Day 61 of 90

¹"You, son of man, prophesy against Gog, and say, 'Thus says the Lord God: "Behold, I am against you, Gog, prince of Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal:

²and I will turn you around, and will lead you on, and will cause you to come up from the uttermost parts of the north; and I will bring you on the mountains of Israel;

³and I will strike your bow out of your left hand, and will cause your arrows to fall out of your right hand.

⁴You shall fall on the mountains of Israel, you, and all your hordes, and the peoples who are with you: I will give you to the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the animals of the field to be devoured.

⁵You shall fall on the open field; for I have spoken it," says the Lord God.

⁶I will send a fire on Magog, and on those who dwell securely in the islands; and they shall know that I am the Lord.

⁷"'My holy name will I make known in the midst of my people Israel; neither will I allow my holy name to be profaned any more: and the nations shall know that I am the Lord, the Holy One in Israel.

⁸Behold, it comes, and it shall be done, says the Lord God; this is the day about which I have spoken.

⁹"'Those who dwell in the cities of Israel shall go forth, and shall make fires of the weapons and burn them, both the shields and the bucklers, the bows and the arrows, and the war clubs, and the spears, and they shall make fires of them seven years;

¹⁰so that they shall take no wood out of the field, neither cut down any out of the forests; for they shall make fires of the weapons; and they shall plunder those who plundered them, and rob those who robbed them, says the Lord God.

¹¹"'It shall happen in that day, that I will give to Gog a place for burial in Israel, the valley of those who pass through on the east of the sea; and it shall stop those who pass through: and there shall they bury Gog and all his multitude; and they shall call it The valley of Hamon Gog.

¹²Seven months shall the house of Israel be burying them, that they may cleanse the land.

¹³Yes, all the people of the land shall bury them; and it shall be to them a renown in the day that I shall be glorified, says the Lord God.

¹⁴They shall set apart men of continual employment, who shall pass through the land, and, with those who pass through, those who bury those who remain on the surface of the land, to cleanse it: after the end of seven months shall they search.

¹⁵Those who pass through the land shall pass through; and when any sees a man's bone, then shall he set up a sign by it, until the undertakers have buried it in the valley of Hamon Gog.

¹⁶Hamonah shall also be the name of a city. Thus shall they cleanse the land.'

¹⁷"You, son of man, thus says the Lord God: Speak to the birds of every sort, and to every animal of the field, 'Assemble yourselves, and come; gather yourselves on every side to my sacrifice that I do sacrifice for you, even a great sacrifice on the mountains of Israel, that you may eat flesh and drink blood.

¹⁸You shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bulls, all of them fatlings of Bashan.

¹⁹You shall eat fat until you be full, and drink blood until you are drunk, of my sacrifice which I have sacrificed for you.

²⁰You shall be filled at my table with horses and chariots, with mighty men, and with all men of war,' says the Lord God.

²¹"'I will set my glory among the nations; and all the nations shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid on them.

²²So the house of Israel shall know that I am the Lord their God, from that day and forward.

²³The nations shall know that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity; because they trespassed against me, and I hid my face from them: so I gave them into the hand of their adversaries, and they fell all of them by the sword.

²⁴According to their uncleanness and according to their transgressions did I to them; and I hid my face from them.'

²⁵"Therefore thus says the Lord God: 'Now will I bring back the captivity of Jacob, and have mercy on the whole house of Israel; and I will be jealous for my holy name.

²⁶They shall bear their shame, and all their trespasses by which they have trespassed against me, when they shall dwell securely in their land, and none shall make them afraid;

²⁷when I have brought them back from the peoples, and gathered them out of their enemies' lands, and am sanctified in them in the sight of many nations.

²⁸They shall know that I am the Lord their God, in that I caused them to go into captivity among the nations, and have gathered them to their own land; and I will leave none of them any more there;

²⁹neither will I hide my face any more from them; for I have poured out my Spirit on the house of Israel,' says the Lord God."

¹In the five and twentieth year of our captivity, in the beginning of the year, in the tenth day of the month, in the fourteenth year after that the city was struck, in the same day, the hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me there.

²In the visions of God brought he me into the land of Israel, and set me down on a very high mountain, whereon was as it were the frame of a city on the south.

³He brought me there; and, behold, there was a man, whose appearance was like the appearance of brass, with a line of flax in his hand, and a measuring reed; and he stood in the gate.

⁴The man said to me, "Son of man, see with your eyes, and hear with your ears, and set your heart on all that I shall show you; for, to the intent that I may show them to you, you are brought here: declare all that you see to the house of Israel."

⁵Behold, a wall on the outside of the house all around, and in the man's hand a measuring reed six cubits long, of a cubit and a handbreadth each: so he measured the thickness of the building, one reed; and the height, one reed.

⁶Then came he to the gate which looks toward the east, and went up its steps: and he measured the threshold of the gate, one reed broad; and the other threshold, one reed broad.

⁷Every lodge was one reed long, and one reed broad; and the space between the lodges was five cubits; and the threshold of the gate by the porch of the gate toward the house was one reed.

⁸He measured also the porch of the gate toward the house, one reed.

⁹Then measured he the porch of the gate, eight cubits; and its posts, two cubits; and the porch of the gate was toward the house.

¹⁰The lodges of the gate eastward were three on this side, and three on that side; they three were of one measure: and the posts had one measure on this side and on that side.

¹¹He measured the breadth of the opening of the gate, ten cubits; and the length of the gate, thirteen cubits;

¹²and a border before the lodges, one cubit on this side, and a border, one cubit on that side; and the lodges, six cubits on this side, and six cubits on that side.

¹³He measured the gate from the roof of the one lodge to the roof of the other, a breadth of twenty-five cubits; door against door.

¹⁴He made also posts, sixty cubits; and the court reached to the posts, around the gate.

¹⁵From the forefront of the gate at the entrance to the forefront of the inner porch of the gate were fifty cubits.

¹⁶There were closed windows to the lodges, and to their posts within the gate all around, and likewise to the arches; and windows were around inward; and on each post were palm trees.

¹⁷Then brought he me into the outer court; and behold, there were rooms and a pavement, made for the court all around: thirty rooms were on the pavement.

¹⁸The pavement was by the side of the gates, answerable to the length of the gates, even the lower pavement.

¹⁹Then he measured the breadth from the forefront of the lower gate to the forefront of the inner court outside, one hundred cubits, both on the east and on the north.

²⁰The gate of the outer court whose prospect is toward the north, he measured its length and its breadth.

²¹The lodges of it were three on this side and three on that side; and its posts and its arches were after the measure of the first gate: its length was fifty cubits, and the breadth twenty-five cubits.

²²The windows of it, and its arches, and the palm trees of it, were after the measure of the gate whose prospect is toward the east; and they went up to it by seven steps; and its arches were before them.

