They shall dwell securely therein; yes, they shall build houses, and plant vineyards, and shall dwell securely, when I have executed judgments on all those who do them despite all around them; and they shall know that I am the LORD their God.'"

"Thus says the LORD: 'They also who uphold Egypt shall fall; and the pride of her power shall come down: from the tower of Seveneh shall they fall in it by the sword,' says the Lord GOD.

"Son of man, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt, and to his multitude: 'Whom are you like in your greatness?

to the end that none of all the trees by the waters exalt themselves in their stature, neither set their top among the thick boughs, nor that their mighty ones stand up on their height, even all who drink water: for they are all delivered to death, to the lower parts of the earth, in the midst of the children of men, with those who go down to the pit.'

I made the nations to shake at the sound of his fall, when I cast him down to Sheol with those who descend into the pit; and all the trees of Eden, the choice and best of Lebanon, all that drink water, were comforted in the lower parts of the earth.

They also went down into Sheol with him to those who are slain by the sword; yes, those who were his arm, that lived under his shadow in the midst of the nations.

To whom are you thus like in glory and in greatness among the trees of Eden? Yet you will be brought down with the trees of Eden to the lower parts of the earth: you shall lie in the midst of the uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword. This is Pharaoh and all his multitude,' says the Lord GOD."

'When I shall make the land of Egypt desolate and waste, a land destitute of that of which it was full, when I shall strike all those who dwell therein, then shall they know that I am the LORD.

"Son of man, wail for the multitude of Egypt, and cast them down, even her, and the daughters of the famous nations, to the lower parts of the earth, with those who go down into the pit.

'Whom do you pass in beauty? Go down, and be laid with the uncircumcised.'

They shall fall in the midst of those who are slain by the sword: she is delivered to the sword; draw her away and all her multitudes.

The strong among the mighty shall speak to him out of the midst of Sheol with those who help him: 'They are gone down, they lie still, even the uncircumcised, slain by the sword.'

whose graves are set in the uttermost parts of the pit, and her company is around her grave; all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who caused terror in the land of the living.

"There is Elam and all her multitude around her grave; all of them slain, fallen by the sword, who are gone down uncircumcised into the lower parts of the earth, who caused their terror in the land of the living, and have borne their shame with those who go down to the pit.

They have set her a bed in the midst of the slain with all her multitude; her graves are around her; all of them uncircumcised, slain by the sword; for their terror was caused in the land of the living, and they have borne their shame with those who go down to the pit: he is put in the midst of those who are slain.

They shall not lie with the mighty who are fallen of the uncircumcised, who are gone down to Sheol with their weapons of war, and have laid their swords under their heads, and their iniquities are on their bones; for they were the terror of the mighty in the land of the living.

"But you shall be broken in the midst of the uncircumcised, and shall lie with those who are slain by the sword.

"There is Edom, her kings and all her princes, who in their might are laid with those who are slain by the sword: they shall lie with the uncircumcised, and with those who go down to the pit.

"There are the princes of the north, all of them, and all the Sidonians, who are gone down with the slain; in the terror which they caused by their might they are put to shame; and they lie uncircumcised with those who are slain by the sword, and bear their shame with those who go down to the pit.

"For I have put his terror in the land of the living; and he shall be laid in the midst of the uncircumcised, with those who are slain by the sword, even Pharaoh and all his multitude," says the Lord GOD.

"You, son of man, tell the children of your people, 'The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his disobedience; and as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turns from his wickedness; neither shall he who is righteous be able to live thereby in the day that he sins.'

It happened in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, in the fifth day of the month, that one who had escaped out of Jerusalem came to me, saying, "The city has been struck."

Now the hand of the LORD had been on me in the evening, before he who was escaped came; and he had opened my mouth, until he came to me in the morning; and my mouth was opened, and I was no more mute.

"Son of man, they who inhabit those waste places in the land of Israel speak, saying, 'Abraham was one, and he inherited the land: but we are many; the land is given us for inheritance.'

"You shall tell them, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "As I live, surely those who are in the waste places shall fall by the sword; and him who is in the open field will I give to the animals to be devoured; and those who are in the strongholds and in the caves shall die of the pestilence.

