Daniel 5 Cross References - NSB

¹ King Belshazzar held a great feast for a thousand of his lords, and drank wine with them. ² While he tasted the wine, Belshazzar commanded to bring the gold and silver vessels which Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the Temple in Jerusalem. This way the king and his lords, his wives and his concubines, might drink from them. ³ Then they brought the gold vessels that were taken out of the Temple of the House of God that was at Jerusalem. The king and his lords, his wives and his concubines, drank from them. ⁴ They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, silver, copper, iron, wood, and of stone. ⁵ In the same hour the fingers of a man's hand appeared, and wrote above the lamp stand on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace. The king saw the part of the hand that wrote. ⁶ Then the king's countenance (appearance) changed in him. His thoughts troubled him. The joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees struck one against the other. ⁷ The king cried aloud to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. / The king spoke to the wise men of Babylon: »Whoever reads this writing, and shows me the interpretation of it will be clothed with purple, and have a chain of gold about his neck. He will be the third ruler in the kingdom«. ⁸ All the king’s wise men came. But they could not read the writing, nor make known to the king the interpretation. ⁹ King Belshazzar was greatly troubled, and his appearance changed. His lords were perplexed. ¹⁰ The queen came into the banquet hall. She said: »O king, may you live for a very long time: do not let your thoughts trouble you or change your countenance. ¹¹ »There is a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods. In your fathers day, light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, were found in him. King Nebuchadnezzar, your father, made him master of the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and soothsayers. ¹² »Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar, has an excellent spirit, knowledge, and understanding for interpreting dreams, showing of dark sentences, and dissolving doubts. Let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation.« ¹³ Daniel was brought before the king. The king spoke to Daniel: »Are you that Daniel, one of the exiles of Judah, whom the king my father brought out of Judah? ¹⁴ »I have heard of you, that the spirit of the gods is in you, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you. ¹⁵ »The wise men and the enchanters, have been brought in before me to read this writing, and make known the interpretation of it. But they could not show the interpretation. ¹⁶ »I have heard that you can give interpretations and dissolve doubts. If you can read the writing and make the interpretation known to me you will be clothed with purple, and have a chain of gold about your neck, and will be the third ruler in the kingdom.« ¹⁷ Daniel answered the king: »Keep your gifts and give your rewards to another. I will read the writing to the king, and make known to him the interpretation. ¹⁸ »O you king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father the kingdom, and greatness, and glory, and majesty. ¹⁹ »Because of the greatness he gave him, all the peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. Whom he chose he killed and whom he chose he kept alive. Whom he chose he raised up, and whom he chose he put down. ²⁰ »But when his heart was lifted up, and his spirit was hardened with pride he dealt proudly. He was deposed from his kingly throne and they took his glory from him: ²¹ »He was driven from the sons of men, and his heart was made like the beasts. His dwelling was with the wild donkeys. He was fed with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven until he knew that the Most High God rules in the kingdom of men, and that he sets up over it whomever he will. ²² »You his son, O Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart, though you know all this. ²³ »You lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven. They have brought the vessels of his house before you and your lords, wives and concubines. They drank wine from them. You praise the gods of silver and gold, of copper, iron, wood, and stone, which you do not see, nor hear, nor know. You have not glorified the God whose hand holds your breath and life. ²⁴ »Then the part of the hand was sent from before him, and this writing was inscribed. ²⁵ »This is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN. ²⁶ »This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God has numbered your kingdom, and brought it to an end; ²⁷ »TEKEL: you are weighed in the balances, and are found wanting. ²⁸ »PERES; your kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.« ²⁹ Then Belshazzar commanded, and they clothed Daniel with purple, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made proclamation concerning him that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom. ³⁰ In that night Belshazzar the Chaldean King was slain. ³¹ Darius the Mede received the kingdom. He was sixty-two years old.

²⁰ It happened on the third day, which was Pharaoh’s birthday that he made a feast for all his servants. He lifted up the head of the chief cupbearer and the head of the chief baker among his servants.

³ In the third year of his rule he gave a feast to all his captains and his servants. The captains of the army of Persia and Media, the great men and the rulers of the divisions of his kingdom, were present before him.

⁴ My innermost being reels, horror overwhelms me. The twilight I longed for has been turned for me into trembling. ⁵ They set the table, they spread out the cloth, they eat, they drink; Rise up, captains, oil the shields,

¹² In that day Jehovah God of Hosts called to weeping and mourning, to baldness and putting on sackcloth.

¹⁴ Jehovah of Hosts has disclosed himself in my ears: »Surely this iniquity will not be forgiven you until you die,« says Jehovah of Hosts.

³⁹ »When they become heated up, I will serve them their banquet and make them drunk, that they may become jubilant. Then they may sleep a perpetual sleep and not wake up, declares Jehovah.

⁵⁷ »I will make their officials and wise men drunk, along with their governors, officers, and soldiers. They will fall into a deep sleep and never wake up,« proclaims the king, whose name is Jehovah of Hosts.

¹⁰ Entangled like thorns and drunken from drink, they are consumed like dry stubble.

²¹ It was Herod’s birthday. He invited his lords, the military commanders, and the prominent men of Galilee to supper. ²² When the daughter of Herodias danced for Herod and his guests, she pleased him so much he promised her anything she desired.

⁷ David replied: »Do not be afraid. I will be kind to you for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will give you back all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul. You will always be welcome at my table.«

²⁵ Ahaziah son of Jehoram became king of Judah. This was in the twelfth year of the reign of Joram son of Ahab as king of Israel. ²⁶ He was twenty-two years old. He ruled in Jerusalem for one year. His mother was Athaliah, the daughter of King Ahab and granddaughter of King Omri of Israel. ²⁷ Ahaziah was related to King Ahab by marriage. He sinned against Jehovah as Ahab's family did.

¹³ The Babylonians carried off to Babylon all the treasures in the Temple and the palace. As Jehovah foretold, Nebuchadnezzar broke up all the gold utensils King Solomon had made for use in the Temple.

¹⁵ The captain of the guard took all of the incense burners and bowls that were made of gold or silver.

²⁰ After marrying Mahalath, he married Maacah, Absalom’s granddaughter. She gave birth to Abijah, Attai, Ziza, and Shelomith.

¹⁶ King Asa also removed his grandmother Maacah from the position of queen mother. She made a statue of the repulsive goddess Asherah. Asa immediately cut the statue down, crushed it, and burned it in the Kidron Valley.

¹⁰ In the spring King Nebuchadnezzar sent for Jehoiakin and brought him to Babylon with the valuable utensils from Jehovah’s Temple. Nebuchadnezzar made Jehoiakin’s uncle Zedekiah king of Judah and Jerusalem.

¹⁸ He brought to Babylon each of the utensils from God’s temple, the treasures from Jehovah’s Temple, and the treasures of the king and his officials.

⁷ King Cyrus gave back the bowls and cups that King Nebuchadnezzar took from the Temple in Jerusalem and put in the temple of his god. ⁸ And King Cyrus turned them over to Mithredath, chief of the royal treasury, who made an inventory of them for Sheshbazzar, the governor of Judah, ⁹ Now this was their inventory: 30 gold dishes, 1,000 silver dishes and 29 duplicates. ¹⁰ There were also 30 gold bowls, 410 matching silver bowls and 1,000 other articles. ¹¹ All the articles of gold and silver numbered 5,400. Sheshbazzar brought all of them along with the exiles who traveled from Babylon to Jerusalem.

⁷ »All nations will serve him, his son, and his grandson until Babylon is defeated. Then many nations and great kings will make him their slave.

¹⁶ I also spoke this message to the priests and all the people. This is what Jehovah said to me: »Do not listen to the prophets who tell you that the utensils of Jehovah’s Temple will be brought back from Babylon soon. They prophesy lies to you.« ¹⁷ »Do not listen to them. Instead, serve the king of Babylon, and live. Why should this city be turned into rubble? ¹⁸ »If they are prophets and Jehovah is speaking to them, they should beg Jehovah of Hosts not to allow the utensils that are left in Jehovah’s Temple, in the royal palace of Judah, and in Jerusalem to be taken away to Babylon. ¹⁹ »Jehovah of Host reports concerning the pillars, concerning the sea, concerning the stands and concerning the rest of the vessels that are left in this city, ²⁰ which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take when he carried into exile Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, from Jerusalem to Babylon, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem. ²¹ ‘»Thus says Jehovah of Hosts, the God of Israel, concerning the vessels that are left in the House of Jehovah and in the house of the king of Judah and in Jerusalem, ²² »They will be carried to Babylon and they will be there until the day I visit them,« declares Jehovah. »Then I will bring them back and restore them to this place.«’«

¹⁹ The captain of the guard also took pans, incense burners, bowls, pots, lamp stands, dishes, and the bowls used for wine offerings. The captain of the guard took all of the trays and bowls that were made of gold or silver.