²³There was a gate to the inner court over against the other gate, both on the north and on the east; and he measured from gate to gate one hundred cubits.

²⁴He led me toward the south; and behold, a gate toward the south: and he measured its posts and its arches according to these measures.

²⁵There were windows in it and in its arches all around, like those windows: the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth twenty-five cubits.

²⁶There were seven steps to go up to it, and its arches were before them; and it had palm trees, one on this side, and another on that side, on its posts.

²⁷There was a gate to the inner court toward the south: and he measured from gate to gate toward the south a hundred cubits.

²⁸Then he brought me to the inner court by the south gate: and he measured the south gate according to these measures;

²⁹and its lodges, and its posts, and its arches, according to these measures: and there were windows in it and in its arches all around; it was fifty cubits long, and twenty-five cubits broad.

³⁰There were arches all around, twenty-five cubits long, and five cubits broad.

³¹The arches of it were toward the outer court; and palm trees were on its posts: and the ascent to it had eight steps.

³²He brought me into the inner court toward the east: and he measured the gate according to these measures;

³³and its lodges, and its posts, and its arches, according to these measures: and there were windows therein and in its arches all around; it was fifty cubits long, and twenty-five cubits broad.

³⁴The arches of it were toward the outer court; and palm trees were on its posts, on this side, and on that side: and the ascent to it had eight steps.

³⁵He brought me to the north gate: and he measured it according to these measures;

³⁶its lodges, its posts, and its arches: and there were windows therein all around; the length was fifty cubits, and the breadth twenty-five cubits.

³⁷The posts of it were toward the outer court; and palm trees were on its posts, on this side, and on that side: and the ascent to it had eight steps.

³⁸A room with its door was by the posts at the gates; there they washed the burnt offering.

³⁹In the porch of the gate were two tables on this side, and two tables on that side, to kill thereon the burnt offering and the sin offering and the trespass offering.

⁴⁰On the one side outside, as one goes up to the entry of the gate toward the north, were two tables; and on the other side, which belonged to the porch of the gate, were two tables.

⁴¹Four tables were on this side, and four tables on that side, by the side of the gate; eight tables, whereupon they killed the sacrifices.

⁴²There were four tables for the burnt offering, of cut stone, a cubit and a half long, and a cubit and a half broad, and one cubit high; whereupon they laid the instruments with which they killed the burnt offering and the sacrifice.

⁴³The hooks, a handbreadth long, were fastened within all around: and on the tables was the flesh of the offering.

⁴⁴Outside of the inner gate were rooms for the singers in the inner court, which was at the side of the north gate; and their prospect was toward the south; one at the side of the east gate having the prospect toward the north.

⁴⁵He said to me, "This room, whose prospect is toward the south, is for the priests, the keepers of the duty of the house;

⁴⁶and the room whose prospect is toward the north is for the priests, the keepers of the duty of the altar: these are the sons of Zadok, who from among the sons of Levi come near to the Lord to minister to him."

⁴⁷He measured the court, one hundred cubits long, and a hundred cubits broad, foursquare; and the altar was before the house.

⁴⁸Then he brought me to the porch of the house, and measured each post of the porch, five cubits on this side, and five cubits on that side: and the breadth of the gate was three cubits on this side, and three cubits on that side.

⁴⁹The length of the porch was twenty cubits, and the breadth eleven cubits; even by the steps by which they went up to it: and there were pillars by the posts, one on this side, and another on that side.

¹He brought me to the temple, and measured the posts, six cubits broad on the one side, and six cubits broad on the other side, which was the breadth of the tent.

²The breadth of the entrance was ten cubits; and the sides of the entrance were five cubits on the one side, and five cubits on the other side: and he measured its length, forty cubits, and the breadth, twenty cubits.

³Then went he inward, and measured each post of the entrance, two cubits; and the entrance, six cubits; and the breadth of the entrance, seven cubits.

⁴He measured its length, twenty cubits, and the breadth, twenty cubits, before the temple: and he said to me, "This is the most holy place."

⁵Then he measured the wall of the house, six cubits; and the breadth of every side room, four cubits, all around the house on every side.

⁶The side rooms were in three stories, one over another, and thirty in order; and they entered into the wall which belonged to the house for the side rooms all around, that they might have hold therein, and not have hold in the wall of the house.

⁷The side rooms were broader as they encompassed the house higher and higher; for the encompassing of the house went higher and higher around the house: therefore the breadth of the house continued upward; and so one went up from the lowest room to the highest by the middle room.

⁸I saw also that the house had a raised base all around: the foundations of the side rooms were a full reed of six great cubits.

⁹The thickness of the wall, which was for the side rooms, on the outside, was five cubits: and that which was left was the place of the side rooms that belonged to the house.

¹⁰Between the rooms was a breadth of twenty cubits around the house on every side.

¹¹The doors of the side rooms were toward the place that was left, one door toward the north, and another door toward the south: and the breadth of the place that was left was five cubits all around.

¹²The building that was before the separate place at the side toward the west was seventy cubits broad; and the wall of the building was five cubits thick all around, and its length ninety cubits.

¹³So he measured the house, one hundred cubits long; and the separate place, and the building, with its walls, one hundred cubits long;

¹⁴also the breadth of the face of the house, and of the separate place toward the east, one hundred cubits.

¹⁵He measured the length of the building before the separate place which was at its back, and its galleries on the one side and on the other side, one hundred cubits; and the inner temple, and the porches of the court;

¹⁶the thresholds, and the closed windows, and the galleries around on their three stories, over against the threshold, with wood ceilings all around, and from the ground up to the windows, (now the windows were covered),

¹⁷to the space above the door, even to the inner house, and outside, and by all the wall all around inside and outside, by measure.

¹⁸It was made with cherubim and palm trees; and a palm tree was between cherub and cherub, and every cherub had two faces;

¹⁹so that there was the face of a man toward the palm tree on the one side, and the face of a young lion toward the palm tree on the other side. Thus was it made through all the house all around:

²⁰from the ground to above the door were cherubim and palm trees made: thus was the wall of the temple.

²¹As for the temple, the door posts were squared; and as for the face of the sanctuary, the appearance of it was as the appearance of the temple.

²²The altar was of wood, three cubits high, and its length two cubits; and its corners, and its length, and its walls, were of wood: and he said to me, This is the table that is before the Lord.

²³The temple and the sanctuary had two doors.

²⁴The doors had two leaves apiece, two turning leaves: two leaves for the one door, and two leaves for the other.

²⁵There were made on them, on the doors of the temple, cherubim and palm trees, like as were made on the walls; and there was a threshold of wood on the face of the porch outside.

²⁶There were closed windows and palm trees on the one side and on the other side, on the sides of the porch: thus were the side rooms of the house, and the thresholds.

¹Then he brought me forth into the outer court, the way toward the north: and he brought me into the room that was over against the separate place, and which was over against the building toward the north.

