the south gate; and whoever enters by way of the south gate shall go out by way of the north gate. He shall not return by way of the gate through which he came, but shall go out through the opposite gate. ¹⁰ The prince shall then be in their midst. When they go in, he shall go in; and when they go out, he shall go out. ¹¹ At the festivals and the appointed feast days ^(JP)the grain offering shall be an ephah for a bull, an ephah for a ram, as much as he wants to give for the lambs, and a hin of oil with every ephah.

¹² “Now when the prince makes a voluntary burnt offering or voluntary peace offering to the Lord, the gate that faces toward the east ^(JQ)shall then be opened for him; and he shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings as he did on the Sabbath day. Then he shall go out, and after he goes out the gate shall be shut.

^13 (JR)“You shall daily make a burnt offering to the Lord of a lamb of the first year without blemish; you shall prepare it ^[bb]every morning. ¹⁴ And you shall prepare a grain offering with it every morning, a sixth of an ephah, and a third of a hin of oil to moisten the fine flour. This grain offering is a perpetual ordinance, to be made regularly to the Lord. ¹⁵ Thus they shall prepare the lamb, the grain offering, and the oil, as a ^(JS)regular burnt offering every morning.”

The Prince and Inheritance Laws

¹⁶ ‘Thus says the Lord God: “If the prince gives a gift of some of his inheritance to any of his sons, it shall belong to his sons; it is their possession by inheritance. ¹⁷ But if he gives a gift of some of his inheritance to one of his servants, it shall be his until ^(JT)the year of liberty, after which it shall return to the prince. But his inheritance shall belong to his sons; it shall become theirs. ¹⁸ Moreover ^(JU)the prince shall not take any of the people’s inheritance by evicting them from their property; he shall provide an inheritance for his sons from his own property, so that none of My people may be scattered from his property.” ’ ”

How the Offerings Were Prepared

¹⁹ Now he brought me through the entrance, which was at the side of the gate, into the holy ^(JV)chambers of the priests which face toward the north; and there a place was situated at their extreme western end. ²⁰ And he said to me, “This is the place where the priests shall ^(JW)boil the trespass offering and the sin offering, and where they shall ^(JX)bake the grain offering, so that they do not bring them out into the outer court ^(JY)to sanctify the people.”

²¹ Then he brought me out into the outer court and caused me to pass by the four corners of the court; and in fact, in every corner of the court there was another court. ²² In the four corners of the court were enclosed courts, forty cubits long and thirty wide; all four corners were the same size. ²³ There was a row of building stones all around in them, all around the four of them; and ^[bc]cooking hearths were made under the rows of stones all around. ²⁴ And he said to me, “These are the ^[bd]kitchens where the ministers of the ^[be]temple shall ^(JZ)boil the sacrifices of the people.”

The Healing Waters and Trees

47 Then he brought me back to the door of the ^[bf]temple; and there was ^(KA)water, flowing from under the threshold of the temple toward the east, for the front of the temple faced east; the water was flowing from under the right side of the temple, south of the altar. ² He brought me out by way of the north gate, and led me around on the outside to the outer gateway that faces ^(KB)east; and there was water, running out on the right side.

³ And when ^(KC)the man went out to the east with the line in his hand, he measured one thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the water came up to my ankles. ⁴ Again he measured one thousand and brought me through the waters; the water came up to my knees. Again he measured one thousand and brought me through; the water came up to my waist. ⁵ Again he measured one thousand, and it was a river that I could not cross; for the water was too deep, water in which one must swim, a river that could not be crossed. ⁶ He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen this?” Then he brought me and returned me to the bank of the river.

⁷ When I returned, there, along the bank of the river, were very many ^(KD)trees on one side and the other. ⁸ Then he said to me: “This water flows toward the eastern region, goes down into the ^[bg]valley, and enters the sea. When it reaches the sea, its waters are healed. ⁹ And it shall be that every living thing that moves, wherever ^[bh]the rivers go, will live. There will be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters go there; for they will be healed, and everything will live wherever the river goes. ¹⁰ It shall be that fishermen will stand by it from En Gedi to En Eglaim; they will be places for spreading their nets. Their fish will be of the same kinds as the fish ^(KE)of the Great Sea, exceedingly many. ¹¹ But its swamps and marshes will not be healed; they will be given over to salt. ^12 (KF)Along the bank of the river, on this side and that, will grow all kinds of trees used for food; ^(KG)their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. They will bear fruit every month, because their water flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for ^(KH)medicine.”^[bi]

Borders of the Land^(KI)

¹³ Thus says the Lord God: “These are the ^(KJ)borders by which you shall divide the land as an inheritance among the twelve tribes of Israel. ^(KK)Joseph shall have two portions. ¹⁴ You shall inherit it equally with one another; for I ^(KL)raised My hand in an oath to give it to your fathers, and this land shall ^(KM)fall to you as your inheritance.

¹⁵ “This shall be the border of the land on the north: from the Great Sea, by ^(KN)the road to Hethlon, as one goes to ^(KO)Zedad, ^16 (KP)Hamath, ^(KQ)Berothah, Sibraim (which is between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath), to Hazar Hatticon (which is on the border of Hauran). ¹⁷ Thus the boundary shall be from the Sea to ^(KR)Hazar Enan, the border of Damascus; and as for the north, northward, it is the border of Hamath. This is the north side.

¹⁸ “On the east side you shall mark out the border from between Hauran and Damascus, and between Gilead and the land of Israel, along the Jordan, and along the eastern side of the sea. This is the east side.

¹⁹ “The south side, toward the ^[bj]South, shall be from Tamar to ^(KS)the waters of ^[bk]Meribah by Kadesh, along the brook to the Great Sea. This is the south side, toward the South.

²⁰ “The west side shall be the Great Sea, from the southern boundary until one comes to a point opposite Hamath. This is the west side.

²¹ “Thus you shall ^(KT)divide this land among yourselves according to the tribes of Israel. ²² It shall be that you will divide it by ^(KU)lot as an inheritance for yourselves, ^(KV)and for the strangers who dwell among you and who bear children among you. ^(KW)They shall be to you as native-born among the children of Israel; they shall have an inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel. ²³ And it shall be that in whatever tribe the stranger dwells, there you shall give him his inheritance,” says the Lord God.