² Jehovah (YHWH) allowed Nebuchadnezzar to capture Jehoiakim king of Judah. Nebuchadnezzar carried part of the vessels of the house of God into the Plain of Shinar [in Babylon]. He brought the vessels into the treasure house of his god.

⁴ They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, silver, copper, iron, wood, and of stone.

¹¹ »There is a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods. In your fathers day, light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, were found in him. King Nebuchadnezzar, your father, made him master of the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and soothsayers.

¹³ Daniel was brought before the king. The king spoke to Daniel: »Are you that Daniel, one of the exiles of Judah, whom the king my father brought out of Judah?

¹⁸ »O you king, the Most High God gave Nebuchadnezzar your father the kingdom, and greatness, and glory, and majesty.

²³ »You lifted yourself up against the Lord of heaven. They have brought the vessels of his house before you and your lords, wives and concubines. They drank wine from them. You praise the gods of silver and gold, of copper, iron, wood, and stone, which you do not see, nor hear, nor know. You have not glorified the God whose hand holds your breath and life.

²³ The Philistine kings met together to offer a great sacrifice to their god Dagon. They rejoiced and said: »Our god gave us victory over our enemy Samson!« ²⁴ They praised their god and said: »Call Samson, and make him entertain us!« They brought Samson out of the prison and they made him entertain them.

⁴ Their idols are made of silver and gold. Human hands made them. ⁵ They have mouths, but they cannot speak. They have eyes, but they cannot see. ⁶ They have ears, but they cannot hear. They have noses, but they cannot smell. ⁷ They have hands, but they cannot feel. They have feet, but they cannot walk. They cannot even make a sound with their throats. ⁸ Those who make idols end up like them. So does everyone who trusts them.

¹⁵ The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of man's hands. ¹⁶ They have mouths, but they do not speak. They have eyes, but they do not see. ¹⁷ They have ears, but they do not hear. There is no breath in their mouths. ¹⁸ Those who make them will be like them, everyone who trusts in them.

¹⁹ As for an idol, a craftsman casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and fashions silver chains for it. ²⁰ A man too poor to present such an offering selects wood that will not rot. He looks for a skilled craftsman to set up an idol that will not topple.

⁸ »I ALONE AM JEHOVAH. THAT IS MY NAME. I WILL NOT GIVE MY GLORY TO ANOTHER! I will not let idols share my praise.

¹⁷ Those who trust in idols and call images their gods will be humiliated and disgraced.

⁶ »Some pour out gold from their bags and weigh out silver on the scales. They hire a goldsmith to make it into a god. They bow down and worship it. ⁷ »They lift it to their shoulders and carry it. They set it up in its place and there it stands. From that spot it cannot move. Though one cries out to it, it does not answer. It cannot save him from his troubles!

⁴ »They decorate it with silver and with gold. They fasten it with nails and with hammers so that it will not tip over. ⁵ »They are like scarecrows in cucumber fields. They cannot speak. They must be carried, for they cannot walk! Do not fear them! For they can do no harm and they can do no good.« ⁶ There is none like you, O Jehovah. You are great and your name is powerful. ⁷ Who would not respect you, O King of the nations? It is your right! There is none like you among all the wise men of the nations. ⁸ They are very stupid and foolish. They teach vanity to a tree. Their idol is wood! ⁹ Beaten silver is brought from Tarshish, and gold from Uphaz. It is the work of a craftsman and of the hands of a goldsmith. Violet and purple are their clothing. They are all the work of skilled men.

¹ Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold. He set it up in the plain of Dura, the province of Babylon. It was ninety feet tall and nine feet wide. ² Then Nebuchadnezzar the king gathered the satraps, deputies, governors, judges, treasurers, counselors, sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces. They came to the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king set up. ³ The satraps, deputies, governors, judges, treasurers, counselors, sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces were gathered together at the dedication of the image that Nebuchadnezzar the king set up. They stood before the image. ⁴ Then the herald proclaimed: »You are commanded to do this, O peoples, nations, and men of every language. ⁵ »When you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, zither, pipes (bagpipe), and all kinds of music, you must fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king set up. ⁶ »Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into the midst of a blazing furnace.« ⁷ When all the peoples heard the sound of the horn, flute, harp, zither, pipes, and all kinds of music, all the peoples, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshipped the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king set up. ⁸ Some Chaldean Astrologers brought accusation against the Jews. ⁹ They said to Nebuchadnezzar the king, »O king, may you live for a very long time. ¹⁰ »You, O king, made a decree, that every man that hears the sound of the horn, flute, harp, zither, pipes, and all kinds of music, shall fall down and worship the golden image. ¹¹ »Whoever does not fall down and worship, will be thrown into the midst of a blazing furnace. ¹² »The Jews whom you appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego have not listened to you. They do not serve your gods. They do not worship the golden image that you set up.« ¹³ Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego. They brought these men before the king. ¹⁴ Nebuchadnezzar said to them: »Is it true Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that you do not serve my god, nor worship the golden image that I set up? ¹⁵ »Now if you are ready at the time you hear the sound of the horn, flute, harp, zither, pipes, and all kinds of music, to fall down and worship the image that I have made, good! But if you do not worship it you will be thrown into the midst of a blazing furnace that same hour. What god will be able to rescue you from my hand?« ¹⁶ Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king: »O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. ¹⁷ »If it is so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the blazing furnace. He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. ¹⁸ »If not you should know O king that we will not serve your gods. We will not worship the golden image that you set up!«

³⁷ »Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, extol and honor the King of heaven. All his works are truth, and his ways justice. He is able to abase (humble) (subdue) those who walk in pride.«

⁸ »She did not know that I gave her the grain, the new wine and oil, and multiplied her silver and gold, which they used for Baal. ⁹ »Therefore I will take back my grain at that time, and my new wine in the season. I will pluck away my wool and my flax that should have covered her nakedness. ¹⁰ »Now I will uncover her lewdness (obscene behavior) in the sight of her lovers, and none will deliver her out of my hands. ¹¹ »I will also cause all her exaltation to cease, her feasts, her new moons, and her Sabbaths, and all her solemn assemblies. ¹² »I will lay waste her vines and her fig trees. Of this she said: These are my loose woman’s hire that my lovers have given me. I will make them a forest, and the beasts of the field will eat them. ¹³ »I will punish her for the days in which she burned incense to the Baals, when she decked herself with her earrings and her jewels, and went after her lovers, and forgot me,« said Jehovah.

¹⁹ »Woe to anyone who says to an idol of wood or stone get up! You can learn nothing from idols covered with silver or gold? They cannot breathe or talk.

²⁹ »Being then the offspring of God, we should not think that the divine being is like gold, or silver, or stone, a device made by man’s design or skill.

²⁴ A man named Demetrius, a silversmith made silver shrines of Diana. He brought a lot of business to the craftsmen. ²⁵ They gathered together along with similar related workmen, and said: »Sirs, You know we receive a good income from this business. ²⁶ »You see and hear that Paul, in Ephesus and throughout all Asia, has persuaded and turned away many people. He says that man-made gods are no gods at all. ²⁷ »There is danger that our trade will lose its good name. The temple of the great goddess Artemis (Diana) would then become useless. The goddess who is worshiped in all Asia would be robbed of her divine majesty.« ²⁸ When they heard this they were filled with anger. They shouted: »Great is Artemis of the Ephesians.«

²⁰ The rest of the men who were not killed by these plagues did not repent of the works of their hands. They did not stop worshipping demons, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk. ²¹ Neither did they repent of their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.

⁵ »The success of the wicked is brief and the joy of the godless lasts but a moment.

³⁰ Before they had satisfied their desire, while their food was in their mouths, ³¹ The anger of God rose against them and killed some of their stoutest ones, and subdued the choice men of Israel.

¹ He who is often reprimanded and hardens his neck will suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.

³¹ While the word was in the king's mouth a voice came from heaven, saying: »O king Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: The kingdom is departed from you.

³³ That same hour it was fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar. He was driven from men and did eat grass like bulls. His body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hair grew like eagles' feathers, and his fingernails like birds' claws.

⁸ All the king’s wise men came. But they could not read the writing, nor make known to the king the interpretation.

¹⁵ »The wise men and the enchanters, have been brought in before me to read this writing, and make known the interpretation of it. But they could not show the interpretation.

²⁴ »Then the part of the hand was sent from before him, and this writing was inscribed. ²⁵ »This is the writing that was inscribed: MENE, MENE, TEKEL, PARSIN. ²⁶ »This is the interpretation of the thing: MENE; God has numbered your kingdom, and brought it to an end; ²⁷ »TEKEL: you are weighed in the balances, and are found wanting. ²⁸ »PERES; your kingdom is divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.«

¹⁹ »I will say to my self: ‘You have many possessions saved for many years. Take it easy and eat, drink and be merry.’ ²⁰ »But God said to him: ‘You fool this night you will give up your life. Then who will have all these things you accumulated?’

¹⁴ He blotted out the bond written in ordinances. It was against us and was contrary to us. He has taken it out of the way. He nailed it to the stake.

