Second Vision: The Horns and the Smiths

^18 [a]And I looked up and saw four horns.

Joshua’s Vision

¹³ Once when Joshua was by Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing before him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you one of us or one of our adversaries?”^(A)

⁹ Then I looked up and saw two women coming forward. The wind was in their wings; they had wings like the wings of a stork, and they lifted up the basket^[a] between earth and sky.

Judah Overrun by Enemies

24 In his days King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came up; Jehoiakim became his servant for three years, then turned and rebelled against him.^{(A) 2} He^[a] sent against him bands of the Chaldeans, bands of the Arameans, bands of the Moabites, and bands of the Ammonites; he sent them against Judah to destroy it, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by his servants the prophets.^{(B) 3} Surely this came upon Judah at the command of the Lord, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh, for all that he had committed,^{(C) 4} and also for the innocent blood that he had shed, for he filled Jerusalem with innocent blood, and the Lord was not willing to pardon.^{(D) 5} Now the rest of the deeds of Jehoiakim and all that he did, are they not written in the Book of the Annals of the Kings of Judah? ⁶ So Jehoiakim slept with his ancestors; then his son Jehoiachin succeeded him.^{(E) 7} The king of Egypt did not come again out of his land, for the king of Babylon had taken over all that belonged to the king of Egypt from the Wadi of Egypt to the River Euphrates.^(F)

Reign and Captivity of Jehoiachin

⁸ Jehoiachin was eighteen years old when he began to reign; he reigned three months in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Nehushta daughter of Elnathan of Jerusalem.^{(G) 9} He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, just as his father had done.

¹⁰ At that time the servants of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came up to Jerusalem, and the city was besieged.^{(H) 11} King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to the city while his servants were besieging it; ¹² King Jehoiachin of Judah gave himself up to the king of Babylon: himself, his mother, his servants, his officers, and his palace officials. The king of Babylon took him prisoner in the eighth year of his reign.^(I)

Capture of Jerusalem

¹³ He carried off all the treasures of the house of the Lord and the treasures of the king’s house; he cut in pieces all the vessels of gold in the temple of the Lord that King Solomon of Israel had made, all this as the Lord had foretold.^{(J) 14} He carried away all Jerusalem, all the officials, all the warriors, ten thousand captives, all the artisans and the smiths; no one remained except the poorest people of the land.^{(K) 15} He carried away Jehoiachin to Babylon; the king’s mother, the king’s wives, his officials, and the elite of the land, he took into captivity from Jerusalem to Babylon.^{(L) 16} The king of Babylon brought captive to Babylon all the men of valor, seven thousand, the artisans and the smiths, one thousand, all of them strong and fit for war.^{(M) 17} The king of Babylon made Mattaniah, Jehoiachin’s uncle, king in his place and changed his name to Zedekiah.^(N)

Zedekiah Reigns over Judah

¹⁸ Zedekiah was twenty-one years old when he began to reign; he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Hamutal daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah.^{(O) 19} He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, just as Jehoiakim had done.^{(P) 20} Indeed, Jerusalem and Judah so angered the Lord that he expelled them from his presence.

The Fall and Captivity of Judah

Zedekiah rebelled against the king of Babylon.^(Q)

Seventh Vision: The Woman in a Basket

⁵ Then the angel who spoke with me came forward and said to me, “Look up and see what this is that is coming out.”

Sixth Vision: The Flying Scroll

5 Again I looked up and saw a flying scroll.^(A)

Third Vision: The Man with a Measuring Line

2 ^[a]I looked up and saw a man with a measuring line in his hand.^(A)

²⁸ He shall return to his land with great wealth, but his heart shall be set against the holy covenant. He shall work his will and return to his own land.

²⁹ “At the time appointed he shall return and come into the south, but this time it shall not be as it was before. ³⁰ For ships of Kittim shall come against him, and he shall lose heart and withdraw. He shall be enraged and take action against the holy covenant. He shall turn back and come to an understanding with those who forsake the holy covenant.^{(A) 31} Forces sent by him shall occupy and profane the temple and fortress. They shall abolish the regular burnt offering and set up the desolating sacrilege.^{(B) 32} He will flatter with smooth words those who violate the covenant, but the people who are loyal to their God shall stand firm and take action.^{(C) 33} The wise among the people shall give understanding to many; for some days, however, they shall fall by sword and flame and suffer captivity and plunder.^{(D) 34} When they fall, they shall receive a little help, and many shall join them insincerely.^{(E) 35} Some of the wise shall fall, so that they may be refined, purified, and cleansed,^[a] until the time of the end, for there is still an interval until the time appointed.^(F)

³ I looked up and saw a ram standing beside the gate.^[a] It had two horns. Both horns were long, but one was longer than the other, and the longer one came up second.^{(A) 4} I saw the ram charging westward and northward and southward. All beasts were powerless to withstand it, and no one could rescue from its power; it did as it pleased and became strong.^(B)

⁵ As I was watching, a male goat appeared from the west, coming across the face of the whole earth without touching the ground. The goat had a horn^[b] between its eyes.^{(C) 6} It came toward the ram with the two horns that I had seen standing beside the gate,^[c] and it ran at it with savage force.^{(D) 7} I saw it approaching the ram. It was enraged against it and struck the ram, breaking its two horns. The ram did not have power to withstand it; it threw the ram down to the ground and trampled upon it, and there was no one who could rescue the ram from its power.^{(E) 8} Then the male goat grew exceedingly great, but at the height of its power the great horn was broken, and in its place there came up four prominent horns toward the four winds of heaven.^(F)

⁹ Out of one of them came another^[d] horn, a little one, which grew exceedingly great toward the south, toward the east, and toward the beautiful land.^{(G) 10} It grew as high as the host of heaven. It threw down to earth some of the host and some of the stars and trampled on them.^{(H) 11} Even against the prince of the host it acted arrogantly; it took the regular burnt offering away from him and overthrew the place of his sanctuary.^{(I) 12} Because of wickedness, the host was given over to it together with the regular burnt offering;^[e] it cast truth to the ground and kept prospering in what it did. ¹³ Then I heard a holy one speaking, and another holy one said to the one who spoke, “For how long is this vision concerning the regular burnt offering, the transgression that makes desolate, and the giving over of the sanctuary and host to be trampled?”^{[f](J) 14} And he answered him,^[g] “For two thousand three hundred evenings and mornings; then the sanctuary shall be restored to its rightful state.”