Division of the Land

48 “Now these are the names of the tribes: ^(KX)From the northern border along the road to Hethlon at the entrance of Hamath, to Hazar Enan, the border of Damascus northward, in the direction of Hamath, there shall be one section for ^(KY)Dan from its east to its west side; ² by the border of Dan, from the east side to the west, one section for ^(KZ)Asher; ³ by the border of Asher, from the east side to the west, one section for ^(LA)Naphtali; ⁴ by the border of Naphtali, from the east side to the west, one section for ^(LB)Manasseh; ⁵ by the border of Manasseh, from the east side to the west, one section for ^(LC)Ephraim; ⁶ by the border of Ephraim, from the east side to the west, one section for ^(LD)Reuben; ⁷ by the border of Reuben, from the east side to the west, one section for ^(LE)Judah; ⁸ by the border of Judah, from the east side to the west, shall be ^(LF)the district which you shall set apart, twenty-five thousand cubits in width, and in length the same as one of the other portions, from the east side to the west, with the ^(LG)sanctuary in the center.

⁹ “The district that you shall set apart for the Lord shall be twenty-five thousand cubits in length and ten thousand in width. ¹⁰ To these—to the priests—the holy district shall belong: on the north twenty-five thousand cubits in length, on the west ten thousand in width, on the east ten thousand in width, and on the south twenty-five thousand in length. The sanctuary of the Lord shall be in the center. ^11 (LH)It shall be for the priests of the sons of Zadok, who are sanctified, who have kept My charge, who did not go astray when the children of Israel went astray, ^(LI)as the Levites went astray. ¹² And this district of land that is set apart shall be to them a thing most ^(LJ)holy by the border of the Levites.

¹³ “Opposite the border of the priests, the ^(LK)Levites shall have an area twenty-five thousand cubits in length and ten thousand in width; its entire length shall be twenty-five thousand and its width ten thousand. ^14 (LL)And they shall not sell or exchange any of it; they may not alienate this best part of the land, for it is holy to the Lord.

^15 (LM)“The five thousand cubits in width that remain, along the edge of the twenty-five thousand, shall be ^(LN)for general use by the city, for dwellings and common-land; and the city shall be in the center. ¹⁶ These shall be its measurements: the north side four thousand five hundred cubits, the south side four thousand five hundred, the east side four thousand five hundred, and the west side four thousand five hundred. ¹⁷ The common-land of the city shall be: to the north two hundred and fifty cubits, to the south two hundred and fifty, to the east two hundred and fifty, and to the west two hundred and fifty. ¹⁸ The rest of the length, alongside the district of the holy section, shall be ten thousand cubits to the east and ten thousand to the west. It shall be adjacent to the district of the holy section, and its produce shall be food for the workers of the city. ^19 (LO)The workers of the city, from all the tribes of Israel, shall cultivate it. ²⁰ The entire district shall be twenty-five thousand cubits by twenty-five thousand cubits, foursquare. You shall set apart the holy district with the property of the city.

^21 (LP)“The rest shall belong to the prince, on one side and on the other of the holy district and of the city’s property, next to the twenty-five thousand cubits of the holy district as far as the eastern border, and westward next to the twenty-five thousand as far as the western border, adjacent to the tribal portions; it shall belong to the prince. It shall be the holy district, ^(LQ)and the sanctuary of the ^[bl]temple shall be in the center. ²² Moreover, apart from the possession of the Levites and the possession of the city which are in the midst of what belongs to the prince, the area between the border of Judah and the border of ^(LR)Benjamin shall belong to the prince.

²³ “As for the rest of the tribes, from the east side to the west, Benjamin shall have one section; ²⁴ by the border of Benjamin, from the east side to the west, ^(LS)Simeon shall have one section; ²⁵ by the border of Simeon, from the east side to the west, ^(LT)Issachar shall have one section; ²⁶ by the border of Issachar, from the east side to the west, ^(LU)Zebulun shall have one section; ²⁷ by the border of Zebulun, from the east side to the west, ^(LV)Gad shall have one section; ²⁸ by the border of Gad, on the south side, toward the ^[bm]South, the border shall be from Tamar to ^(LW)the waters of ^[bn]Meribah by Kadesh, along the brook to the ^(LX)Great Sea. ^29 (LY)This is the land which you shall divide by lot as an inheritance among the tribes of Israel, and these are their portions,” says the Lord God.

The Gates of the City and Its Name

³⁰ “These are the exits of the city. On the north side, measuring four thousand five hundred cubits ^31 (LZ)(the gates of the city shall be named after the tribes of Israel), the three gates northward: one gate for Reuben, one gate for Judah, and one gate for Levi; ³² on the east side, four thousand five hundred cubits, three gates: one gate for Joseph, one gate for Benjamin, and one gate for Dan; ³³ on the south side, measuring four thousand five hundred cubits, three gates: one gate for Simeon, one gate for Issachar, and one gate for Zebulun; ³⁴ on the west side, four thousand five hundred cubits with their three gates: one gate for Gad, one gate for Asher, and one gate for Naphtali. ³⁵ All the way around shall be eighteen thousand cubits; ^(MA)and the name of the city from that day shall be: ^(MB)THE^[bo] LORD IS THERE.”

Daniel and His Friends Obey God^(A)

1 In the third year of the reign of ^(B)Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. ² And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with ^(C)some of the articles of ^[a]the house of God, which he carried ^(D)into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; ^(E)and he brought the articles into the treasure house of his god.

³ Then the king instructed Ashpenaz, the master of his eunuchs, to bring ^(F)some of the children of Israel and some of the king’s descendants and some of the nobles, ⁴ young men ^(G)in whom there was no blemish, but good-looking, gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge and quick to understand, who had ability to serve in the king’s palace, and ^(H)whom they might teach the language and ^[b]literature of the Chaldeans. ⁵ And the king appointed for them a daily provision of the king’s delicacies and of the wine which he drank, and three years of training for them, so that at the end of that time they might ^(I)serve before the king. ⁶ Now from among those of the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. ^7 (J)To them the chief of the eunuchs gave names: ^(K)he gave Daniel the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abed-Nego.

⁸ But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself ^(L)with the portion of the king’s delicacies, nor with the wine which he drank; therefore he requested of the chief of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself. ⁹ Now ^(M)God had brought Daniel into the favor and ^[c]goodwill of the chief of the eunuchs. ¹⁰ And the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who has appointed your food and drink. For why should he see your faces looking worse than the young men who are your age? Then you would endanger my head before the king.”

¹¹ So Daniel said to ^[d]the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had set over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, ¹² “Please test your servants for ten days, and let them give us vegetables to eat and water to drink. ¹³ Then let our appearance be examined before you, and the appearance of the young men who eat the portion of the king’s delicacies; and as you see fit, so deal with your servants.” ¹⁴ So he consented with them in this matter, and tested them ten days.

¹⁵ And at the end of ten days their features appeared better and fatter in flesh than all the young men who ate the portion of the king’s delicacies. ¹⁶ Thus ^[e]the steward took away their portion of delicacies and the wine that they were to drink, and gave them vegetables.