² For you know perfectly that the »Day of Jehovah« will come like a thief in the night. (Zephaniah 1:14) ³ When they say, »Peace and security!« then sudden destruction will come upon them, as labor pains come to a pregnant woman. They will not escape.

¹² I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God. The books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged according to the things written in the books, according to their works. ¹³ The sea gave up the dead in it. Death and the grave delivered up the dead in them. Every man was judged according to his works. ¹⁴ Death and the grave were hurled into the lake of fire. This is the second death. ¹⁵ Whoever was not found written in the book of life was hurled (thrust) (thrown) into the lake of fire.

²⁰ »All his days the wicked man suffers torment and the ruthless through all the years stored up for him. ²¹ »Terrifying sounds fill his ears. When all seems well, marauders attack him. ²² »He despairs of escaping the darkness; he is marked for the sword. ²³ »He wanders about as food for vultures and he knows the day of darkness is at hand. ²⁴ »Distress and anguish fill him with terror. They overwhelm him, like a king poised to attack. ²⁵ »He shakes his fist at God and vaunts (brags) (shows off) himself against the Almighty, ²⁶ »He defiantly charges against him with a thick, strong shield. ²⁷ »His face is covered with fat and his waist bulges with flesh.

¹⁹ »For he has oppressed and forsaken the poor and left them destitute. He has violently seized houses he did not build. ²⁰ »He will have no respite from his craving; he cannot save himself by his treasure. ²¹ »There is nothing left for him to devour; his prosperity will not endure. ²² »Distress will overtake him in the midst of his plenty. The full force of misery will come upon him. ²³ »With his belly full, God will vent his burning anger against him and rain down his blows upon him. ²⁴ »Though he flees from an iron weapon, a bronze-tipped arrow pierces him. ²⁵ »He pulls it out of his back, the gleaming point out of his liver. Terrors will come over him. ²⁶ »Total darkness lies in wait for his treasures. A fire will consume him and devour what is left in his tent. ²⁷ »The heavens will expose his guilt. The earth will rise up against him!

²³ Let their eyes be darkened, so that they cannot see. Let their backs be continually bent.

¹⁸ Surely you set them in slippery places. You threw them down into destruction. ¹⁹ How are they destroyed, suddenly! They are utterly consumed with terrors. ²⁰ It is like waking up from a dream, O Jehovah. When you awake you will despise everything they represent.

²⁷ None of them grow tired or stumble. None of them slumber or sleep. The belts on their waists are not loose or their sandal straps broken.

⁷ »All hands will fall impaired (weakened). Every man's heart will melt (courage will fail). ⁸ »They will be terrified! Pains and anguish will possess them. They will writhe like a woman in labor. They will look at one another in amazement with their faces reddened with excitement (aflame).

² I have seen a vision of cruel events, a vision of betrayal and destruction. Army of Elam, attack! Army of Media, lay siege to the cities! God will put an end to the suffering that Babylon has caused. ³ What I saw and heard in the vision has filled me with terror and pain. My hips are full of pain and convulsions like that of a woman in labor. ⁴ My innermost being reels, horror overwhelms me. The twilight I longed for has been turned for me into trembling.

³ Strengthen the tired hands and the knees that tremble with weakness.

¹⁷ ‘»Everyone’s hands will be weak, and their knees will shake and they will drip from sweat.

⁷ »When they ask why you are groaning tell this: ‘News has come that will discourage everyone. People's hands will hang limp, their hearts will lose courage, and their knees will become as weak as water. It is coming! It will surely take place!’ Declares the Lord Jehovah.«

¹ It was the second year of his reign. He was troubled and could not sleep. Nebuchadnezzar had dreams and was disturbed by them.

¹⁹ Nebuchadnezzar was furious. The expression on his face changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He commanded that they heat the furnace seven times more than its required heat.

⁵ »I saw a dream that made me afraid. When I saw this vision my thoughts troubled me.

¹⁹ »Then Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, was stricken dumb for a while, and his thoughts troubled him. The king said, Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or the interpretation trouble you. Belteshazzar answered: My lord, the dream may be to them that hate you and the interpretation to your adversaries.

⁹ King Belshazzar was greatly troubled, and his appearance changed. His lords were perplexed. ¹⁰ The queen came into the banquet hall. She said: »O king, may you live for a very long time: do not let your thoughts trouble you or change your countenance.

²⁸ »This is the end of the matter. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts were very troubled. My appearance was changed. I kept the matter in my heart.«

¹⁰ She is empty and void, a city laid waste! The hearts melt and the knees knock together. There is pain in all the hips and their faces have all grown pale.

¹² Lift up the hands that hang down, and the feeble knees.

⁸ The king was upset the next morning. So he called his magicians and wise men and told them what he had dreamed. None of them could tell him what the dreams meant.

⁴² Pharaoh took his signet ring from his hand and put it on Joseph’s hand. He clothed him in garments of fine linen and put the gold necklace around his neck. ⁴³ He had him ride in his second chariot. They proclaimed before him: »Bow the knee!« Thus he set him over all the land of Egypt. ⁴⁴ Moreover, Pharaoh said to Joseph: »Though I am Pharaoh, yet without your permission no one shall raise his hand or foot in all the land of Egypt.«

⁷ The elders of Moab and Midian left. They took money with them to pay for Balaam’s services. They came to Balaam and told him what Balak had said.

¹⁷ »‘I will make sure you are richly rewarded. I will do whatever you ask. Please, come and curse (execrate) these people for me.’«

¹¹ Therefore, run away to your place now. I said: »I will honor you greatly, but Jehovah has held you back from honor.«

²⁵ They said to each other: »Look how he keeps coming out to insult us. The king offers a big reward to the man who kills Goliath. That man will even get to marry the king’s daughter. No one in his family will ever have to pay taxes again.«

¹ The king ordered that Haman, the son of Hammedatha the Agagite, was lifted up and given a position of honor and a higher place than all the other captains who were with him.

² And all his acts of power and his great strength and the full story of the high place that the king gave Mordecai are they not recorded in the book of the history of the kings of Media and Persia? ³ For Mordecai the Jew was second only to King Ahasuerus. He was great among the Jews and respected by the body of his countrymen. He worked for the good of his people. He said words of peace to all his descendents.

⁹ Discipline and education are a graceful ornament on your head, and a golden chain around your neck. ¹⁰ »Your cheeks are lovely with jewels and your neck with chains of gold.«

²⁵ »I make fools of fortunetellers and frustrate the predictions of astrologers. The words of the wise I refute and show that their wisdom is foolishness. ²⁶ »‘I make the word of my servant come true. I accomplish the purpose of my messengers. I say of Jerusalem, 'She will be inhabited!’ And I say to the cities of Judah, 'You will be rebuilt! I will make your ruins raise up.’

¹³ »You are powerless in spite of the advice you get. Let your astrologers come forward and save you! Let those people who study the stars, who map out the zones of the heavens tell you from month to month what is going to happen to you.

¹¹ »‘I adorned you with ornaments, put bracelets on your hands and a necklace around your neck.’«

² The king summoned the magicians, enchanters (conjurers), sorcerers, and the Chaldeans and commanded them to tell the king about his dreams. They came in and stood before the king.

⁶ »But if you tell me the dream and what it means you will receive gifts and rewards and great honor from me. Therefore tell me the dream and the interpretation of it.«

⁴⁸ The king made Daniel great! He gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon. He was appointed chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon.

⁶ »I made a decree to bring in all the wise men of Babylon that they might explain the dream to me. ⁷ »The magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and the soothsayers came to me. I told the dream to them. They did not explain the dream to me.

¹⁴ »He cried aloud: ‘Chop down the tree, and cut off its branches, shake off its leaves, and scatter its fruit. Let the beasts get away from under it, and the fowls from its branches.

¹⁶ »I have heard that you can give interpretations and dissolve doubts. If you can read the writing and make the interpretation known to me you will be clothed with purple, and have a chain of gold about your neck, and will be the third ruler in the kingdom.«

²⁹ Then Belshazzar commanded, and they clothed Daniel with purple, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and made proclamation concerning him that he should be the third ruler in the kingdom.

² Three commissioners were placed over them. Daniel was one of the commissioners. These governors were to give account to them so that the king would not suffer loss. ³ Daniel was distinguished above the other commissioners and the governors because an excellent spirit (mind) was in him. Therefore the king thought to set him over the whole realm.

⁹ »Two things will come on you suddenly in one day: Loss of children and widowhood. They will come on you in full measure in spite of your abundance of sorceries, in spite of the great power of your spells.

¹² Keep all your magic spells and charms. You have used them since you were young. Perhaps they will be of some help to you. Perhaps you can frighten your enemies. ¹³ »You are powerless in spite of the advice you get. Let your astrologers come forward and save you! Let those people who study the stars, who map out the zones of the heavens tell you from month to month what is going to happen to you. ¹⁴ »Surely they are like stubble. The fire will burn them up. They cannot even save themselves from the power of the flame. Here are no coals to warm anyone and no fire to sit by. ¹⁵ »That is all they can do for you, these you have labored with and trafficked with since childhood. Each of them goes on in his error. No one can save you.