²Before the length of one hundred cubits was the north door, and the breadth was fifty cubits.

³Over against the twenty cubits which belonged to the inner court, and over against the pavement which belonged to the outer court, was gallery against gallery in the third story.

⁴Before the rooms was a walk of ten cubits' breadth inward, a way of one cubit; and their doors were toward the north.

⁵Now the upper rooms were shorter; for the galleries took away from these, more than from the lower and the middle, in the building.

⁶For they were in three stories, and they didn't have pillars as the pillars of the courts: therefore the uppermost was straitened more than the lowest and the middle from the ground.

⁷The wall that was outside by the side of the rooms, toward the outer court before the rooms, its length was fifty cubits.

⁸For the length of the rooms that were in the outer court was fifty cubits: and behold, before the temple were one hundred cubits.

⁹From under these rooms was the entry on the east side, as one goes into them from the outer court.

¹⁰In the thickness of the wall of the court toward the east, before the separate place, and before the building, there were rooms.

¹¹The way before them was like the appearance of the way of the rooms which were toward the north; according to their length so was their breadth: and all their exits were both according to their fashions, and according to their doors.

¹²According to the doors of the rooms that were toward the south was a door at the head of the way, even the way directly before the wall toward the east, as one enters into them.

¹³Then he said to me, "The north rooms and the south rooms, which are before the separate place, they are the holy rooms, where the priests who are near to the Lord shall eat the most holy things: there shall they lay the most holy things, and the meal offering, and the sin offering, and the trespass offering; for the place is holy.

¹⁴When the priests enter in, then shall they not go out of the holy place into the outer court, but there they shall lay their garments in which they minister; for they are holy: and they shall put on other garments, and shall approach to that which pertains to the people."

¹⁵Now when he had made an end of measuring the inner house, he brought me forth by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east, and measured it all around.

¹⁶He measured on the east side with the measuring reed five hundred reeds, with the measuring reed all around.

¹⁷He measured on the north side five hundred reeds with the measuring reed all around.

¹⁸He measured on the south side five hundred reeds with the measuring reed.

¹⁹He turned about to the west side, and measured five hundred reeds with the measuring reed.

²⁰He measured it on the four sides: it had a wall around it, the length five hundred, and the breadth five hundred, to make a separation between that which was holy and that which was common.

¹Afterward he brought me to the gate, even the gate that looks toward the east.

²Behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like the sound of many waters; and the earth shined with his glory.

³It was according to the appearance of the vision which I saw, even according to the vision that I saw when I came to destroy the city; and the visions were like the vision that I saw by the river Chebar; and I fell on my face.

⁴The glory of the Lord came into the house by the way of the gate whose prospect is toward the east.

⁵The Spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house.

⁶I heard one speaking to me out of the house; and a man stood by me.

⁷He said to me, "Son of man, this is the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet, where I will dwell in the midst of the children of Israel forever. The house of Israel shall no more defile my holy name, neither they, nor their kings, by their prostitution, and by the dead bodies of their kings in their high places;

⁸in their setting of their threshold by my threshold, and their doorpost beside my doorpost, and there was but the wall between me and them; and they have defiled my holy name by their abominations which they have committed: therefore I have consumed them in my anger.

⁹Now let them put away their prostitution, and the dead bodies of their kings, far from me; and I will dwell in their midst forever.

¹⁰"You, son of man, show the house to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities; and let them measure the pattern.

¹¹If they be ashamed of all that they have done, make known to them the form of the house, and its fashion, and its exits, and its entrances, and all its forms, and all its ordinances, and all its forms, and all its laws; and write it in their sight; that they may keep the whole form of it, and all its ordinances, and do them.

¹²"This is the law of the house: on the top of the mountain the whole limit around it shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house.

¹³"These are the measures of the altar by cubits (the cubit is a cubit and a handbreadth): the bottom shall be a cubit, and the breadth a cubit, and its border around its edge a span; and this shall be the base of the altar.

¹⁴From the bottom on the ground to the lower ledge shall be two cubits, and the breadth one cubit; and from the lesser ledge to the greater ledge shall be four cubits, and the breadth a cubit.

¹⁵The upper altar shall be four cubits; and from the altar hearth and upward there shall be four horns.

¹⁶The altar hearth shall be twelve cubits long by twelve broad, square in the four sides of it.

¹⁷The ledge shall be fourteen cubits long by fourteen broad in the four sides of it; and the border about it shall be half a cubit; and its bottom shall be a cubit around; and its steps shall look toward the east."

¹⁸He said to me, "Son of man, thus says the Lord God: These are the ordinances of the altar in the day when they shall make it, to offer burnt offerings thereon, and to sprinkle blood thereon.

¹⁹You shall give to the priests the Levites who are of the seed of Zadok, who are near to me, to minister to me, says the Lord God, a young bull for a sin offering.

²⁰You shall take of its blood, and put it on the four horns of it, and on the four corners of the ledge, and on the border all around: thus you shall cleanse it and make atonement for it.

²¹You shall also take the bull of the sin offering, and it shall be burnt in the appointed place of the house, outside of the sanctuary.

²²"On the second day you shall offer a male goat without blemish for a sin offering; and they shall cleanse the altar, as they cleansed it with the bull.

²³When you have finished cleansing it, you shall offer a young bull without blemish, and a ram out of the flock without blemish.

²⁴You shall bring them near to the Lord, and the priests shall cast salt on them, and they shall offer them up for a burnt offering to the Lord.

²⁵"Seven days you shall prepare every day a goat for a sin offering: they shall also prepare a young bull, and a ram out of the flock, without blemish.

²⁶Seven days shall they make atonement for the altar and purify it; so shall they consecrate it.

²⁷When they have accomplished the days, it shall be that on the eighth day, and forward, the priests shall make your burnt offerings on the altar, and your peace offerings; and I will accept you, says the Lord God."

¹Then he brought me back by the way of the outer gate of the sanctuary, which looks toward the east; and it was shut.

²The Lord said to me, "This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, neither shall any man enter in by it; for the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered in by it; therefore it shall be shut.

³As for the prince, he shall sit therein as prince to eat bread before the Lord; he shall enter by the way of the porch of the gate, and shall go out by the way of the same."

⁴Then he brought me by the way of the north gate before the house; and I looked, and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord: and I fell on my face.

⁵The Lord said to me, "Son of man, mark well, and see with your eyes, and hear with your ears all that I tell you concerning all the ordinances of the house of the Lord, and all its laws; and mark well the entrance of the house, with every exit of the sanctuary.

⁶You shall tell the rebellious, even to the house of Israel, 'Thus says the Lord God: you house of Israel, let it suffice you of all your abominations,

⁷in that you have brought in foreigners, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, to be in my sanctuary, to profane it, even my house, when you offer my bread, the fat and the blood, and they have broken my covenant, to add to all your abominations.