¹⁷ As for these four young men, ^(N)God gave them ^(O)knowledge and skill in all literature and wisdom; and Daniel had ^(P)understanding in all visions and dreams.

¹⁸ Now at the end of the days, when the king had said that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. ¹⁹ Then the king ^[f]interviewed them, and among them all none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah; therefore ^(Q)they served before the king. ^20 (R)And in all matters of wisdom and understanding about which the king examined them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and astrologers who were in all his realm. ^21 (S)Thus Daniel continued until the first year of King Cyrus.

Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

2 Now in the second year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; ^(T)and his spirit was so troubled that ^(U)his sleep left him. ^2 (V)Then the king gave the command to call the magicians, the astrologers, the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans to tell the king his dreams. So they came and stood before the king. ³ And the king said to them, “I have had a dream, and my spirit is anxious to ^[g]know the dream.”

⁴ Then the Chaldeans spoke to the king in Aramaic, ^(W)“O^[h] king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation.”

⁵ The king answered and said to the Chaldeans, “My ^[i]decision is firm: if you do not make known the dream to me, and its interpretation, you shall be ^(X)cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made an ash heap. ^6 (Y)However, if you tell the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts, rewards, and great honor. Therefore tell me the dream and its interpretation.”

⁷ They answered again and said, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will give its interpretation.”

⁸ The king answered and said, “I know for certain that you would gain time, because you see that my decision is firm: ⁹ if you do not make known the dream to me, there is only one decree for you! For you have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till the ^[j]time has changed. Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can ^[k]give me its interpretation.”

¹⁰ The Chaldeans answered the king, and said, “There is not a man on earth who can tell the king’s matter; therefore no king, lord, or ruler has ever asked such things of any magician, astrologer, or Chaldean. ¹¹ It is a ^[l]difficult thing that the king requests, and there is no other who can tell it to the king ^(Z)except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.”

¹² For this reason the king was angry and very furious, and gave the command to destroy all the wise men of Babylon. ¹³ So the decree went out, and they began killing the wise men; and they sought ^(AA)Daniel and his companions, to kill them.

God Reveals Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream

¹⁴ Then with counsel and wisdom Daniel answered Arioch, the captain of the king’s guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon; ¹⁵ he answered and said to Arioch the king’s captain, “Why is the decree from the king so ^[m]urgent?” Then Arioch made the decision known to Daniel.

¹⁶ So Daniel went in and asked the king to give him time, that he might tell the king the interpretation. ¹⁷ Then Daniel went to his house, and made the decision known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, ^18 (AB)that they might seek mercies from the God of heaven concerning this secret, so that Daniel and his companions might not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. ¹⁹ Then the secret was revealed to Daniel ^(AC)in a night vision. So Daniel blessed the God of heaven.

²⁰ Daniel answered and said:

Daniel Explains the Dream

²⁴ Therefore Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He went and said thus to him: “Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; take me before the king, and I will tell the king the interpretation.”

²⁵ Then Arioch quickly brought Daniel before the king, and said thus to him, “I have found a man of the ^[o]captives of Judah, who will make known to the king the interpretation.”

²⁶ The king answered and said to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to make known to me the dream which I have seen, and its interpretation?”

²⁷ Daniel answered in the presence of the king, and said, “The secret which the king has demanded, the wise men, the astrologers, the magicians, and the soothsayers cannot declare to the king. ^28 (AM)But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and He has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar ^(AN)what will be in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your head upon your bed, were these: ²⁹ As for you, O king, thoughts came to your mind while on your bed, about what would come to pass after this; ^(AO)and He who reveals secrets has made known to you what will be. ^30 (AP)But as for me, this secret has not been revealed to me because I have more wisdom than anyone living, but for our sakes who make known the interpretation to the king, ^(AQ)and that you may ^[p]know the thoughts of your heart.

³¹ “You, O king, were watching; and behold, a great image! This great image, whose splendor was excellent, stood before you; and its form was awesome. ^32 (AR)This image’s head was of fine gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and ^[q]thighs of bronze, ³³ its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of ^[r]clay. ³⁴ You watched while a stone was cut out ^(AS)without hands, which struck the image on its feet of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces. ^35 (AT)Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver, and the gold were crushed together, and became ^(AU)like chaff from the summer threshing floors; the wind carried them away so that ^(AV)no trace of them was found. And the stone that struck the image ^(AW)became a great mountain ^(AX)and filled the whole earth.

³⁶ “This is the dream. Now we will tell the interpretation of it before the king. ^37 (AY)You, O king, are a king of kings. ^(AZ)For the God of heaven has given you a kingdom, power, strength, and glory; ^38 (BA)and wherever the children of men dwell, or the beasts of the field and the birds of the heaven, He has given them into your hand, and has made you ruler over them all—^(BB)you are this head of gold. ³⁹ But after you shall arise ^(BC)another kingdom ^(BD)inferior to yours; then another, a third kingdom of bronze, which shall rule over all the earth. ⁴⁰ And ^(BE)the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others. ⁴¹ Whereas you saw the feet and toes, partly of potter’s clay and partly of iron, the kingdom shall be divided; yet the strength of the iron shall be in it, just as you saw the iron mixed with ceramic clay. ⁴² And as the toes of the feet were partly of iron and partly of clay, ^(BF)so the kingdom shall be partly strong and partly ^[s]fragile. ⁴³ As you saw iron mixed with ceramic clay, they will mingle with the seed of men; but they will not adhere to one another, just as iron does not mix with clay. ⁴⁴ And in the days of these kings ^(BG)the God of heaven will set up a kingdom ^(BH)which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; ^(BI)it shall ^[t]break in pieces and ^[u]consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever. ^45 (BJ)Inasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the bronze, the clay, the silver, and the gold—the great God has made known to the king what will come to pass after this. The dream is certain, and its interpretation is sure.”

Daniel and His Friends Promoted

^46 (BK)Then King Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, prostrate before Daniel, and commanded that they should present an offering ^(BL)and incense to him. ⁴⁷ The king answered Daniel, and said, “Truly ^(BM)your God is the God of ^(BN)gods, the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, since you could reveal this secret.” ^48 (BO)Then the king promoted Daniel ^(BP)and gave him many great gifts; and he made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and ^(BQ)chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon. ⁴⁹ Also Daniel petitioned the king, ^(BR)and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego over the affairs of the province of Babylon; but Daniel ^(BS)sat in ^[v]the gate of the king.