²⁷ Daniel answered: »Wise men, enchanters, magicians, and soothsayers cannot show the secret the king demanded.

⁷ »The magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and the soothsayers came to me. I told the dream to them. They did not explain the dream to me.

¹¹ »Terrors startle him on every side and chase him at his heels. ¹² »Calamity hungers for him and disaster catch him when he falls. ¹³ »It eats away parts of his skin. Death’s firstborn devours his limbs. ¹⁴ »He is torn from the security of his tent and marched off to the king of terrors.

¹⁴ He shot his arrows and scattered them. He flashed streaks of lightning to agitate (disturb and trouble) them.

⁶ Panic seized them there, Anguish, like a woman in childbirth.

⁶ »Shout (wail) (howl) for the Day of Jehovah is near! It will come as destruction from the Almighty.

²⁴ We have heard the report! Our hands are limp. Anguish has seized us! We have pain like a woman in childbirth.

⁶ »Ask now and see: Can a man give birth to a child? Why, then, do I see every strong man holding his stomach in pain like a woman giving birth to a child? Why has every face turned pale?

⁶ Then the king's countenance (appearance) changed in him. His thoughts troubled him. The joints of his loins were loosed, and his knees struck one against the other.

⁸ I was left alone, and saw this great vision, and there remained no strength in me. My appearance turned deathlike (pallor) (livid) (pale) and I had no strength.

³ King Herod was troubled when he heard this. Jerusalem was also troubled.

¹⁵ The kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the military commanders, and the mighty men, and every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains.

¹⁷ When one of her pains hit, the midwife said: »Do not be afraid. You have another son!« ¹⁸ Rachel was dying! With her last breath she named her son Ben-oni (Son of My Sorrow), but his father named him Benjamin (Son of My Right Hand).

²⁰ She too was dying. The women helping her said: »Do not be afraid. You have given birth to a son.« But she did not answer or pay attention. ²¹ She called the boy Ichabod (No Glory), saying: »Israel’s glory is gone, because the Ark of God had been captured and because her father-in-law and her husband died.« ²² »Israel’s glory is gone because the Ark of God has been captured:« she said.

³¹ Bathsheba bowed low and said: »May my lord the king live a very long time!«

⁴ »You are smearing me with lies. As doctors you are worthless, all of you!

³⁴ »How then will you comfort me with empty and futile words? There is nothing left of your answers but falsehood.«

⁴ The Chaldeans spoke in the Syrian language: »O king, may you live for a very long time. Tell your servants the dream, and we will interpret it.«

⁹ They said to Nebuchadnezzar the king, »O king, may you live for a very long time.

⁶ Then these commissioners and governors assembled before the king, and said: »King Darius, may you live for a very long time.«

²¹ Daniel said to the king: »O king, may you live for a very long time.«

¹¹ »One night we both had dreams. Each dream had a different meaning. ¹² »A young Hebrew, who was a servant of the captain of the guard, was there with us at the time. When we told him our dreams, he explained what each of them meant. ¹³ »Everything happened just as he said it would. I got my job back, and the cook was put to death.« ¹⁴ So the king sent for Joseph. He was quickly brought out of jail. He shaved, changed his clothes, and went to the king. ¹⁵ The king said: »I had a dream. No one can explain what it means. I am told that you can interpret dreams.«

¹⁷ »I can rest easy now that you have given your decision. You know the difference between right and wrong just like an angel of God. I pray that Jehovah your God will be with you.«

¹¹ »It is a rare thing that the king requires. There is no other person who can show it to the king, except the gods, and they do not live with humans.«

⁴⁷ The king spoke to Daniel: »It is true, your God is the God of gods, and the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, seeing you were able to reveal this secret.« ⁴⁸ The king made Daniel great! He gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon. He was appointed chief administrator over all the wise men of Babylon.

⁸ »Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god, finally came to me. He has the spirit of the holy gods. So I told the dream to him saying: ⁹ ‘»O Belteshazzar, master of the magicians, I know that the spirit of the holy gods is in you and no secret troubles you! Tell me the visions I have seen in my dream. Give me the interpretation.

¹⁸ ‘»I, king Nebuchadnezzar, have seen this dream and you O Belteshazzar, declare the interpretation! For all the wise men of my kingdom are not able to make the interpretation known to me. You are able for the spirit of the holy gods is in you!’

¹⁴ »I have heard of you, that the spirit of the gods is in you, and that light and understanding and excellent wisdom are found in you.

²² The people shouted: »It is the voice of a god, and not of a man.«

¹¹ Seeing what Paul did, the crowd lifted up their voice, saying in Lycaonian: »The gods have come down to us, becoming like men.«

¹⁶ A young woman who had a spirit of divination met us as we were going to the place of prayer. She brought her masters much gain by soothsaying.

⁹ »'I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, who say they are Jews, and are not, for they lie; I will make them come and bow down before your feet. They will know that I have loved you.

¹ The queen of Sheba heard of Solomon's fame. She traveled to Jerusalem to test him with difficult questions. ² So she came to Jerusalem with a very large caravan. The camels carried spices and very much gold and precious stones. When she approached Solomon, she talked about everything she had on her mind (heart). ³ Solomon answered all her questions. Nothing was hidden from the king that he did not explain to her.

¹ The QUEEN OF SHEBA heard about Solomon’s reputation. So she came to Jerusalem to test him with difficult questions. She arrived with a large group of servants. They had camels carrying spices, a large quantity of gold, and precious stones. When she came to Solomon, she talked with him about everything she had on her mind. ² Solomon answered all her questions. No question was too difficult for Solomon to answer.

³ »The holy ones on earth are the noble ones who fill me with joy.«

²⁶ The righteous is a guide to his neighbor. The way of the wicked leads others astray.

²⁷ The man with knowledge restrains his words. A man of understanding has a quiet spirit.

⁷ The officer in charge gave names to them: To Daniel he gave the name of Belteshazzar. Hananiah was called Shadrach. Mishael was called Meshach and Azariah was named Abednego.

⁸ »Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, according to the name of my god, finally came to me. He has the spirit of the holy gods. So I told the dream to him saying:

³ Daniel was distinguished above the other commissioners and the governors because an excellent spirit (mind) was in him. Therefore the king thought to set him over the whole realm.

²⁹ I work hard to get this done. I use the mighty strength Christ supplies. It is at work in me.

¹ News came to the enemies of Judah and Benjamin that the people who had come back were building a Temple to Jehovah, the God of Israel.

¹⁶ The children of Israel, the priests and the Levites, and the rest of those who had come back, kept the feast of the opening of this house of God with joy.

¹⁹ And the children of Israel who came back kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the first month. ²⁰ the priests and the Levites made themselves clean together. They were all clean when they put the Passover lamb to death for all those who had come back, and for their brothers the priests and for themselves.

⁷ They made a public statement to all Judah and Jerusalem, to all those who came back, that they were to come together to Jerusalem.

¹⁶ So those who had come back did so. Ezra the priest, with certain heads of families, by their fathers' families, all of them by their names, were marked out. On the first day of the tenth month they took their places to go into the question with care.

²¹ Daniel continued to the first year of king Cyrus.

²⁵ Arioch quickly brought Daniel before the king and said: »I have found a man of the captive children of Judah who will make the interpretation known to the king.«

² While he tasted the wine, Belshazzar commanded to bring the gold and silver vessels which Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the Temple in Jerusalem. This way the king and his lords, his wives and his concubines, might drink from them.

¹³ Then they said: »Daniel, who is of the children of the captivity of Judah, does not show you respect, O king, nor the decree that you signed. He offers his prayer three times a day.«

¹ A vision appeared to me, Daniel, in the third year of the reign of king Belshazzar. It appeared after the first vision.

²⁷ I, Daniel, fainted from exhaustion, and was sick for days. Then I rose up, and did the king's business. I wondered about the vision, but none understood it.

¹ After that Jesus walked in Galilee. He would not walk in Judea because the Jews looked for ways to kill him.

³ His brothers said to him: »Leave here and go to Judea. That way your disciples also may see the works that you do.

¹¹ »There is a man in your kingdom who has the spirit of the holy gods. In your fathers day, light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, were found in him. King Nebuchadnezzar, your father, made him master of the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and soothsayers. ¹² »Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar, has an excellent spirit, knowledge, and understanding for interpreting dreams, showing of dark sentences, and dissolving doubts. Let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation.«

¹⁰ Jehovah has made you drowsy. He shut your eyes in a deep sleep you prophets and visionaries. He overwhelmed your leaders. ¹¹ His message is like a sealed book to you. You say to someone read this out loud. And they respond, »We cannot read it, because it is sealed.« ¹² The illiterate say: »We cannot read it because we do not know how to read.«

¹² Keep all your magic spells and charms. You have used them since you were young. Perhaps they will be of some help to you. Perhaps you can frighten your enemies.