⁸You have not performed the duty of my holy things; but you have set performers of my duty in my sanctuary for yourselves.'

⁹"Thus says the Lord God, 'No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and uncircumcised in flesh, shall enter into my sanctuary, of any foreigners who are among the children of Israel.

¹⁰But the Levites who went far from me, when Israel went astray, who went astray from me after their idols, they shall bear their iniquity.

¹¹Yet they shall be ministers in my sanctuary, having oversight at the gates of the house, and ministering in the house: they shall kill the burnt offering and the sacrifice for the people, and they shall stand before them to minister to them.

¹²Because they ministered to them before their idols, and became a stumbling block of iniquity to the house of Israel; therefore have I lifted up my hand against them, says the Lord God, and they shall bear their iniquity.

¹³They shall not come near to me, to execute the office of priest to me, nor to come near to any of my holy things, to the things that are most holy; but they shall bear their shame, and their abominations which they have committed.

¹⁴Yet will I make them performers of the duty of the house, for all its service, and for all that shall be done therein.

¹⁵"'But the Levitical priests, the sons of Zadok, who performed the duty of my sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they shall come near to me to minister to me; and they shall stand before me to offer to me the fat and the blood, says the Lord God:

¹⁶they shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table, to minister to me, and they shall keep my instruction.

¹⁷"'It shall be that, when they enter in at the gates of the inner court, they shall be clothed with linen garments; and no wool shall come on them, while they minister in the gates of the inner court, and within.

¹⁸They shall have linen turbans on their heads, and shall have linen breeches on their waists; they shall not clothe themselves with anything that causes sweat.

¹⁹When they go forth into the outer court, even into the outer court to the people, they shall put off their garments in which they minister, and lay them in the holy rooms; and they shall put on other garments, that they not sanctify the people with their garments.

²⁰"'Neither shall they shave their heads, nor allow their locks to grow long; they shall only cut off the hair of their heads.

²¹Neither shall any of the priests drink wine, when they enter into the inner court.

²²Neither shall they take for their wives a widow, nor her who is put away; but they shall take virgins of the seed of the house of Israel, or a widow who is the widow of a priest.

²³They shall teach my people the difference between the holy and the common, and cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean.

²⁴"'In a controversy they shall stand to judge; according to my ordinances shall they judge it: and they shall keep my laws and my statutes in all my appointed feasts; and they shall make my Sabbaths holy.

²⁵"'They shall go in to no dead person to defile themselves; but for father, or for mother, or for son, or for daughter, for brother, or for sister who has had no husband, they may defile themselves.

²⁶After he is cleansed, they shall reckon to him seven days.

²⁷In the day that he goes into the sanctuary, into the inner court, to minister in the sanctuary, he shall offer his sin offering, says the Lord God.

²⁸"'They shall have an inheritance: I am their inheritance; and you shall give them no possession in Israel; I am their possession.

²⁹They shall eat the meal offering, and the sin offering, and the trespass offering; and every devoted thing in Israel shall be theirs.

³⁰The first of all the first fruits of every thing, and every offering of everything, of all your offerings, shall be for the priest: you shall also give to the priests the first of your dough, to cause a blessing to rest on your house.

³¹The priests shall not eat of anything that dies of itself, or is torn, whether it be bird or animal.

¹"'Moreover, when you shall divide by lot the land for inheritance, you shall offer an offering to the Lord, a holy portion of the land; the length shall be the length of twenty-five thousand reeds, and the breadth shall be ten thousand: it shall be holy in all its border all around.

²Of this there shall be for the holy place five hundred in length by five hundred in breadth, square all around; and fifty cubits for its suburbs all around.

³Of this measure you shall measure a length of twenty-five thousand, and a breadth of ten thousand: and in it shall be the sanctuary, which is most holy.

⁴It is a holy portion of the land; it shall be for the priests, the ministers of the sanctuary, who come near to minister to the Lord; and it shall be a place for their houses, and a holy place for the sanctuary.

⁵Twenty-five thousand in length, and ten thousand in breadth, shall be to the Levites, the ministers of the house, for a possession to themselves, for twenty rooms.

⁶"'You shall appoint the possession of the city five thousand broad, and twenty-five thousand long, side by side with the offering of the holy portion: it shall be for the whole house of Israel.

⁷"'Whatever is for the prince shall be on the one side and on the other side of the holy offering and of the possession of the city, in front of the holy offering and in front of the possession of the city, on the west side westward, and on the east side eastward; and in length answerable to one of the portions, from the west border to the east border.

⁸In the land it shall be to him for a possession in Israel: and my princes shall no more oppress my people; but they shall give the land to the house of Israel according to their tribes.'

⁹"Thus says the Lord God: 'Let it suffice you, princes of Israel: remove violence and spoil, and execute justice and righteousness; dispossessing my people, says the Lord God.

¹⁰You shall have just balances, and a just ephah, and a just bath.

¹¹The ephah and the bath shall be of one measure, that the bath may contain the tenth part of a homer, and the ephah the tenth part of a homer: its measure shall be after the homer.

¹²The shekel shall be twenty gerahs. Twenty shekels plus twenty-five shekels plus fifteen shekels shall be your mina.

¹³"'This is the offering that you shall offer: the sixth part of an ephah from a homer of wheat; and you shall give the sixth part of an ephah from a homer of barley;

¹⁴and the set portion of oil, of the bath of oil, the tenth part of a bath out of the cor, which is ten baths, even a homer; (for ten baths are a homer;)

¹⁵and one lamb of the flock, out of two hundred, from the well-watered pastures of Israel-for a meal offering, and for a burnt offering, and for peace offerings, to make atonement for them, says the Lord God.

¹⁶All the people of the land shall give to this offering for the prince in Israel.

¹⁷It shall be the prince's part to give the burnt offerings, and the meal offerings, and the drink offerings, in the feasts, and on the new moons, and on the Sabbaths, in all the appointed feasts of the house of Israel: he shall prepare the sin offering, and the meal offering, and the burnt offering, and the peace offerings, to make atonement for the house of Israel.

¹⁸"'Thus says the Lord God: In the first month, in the first day of the month, you shall take a young bull without blemish; and you shall cleanse the sanctuary.

¹⁹The priest shall take of the blood of the sin offering, and put it on the door posts of the house, and on the four corners of the ledge of the altar, and on the posts of the gate of the inner court.

²⁰So you shall do on the seventh day of the month for everyone who errs, and for him who is simple: so you shall make atonement for the house.

²¹"'In the first month, in the fourteenth day of the month, you shall have the Passover, a feast of seven days; unleavened bread shall be eaten.

²²On that day shall the prince prepare for himself and for all the people of the land a bull for a sin offering.