The Image of Gold

3 Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was ^[w]sixty cubits and its width six cubits. He set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. ² And King Nebuchadnezzar sent word to gather together the satraps, the administrators, the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. ³ So the satraps, the administrators, the governors, the counselors, the treasurers, the judges, the magistrates, and all the officials of the provinces gathered together for the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. ⁴ Then a herald cried ^[x]aloud: “To you it is commanded, ^(BT)O peoples, nations, and languages, ⁵ that at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, you shall fall down and worship the gold image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up; ⁶ and whoever does not fall down and worship shall ^(BU)be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.”

⁷ So at that time, when all the people heard the sound of the horn, flute, harp, and lyre, in symphony with all kinds of music, all the people, nations, and languages fell down and worshiped the gold image which King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

Daniel’s Friends Disobey the King

⁸ Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans ^(BV)came forward and accused the Jews. ⁹ They spoke and said to King Nebuchadnezzar, ^(BW)“O king, live forever! ¹⁰ You, O king, have made a decree that everyone who hears the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, shall fall down and worship the gold image; ¹¹ and whoever does not fall down and worship shall be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. ^12 (BX)There are certain Jews whom you have set over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego; these men, O king, have ^(BY)not paid due regard to you. They do not serve your gods or worship the gold image which you have set up.”

¹³ Then Nebuchadnezzar, in ^(BZ)rage and fury, gave the command to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. So they brought these men before the king. ¹⁴ Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying to them, “Is it true, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, that you do not serve my gods or worship the gold image which I have set up? ¹⁵ Now if you are ready at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, lyre, and psaltery, in symphony with all kinds of music, and you fall down and worship the image which I have made, ^(CA)good! But if you do not worship, you shall be cast immediately into the midst of a burning fiery furnace. ^(CB)And who is the god who will deliver you from my hands?”

¹⁶ Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, ^(CC)we have no need to answer you in this matter. ¹⁷ If that is the case, our ^(CD)God whom we serve is able to ^(CE)deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. ¹⁸ But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we ^(CF)worship the gold image which you have set up.”

Saved in Fiery Trial

¹⁹ Then Nebuchadnezzar was full of fury, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. He spoke and commanded that they heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated. ²⁰ And he commanded certain mighty men of valor who were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, and cast them into the burning fiery furnace. ²¹ Then these men were bound in their coats, their trousers, their turbans, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. ²² Therefore, because the king’s command was ^[y]urgent, and the furnace exceedingly hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego. ²³ And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.

²⁴ Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished; and he rose in haste and spoke, saying to his ^[z]counselors, “Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?”

They answered and said to the king, “True, O king.”

²⁵ “Look!” he answered, “I see four men loose, ^(CG)walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like ^(CH)the^[aa] Son of God.”

Nebuchadnezzar Praises God

²⁶ Then Nebuchadnezzar went near the ^[ab]mouth of the burning fiery furnace and spoke, saying, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, servants of the ^(CI)Most High God, come out, and come here.” Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego came from the midst of the fire. ²⁷ And the satraps, administrators, governors, and the king’s counselors gathered together, and they saw these men ^(CJ)on whose bodies the fire had no power; the hair of their head was not singed nor were their garments affected, and the smell of fire was not on them.

²⁸ Nebuchadnezzar spoke, saying, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego, who sent His ^(CK)Angel^[ac] and delivered His servants who trusted in Him, and they have frustrated the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they should not serve nor worship any god except their own God! ^29 (CL)Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation, or language which speaks anything amiss against the ^(CM)God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego shall be ^(CN)cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made an ash heap; ^(CO)because there is no other God who can deliver like this.”

³⁰ Then the king ^[ad]promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego in the province of Babylon.

Nebuchadnezzar’s Second Dream

Daniel Explains the Second Dream

Nebuchadnezzar’s Humiliation

Nebuchadnezzar Praises God

Belshazzar’s Feast

5 Belshazzar the king ^(ET)made a great feast for a thousand of his lords, and drank wine in the presence of the thousand. ² While he tasted the wine, Belshazzar gave the command to bring the gold and silver vessels ^(EU)which his ^[ap]father Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple which had been in Jerusalem, that the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines might drink from them. ³ Then they brought the gold ^(EV)vessels that had been taken from the temple of the house of God which had been in Jerusalem; and the king and his lords, his wives, and his concubines drank from them. ⁴ They drank wine, ^(EW)and praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone.

^5 (EX)In the same hour the fingers of a man’s hand appeared and wrote opposite the lampstand on the plaster of the wall of the king’s palace; and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote. ⁶ Then the king’s countenance changed, and his thoughts troubled him, so that the joints of his hips were loosened and his ^(EY)knees knocked against each other. ^7 (EZ)The king cried ^[aq]aloud to bring in ^(FA)the astrologers, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. The king spoke, saying to the wise men of Babylon, “Whoever reads this writing, and tells me its interpretation, shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around his neck; ^(FB)and he shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.” ⁸ Now all the king’s wise men came, ^(FC)but they could not read the writing, or make known to the king its interpretation. ⁹ Then King Belshazzar was greatly ^(FD)troubled, his countenance was changed, and his lords were ^[ar]astonished.

¹⁰ The queen, because of the words of the king and his lords, came to the banquet hall. The queen spoke, saying, “O king, live forever! Do not let your thoughts trouble you, nor let your countenance change. ^11 (FE)There is a man in your kingdom in whom is the Spirit of the Holy God. And in the days of your ^[as]father, light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, were found in him; and King Nebuchadnezzar your ^[at]father—your father the king—made him chief of the magicians, astrologers, Chaldeans, and soothsayers. ¹² Inasmuch as an excellent spirit, knowledge, understanding, interpreting dreams, solving riddles, and ^[au]explaining enigmas were found in this Daniel, ^(FF)whom the king named Belteshazzar, now let Daniel be called, and he will give the interpretation.”

The Writing on the Wall Explained

¹³ Then Daniel was brought in before the king. The king spoke, and said to Daniel, “Are you that Daniel ^[av]who is one of the captives from Judah, whom my ^[aw]father the king brought from Judah? ¹⁴ I have heard of you, that ^(FG)the ^[ax]Spirit of God is in you, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you. ¹⁵ Now ^(FH)the wise men, the astrologers, have been brought in before me, that they should read this writing and make known to me its interpretation, but they could not give the interpretation of the thing. ¹⁶ And I have heard of you, that you can give interpretations and ^[ay]explain enigmas. ^(FI)Now if you can read the writing and make known to me its interpretation, you shall be clothed with purple and have a chain of gold around your neck, and shall be the third ruler in the kingdom.”