³ The king said: »I had a dream that troubles me and I want to understand what the dream means.« ⁴ The Chaldeans spoke in the Syrian language: »O king, may you live for a very long time. Tell your servants the dream, and we will interpret it.« ⁵ The king answered: »I have decided. If you do not make the dream known to me and it’s interpretation you will be cut in pieces, and your houses will be made a dunghill (foul smelling pile of rubbish). ⁶ »But if you tell me the dream and what it means you will receive gifts and rewards and great honor from me. Therefore tell me the dream and the interpretation of it.« ⁷ They answered the second time. They said: »Let the king tell his servants the dream. Then we will tell the interpretation.« ⁸ The king responded: »I am certain that you bargain for time, because you see my command is firm. ⁹ »If you do not tell me my dream, the law will apply to you. You are stalling by speaking lies to me until I change my requirements. Tell me the dream, and I will know that you can show me the interpretation of it.« ¹⁰ The Chaldeans answered: »There is no man on earth who can do what the king requires. No king, lord, or ruler, has asked such a thing of any magician, or enchanter, or Chaldean. ¹¹ »It is a rare thing that the king requires. There is no other person who can show it to the king, except the gods, and they do not live with humans.«

⁷ The king cried aloud to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. / The king spoke to the wise men of Babylon: »Whoever reads this writing, and shows me the interpretation of it will be clothed with purple, and have a chain of gold about his neck. He will be the third ruler in the kingdom«. ⁸ All the king’s wise men came. But they could not read the writing, nor make known to the king the interpretation.

⁸ »We both had dreams,« they answered him, »but there is no one to tell us what they mean.« »Is it not God who can tell what dreams mean?« Joseph asked them. »Tell me all about them.«

⁷ The king cried aloud to bring in the enchanters, the Chaldeans, and the soothsayers. / The king spoke to the wise men of Babylon: »Whoever reads this writing, and shows me the interpretation of it will be clothed with purple, and have a chain of gold about his neck. He will be the third ruler in the kingdom«.

¹⁸ When Simon saw the Holy Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money.

²³ »I will take nothing. Not a thread or a sandal strap. You will not be able to say: 'I have made Abram rich.’

¹³ »Why should I have anything to do with you?« Elisha said to the king of Israel. »Go consult the prophets your father and mother consulted.« »No!« Joram king of Israel replied. »It is Jehovah who placed us three kings at the mercy of the king of Moab.«

¹⁶ Elisha the prophet answered: »By the living God Jehovah whom I serve, I swear that I will not accept a gift.« Naaman insisted that he accept it, but he would not.

²⁶ Elisha said: »Was I there in spirit when the man got out of his chariot to meet you? This is no time to accept money and clothes, olive groves and vineyards, sheep and cattle, or servants!

⁴⁶ I will also speak of your laws before kings and will not be ashamed.

²⁰ Peter said to him: »Your money will perish with you, because you think that the gift of God may be purchased with money.

⁸ »When the Most High gave nations their inheritance, when he divided the descendants of Adam, he set up borders for the tribes corresponding to the number of the sons of Israel.

¹⁷ I will give to Jehovah the thanks due to his righteousness. I will sing praise to the name of Jehovah, the Most High.

² I will be glad, rejoice and exult in you. I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.

² For Jehovah the Most High is to be respected. He is a great King over all the earth.

⁸ But you, O Jehovah, are highly honored forever.

³⁵ He turns away the judgment of a man before the face of the Most High.

³⁸ Do not calamities and good things come from the mouth of the Most High?

³⁷ »You, O king, are king of kings, to whom the God of heaven has given the kingdom, the power, and the strength, and the glory. ³⁸ »He gave the children of men, the beasts of the field and the birds of the heavens to your hand. He made you the ruler over them all! You are the head of gold.

² »It seemed good to me to show the signs and wonders that the Most High God has done for me.

¹⁷ ‘»The decision is by the decree of the watchers. The sentence by the word of the holy ones! It is to the intent that the living may know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever he will, and sets over it the lowest of men.«

²² It is you O king! You have grown and become strong. Your greatness has grown, and reaches to heaven. Your dominion is to the end of the earth. ²³ ‘»Since the king saw a watcher and a holy one coming down from heaven saying: Chop down the tree, and destroy it. Leave the stump and the roots in the earth. With a band of iron and brass leave it in the tender grass of the field and let it be wet with the dew of heaven. Let its portion be with the beasts of the field till seven times pass over it.« ²⁴ This is the interpretation, O king. It is the decree from the Most High that has come to my lord the king. ²⁵ You will be driven from men. Your dwelling will be with the beasts of the field. You will eat grass like oxen and will be wet with the dew of heaven. 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.

³² »You will be driven from men. Your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. You will have to eat grass like bulls. Seven times shall pass over you until you know the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever he will.«

²² »My God sent his angel, and shut the lions' mouths. They did not hurt me. I was found innocent before him. I have done no wrong before you, O king.«

⁴⁸ The most High does not dwell in houses made with hands as the prophet says,

¹³ »At midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven. It was brighter than the sun and shinned all around me. It also shinned around those who journeyed with me.

¹⁹ »You see, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision.

¹⁴ Anger from a king is the messenger of death, but a wise man will placate it.

⁹ so I am going to send for all the families from the north. I will also send for my servant King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon,« says Jehovah. »I will bring the families from the north to attack this land, its people, and all these surrounding nations. I am going to destroy them and turn them into something terrible, something ridiculed, and something permanently ruined. ¹⁰ »I will take from them the sounds of joy and happiness, the sounds of brides and grooms, the sound of mills, and the light of lamps. ¹¹ »This whole land will be ruined and become a wasteland. These nations will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years.«’ ¹² »‘When the seventy years are over, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation for their crimes,’ declares Jehovah. ‘I will turn Babylon into a permanent wasteland. ¹³ »‘I will bring on that land all the disasters I threatened to do to it, everything that Jeremiah prophesied against all the nations, everything written in this book. ¹⁴ »‘Many nations and great kings will make slaves of the people of Babylon. I will pay them back for what they have done.’«

⁵ »I used my great strength and my powerful arm to make the earth along with the people and the animals on it. I give it to anyone I please. ⁶ »Now I have handed all these countries over to my servant King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. I have even made wild animals serve him. ⁷ »All nations will serve him, his son, and his grandson until Babylon is defeated. Then many nations and great kings will make him their slave.

¹² This caused the king to be angry. In fact he became furious! He commanded that all the wise men of Babylon be destroyed. ¹³ So the decree was delivered. The wise men were to be executed. They searched for Daniel and his companions to execute them.

⁴ Then the herald proclaimed: »You are commanded to do this, O peoples, nations, and men of every language.

⁶ »Whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into the midst of a blazing furnace.«

²⁰ He commanded the mighty men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to throw them into the blazing furnace. ²¹ Then these men were bound in their coats, caps and their other garments. They were thrown into the midst of the blazing furnace.

²⁹ »Therefore I decree that the people of any nation or language who say anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, shall be cut into pieces. Their houses shall be made a dunghill. There is no other god that is able to deliver like this.«

²² It is you O king! You have grown and become strong. Your greatness has grown, and reaches to heaven. Your dominion is to the end of the earth.

⁵ »Wine is treacherous and never allows an arrogant man to rest. He never stays home. He has a large appetite like the grave. Like death he is never satisfied. He gathers all nations and collects all the people.

¹¹ Jesus answered him: »You would have no power against me except it was given you from above. Therefore he that delivered me to you has greater sin.«

¹ Let every person be subject to superior authorities. For there is no authority except by God. God allows the authorities to serve in their positions.

¹⁷ »Still you exalt yourself against my people by not letting them go.

¹¹ »Now I know that Jehovah is greater than all the other gods. It was proven when they treated the people with contempt.«

⁶ »Why are you as stubborn as the Egyptians and their Pharaoh were? When he did terrible (mighty) things among them did he let the Israelites go?

¹⁴ They would not obey. They were stubborn like their ancestors. They did not trust in Jehovah their God.

¹³ Zedekiah also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar. Nebuchadnezzar made Zedekiah swear an oath of allegiance to him in God’s name. But Zedekiah became so stubborn and so impossible to deal with that he refused to turn back to Jehovah the God of Israel.

¹¹ »Unleash the fury of your wrath, look at every proud man and bring him low! ¹² »Look at every proud man and humble him, crush the wicked where they stand.

⁵ Every one proud in heart is an abomination to Jehovah. Though they unite they will all be punished.

¹⁸ Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.

¹² »O how you have fallen from heaven, you morning star (shining one), and son of the dawn! How you have been cut down to the ground, you who conquered nations! ¹³ »‘You thought: ‘I will go up to heaven (Mount Zion) and set up my throne above God's stars (messengers). I will sit on the mountain of meeting far away in the north where the gods assemble. ¹⁴ »‘I will go above the top of the clouds. I will be like the Most High.’ ¹⁵ »But you have been brought down to the grave, to the deepest part of the pit. ¹⁶ »‘Those who see you stare at you. They look at you closely and say: ‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble, who shook the kingdoms, ¹⁷ who made the world like a desert and tore down its cities and did not let his prisoners go home?’