²³The seven days of the feast he shall prepare a burnt offering to the Lord, seven bulls and seven rams without blemish daily the seven days; and a male goat daily for a sin offering.

²⁴He shall prepare a meal offering, an ephah for a bull, and an ephah for a ram, and a hin of oil to an ephah.

²⁵In the seventh month, in the fifteenth day of the month, in the feast, shall he do the like the seven days; according to the sin offering, according to the burnt offering, and according to the meal offering, and according to the oil.'

¹"Thus says the Lord God: 'The gate of the inner court that looks toward the east shall be shut the six working days; but on the Sabbath day it shall be opened, and on the day of the new moon it shall be opened.

²The prince shall enter by the way of the porch of the gate outside, and shall stand by the post of the gate; and the priests shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings, and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate: then he shall go forth; but the gate shall not be shut until the evening.

³The people of the land shall worship at the door of that gate before the Lord on the Sabbaths and on the new moons.

⁴The burnt offering that the prince shall offer to the Lord shall be on the Sabbath day six lambs without blemish and a ram without blemish;

⁵and the meal offering shall be an ephah for the ram, and the meal offering for the lambs as he is able to give, and a hin of oil to an ephah.

⁶On the day of the new moon it shall be a young bull without blemish, and six lambs, and a ram; they shall be without blemish:

⁷and he shall prepare a meal offering, an ephah for the bull, and an ephah for the ram, and for the lambs according as he is able, and a hin of oil to an ephah.

⁸When the prince shall enter, he shall go in by the way of the porch of the gate, and he shall go forth by its way.

⁹"'But when the people of the land shall come before the Lord in the appointed feasts, he who enters by the way of the north gate to worship shall go forth by the way of the south gate; and he who enters by the way of the south gate shall go forth by the way of the north gate: he shall not return by the way of the gate by which he came in, but shall go forth straight before him.

¹⁰The prince, when they go in, shall go in with of them; and when they go out, he shall go out.

¹¹"'In the feasts and in the solemnities the meal offering shall be an ephah for a bull, and an ephah for a ram, and for the lambs as he is able to give, and a hin of oil to an ephah.

¹²When the prince shall prepare a freewill offering, a burnt offering or peace offerings as a freewill offering to the Lord, one shall open for him the gate that looks toward the east; and he shall prepare his burnt offering and his peace offerings, as he does on the Sabbath day: then he shall go forth; and after his going forth one shall shut the gate.

¹³"'You shall prepare a lamb a year old without blemish for a burnt offering to the Lord daily: morning by morning you shall prepare it.

¹⁴You shall prepare a meal offering with it morning by morning, the sixth part of an ephah, and the third part of a hin of oil, to moisten the fine flour; a meal offering to the Lord continually by a perpetual ordinance.

¹⁵Thus shall they prepare the lamb, and the meal offering, and the oil, morning by morning, for a continual burnt offering.'

¹⁶"Thus says the Lord God: 'If the prince give a gift to any of his sons, it is his inheritance, it shall belong to his sons; it is their possession by inheritance.

¹⁷But if he give of his inheritance a gift to one of his servants, it shall be his to the year of liberty; then it shall return to the prince; but as for his inheritance, it shall be for his sons.

¹⁸Moreover the prince shall not take of the people's inheritance, to thrust them out of their possession; he shall give inheritance to his sons out of his own possession, that my people not be scattered every man from his possession.'"

¹⁹Then he brought me through the entry, which was at the side of the gate, into the holy rooms for the priests, which looked toward the north: and behold, there was a place on the hinder part westward.

²⁰He said to me, "This is the place where the priests shall boil the trespass offering and the sin offering, and where they shall bake the meal offering; that they not bring them forth into the outer court, to sanctify the people."

²¹Then he brought me forth into the outer court, and caused me to pass by the four corners of the court; and behold, in every corner of the court there was a court.

²²In the four corners of the court there were courts enclosed, forty cubits long and thirty broad: these four in the corners were of one measure.

²³There was a wall around in them, around the four, and boiling places were made under the walls all around.

²⁴Then he said to me, "These are the boiling houses, where the ministers of the house shall boil the sacrifice of the people."

¹He brought me back to the door of the house; and behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward; (for the forefront of the house was toward the east;) and the waters came down from under, from the right side of the house, on the south of the altar.

²Then he brought me out by the way of the gate northward, and led me round by the way outside to the outer gate, by the way of the gate that looks toward the east; and behold, there ran out waters on the right side.

³When the man went forth eastward with the line in his hand, he measured one thousand cubits, and he caused me to pass through the waters, waters that were to the ankles.

⁴Again he measured one thousand, and caused me to pass through the waters, waters that were to the knees. Again he measured one thousand, and caused me to pass through the waters, waters that were to the waist.

⁵Afterward he measured one thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass through; for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed through.

⁶He said to me, "Son of man, have you seen this?" Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the bank of the river.

⁷Now when I had returned, behold, on the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other.

⁸Then he said to me, "These waters issue forth toward the eastern region, and shall go down into the Arabah; and they shall go toward the sea; into the sea shall the waters go which were made to issue forth; and the waters shall be healed.

⁹It shall happen, that every living creature which swarms, in every place where the rivers come, shall live; and there shall be a very great multitude of fish; for these waters have come there, and the waters of the sea shall be healed, and everything shall live wherever the river comes.

¹⁰It shall happen, that fishermen shall stand by it: from En Gedi even to En Eglaim shall be a place for the spreading of nets; their fish shall be after their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many.

¹¹But the miry places of it, and its marshes, shall not be healed; they shall be given up to salt.

¹²By the river on its bank, on this side and on that side, shall grow every tree for food, whose leaf shall not wither, neither shall its fruit fail: it shall bring forth new fruit every month, because its waters issue out of the sanctuary; and its fruit shall be for food, and its leaf for healing."

¹³"Thus says the Lord God: 'This shall be the border, by which you shall divide the land for inheritance according to the twelve tribes of Israel: Joseph shall have two portions.

¹⁴You shall inherit it, one as well as another; for I swore to give it to your fathers: and this land shall fall to you for inheritance.

¹⁵"'This shall be the border of the land: On the north side, from the great sea, by the way of Hethlon, to the entrance of Zedad;

¹⁶Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim, which is between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath; Hazer Hatticon, which is by the border of Hauran.

¹⁷The border from the sea, shall be Hazar Enon at the border of Damascus; and on the north northward is the border of Hamath. This is the north side.

¹⁸The east side, between Hauran and Damascus and Gilead, and the land of Israel, shall be the Jordan; from the north border to the east sea you shall measure. This is the east side.

¹⁹The south side southward shall be from Tamar as far as the waters of Meriboth Kadesh, to the brook of Egypt, to the great sea. This is the south side southward.

²⁰The west side shall be the great sea, from the south border as far as over against the entrance of Hamath. This is the west side.