¹⁷ Then Daniel answered, and said before the king, “Let your gifts be for yourself, and give your rewards to another; yet I will read the writing to the king, and make known to him the interpretation. ¹⁸ O king, ^(FJ)the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your ^[az]father a kingdom and majesty, glory and honor. ¹⁹ And because of the majesty that He gave him, ^(FK)all peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. Whomever he wished, he ^(FL)executed; whomever he wished, he kept alive; whomever he wished, he set up; and whomever he wished, he put down. ^20 (FM)But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him. ²¹ Then he was ^(FN)driven from the sons of men, his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild donkeys. They fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven, ^(FO)till he ^[ba]knew that the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and appoints over it whomever He chooses.

²² “But you his son, Belshazzar, ^(FP)have not humbled your heart, although you knew all this. ^23 (FQ)And you have ^[bb]lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven. They have brought the ^(FR)vessels of ^[bc]His house before you, and you and your lords, your wives and your concubines, have drunk wine from them. And you have praised the gods of silver and gold, bronze and iron, wood and stone, ^(FS)which do not see or hear or know; and the God who holds your breath in His hand ^(FT)and owns all your ways, you have not glorified. ²⁴ Then the ^[bd]fingers of the hand were sent from Him, and this writing was written.

²⁵ “And this is the inscription that was written:

^[be]MENE, MENE, ^[bf]TEKEL, ^[bg]UPHARSIN.

²⁶ This is the interpretation of each word. MENE: God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it; ²⁷ TEKEL: ^(FU)You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting; ²⁸ PERES: Your kingdom has been divided, and given to the ^(FV)Medes and ^(FW)Persians.”^{[bh] 29} Then Belshazzar gave the command, and they clothed Daniel with purple and put a chain of gold around his neck, and made a proclamation concerning him ^(FX)that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.

Belshazzar’s Fall

^30 (FY)That very night Belshazzar, king of the Chaldeans, was slain. ^31 (FZ)And Darius the Mede received the kingdom, being about sixty-two years old.

The Plot Against Daniel

6 It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom one hundred and twenty satraps, to be over the whole kingdom; ² and over these, three governors, of whom Daniel was one, that the satraps might give account to them, so that the king would suffer no loss. ³ Then this Daniel distinguished himself above the governors and satraps, ^(GA)because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king gave thought to setting him over the whole realm. ^4 (GB)So the governors and satraps sought to find some charge against Daniel concerning the kingdom; but they could find no charge or fault, because he was faithful; nor was there any error or fault found in him. ⁵ Then these men said, “We shall not find any charge against this Daniel unless we find it against him concerning the law of his God.”

⁶ So these governors and satraps thronged before the king, and said thus to him: ^(GC)“King Darius, live forever! ⁷ All the governors of the kingdom, the administrators and satraps, the counselors and advisors, have ^(GD)consulted together to establish a royal statute and to make a firm decree, that whoever petitions any god or man for thirty days, except you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions. ⁸ Now, O king, establish the decree and sign the writing, so that it cannot be changed, according to the ^(GE)law of the Medes and Persians, which ^[bi]does not alter.” ⁹ Therefore King Darius signed the written decree.

Daniel in the Lions’ Den

¹⁰ Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open ^(GF)toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees ^(GG)three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days.

¹¹ Then these men assembled and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God. ^12 (GH)And they went before the king, and spoke concerning the king’s decree: “Have you not signed a decree that every man who petitions any god or man within thirty days, except you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions?”

The king answered and said, “The thing is true, ^(GI)according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which ^[bj]does not alter.”

¹³ So they answered and said before the king, “That Daniel, ^(GJ)who is ^[bk]one of the captives from Judah, ^(GK)does not show due regard for you, O king, or for the decree that you have signed, but makes his petition three times a day.”

¹⁴ And the king, when he heard these words, ^(GL)was greatly displeased with himself, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him; and he ^[bl]labored till the going down of the sun to deliver him. ¹⁵ Then these men ^[bm]approached the king, and said to the king, “Know, O king, that it is ^(GM)the law of the Medes and Persians that no decree or statute which the king establishes may be changed.”

¹⁶ So the king gave the command, and they brought Daniel and cast him into the den of lions. But the king spoke, saying to Daniel, “Your God, whom you serve continually, He will deliver you.” ^17 (GN)Then a stone was brought and laid on the mouth of the den, ^(GO)and the king sealed it with his own signet ring and with the signets of his lords, that the purpose concerning Daniel might not be changed.

Daniel Saved from the Lions

¹⁸ Now the king went to his palace and spent the night fasting; and no ^[bn]musicians were brought before him. ^(GP)Also his sleep ^[bo]went from him. ¹⁹ Then the ^(GQ)king arose very early in the morning and went in haste to the den of lions. ²⁰ And when he came to the den, he cried out with a ^[bp]lamenting voice to Daniel. The king spoke, saying to Daniel, “Daniel, servant of the living God, ^(GR)has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?”

²¹ Then Daniel said to the king, ^(GS)“O king, live forever! ^22 (GT)My God sent His angel and ^(GU)shut the lions’ mouths, so that they have not hurt me, because I was found innocent before Him; and also, O king, I have done no wrong before you.”

²³ Now the king was exceedingly glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no injury whatever was found on him, ^(GV)because he believed in his God.

Darius Honors God

²⁴ And the king gave the command, ^(GW)and they brought those men who had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions—them, ^(GX)their children, and their wives; and the lions overpowered them, and broke all their bones in pieces before they ever came to the bottom of the den.

^25 (GY)Then King Darius wrote:

²⁸ So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius ^(HE)and in the reign of ^(HF)Cyrus the Persian.

Vision of the Four Beasts

7 In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, ^(HG)Daniel ^[br]had a dream and ^(HH)visions of his head while on his bed. Then he wrote down the dream, telling ^[bs]the main facts.

² Daniel spoke, saying, “I saw in my vision by night, and behold, the four winds of heaven were stirring up the Great Sea. ³ And four great beasts ^(HI)came up from the sea, each different from the other. ⁴ The first was ^(HJ)like a lion, and had eagle’s wings. I watched till its wings were plucked off; and it was lifted up from the earth and made to stand on two feet like a man, and a ^(HK)man’s heart was given to it.

^5 (HL)“And suddenly another beast, a second, like a bear. It was raised up on one side, and had three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. And they said thus to it: ‘Arise, devour much flesh!’

⁶ “After this I looked, and there was another, like a leopard, which had on its back four wings of a bird. The beast also had ^(HM)four heads, and dominion was given to it.

⁷ “After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, ^(HN)a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that were before it, ^(HO)and it had ten horns. ⁸ I was considering the horns, and ^(HP)there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes ^(HQ)of a man, ^(HR)and a mouth speaking ^[bt]pompous words.

