48 “These are the names of the tribes: Beginning at the northern extreme, beside ^(A)the way of Hethlon ^(B)to Lebo-hamath, as far as ^(C)Hazar-enan (which is on the northern border of ^(D)Damascus over against Hamath), and extending^[a] from the east side to the west,^{[b] (E)}Dan, one portion. ² Adjoining the territory of Dan, from the east side to the west, ^(F)Asher, one portion. ³ Adjoining the territory of Asher, from the east side to the west, ^(G)Naphtali, one portion. ⁴ Adjoining the territory of Naphtali, from the east side to the west, Manasseh, one portion. ⁵ Adjoining the territory of Manasseh, from the east side to the west, Ephraim, one portion. ⁶ Adjoining the territory of Ephraim, from the east side to the west, Reuben, one portion. ⁷ Adjoining the territory of Reuben, from the east side to the west, Judah, one portion.

⁸ “Adjoining the territory of Judah, from the east side to the west, shall be ^(H)the portion which you shall set apart, 25,000 cubits^[c] in breadth, and in length equal to one of the tribal portions, from the east side to the west, with ^(I)the sanctuary in the midst of it. ⁹ The portion that you shall set apart for the Lord shall be 25,000 cubits in length, and 20,000^[d] in breadth. ^10 (J)These shall be the allotments of the holy portion: the priests shall have an allotment measuring 25,000 cubits on the northern side, 10,000 cubits in breadth on the western side, 10,000 in breadth on the eastern side, and 25,000 in length on the southern side, with the sanctuary of the Lord in the midst of it. ¹¹ This shall be for ^(K)the consecrated priests, ^(L)the sons of Zadok, who kept my charge, who did not go astray when the people of Israel went astray, ^(M)as the Levites did. ¹² And it shall belong to them as a special portion from the holy portion of the land, a most holy place, adjoining the territory of the Levites. ^13 (N)And alongside the territory of the priests, the Levites shall have an allotment 25,000 cubits in length and 10,000 in breadth. The whole length shall be 25,000 cubits and the breadth 20,000.^{[e] 14} They ^(O)shall not sell or exchange any of it. They shall not alienate ^(P)this choice portion of the land, for it is holy to the Lord.

^15 (Q)“The remainder, 5,000 cubits in breadth and 25,000 in length, shall be ^(R)for common use for the city, for dwellings and for ^(S)open country. In the midst of it shall be the city, ¹⁶ and these shall be its measurements: ^(T)the north side 4,500 cubits, the south side 4,500, the east side 4,500, and the west side 4,500. ¹⁷ And the city shall have open land: on the north 250 cubits, on the south 250, on the east 250, and on the west 250. ¹⁸ The remainder of the length alongside the holy portion shall be 10,000 cubits to the east, and 10,000 to the west, and it shall be alongside the holy portion. ^(U)Its produce shall be food for the workers of the city. ¹⁹ And the workers of the city, from all the tribes of Israel, shall till it. ²⁰ The whole portion that ^(V)you shall set apart shall be 25,000 cubits square, that is, the holy portion together with the property of the city.

^21 (W)“What remains on both sides of the holy portion and of the property of the city shall belong to the prince. Extending from the 25,000 cubits of the holy portion to the east border, and westward from the 25,000 cubits to the west border, parallel to the tribal portions, it shall belong to the prince. ^(X)The holy portion with the sanctuary of the temple shall be in its midst. ²² It shall be separate from the property of the Levites and the property of the city, which are in the midst of that which belongs to the prince. The portion of the prince shall lie between the territory of Judah and the territory of Benjamin.