²¹"'So you shall divide this land to you according to the tribes of Israel.

²²It shall happen, that you shall divide it by lot for an inheritance to you and to the aliens who live among you, who shall father children among you; and they shall be to you as the native-born among the children of Israel; they shall have inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel.

²³It shall happen, that in what tribe the stranger lives, there you shall give him his inheritance,' says the Lord God."

¹"Now these are the names of the tribes: From the north end, beside the way of Hethlon to the entrance of Hamath, Hazar Enan at the border of Damascus, northward beside Hamath (and they shall have their sides east and west), Dan, one portion.

²By the border of Dan, from the east side to the west side, Asher, one portion.

³By the border of Asher, from the east side even to the west side, Naphtali, one portion.

⁴By the border of Naphtali, from the east side to the west side, Manasseh, one portion.

⁵By the border of Manasseh, from the east side to the west side, Ephraim, one portion.

⁶By the border of Ephraim, from the east side even to the west side, Reuben, one portion.

⁷By the border of Reuben, from the east side to the west side, Judah, one portion.

⁸"By the border of Judah, from the east side to the west side, shall be the offering which you shall offer, twenty-five thousand reeds in breadth, and in length as one of the portions, from the east side to the west side: and the sanctuary shall be in its midst.

⁹The offering that you shall offer to the Lord shall be twenty-five thousand reeds in length, and ten thousand in breadth.

¹⁰For these, even for the priests, shall be the holy offering: toward the north twenty-five thousand in length, and toward the west ten thousand in breadth, and toward the east ten thousand in breadth, and toward the south twenty-five thousand in length: and the sanctuary of the Lord shall be in its midst.

¹¹It shall be for the priests who are sanctified of the sons of Zadok, who have kept my instruction, who didn't go astray when the children of Israel went astray, as the Levites went astray.

¹²It shall be to them an offering from the offering of the land, a thing most holy, by the border of the Levites.

¹³"Answerable to the border of the priests, the Levites shall have twenty-five thousand in length, and ten thousand in breadth: all the length shall be twenty-five thousand, and the breadth ten thousand.

¹⁴They shall sell none of it, nor exchange it, nor shall the first fruits of the land be alienated; for it is holy to the Lord.

¹⁵"The five thousand that are left in the breadth, in front of the twenty-five thousand, shall be for common use, for the city, for dwelling and for suburbs; and the city shall be in its midst.

¹⁶These shall be its measures: the north side four thousand and five hundred, and the south side four thousand and five hundred, and on the east side four thousand and five hundred, and the west side four thousand and five hundred.

¹⁷The city shall have suburbs: toward the north two hundred fifty, and toward the south two hundred fifty, and toward the east two hundred fifty, and toward the west two hundred fifty.

¹⁸The remainder in the length, answerable to the holy offering, shall be ten thousand eastward, and ten thousand westward; and it shall be answerable to the holy offering; and its increase shall be for food to those who labor in the city.

¹⁹Those who labor in the city, out of all the tribes of Israel, shall cultivate it.

²⁰All the offering shall be twenty-five thousand by twenty-five thousand: you shall offer the holy offering foursquare, with the possession of the city.

²¹"The residue shall be for the prince, on the one side and on the other of the holy offering and of the possession of the city; in front of the twenty-five thousand of the offering toward the east border, and westward in front of the twenty-five thousand toward the west border, answerable to the portions, it shall be for the prince: and the holy offering and the sanctuary of the house shall be in its midst.

²²Moreover from the possession of the Levites, and from the possession of the city, being in the midst of that which is the prince's, between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin, it shall be for the prince.

²³"As for the rest of the tribes: from the east side to the west side, Benjamin, one portion.

²⁴By the border of Benjamin, from the east side to the west side, Simeon, one portion.

²⁵By the border of Simeon, from the east side to the west side, Issachar, one portion.

²⁶By the border of Issachar, from the east side to the west side, Zebulun, one portion.

²⁷By the border of Zebulun, from the east side to the west side, Gad, one portion.

²⁸By the border of Gad, at the south side southward, the border shall be even from Tamar to the waters of Meribath Kadesh, to the brook of Egypt, to the great sea.

²⁹This is the land which you shall divide by lot to the tribes of Israel for inheritance, and these are their several portions, says the Lord God.

³⁰"These are the exits of the city: On the north side four thousand and five hundred reeds by measure;

³¹and the gates of the city shall be after the names of the tribes of Israel, three gates northward: the gate of Reuben, one; the gate of Judah, one; the gate of Levi, one.

³²At the east side four thousand and five hundred reeds, and three gates: even the gate of Joseph, one; the gate of Benjamin, one; the gate of Dan, one.

³³At the south side four thousand and five hundred reeds by measure, and three gates: the gate of Simeon, one; the gate of Issachar, one; the gate of Zebulun, one.

³⁴At the west side four thousand and five hundred reeds, with their three gates: the gate of Gad, one; the gate of Asher, one; the gate of Naphtali, one.

³⁵It shall be eighteen thousand reeds around: and the name of the city from that day shall be, 'The Lord is there.'"

¹In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah came Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to Jerusalem, and besieged it.

²The Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with part of the vessels of the house of God; and he carried them into the land of Shinar to the house of his god: and he brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god.

³The king spoke to Ashpenaz the master of his eunuchs, that he should bring in some of the children of Israel, even of the royal family and of the nobles;

⁴youths in whom was no blemish, but well-favored, and skillful in all wisdom, and endowed with knowledge, and understanding science, and such as had ability to stand in the king's palace; and that he should teach them the learning and the language of the Chaldeans.

⁵The king appointed for them a daily portion of the king's royal food, and of the wine which he drank, and that they should be nourished three years; that at its end they should stand before the king.

⁶Now among these were, of the children of Judah, Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah.

⁷The prince of the eunuchs gave names to them: to Daniel he gave the name of Belteshazzar; and to Hananiah, of Shadrach; and to Mishael, of Meshach; and to Azariah, of Abednego.

⁸But Daniel determined in his heart that he would not defile himself with the king's royal food, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself.

⁹Now God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the prince of the eunuchs.

¹⁰The prince of the eunuchs said to Daniel, "I fear my lord the king, who has appointed your food and your drink: for why should he see your faces worse looking than the youths who are of your own age? So would you endanger my head with the king."

¹¹Then said Daniel to the steward whom the prince of the eunuchs had appointed over Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah:

¹²"Test your servants for ten days; and let them give us vegetables to eat, and water to drink.

¹³Then let our faces be looked on before you, and the face of the youths who eat of the king's royal food; and as you see, deal with your servants."

¹⁴So he listened to them in this matter, and tested them ten days.

¹⁵At the end of ten days their faces appeared better and fatter than all the youths who ate of the king's royal food.