Vision of the Ancient of Days

¹¹ “I watched then because of the sound of the ^[bw]pompous words which the horn was speaking; ^(HZ)I watched till the beast was slain, and its body destroyed and given to the burning flame. ¹² As for the rest of the beasts, they had their dominion taken away, yet their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.

Daniel’s Visions Interpreted

¹⁵ “I, Daniel, was grieved in my spirit ^[bx]within my body, and the visions of my head troubled me. ¹⁶ I came near to one of those who stood by, and asked him the truth of all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of these things: ¹⁷ ‘Those great beasts, which are four, are four ^[by]kings which arise out of the earth. ¹⁸ But ^(IE)the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even forever and ever.’

¹⁹ “Then I wished to know the truth about the fourth beast, which was different from all the others, exceedingly dreadful, with its teeth of iron and its nails of bronze, which devoured, broke in pieces, and trampled the residue with its feet; ²⁰ and the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn which came up, before which three fell, namely, that horn which had eyes and a mouth which spoke ^[bz]pompous words, whose appearance was greater than his fellows.

²¹ “I was watching; ^(IF)and the same horn was making war against the saints, and prevailing against them, ²² until the Ancient of Days came, ^(IG)and a judgment was made in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom.

²³ “Thus he said:

²⁸ “This is the end of the ^[cb]account. As for me, Daniel, ^(IT)my thoughts greatly troubled me, and my countenance changed; but I ^(IU)kept the matter in my heart.”

Vision of a Ram and a Goat

8 In^[cc] the third year of the reign of King Belshazzar a vision appeared to me—to me, Daniel—after the one that appeared to me ^(IV)the first time. ² I saw in the vision, and it so happened while I was looking, that I was in ^(IW)Shushan,^[cd] the ^[ce]citadel, which is in the province of Elam; and I saw in the vision that I was by the River Ulai. ³ Then I lifted my eyes and saw, and there, standing beside the river, was a ram which had two horns, and the two horns were high; but one was ^(IX)higher than the other, and the higher one came up last. ⁴ I saw the ram pushing westward, northward, and southward, so that no animal could ^[cf]withstand him; nor was there any that could deliver from his hand, ^(IY)but he did according to his will and became great.

⁵ And as I was considering, suddenly a male goat came from the west, across the surface of the whole earth, without touching the ground; and the goat had a notable ^(IZ)horn between his eyes. ⁶ Then he came to the ram that had two horns, which I had seen standing beside the river, and ran at him with furious power. ⁷ And I saw him confronting the ram; he was moved with rage against him, ^[cg]attacked the ram, and broke his two horns. There was no power in the ram to withstand him, but he cast him down to the ground and trampled him; and there was no one that could deliver the ram from his hand.

⁸ Therefore the male goat grew very great; but when he became strong, the large horn was broken, and in place of it ^(JA)four notable ones came up toward the four winds of heaven. ^9 (JB)And out of one of them came a little horn which grew exceedingly great toward the south, ^(JC)toward the east, and toward the ^(JD)Glorious Land. ^10 (JE)And it grew up to ^(JF)the host of heaven; and ^(JG)it cast down some of the host and some of the stars to the ground, and trampled them. ^11 (JH)He even exalted himself as high as ^(JI)the Prince of the host; ^(JJ)and by him ^(JK)the daily sacrifices were taken away, and the place of ^[ch]His sanctuary was cast down. ¹² Because of transgression, ^(JL)an army was given over to the horn to oppose the daily sacrifices; and he cast ^(JM)truth down to the ground. He ^(JN)did all this and prospered.

¹³ Then I heard ^(JO)a holy one speaking; and another holy one said to that certain one who was speaking, “How long will the vision be, concerning the daily sacrifices and the transgression ^[ci]of desolation, the giving of both the sanctuary and the host to be trampled underfoot?”

¹⁴ And he said to me, “For two thousand three hundred ^[cj]days; then the sanctuary shall be cleansed.”

Gabriel Interprets the Vision

¹⁵ Then it happened, when I, Daniel, had seen the vision and ^(JP)was seeking the meaning, that suddenly there stood before me ^(JQ)one having the appearance of a man. ¹⁶ And I heard a man’s voice ^(JR)between the banks of the Ulai, who called, and said, ^(JS)“Gabriel, make this man understand the vision.” ¹⁷ So he came near where I stood, and when he came I was afraid and ^(JT)fell on my face; but he said to me, “Understand, son of man, that the vision refers to the time of the end.”

^18 (JU)Now, as he was speaking with me, I was in a deep sleep with my face to the ground; ^(JV)but he touched me, and stood me upright. ¹⁹ And he said, “Look, I am making known to you what shall happen in the latter time of the indignation; ^(JW)for at the appointed time the end shall be. ²⁰ The ram which you saw, having the two horns—they are the kings of Media and Persia. ²¹ And the ^[ck]male goat is the ^[cl]kingdom of Greece. The large horn that is between its eyes ^(JX)is the first king. ^22 (JY)As for the broken horn and the four that stood up in its place, four kingdoms shall arise out of that nation, but not with its power.

^27 (KI)And I, Daniel, fainted and was sick for days; afterward I arose and went about the king’s business. I was ^[cq]astonished by the vision, but no one understood it.

Daniel’s Prayer for the People

9 In the first year ^(KJ)of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of the lineage of the Medes, who was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans— ² in the first year of his reign I, Daniel, understood by the books the number of the years specified by the word of the Lord through ^(KK)Jeremiah the prophet, that He would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem.

^3 (KL)Then I set my face toward the Lord God to make request by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth, and ashes. ⁴ And I prayed to the Lord my God, and made confession, and said, “O ^(KM)Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and mercy with those who love Him, and with those who keep His commandments, ^5 (KN)we have sinned and committed iniquity, we have done wickedly and rebelled, even by departing from Your precepts and Your judgments. ^6 (KO)Neither have we heeded Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings and our princes, to our fathers and all the people of the land. ⁷ O Lord, ^(KP)righteousness belongs to You, but to us shame of face, as it is this day—to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those near and those far off in all the countries to which You have driven them, because of the unfaithfulness which they have committed against You.

⁸ “O Lord, to us belongs shame of face, to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, because we have sinned against You. ^9 (KQ)To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against Him. ¹⁰ We have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God, to walk in His laws, which He set before us by His servants the prophets. ¹¹ Yes, ^(KR)all Israel has transgressed Your law, and has departed so as not to obey Your voice; therefore the curse and the oath written in the ^(KS)Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against Him. ¹² And He has ^(KT)confirmed His words, which He spoke against us and against our judges who judged us, by bringing upon us a great disaster; ^(KU)for under the whole heaven such has never been done as what has been done to Jerusalem.

