¹¹ But when King Nebuchadnezzar^[a] of Babylon attacked this country, we were afraid of the Babylonian and Syrian^[b] armies. So we decided to move to Jerusalem. That is why we are here.”

Daniel in Nebuchadnezzar’s Court

1 During the third year of King Jehoiakim’s reign in Judah,^[a] King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. ² The Lord gave him victory over King Jehoiakim of Judah and permitted him to take some of the sacred objects from the Temple of God. So Nebuchadnezzar took them back to the land of Babylonia^[b] and placed them in the treasure-house of his god.

24 During Jehoiakim’s reign, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon invaded the land of Judah. Jehoiakim surrendered and paid him tribute for three years but then rebelled. ² Then the Lord sent bands of Babylonian,^[a] Aramean, Moabite, and Ammonite raiders against Judah to destroy it, just as the Lord had promised through his prophets.

²⁰ “And when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then you will know that the time of its destruction has arrived. ²¹ Then those in Judea must flee to the hills. Those in Jerusalem must get out, and those out in the country should not return to the city.

¹⁴ “The day is coming when you will see the sacrilegious object that causes desecration^[a] standing where he^[b] should not be.” (Reader, pay attention!) “Then those in Judea must flee to the hills.