¹⁶So the steward took away their royal food, and the wine that they should drink, and gave them vegetables.

¹⁷Now as for these four youths, God gave them knowledge and skill in all learning and wisdom: and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams.

¹⁸At the end of the days which the king had appointed for bringing them in, the prince of the eunuchs brought them in before Nebuchadnezzar.

¹⁹The king talked with them; and among them all was found none like Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah: therefore they entered the king's service.

²⁰In every matter of wisdom and understanding, concerning which the king inquired of them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters who were in all his realm.

²¹Daniel continued even to the first year of king Cyrus.

¹In the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams; and his spirit was troubled, and his sleep went from him.

²Then the king commanded to call the magicians, and the enchanters, and the sorcerers, and the Chaldeans, to tell the king his dreams. So they came in and stood before the king.

³The king said to them, "I have had a dream, and my spirit is anxious to understand the dream."

⁴Then spoke the Chaldeans to the king in the Syrian language, "O king, live forever: tell your servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation."

⁵The king answered the Chaldeans, "The thing is gone from me: if you do not make known to me the dream and its interpretation, you shall be cut in pieces, and your houses shall be made a rubbish heap.

⁶But if you show the dream and its interpretation, you shall receive from me gifts and rewards and great honor: therefore show me the dream and its interpretation."

⁷They answered the second time and said, "Let the king tell his servants the dream, and we will show the interpretation."

⁸The king answered, "I know of a certainty that you would gain time, because you see the thing is gone from me.

⁹But if you do not make known to me the dream, there is but one law for you; for you have prepared lying and corrupt words to speak before me, until such time that things might change. Therefore tell me the dream, and I shall know that you can show me its interpretation."

¹⁰The Chaldeans answered before the king, and said, "There is not a man on the earth who can show the king's matter, because no king, lord, or ruler, has asked such a thing of any magician, or enchanter, or Chaldean.

¹¹It is a rare thing that the king requires, and there is no other who can show it before the king, except the gods, whose dwelling is not with flesh."

¹²For this cause the king was angry and very furious, and commanded to destroy all the wise men of Babylon.

¹³So the decree went forth, and the wise men were to be killed; and they sought Daniel and his companions to be killed.

¹⁴Then Daniel returned an answer with counsel and prudence to Arioch the captain of the king's guard, who was gone forth to kill the wise men of Babylon;

¹⁵he answered Arioch the king's captain, "Why is the decree so urgent from the king?" Then Arioch made the thing known to Daniel.

¹⁶Daniel went in, and desired of the king that he would appoint him a time, and he would show the king the interpretation.

¹⁷Then Daniel went to his house, and made the thing known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions:

¹⁸that they would seek mercy from the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his companions should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

¹⁹Then was the secret revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. Then Daniel blessed the God of heaven.

²⁰Daniel answered, "Blessed be the name of God forever and ever; for wisdom and might are his.

²¹He changes the times and the seasons; he removes kings, and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to those who have understanding;

²²he reveals the deep and secret things; he knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with him.

²³I thank you, and praise you, God of my fathers, who has given me wisdom and might, and has now made known to me what we desired of you; for you have made known to us the king's matter."

²⁴Therefore Daniel went in to Arioch, whom the king had appointed to destroy the wise men of Babylon; he went and said this to him: "Do not destroy the wise men of Babylon; bring me in before the king, and I will show to the king the interpretation."

²⁵Then Arioch brought in Daniel before the king in haste, and said this to him, "I have found a man of the children of the captivity of Judah, who will make known to the king the interpretation."

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

²⁷Daniel answered before the king, and said, "The secret which the king has demanded is such that no wise men, enchanters, magicians, nor soothsayers, can show to the king;

²⁸but there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and he has made known to king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Your dream, and the visions of your head on your bed, are these:

²⁹as for you, O king, your thoughts came into your mind on your bed, what should happen hereafter; and he who reveals secrets has made known to you what shall happen.

³⁰But as for me, this secret is not revealed to me for 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 you may know the thoughts of your heart.

³¹You, O king, saw, and behold, a great image. This image, which was mighty, and whose brightness was extraordinary, stood before you; and its appearance was awesome.

³²As for this image, its head was of fine gold, its breast and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of brass,

³³its legs of iron, its feet part of iron, and part of clay.

³⁴You saw until a stone was cut out without hands, which struck the image on its feet that were of iron and clay, and broke them in pieces.

³⁵Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken in pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshing floors; and the wind carried them away, so that no place was found for them: and the stone that struck the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.

³⁶This is the dream; and we will tell its interpretation before the king.

³⁷You, O king, are king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the strength, and the glory;

³⁸and wherever the children of men dwell, the animals of the field and the birds of the sky has he given into your hand, and has made you to rule over them all: you are the head of gold.

³⁹After you shall arise another kingdom inferior to yours; and another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear rule over all the earth.

⁴⁰The fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron, because iron breaks in pieces and subdues all things; and as iron that crushes all these, shall it break in pieces and crush.

⁴¹Whereas you saw the feet and toes, part of potters' clay, and part of iron, it shall be a divided kingdom; but there shall be in it of the strength of the iron, because you saw the iron mixed with miry clay.

⁴²As the toes of the feet were part of iron, and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be partly strong, and partly broken.

⁴³Whereas you saw the iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mix with one another but they shall not hold together, even as iron does not mix with clay.

⁴⁴In the days of those kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, nor shall its sovereignty be left to another people; but it shall break in pieces and consume all those kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.

⁴⁵Because you saw that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God has made known to the king what shall happen hereafter: and the dream is certain, and its interpretation sure."

⁴⁶Then king Nebuchadnezzar fell on his face, and worshiped Daniel, and commanded that they should present an offering and incense to him.

⁴⁷The king answered to Daniel, and said, "Surely your God is the God of gods, and the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing you have been able to reveal this secret."

⁴⁸Then the king made Daniel great, and gave him many great gifts, and made him to rule over the whole province of Babylon, and to be chief governor over all the wise men of Babylon.

⁴⁹Daniel requested of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, over the affairs of the province of Babylon: but Daniel was in the gate of the king.

¹Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold, whose height was sixty cubits, and its breadth six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon.

²Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the magistrates, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.

³Then the satraps, the prefects, and the governors, the judges, the treasurers, the counselors, the magistrates, and all the rulers of the provinces, were gathered together to the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

⁴Then the herald cried aloud, "To you it is commanded, peoples, nations, and languages,

⁵that whenever you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe, and all kinds of music, you fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king has set up;

⁶and whoever doesn't fall down and worship shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace."

⁷Therefore at that time, when all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe, and all kinds of music, all the peoples, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshiped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.

⁸Therefore at that time certain Chaldeans came near, and brought accusation against the Jews.

⁹They answered Nebuchadnezzar the king, "O king, live for ever.