^13 (KV)“As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this disaster has come upon us; ^(KW)yet we have not made our prayer before the Lord our God, that we might turn from our iniquities and understand Your truth. ¹⁴ Therefore the Lord has ^(KX)kept the disaster in mind, and brought it upon us; for ^(KY)the Lord our God is righteous in all the works which He does, though we have not obeyed His voice. ¹⁵ And now, O Lord our God, ^(KZ)who brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and made Yourself ^(LA)a name, as it is this day—we have sinned, we have done wickedly!

¹⁶ “O Lord, ^(LB)according to all Your righteousness, I pray, let Your anger and Your fury be turned away from Your city Jerusalem, ^(LC)Your holy mountain; because for our sins, ^(LD)and for the iniquities of our fathers, ^(LE)Jerusalem and Your people ^(LF)are a reproach to all those around us. ¹⁷ Now therefore, our God, hear the prayer of Your servant, and his supplications, ^(LG)and ^(LH)for the Lord’s sake ^[cr]cause Your face to shine on ^[cs]Your sanctuary, ^(LI)which is desolate. ^18 (LJ)O my God, incline Your ear and hear; open Your eyes ^(LK)and see our desolations, and the city ^(LL)which is called by Your name; for we do not present our supplications before You because of our righteous deeds, but because of Your great mercies. ¹⁹ O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and act! Do not delay for Your own sake, my God, for Your city and Your people are called by Your name.”

The Seventy-Weeks Prophecy

²⁰ Now while I was speaking, praying, and confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God, ²¹ yes, while I was speaking in prayer, the man ^(LM)Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, ^[ct]being caused to fly swiftly, reached me about the time of the evening offering. ²² And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, “O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand. ²³ At the beginning of your supplications the ^[cu]command went out, and I have come to tell you, for you are greatly ^(LN)beloved; therefore ^(LO)consider the matter, and understand the vision:

Vision of the Glorious Man

10 In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a message was revealed to Daniel, whose ^(MB)name was called Belteshazzar. The message was true, ^[dd]but the appointed time was long; and he understood the message, and had understanding of the vision. ² In those days I, Daniel, was mourning three full weeks. ³ I ate no ^[de]pleasant food, no meat or wine came into my mouth, nor did I anoint myself at all, till three whole weeks were fulfilled.

⁴ Now on the twenty-fourth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, that is, the ^[df]Tigris, ⁵ I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, a certain man clothed in ^(MC)linen, whose waist was ^(MD)girded with gold of Uphaz! ⁶ His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like torches of fire, his arms and feet like burnished bronze in color, ^(ME)and the sound of his words like the voice of a multitude.

⁷ And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, for the men who were with me did not see the vision; but a great terror fell upon them, so that they fled to hide themselves. ⁸ Therefore I was left alone when I saw this great vision, and no strength remained in me; for my ^[dg]vigor was turned to ^[dh]frailty in me, and I retained no strength. ⁹ Yet I heard the sound of his words; and while I heard the sound of his words I was in a deep sleep on my face, with my face to the ground.

Prophecies Concerning Persia and Greece

^10 (MF)Suddenly, a hand touched me, which made me tremble on my knees and on the palms of my hands. ¹¹ And he said to me, “O Daniel, ^(MG)man greatly beloved, understand the words that I speak to you, and stand upright, for I have now been sent to you.” While he was speaking this word to me, I stood trembling.

¹² Then he said to me, ^(MH)“Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, ^(MI)your words were heard; and I have come because of your words. ^13 (MJ)But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, ^(MK)Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia. ¹⁴ Now I have come to make you understand what will happen to your people ^(ML)in the latter days, ^(MM)for the vision refers to many days yet to come.”

¹⁵ When he had spoken such words to me, ^(MN)I ^[di]turned my face toward the ground and became speechless. ¹⁶ And suddenly, ^(MO)one having the likeness of the ^[dj]sons of men ^(MP)touched my lips; then I opened my mouth and spoke, saying to him who stood before me, “My lord, because of the vision ^(MQ)my sorrows have ^[dk]overwhelmed me, and I have retained no strength. ¹⁷ For how can this servant of my lord talk with you, my lord? As for me, no strength remains in me now, nor is any breath left in me.”

¹⁸ Then again, the one having the likeness of a man touched me and strengthened me. ^19 (MR)And he said, “O man greatly beloved, ^(MS)fear not! Peace be to you; be strong, yes, be strong!”

So when he spoke to me I was strengthened, and said, “Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me.”

²⁰ Then he said, “Do you know why I have come to you? And now I must return to fight ^(MT)with the prince of Persia; and when I have gone forth, indeed the prince of Greece will come. ²¹ But I will tell you what is noted in the Scripture of Truth. (No one upholds me against these, ^(MU)except Michael your prince.

Warring Kings of North and South

11 “Also ^(MV)in the first year of ^(MW)Darius the Mede, I, even I, stood up to confirm and strengthen him.) ² And now I will tell you the truth: Behold, three more kings will arise in Persia, and the fourth shall be far richer than them all; by his strength, through his riches, he shall stir up all against the realm of Greece. ³ Then ^(MX)a mighty king shall arise, who shall rule with great dominion, and ^(MY)do according to his will. ⁴ And when he has arisen, ^(MZ)his kingdom shall be broken up and divided toward the four winds of heaven, but not among his posterity ^(NA)nor according to his dominion with which he ruled; for his kingdom shall be uprooted, even for others besides these.

Warring Kings of North and South

⁵ “Also the king of the South shall become strong, as well as one of his princes; and he shall gain power over him and have dominion. His dominion shall be a great dominion. ⁶ And at the end of some years they shall join forces, for the daughter of the king of the South shall go to the king of the North to make an agreement; but she shall not retain the power of her ^[dl]authority, and neither he nor his ^[dm]authority shall stand; but she shall be given up, with those who brought her, and with him who begot her, and with him who strengthened her in those times. ⁷ But from a branch of her roots one shall arise in his place, who shall come with an army, enter the fortress of the king of the North, and deal with them and prevail. ⁸ And he shall also carry their gods captive to Egypt, with their ^[dn]princes and their precious articles of silver and gold; and he shall continue more years than the king of the North.

⁹ “Also the king of the North shall come to the kingdom of the king of the South, but shall return to his own land. ¹⁰ However his sons shall stir up strife, and assemble a multitude of great forces; and one shall certainly come ^(NB)and overwhelm and pass through; then he shall return ^(NC)to his fortress and stir up strife.