¹ »Come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon. Sit on the ground without a throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans! For you will no longer be called tender and delicate.

¹⁸ Say to the king and his mother: »Come down from your thrones, because your crowns have fallen off your heads.«

¹⁵ »Jehovah of Hosts, the God of Israel says: ‘I am about to bring on this city and all its towns the entire disaster that I have declared against it. This is because they have stiffened their necks (vigorously resisted) so as not to heed my words.’«

¹⁸ »You that live in Dibon come down from your place of honor and sit on the ground in the dust. Moab's destroyer is here and has left its forts in ruins.

⁶ »This is what Jehovah says: ‘All Egypt's allies will die. Egypt's strength will disappear. People will die in war from Migdol to Syene, declares the Lord Jehovah!’

³⁰ The king spoke: »Is this not great Babylon, which I have built for the royal dwelling-place, by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?« ³¹ While the word was in the king's mouth a voice came from heaven, saying: »O king Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: The kingdom is departed from you. ³² »You will be driven from men. Your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. You will have to eat grass like bulls. Seven times shall pass over you until you know the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever he will.« ³³ That same hour it was fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar. He was driven from men and did eat grass like bulls. His body was wet with the dew of heaven, till his hair grew like eagles' feathers, and his fingernails like birds' claws.

⁵¹ »He shows strength with his arm. He scatters the proud in the thoughts of their heart. ⁵² »He removes rulers from their thrones and exalts the humble.

¹⁴ »I tell you the tax collector and not the Pharisee was right with God when he went home. He who exalts himself will be humbled! He who humbles himself will be exalted!«

¹³ Encourage yourselves each day, as long as it is called »Today,« that none of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

¹⁴ »If you do not, he will send his worst plagues to strike you, your officials, and everyone else in your country. Then you will find out that no one can oppose Jehovah. ¹⁵ »He could already have sent a terrible disease and wiped you from the face of the earth. ¹⁶ »I have allowed you to remain, in order to show you my power and in order to proclaim my name through all the earth.

³ »Shriveled up from need and hunger, they gnaw at the dry and barren ground during the night. ⁴ »They pick mallow (salt herb) from the underbrush, and the roots of the broom plant are their food. ⁵ »They are driven from the community. People shout at them in the same way they shout at thieves. ⁶ »They have to live in dry riverbeds (the clefts of the valleys) (wadis), in holes in the ground, and among rocks. ⁷ »They howl in bushes and huddle together under thorn bushes.

¹⁷ Let them be disappointed and dismayed forever. Yes, let them be confounded and perish, ¹⁸ That they may know that you alone, whose name is Jehovah, are the Most High over all the earth.

²⁴ ‘»Every tree in the forest will know that I, Jehovah, can bring down tall trees and help short ones grow. I dry up green trees and make dry ones green. I, Jehovah, have spoken, and I will keep my word.«’«

²⁵ You will be driven from men. Your dwelling will be with the beasts of the field. You will eat grass like oxen and will be wet with the dew of heaven. 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.

³⁵ All the inhabitants of the earth are considered as nothing. He does according to his will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of earth. None can stop him, or say to him: ‘What do you do?’

³ Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said to him: »Thus says Jehovah, the God of the Hebrews, ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me? Let my people go, that they may serve me.

²³ He did not humble himself in front of Jehovah as his father Manasseh had humbled himself. Instead, Amon continued to sin.

¹² He did what Jehovah his God considered evil. He did not humble himself in front of the prophet Jeremiah, who spoke Jehovah’s word.

¹⁰ Grace (favor) is shown to the wicked, but they do not learn righteousness. In a land of uprightness they go on doing evil and do not regard the majesty of Jehovah.

⁴ For John had said to him: »It is not lawful for you to have her.«

³² »John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him. Even the tax collectors and prostitutes believed him. When you saw this, you did not regret your sins and did not have faith in him.

⁴⁷ »The unfaithful servant who knew what his master wanted and did not do it will be beaten.

¹⁷ »If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them.

⁸ Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said: »You rulers of the people, and elders of Israel, ⁹ »If we are on trial for a good deed done to a sick man, concerning how this man was made well; ¹⁰ »Let it be known to you and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you impaled and whom God raised from the dead, even by him this man stands before you healed. ¹¹ »This is the stone that was rejected by you builders. It became the chief corner stone. ¹² »There is no salvation in anyone else. For there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.« ¹³ They observed the confidence of Peter and John. Yet they thought they were uneducated (not formally educated) and ordinary men. They were amazed and recognized them as having been with Jesus.

²⁹ Peter and the other apostles answered: »We must obey God rather than men. ³⁰ »The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom you killed. You hanged him on a stake. ³¹ »God exalted him to his right hand to be a Prince and a Savior, to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. ³² »We are witnesses of these things. The Holy Spirit, which God gave to those who obey him, also witnessed.« ³³ When they heard that, they were cut to the heart, and took counsel to kill them.

⁶ But he gives more grace. The scripture said, »God resists the proud, but gives grace (loving-kindness) to the humble.«

¹⁷ He that knows to do good, and does not do it, to him it is sin.

⁵ Likewise, you younger men, be subject to the older men. Yes, all of you clothe yourselves with humility and serve one another. God resists the proud, but gives loving kindness to the humble. ⁶ Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you at the proper time.

⁷ Jehovah God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. The man became a living being.

¹⁹ He blessed him and said: »Blessed be Abram by God Most High, maker of heaven and earth.

²³ The Philistine kings met together to offer a great sacrifice to their god Dagon. They rejoiced and said: »Our god gave us victory over our enemy Samson!«

¹ The Philistines captured the Ark of God and they brought it from Ebenezer to Ashdod. ² They brought it into the temple of Dagon and placed it beside Dagon. ³ Early the next day the people of Ashdod saw that Dagon had fallen forward on the ground in front of Jehovah’s Ark. So they took Dagon and put him back in his place. ⁴ But the next morning they saw that Dagon had again fallen forward on the ground in front of Jehovah’s Ark. Dagon’s head and his two hands were cut off and were lying on the temple’s threshold. The rest of Dagon’s body was intact. ⁵ That is why the priests of Dagon and everyone else who enters Dagon’s temple in Ashdod do not step on the temple’s threshold, even to this day. ⁶ Jehovah dealt harshly with the people of Ashdod. He destroyed them by striking the people in the vicinity of Ashdod with tumors. ⁷ When the people of Ashdod realized what was happening, they said: »The Ark of the God of Israel must not stay with us. Their God is dealing harshly with our god Dagon and with us.« ⁸ The people of Ashdod called together the Philistine rulers. »What shall we do with the Ark of the God of Israel?« They asked. The rulers said: »The Ark of the God of Israel must be taken to Gath.« So the people took the Ark of the God of Israel there. ⁹ After they had moved it, Jehovah threw the city into a great panic. He struck all the people in the city and they were covered with tumors.

¹⁰ »It is true that you have overcome Edom and your heart is uplifted. Let that glory be enough for you and stay in your own country. Why do you make causes for trouble, putting yourself and Judah with you in danger of downfall?«

¹⁰ »In his hand are the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.

⁴ »Does he not see my ways and count my every step?

¹⁴ »If He should determine to do so, If He should gather to himself his spirit and his breath, ¹⁵ »All flesh would perish and man would return to dust.

²⁹ You hide your face, and they are frightened. You take away their breath, and they die and return to dust.

¹⁶ The highest heaven belongs to Jehovah, but he has given the earth to the sons of men.

¹⁵ The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of man's hands. ¹⁶ They have mouths, but they do not speak. They have eyes, but they do not see. ¹⁷ They have ears, but they do not hear. There is no breath in their mouths.

³ You inspect my path and my lying down. You are intimately acquainted with my ways.

⁴ His spirit (Hebrew: ruach, breath, life) departs, he returns to the earth; in that very day his thoughts perish (come to an end).

²⁴ Jehovah directs man’s steps. How can man understand his own way?

¹² All who are proud will be humbled. Jehovah of Hosts will have his day against all who are arrogant and conceited.

¹⁰ »Now I will arise,« says Jehovah. »Now I will be exalted and lifted up.

¹⁹ »They have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them. But they were not gods! They were only wood and stone, fashioned by human hands.

²³ »Who is it you have insulted and blasphemed? Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes in pride? It is against the Holy One of Israel!

⁵ God created the heavens and stretched them out. He fashioned the earth and all that lives there. He gave life and breath to all its people. And now Jehovah God says to his servant:

²³ O Jehovah, I know that humans are not able to govern their own lives. Humans cannot administer their own steps.

²⁹ »Call together the archers, the soldiers with bows, against Babylon. Set up blockades around it. Do not let anyone escape. Pay the people of Babylon back for what they have done. Do to them what they did to others. They have disobeyed Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel.