²³ “As for the rest of the tribes: from the east side to the west, Benjamin, one portion. ²⁴ Adjoining the territory of Benjamin, from the east side to the west, Simeon, one portion. ²⁵ Adjoining the territory of Simeon, from the east side to the west, Issachar, one portion. ²⁶ Adjoining the territory of Issachar, from the east side to the west, Zebulun, one portion. ²⁷ Adjoining the territory of Zebulun, from the east side to the west, Gad, one portion. ²⁸ And adjoining the territory of Gad to the south, the boundary shall run ^(Y)from Tamar to the waters of ^(Z)Meribah-kadesh, from there along the Brook of Egypt^[f] to ^(AA)the Great Sea.^{[g] 29} This is the land that ^(AB)you shall allot as an inheritance among the tribes of Israel, and these are their portions, declares the Lord God.

The Gates of the City

³⁰ “These shall be ^(AC)the exits of the city: On the north side, which is to be ^(AD)4,500 cubits by measure, ^31 (AE)three gates, the gate of ^(AF)Reuben, the gate of ^(AG)Judah, and the gate of ^(AH)Levi, the gates of the city being named after the tribes of Israel. ³² On the east side, which is to be 4,500 cubits, three gates, the gate of Joseph, the gate of Benjamin, and the gate of Dan. ³³ On the south side, which is to be 4,500 cubits by measure, three gates, the gate of Simeon, the gate of Issachar, and the gate of Zebulun. ³⁴ On the west side, which is to be 4,500 cubits, three gates,^[h] the gate of Gad, the gate of Asher, and the gate of Naphtali. ³⁵ The circumference of the city shall be 18,000 cubits. And ^(AI)the name of the city from that time on shall be, ^(AJ)The Lord Is There.”

Daniel Taken to Babylon

1 In the third year of ^(A)the reign of 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 some of ^(B)the vessels of the house of God. And he brought them to ^(C)the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, ^(D)and placed the vessels in the treasury of his god. ³ Then the king commanded Ashpenaz, ^(E)his chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family^[a] and of ^(F)the nobility, ⁴ youths without ^(G)blemish, of good appearance and ^(H)skillful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to stand in the king's palace, and to ^(I)teach them the literature and language of the ^(J)Chaldeans. ⁵ The king assigned them a daily portion of ^(K)the food that the king ate, and of ^(L)the wine that he drank. They were to be educated for ^(M)three years, and at the end of that time they were to ^(N)stand before the king. ⁶ Among these were ^(O)Daniel, ^(P)Hananiah, ^(Q)Mishael, and ^(R)Azariah of the tribe of Judah. ⁷ And ^(S)the chief of the eunuchs ^(T)gave them names: ^(U)Daniel he called Belteshazzar, Hananiah he called Shadrach, Mishael he called Meshach, and Azariah he called Abednego.

Daniel's Faithfulness

⁸ But Daniel ^(V)resolved that he would not ^(W)defile himself with ^(X)the king's food, or with ^(Y)the wine that he drank. Therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him not to ^(Z)defile himself. ^9 (AA)And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs, ¹⁰ and the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, “I fear my lord the king, who assigned your food and your drink; for why should he see that you were in worse condition than the youths who are of your own age? So you would endanger my head with the king.” ¹¹ Then Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had assigned over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, ¹² “Test your servants for ^(AB)ten days; let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. ¹³ Then let our appearance and the appearance of the youths who eat ^(AC)the king's food be observed by you, and deal with your servants according to what you see.” ¹⁴ So he listened to them in this matter, and tested them for ten days. ¹⁵ At the end of ten days it was seen that they were better in appearance and fatter in flesh than all the youths who ate ^(AD)the king's food. ^16 (AE)So the steward took away their food and the wine they were to drink, and gave them ^(AF)vegetables.

¹⁷ As for these four youths, ^(AG)God gave them learning and ^(AH)skill in all literature and wisdom, and Daniel had ^(AI)understanding in all visions and dreams. ¹⁸ At the end of ^(AJ)the time, when the king had commanded that they should be brought in, the chief of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar. ¹⁹ And the king spoke with them, and among all of them none was found like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. Therefore ^(AK)they stood before the king. ²⁰ And in every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all ^(AL)the magicians and ^(AM)enchanters that were in all his kingdom. ²¹ And Daniel ^(AN)was there until the first year of ^(AO)King Cyrus.