¹¹ “And the king of the South shall be ^(ND)moved with rage, and go out and fight with him, with the king of the North, who shall muster a great multitude; but the ^(NE)multitude shall be given into the hand of his enemy. ¹² When he has taken away the multitude, his heart will be ^[do]lifted up; and he will cast down tens of thousands, but he will not prevail. ¹³ For the king of the North will return and muster a multitude greater than the former, and shall certainly come at the end of some years with a great army and much equipment.

¹⁴ “Now in those times many shall rise up against the king of the South. Also, ^[dp]violent men of your people shall exalt themselves ^[dq]in fulfillment of the vision, but they shall ^(NF)fall. ¹⁵ So the king of the North shall come and ^(NG)build a siege mound, and take a fortified city; and the ^[dr]forces of the South shall not withstand him. Even his choice troops shall have no strength to resist. ¹⁶ But he who comes against him ^(NH)shall do according to his own will, and ^(NI)no one shall stand against him. He shall stand in the Glorious Land with destruction in his ^[ds]power.

¹⁷ “He shall also ^(NJ)set his face to enter with the strength of his whole kingdom, and ^[dt]upright ones with him; thus shall he do. And he shall give him the daughter of women to destroy it; but she shall not stand with him, ^(NK)or be for him. ¹⁸ After this he shall turn his face to the coastlands, and shall take many. But a ruler shall bring the reproach against them to an end; and with the reproach removed, he shall turn back on him. ¹⁹ Then he shall turn his face toward the fortress of his own land; but he shall ^(NL)stumble and fall, ^(NM)and not be found.

²⁰ “There shall arise in his place one who imposes taxes on the glorious kingdom; but within a few days he shall be destroyed, but not in anger or in battle. ²¹ And in his place ^(NN)shall arise a vile person, to whom they will not give the honor of royalty; but he shall come in peaceably, and seize the kingdom by intrigue. ²² With the ^[du]force of a ^(NO)flood they shall be swept away from before him and be broken, ^(NP)and also the prince of the covenant. ²³ And after the league is made with him ^(NQ)he shall act deceitfully, for he shall come up and become strong with a small number of people. ²⁴ He shall enter peaceably, even into the richest places of the province; and he shall do what his fathers have not done, nor his forefathers: he shall disperse among them the plunder, ^[dv]spoil, and riches; and he shall devise his plans against the strongholds, but only for a time.

²⁵ “He shall stir up his power and his courage against the king of the South with a great army. And the king of the South shall be stirred up to battle with a very great and mighty army; but he shall not stand, for they shall devise plans against him. ²⁶ Yes, those who eat of the portion of his delicacies shall destroy him; his army shall ^[dw]be swept away, and many shall fall down slain. ²⁷ Both these kings’ hearts shall be bent on evil, and they shall speak lies at the same table; but it shall not prosper, for the end will still be at the ^(NR)appointed time. ²⁸ While returning to his land with great riches, his heart shall be moved against the holy covenant; so he shall do damage and return to his own land.

The Northern King’s Blasphemies

²⁹ “At the appointed time he shall return and go toward the south; but it shall not be like the former or the latter. ^30 (NS)For ships from ^[dx]Cyprus shall come against him; therefore he shall be grieved, and return in rage against the holy covenant, and do damage.

“So he shall return and show regard for those who forsake the holy covenant. ³¹ And ^[dy]forces shall be mustered by him, ^(NT)and they shall defile the sanctuary fortress; then they shall take away the daily sacrifices, and place there the abomination of desolation. ³² Those who do wickedly against the covenant he shall ^[dz]corrupt with flattery; but the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits. ³³ And those of the people who understand shall instruct many; yet for many days they shall fall by sword and flame, by captivity and plundering. ³⁴ Now when they fall, they shall be aided with a little help; but many shall join with them by ^[ea]intrigue. ³⁵ And some of those of understanding shall fall, ^(NU)to refine them, purify them, and make them white, until the time of the end; because it is still for the appointed time.

³⁶ “Then the king shall do according to his own will: he shall ^(NV)exalt and magnify himself above every god, shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the wrath has been accomplished; for what has been determined shall be done. ³⁷ He shall regard neither the ^[eb]God of his fathers nor the desire of women, ^(NW)nor regard any god; for he shall exalt himself above them all. ³⁸ But in their place he shall honor a god of fortresses; and a god which his fathers did not know he shall honor with gold and silver, with precious stones and pleasant things. ³⁹ Thus he shall act against the strongest fortresses with a foreign god, which he shall acknowledge, and advance its glory; and he shall cause them to rule over many, and divide the land for ^[ec]gain.

The Northern King’s Conquests

⁴⁰ “At the ^(NX)time of the end the king of the South shall attack him; and the king of the North shall come against him ^(NY)like a whirlwind, with chariots, ^(NZ)horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter the countries, overwhelm them, and pass through. ⁴¹ He shall also enter the Glorious Land, and many countries shall be overthrown; but these shall escape from his hand: ^(OA)Edom, Moab, and the ^[ed]prominent people of Ammon. ⁴² He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of ^(OB)Egypt shall not escape. ⁴³ He shall have power over the treasures of gold and silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt; also the Libyans and Ethiopians shall follow ^(OC)at his heels. ⁴⁴ But news from the east and the north shall trouble him; therefore he shall go out with great fury to destroy and annihilate many. ⁴⁵ And he shall plant the tents of his palace between the seas and ^(OD)the glorious holy mountain; ^(OE)yet he shall come to his end, and no one will help him.

Prophecy of the End Time

⁴ “But you, Daniel, ^(ON)shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall ^(OO)run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.”

⁵ Then I, Daniel, looked; and there stood two others, one on this riverbank and the other on that ^(OP)riverbank. ⁶ And one said to the man clothed in ^(OQ)linen, who was above the waters of the river, ^(OR)“How long shall the fulfillment of these wonders be?”

⁷ Then I heard the man clothed in linen, who was above the waters of the river, when he ^(OS)held up his right hand and his left hand to heaven, and swore by Him ^(OT)who lives forever, ^(OU)that it shall be for a time, times, and half a time; ^(OV)and when the power of ^(OW)the holy people has been completely shattered, all these things shall be finished.

⁸ Although I heard, I did not understand. Then I said, “My lord, what shall be the end of these things?”

⁹ And he said, “Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end. ^10 (OX)Many shall be purified, made white, and refined, ^(OY)but the wicked shall do wickedly; and none of the wicked shall understand, but ^(OZ)the wise shall understand.

¹¹ “And from the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination of desolation is set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred and ninety days. ¹² Blessed is he who waits, and comes to the one thousand three hundred and thirty-five days.

¹³ “But you, go your way till the end; ^(PA)for you shall rest, ^(PB)and will arise to your inheritance at the end of the days.”