² »Son of man, tell the ruler of Tyre: ‘This is what the Lord Jehovah says: »‘»In your arrogance you say, ‘I am a god (strong deity). I sit on God's throne in the sea.’ But you are only human and not a god, although you think you are a god. (2 Thes 2:4)

⁵ ‘»Because of your great skill in trading, you have made yourself very wealthy. You have become arrogant because of your wealth.’«

¹⁷ »‘»Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty. You corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor. I cast you to the ground. I put you before kings, that they may see you.

¹⁰ »The Lord Jehovah says: ‘Because it is high in stature and has set its top among the clouds, and its heart is haughty in its loftiness,

² While he tasted the wine, Belshazzar commanded to bring the gold and silver vessels which Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the Temple in Jerusalem. This way the king and his lords, his wives and his concubines, might drink from them. ³ Then they brought the gold vessels that were taken out of the Temple of the House of God that was at Jerusalem. The king and his lords, his wives and his concubines, drank from them. ⁴ They drank wine, and praised the gods of gold, silver, copper, iron, wood, and of stone.

⁴ »Behold, he is proud. He is not righteous. The righteous will live by faith.

¹⁸ »What is an idol worth after the carver is done? It is merely a false god. Why trust a speechless image made by human hands from wood or metal? ¹⁹ »Woe to anyone who says to an idol of wood or stone get up! You can learn nothing from idols covered with silver or gold? They cannot breathe or talk.

²⁵ »Men’s hands do not serve him as if he needed anything. He gives life and breath to all.

²⁸ »In him we live, and move, and have our existence. Your own poets have said: For we are also his offspring. ²⁹ »Being then the offspring of God, we should not think that the divine being is like gold, or silver, or stone, a device made by man’s design or skill.

²¹ for when they knew God, they did not glorify him as God. They did not thank him and were vain in their reasoning, for their foolish hearts were darkened. ²² Claiming to be wise, they became fools. ²³ They changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things.

⁴ Concerning the eating of food offered in sacrifice to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but one.

⁶ He should not be a new believer, so that he will not become conceited and fall into the condemnation of the Devil.

¹³ Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. All things are uncovered and laid bare before him. We must account to him. (Romans 2:16; 14:12)

⁵ A mouth speaking great things and blasphemies was given to the beast. And authority to act was given to him to continue forty-two months. ⁶ He opened his mouth to blaspheme God, to slander his name, and his dwelling place, and those who live in heaven.

⁵ In the same hour the fingers of a man's hand appeared, and wrote above the lamp stand on the plaster of the wall of the king's palace. The king saw the part of the hand that wrote.

¹⁴ »If a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my hard service I will wait for my change (release) to come.

¹ The pronouncement Isaiah the son of Amoz saw in vision. ² »Lift up a standard high on the mountain. Raise your voice to them. Shake the hand so they may enter the doors of the nobles. ³ »I have commanded my consecrated ones. I have called my mighty warriors. My proud ones are to express my anger, those who rejoice in my majesty (excellency). ⁴ »Listen! A sound of tumult on the mountains is like that of many people! A sound of the uproar of kingdoms and nations gathered together! Jehovah of Hosts assembles (inspects) the army for battle. ⁵ »They come from a far country, from the extremities of the heavens (horizons). Jehovah and his instruments of indignation come to destroy the whole land. ⁶ »Shout (wail) (howl) for the Day of Jehovah is near! It will come as destruction from the Almighty. ⁷ »All hands will fall impaired (weakened). Every man's heart will melt (courage will fail). ⁸ »They will be terrified! Pains and anguish will possess them. They will writhe like a woman in labor. They will look at one another in amazement with their faces reddened with excitement (aflame). ⁹ »Behold! The Day of Jehovah is coming! It will be cruel, with fury and burning anger. It will make the land desolation and exterminate the sinners from it. ¹⁰ »The stars of heaven and their constellations will not shine forth their light. The sun will be dark when it rises and the moon will not shine its light. ¹¹ »I will punish the world for its evil and the wicked for their iniquity. I will also end the arrogance of the proud. I will demean (disgrace) the arrogance of tyranny. ¹² »I will make mortal man harder to find than pure gold and mankind than the gold of Ophir. ¹³ »Therefore I will make the heavens tremble. The earth will shake from its place at the fury of Jehovah of Hosts in the day of his burning anger. ¹⁴ »They will each turn to his own people, and each one escape to his own land just like a hunted gazelle, or like sheep without a shepherd.

¹ Like a whirlwind sweeping across the desert, disaster will come from a terrifying land. ² I have seen a vision of cruel events, a vision of betrayal and destruction. Army of Elam, attack! Army of Media, lay siege to the cities! God will put an end to the suffering that Babylon has caused. ³ What I saw and heard in the vision has filled me with terror and pain. My hips are full of pain and convulsions like that of a woman in labor. ⁴ My innermost being reels, horror overwhelms me. The twilight I longed for has been turned for me into trembling. ⁵ They set the table, they spread out the cloth, they eat, they drink; Rise up, captains, oil the shields, ⁶ For this is what Jehovah says to me: »Go, station the lookout, and let him report what he sees. ⁷ »When he sees riders, horsemen in pairs, a train of donkeys, a train of camels, Let him pay close attention, very close attention.« ⁸ The watchman called out from the tower: »Sir, I stand on the watchtower every day. Every night, I stand guard at my post. ⁹ »Look! Here come chariots and horsemen in pairs. Then he said: ‘Babylon has fallen! She has fallen! All the idols they worship lie shattered on the ground.’« ¹⁰ You, my people, have been threshed and winnowed. I make known to you what I heard from Jehovah of Hosts, the God of Israel.

¹ »Come down and sit in the dust, O virgin daughter of Babylon. Sit on the ground without a throne, O daughter of the Chaldeans! For you will no longer be called tender and delicate. ² »Take the millstones and grind meal. Remove your veil, strip off the skirt; uncover the leg and cross the rivers. ³ »Your nakedness will be uncovered and your shame will be exposed. I will take vengeance. I will not spare a man.« ⁴ Our Redeemer, Jehovah of Hosts is His name, The Holy One of Israel. ⁵ »Sit silently and go into darkness, O daughter of the Chaldeans. You will no longer be called the queen of kingdoms. ⁶ »I was angry with my people. I profaned my heritage and gave them into your hand. You did not show mercy to them. You made your yoke very heavy on the aged. ⁷ »‘You said: ‘I will be a queen for a very long time!’ You did not consider these things or remember their outcome. ⁸ »Hear this you sensual one! You dwell securely and say in your heart: ‘I am, and there is no one besides me. I will not sit as a widow. I will not lose children.’ (Revelation 18:2-8) ⁹ »Two things will come on you suddenly in one day: Loss of children and widowhood. They will come on you in full measure in spite of your abundance of sorceries, in spite of the great power of your spells. ¹⁰ »You felt sure of yourself in your evil. You thought that no one could see you. Your wisdom and knowledge led you astray. Then you said to yourself: ‘I am God! There is no one else like me.’ ¹¹ »Disaster will come upon you, and none of your magic can stop it. Ruin will come on you suddenly, ruin you never dreamed of!

¹¹ »This whole land will be ruined and become a wasteland. These nations will serve the king of Babylon for seventy years.«’ ¹² »‘When the seventy years are over, I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation for their crimes,’ declares Jehovah. ‘I will turn Babylon into a permanent wasteland.