¹⁰You, O king, have made a decree, that every man that shall hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe, and all kinds of music, shall fall down and worship the golden image;

¹¹and whoever doesn't fall down and worship shall be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace.

¹²There are certain Jews whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These men, O king, have not regarded you: they do not serve your gods, nor worship the golden image which you have set up."

¹³Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Then they brought these men before the king.

¹⁴Nebuchadnezzar answered them, "Is it on purpose, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, that you do not serve my god, nor worship the golden image which I have set up?

¹⁵Now if you are ready whenever you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe, and all kinds of music to fall down and worship the image which I have made, well: but if you do not worship, you shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and who is that god that shall deliver you out of my hands?"

¹⁶Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered the king, "Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter.

¹⁷If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace; and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.

¹⁸But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods, nor worship the golden image which you have set up."

¹⁹Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the expression of his face was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Therefore he spoke, and commanded that they should heat the furnace seven times more than it was usually heated.

²⁰He commanded certain mighty men who were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace.

²¹Then these men were bound in their cloaks, trousers, their turbans, and their other garments, and were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.

²²Therefore because the king's commandment was urgent, and the furnace exceeding hot, the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

²³These three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound into the midst of the burning fiery furnace.

²⁴Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonished, and rose up quickly. He spoke and said to his ministers, "Did we not cast three men bound into the midst of the fire?" They answered the king, "True, O king."

²⁵He answered, "Look, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they are unharmed; and the aspect of the fourth is like a son of the gods."

²⁶Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace. He spoke and said, "Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, you servants of the Most High God, come forth, and come here." Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came forth out of the midst of the fire.

²⁷The satraps, the prefects, and the governors, and the king's ministers, being gathered together, saw these men, that the fire had no power on their bodies, nor was the hair of their head singed, neither were their trousers changed, nor had the smell of fire passed on them.

²⁸Nebuchadnezzar spoke and said, "Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who has sent his angel, and delivered his servants who trusted in him, and have changed the king's word, and have yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God.

²⁹Therefore I make a decree, that every people, nation, and language, which speak anything evil against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be reduced to rubble; because there is no other god who is able to deliver in this way."

³⁰Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the province of Babylon.

¹"Nebuchadnezzar the king, to all the peoples, nations, and languages, who dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied to you.

²It has seemed good to me to show the signs and wonders that the Most High God has worked toward me.

³How great are his signs and how mighty are his wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion is from generation to generation.

⁴I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at rest in my house, and flourishing in my palace.

⁵I saw a dream which made me afraid; and the thoughts on my bed and the visions of my head troubled me.

⁶Therefore I made a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon before me, that they might make known to me the interpretation of the dream.

⁷Then came in the magicians, the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the diviners; and I told the dream before them; but they did not make known to me its interpretation.

⁸But finally Daniel came in before me, whose name was Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god, and in whom is the spirit of the holy gods: and I told the dream before him, saying,

⁹"Belteshazzar, chief of the magicians, because I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you, and no secret troubles you, tell me the visions of my dream that I have seen, and its interpretation.

¹⁰Thus were the visions of my head on my bed: I saw, and behold, a tree in the midst of the earth; and its height was great.

¹¹The tree grew, and was strong, and its height reached to the sky, and its sight to the end of all the earth.

¹²The leaves of it were beautiful, and its fruit much, and in it was food for all. The animals of the field had shadow under it, and the birds of the sky lived in its branches, and all flesh was fed from it.

¹³I saw in the visions of my head on my bed, and behold, a watcher and a holy one came down from the sky.

¹⁴He cried aloud, and said this, "Cut down the tree, and cut off its branches, shake off its leaves, and scatter its fruit. Let the animals get away from under it, and the fowls from its branches.

¹⁵Nevertheless leave the stump of its roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field; and let it be wet with the dew of the sky: and let his portion be with the animals in the grass of the earth.

¹⁶Let his mind be changed from man's, and let an animal's mind be given to him; and let seven times pass over him.

¹⁷The sentence is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones; to the intent that the living may know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whoever he will, and sets up over it the lowest of men.

¹⁸This dream I, king Nebuchadnezzar, have seen; and you, Belteshazzar, declare the interpretation, because all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make known to me the interpretation. But you are able, for the spirit of the holy gods is in you."

¹⁹Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was stricken mute for a while, and his thoughts troubled him. The king answered, Belteshazzar, "Do not let the dream, or the interpretation, trouble you." Belteshazzar answered, "My lord, the dream concerns those who hate you, and its interpretation to your adversaries.

²⁰The tree that you saw, which grew, and was strong, whose height reached to the sky, and its sight to all the earth;

²¹whose leaves were beautiful, and its fruit much, and in it was food for all; under which the animals of the field lived, and on whose branches the birds of the sky had their habitation.

²²It is you, O king, that are grown and become strong; for your greatness is grown, and reaches to the sky, and your dominion to the end of the earth.

²³Whereas the king saw a watcher and a holy one coming down from the sky, and saying, 'Cut down the tree, and destroy it; nevertheless leave the stump of its roots in the earth, even with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the field, and let it be wet with the dew of the sky: and let his portion be with the animals of the field, until seven times pass over him.

²⁴This is the interpretation, O king, and it is the decree of the Most High, which is come on my lord the king:

²⁵that you shall be driven from men, and your dwelling shall be with the animals of the field, and you shall be made to eat grass as oxen, and shall be wet with the dew of the sky, and seven times shall pass over you; until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever he will.

²⁶Whereas they commanded to leave the stump of the roots of the tree; your kingdom shall be restored to you. After that you shall have known that the heavens do rule.

²⁷Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you, and break off your sins by righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor; if there may be a lengthening of your prosperity."

²⁸All this came on the king Nebuchadnezzar.

²⁹At the end of twelve months he was walking in the royal palace of Babylon.

³⁰The king spoke and said, "Is not this great Babylon, which I have built for the royal dwelling place, by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?"

³¹While the word was in the king's mouth, there fell a voice from the sky, saying, "O king Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken. The kingdom has departed from you,

³²and you shall be driven from men; and your dwelling shall be with the animals of the field; you shall be made to eat grass as oxen; and seven times shall pass over you; until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whoever he wants."

³³The same hour was the thing fulfilled on Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven from men, and ate grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of the sky, until his hair was grown like eagles' feathers, and his nails like birds' claws.

³⁴"At the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me, and I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored him who lives forever. For his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom from generation to generation.

³⁵All the inhabitants of the earth are regarded as nothing; and he does according to his will in the host of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand, or tell him, "What have you done?"

³⁶At the same time my understanding returned to me; and for the glory of my kingdom, my majesty and splendor returned to me; and my counselors and my lords sought me out; and I was established in my kingdom, and even more greatness was added to me.

³⁷Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven; for all his works are truth, and his ways justice; and those who walk in pride he is able to humble."