Nebuchadnezzar's Dream

2 In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; ^(AP)his spirit was troubled, and ^(AQ)his sleep left him. ² Then the king commanded that ^(AR)the magicians, ^(AS)the enchanters, the ^(AT)sorcerers, and ^(AU)the Chaldeans be summoned to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and ^(AV)stood before the king. ³ And the king said to them, “I had a dream, and ^(AW)my spirit is troubled to know the dream.” ⁴ Then ^(AX)the Chaldeans said to the king in Aramaic,^{[b] (AY)}“O king, live forever! Tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation.” ⁵ The king answered and said to ^(AZ)the Chaldeans, “The word from me is firm: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be ^(BA)torn limb from limb, ^(BB)and your ^(BC)houses shall be laid in ruins. ⁶ But if you show the dream and its interpretation, ^(BD)you shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor. ^(BE)Therefore show me the dream and its interpretation.” ⁷ They answered a second time and said, “Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show its interpretation.” ⁸ The king answered and said, “I know with certainty that you are trying to ^(BF)gain time, because you see that the word from me is firm— ⁹ if you do not make the dream known to me, ^(BG)there is but one sentence for you. You have agreed to speak lying and corrupt words before me till ^(BH)the times change. ^(BI)Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can show me its interpretation.” ^10 (BJ)The Chaldeans answered the king and said, “There is not a man on earth who can meet the king's demand, for no great and powerful king has asked such a thing of any magician or enchanter or ^(BK)Chaldean. ¹¹ The thing that the king asks is difficult, and no one can show it to the king except ^(BL)the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh.”

¹² Because of this the king was angry and ^(BM)very furious, and ^(BN)commanded that all ^(BO)the wise men of Babylon be destroyed. ¹³ So the decree went out, and the wise men were about to be killed; and they sought ^(BP)Daniel and his companions, to kill them. ¹⁴ Then Daniel replied with prudence and discretion to ^(BQ)Arioch, the ^(BR)captain of the king's guard, who had gone out to kill the wise men of Babylon. ¹⁵ He declared^[c] to Arioch, the king's captain, “Why is the decree of the king ^(BS)so urgent?” Then Arioch made the matter known to Daniel. ¹⁶ And Daniel went in and requested the king to appoint him a time, that he might show the interpretation to the king.

God Reveals Nebuchadnezzar's Dream

¹⁷ Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to ^(BT)Hananiah, ^(BU)Mishael, and ^(BV)Azariah, his companions, ^18 (BW)and told them to seek mercy from the ^(BX)God of heaven concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions might not ^(BY)be destroyed with the rest of the wise men of Babylon. ¹⁹ Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in ^(BZ)a vision of the night. Then Daniel ^(CA)blessed the ^(CB)God of heaven. ²⁰ Daniel answered and said:

²⁴ Therefore Daniel went in to ^(CP)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; bring me in before the king, and I will show the king the interpretation.”

²⁵ Then ^(CQ)Arioch brought in Daniel before the king ^(CR)in haste and said thus to him: “I have found ^(CS)among the exiles from Judah a man who will make known to the king the interpretation.” ²⁶ The king declared to Daniel, ^(CT)whose name was Belteshazzar, ^(CU)“Are you able to make known to me the dream that I have seen and its interpretation?” ²⁷ Daniel answered the king and said, “No wise men, ^(CV)enchanters, ^(CW)magicians, or ^(CX)astrologers can show to the king the mystery that the king has asked, ²⁸ but ^(CY)there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar ^(CZ)what will be in the latter days. Your dream and ^(DA)the visions of your head as you lay in bed are these: ²⁹ To you, O king, as you lay in bed came thoughts of what would be after this, ^(DB)and he who reveals mysteries made known to you what is to be. ³⁰ But ^(DC)as for me, this mystery has been revealed to me, not because of any wisdom that I have more than all the living, but in order that the interpretation may be made known to the king, and that ^(DD)you may know the thoughts of your mind.