¹ The word Jehovah spoke concerning [BABYLON], the land of the Chaldeans, through Jeremiah the prophet: ² »Declare and proclaim among the nations. Proclaim it and lift up a standard. Do not conceal it but say: ‘Babylon has been captured. Bel has been put to shame. Marduk has been shattered! Her images have been put to shame and her idols have been shattered.’ ³ »A nation has come up against her out of the north. It will make her land an object of horror. There will be no inhabitant in it. Both man and beast wander off. They have gone away! ⁴ »In those days and at that time,« declares Jehovah, »the sons of Israel will come. Both they and the sons of Judah will go along weeping as they go. They will seek Jehovah their God. ⁵ »They will ask for the way to Zion turning their faces in its direction. They will come to join themselves to Jehovah in an everlasting covenant that will not be forgotten. ⁶ »My people have become lost sheep. Their shepherds have led them astray. They have made them turn aside on the mountains. They have gone along from mountain to hill and have forgotten their resting place. ⁷ »All who came upon them have devoured them. Their adversaries said: ‘We are not guilty. They have sinned against Jehovah who is the habitation of righteousness, Even Jehovah, the hope of their fathers.’ ⁸ »Wander away from the midst of Babylon. Go forth from the land of the Chaldeans. Be also like male goats at the head of the flock. ⁹ »I am going to stir up an alliance of strong nations from the north and bring it against Babylon. Those nations will take up positions against Babylon. Babylon will be captured from the north. Its enemy's arrows will be like skilled soldiers who don't come back empty-handed. ¹⁰ »The Babylonians will become the prize. All who loot them will get everything they want,« declares Jehovah. ¹¹ »You are happy and excited. You have looted the people who belong to me. You dance around like calves on the grass and neigh like stallions. ¹² »But your mother will be greatly ashamed. The woman who gave birth to you will be disgraced. Babylon, you will be the least important nation. You will become a parched desert. ¹³ »No one will live in Babylon because of Jehovah’s anger. It will be completely abandoned. Everyone who passes by Babylon will be horrified and hiss at all its wounds. ¹⁴ »Take up your positions around Babylon, all you archers with bows. Shoot at it and do not save any arrows. For the people of Babylon have sinned against Jehovah. ¹⁵ »Shout a war cry against them on every side. They will surrender. Their towers will fall and their walls will be torn down. Since this is Jehovah’s vengeance, take revenge against them. Do to them what they did to others. ¹⁶ »Do not allow anyone in Babylon to plant or harvest. Everyone will turn to his own people and flee to his own homeland because of the enemies' swords. ¹⁷ »The people of Israel are like scattered sheep that lions have chased. The first to devour them was the king of Assyria. The last to gnaw at their bones was King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. ¹⁸ »This is what Jehovah of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘I am going to punish the king of Babylon and his land as I punished the king of Assyria. ¹⁹ »‘I will bring the people of Israel back to their pastures. They will eat on Mount Carmel and Mount Bashan. They will eat until they are full on the mountains of Ephraim and Gilead. ²⁰ »‘In those days and at that time,« says Jehovah, »people will look for Israel's crimes, but they will find none. They will look for Judah's sins, but none will be found. I will forgive the faithful few whom I have spared. ²¹ »Attack the land of Merathaim and the people who live in Pekod. Claim them for me by killing them with a sword, says Jehovah. Do everything I commanded you. ²² »The noise of battle and great destruction fills the land. ²³ »The hammer of the whole earth is broken and shattered. See how desolate Babylon is of all the nations! ²⁴ »I will set traps for you, Babylon. You will be caught, but you will not know it. You will be found and captured because you have opposed Jehovah.« ²⁵ Jehovah will open his armory and bring out the weapons of his fury, because Jehovah of Hosts has a job to do in the land of the Babylonians. ²⁶ Attack them from a distance, open their storehouses, pile up their corpses like piles of grain, claim them for me by destroying them, and do not leave anyone behind. ²⁷ Kill all their young bulls. Let them go to be slaughtered. How horrible it will be for them when their time has come, the time for them to be punished. ²⁸ Fugitives and refugees from Babylon are coming to Zion to tell about the vengeance of Jehovah our God, the vengeance for his temple. ²⁹ »Call together the archers, the soldiers with bows, against Babylon. Set up blockades around it. Do not let anyone escape. Pay the people of Babylon back for what they have done. Do to them what they did to others. They have disobeyed Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel. ³⁰ »That is why their young men will die in the streets, and all their soldiers will be silenced that day, declares Jehovah. ³¹ »I am against you, you arrogant city, declares the Lord Jehovah of Hosts. »Your day has come, the time when I will punish you. ³² »Those prideful people will stumble and fall, and there will be no one to help them get up. I will light a fire in their cities that will burn up everything around them.« ³³ Jehovah of Hosts says: »All the people of Israel and Judah are oppressed. All their enemies have captured them. They refuse to let them go. ³⁴ »Their defender is strong. His name is Jehovah of Hosts. He will certainly take up their cause in order to bring rest to the land of Israel and unrest to the people who live in Babylon. ³⁵ »A sword will kill the Babylonians and everyone who lives in Babylon,« declares Jehovah. »A sword will kill their officials and their wise men. ³⁶ »A sword will kill the false prophets. They will become fools. A sword will kill their soldiers and defeat them. ³⁷ »A sword will kill their horses, their chariots, and all the foreigners within their ranks. They will become women. A sword will destroy their treasures, and they will be looted. ³⁸ »A drought will diminish their water supply, and it will dry up. Babylon is a land of idols, statues that will go crazy with fear. ³⁹ »That is why desert animals will live with hyenas. Desert owls will also live there. It will no longer be inhabited or lived in for generations. ⁴⁰ »Babylon will be like Sodom and Gomorrah, and their neighboring cities when I, God, destroyed them. No one will live there. No human will stay there, proclaims Jehovah. ⁴¹ »People are going to come from the north. A great nation and many kings will rise from the ends of the earth. ⁴² »They will take hold of bows and spears. They will be cruel and have no compassion. They will sound like the sea when it roars. They will ride horses. They are ready for war, ready to attack you, people of Babylon. ⁴³ »The king of Babylon has heard reports about them, and he loses courage. Anguish will grip him as pain grips a woman in labor. ⁴⁴ »I will suddenly chase them from their places like a lion coming out of the jungle along the Jordan River into pastureland. I will appoint over Babylon whomever I choose. Who is like me? Who can challenge me? Is there any leader who can stand up to me?« ⁴⁵ Listen to what Jehovah is going to do against Babylon and the things he intends to do to the land of the Babylonians. He will surely drag away the little ones of the flock. He will surely destroy the pasture because of the Babylonians. ⁴⁶ The earth will quake at the news, »Babylon has been captured!« Its cry will be heard among the nations.

² It was the first year of his reign. I, Daniel, understood from The Books (Holy Scriptures) the number of the years in the word of Jehovah to Jeremiah the prophet. It was seventy years since the destruction of Jerusalem.

¹⁸ »Known to God are all his works from the beginning of the world.

⁶ »let God weigh me on honest scales and he will know that I am blameless.

⁹ Common people are only a vapor in the wind. Important people are only a delusion. When all of them are weighed on a scale, they amount to nothing. They are less than a vapor in the wind.

³⁰ They call them rejected silver, for Jehovah has rejected them.

¹⁸ »Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to me. All of them are the copper, tin, iron and lead in the furnace. They are the dross of silver. ¹⁹ »Therefore, the Lord Jehovah says: ‘I am going to gather you into Jerusalem. This is because all of you have become dross (impure) (worthless). ²⁰ ‘»As they gather silver and copper and iron and lead and tin into the furnace to blow fire on it in order to melt it, so I will gather you in my anger and in my wrath and I will lay you there and melt (liquefy) you.

¹¹ »When the king met the guests he found that one of them was not wearing the right kind of clothes for the wedding. ¹² »The king asked why did he not wear proper clothes for the wedding? But the guest had no excuse.

¹³ every man's work will be made known, for the day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will prove what sort every man's work is.

¹⁷ »I will stir up the Medes against them. They will not value silver or take pleasure in gold.

² I have seen a vision of cruel events, a vision of betrayal and destruction. Army of Elam, attack! Army of Media, lay siege to the cities! God will put an end to the suffering that Babylon has caused.

¹ This is WHAT JEHOVAH SAYS ABOUT CYRUS, his anointed one: »I have held him by his right hand so he could conquer the nations ahead of him; that he could strip kings of their power, and open doors ahead of him so that the gates would not be shut. ² »I will go ahead of you, Cyrus. I will smooth out the rough places. I will break down the copper doors and cut through the iron bars.

³¹ Darius the Mede received the kingdom. He was sixty-two years old.

²⁸ So Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.

³ A ram with two horns stood next to the river. The two horns were tall, but one was taller than the other, and the taller one came up last. ⁴ I saw the ram pushing westward, and northward, and southward. No beasts could stand before him. Neither was there any that could deliver out of his hand. He did what ever he wanted and boasted about himself.

²⁰ »The ram that you saw that had the two horns symbolizes (represents) the kings of MEDIA and PERSIA.

¹ In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus (Xerxes), of the lineage of the Medes. He was made king over the realm of the Chaldeans.

⁴ My innermost being reels, horror overwhelms me. The twilight I longed for has been turned for me into trembling. ⁵ They set the table, they spread out the cloth, they eat, they drink; Rise up, captains, oil the shields, ⁶ For this is what Jehovah says to me: »Go, station the lookout, and let him report what he sees. ⁷ »When he sees riders, horsemen in pairs, a train of donkeys, a train of camels, Let him pay close attention, very close attention.« ⁸ The watchman called out from the tower: »Sir, I stand on the watchtower every day. Every night, I stand guard at my post. ⁹ »Look! Here come chariots and horsemen in pairs. Then he said: ‘Babylon has fallen! She has fallen! All the idols they worship lie shattered on the ground.’«

¹¹ »Jehovah has stirred up the kings of Media, because he intends to destroy Babylon. That is how he will take revenge for the destruction of his Temple. The attacking officers command: Sharpen your arrows! Get your shields ready!

³¹ Runners run to meet runners. Messengers follow messengers. They inform the king of Babylon that his entire city is captured.

¹ King Belshazzar held a great feast for a thousand of his lords, and drank wine with them. ² While he tasted the wine, Belshazzar commanded to bring the gold and silver vessels which Nebuchadnezzar his father had taken out of the Temple in Jerusalem. This way the king and his lords, his wives and his concubines, might drink from them.

¹ It pleased Darius to appoint a hundred and twenty governors over the kingdom. They were to be located throughout the whole kingdom.