Behold, you are to them as a very lovely song of one who has a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument; for they hear your words, but they do not do them.

"Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and tell them, even to the shepherds, 'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves. Shouldn't the shepherds feed the sheep?

My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and on every high hill: yes, my sheep were scattered on all the surface of the earth; and there was none who searched or sought."'

The tree of the field shall yield its fruit, and the earth shall yield its increase, and they shall be secure in their land; and they shall know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bars of their yoke, and have delivered them out of the hand of those who made slaves of them.

Thus will I make Mount Seir an astonishment and a desolation; and I will cut off from it him who passes through and him who returns.

I will fill its mountains with its slain: in your hills and in your valleys and in all your watercourses shall they fall who are slain with the sword.

The land that was desolate shall be tilled, whereas it was a desolation in the sight of all who passed by.

The nations shall know that I am the LORD who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in their midst forevermore."'"

"'"Be prepared, yes, prepare yourself, you, and all your companies who are assembled to you, and be a guard to them.

and you shall say, 'I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to those who are at rest, who dwell securely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates;

to take the spoil and to take the prey; to turn your hand against the waste places that are now inhabited, and against the people who are gathered out of the nations, who have gotten livestock and goods, who dwell in the middle of the earth.'

"'Thus says the Lord GOD: "Are you he of whom I spoke in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, who prophesied in those days for many years that I would bring you against them?"

so that the fish of the sea, and the birds of the sky, and the animals of the field, and all creeping things who creep on the earth, and all the men who are on the surface of the earth, shall shake at my presence, and the mountains shall be thrown down, and the steep places shall fall, and every wall shall fall to the ground.

With pestilence and with blood will I enter into judgment with him; and I will rain on him, and on his hordes, and on the many peoples who are with him, an overflowing shower, and great hailstones, fire, and sulfur.

You 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.

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

"'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;

so 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.

"'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.

They 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.

Those 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.

and 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."

Then 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.

You 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.

"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.

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

"'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:

Neither 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.

"'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.

It 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.

So 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.

"'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.

It 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.

It 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.

The 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.

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

youths 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.

The 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."

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

Then 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."

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

In 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.

The 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.

It 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."

Then 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;

He 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;

I 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."

Therefore 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."

Then 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."

but 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:

as 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.

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;

There 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."

Now 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?"

If 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.

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

Therefore 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.

Nebuchadnezzar 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.

Therefore 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."

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

But 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,

Then 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.

"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.

Now 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."

There is a man in your kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy gods; and in the days of your father light and understanding and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, were found in him; and king Nebuchadnezzar your father, the king, I say, your father, made him chief of the magicians, enchanters, Chaldeans, and diviners;

because an extraordinary spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, interpreting of dreams, and explaining riddles, and solving problems, were found in the same Daniel, whom the king named Belteshazzar. Now let Daniel be called, and he will show the interpretation."

Then was Daniel brought in before the king. The king spoke and said to Daniel, "Are you that Daniel, who are of the children of the captivity of Judah, whom the king my father brought out of Judah?

And because of the greatness that he gave him, all the peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. Whom he would he killed, and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he raised up, and whom he would he put down.

It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom one hundred twenty satraps, who should be throughout the whole kingdom;

and over them three administrators, of whom Daniel was one; that these satraps might give account to them, and that the king might not suffer loss.

Then they came near, and spoke before the king concerning the king's decree. "Haven't you signed a decree, that every man who shall make petition to any god or man within thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions?" The king answered, "The thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which cannot be changed."

Then they answered and said before the king, "That Daniel, who is of the children of the captivity of Judah, doesn't regard you, O king, nor the decree that you have signed, but makes his petition three times a day."

Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spoke and said to Daniel, "Your God whom you serve continually, he will deliver you."

When he came near to the den to Daniel, he cried with a lamentable voice. The king spoke and said to Daniel, "Daniel, servant of the living God. Is your God, whom you serve continually, able to deliver you from the lions?"

The king commanded, and they brought those men who had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions, them, their children, and their wives; and the lions overpowered them, and broke all their bones in pieces, before they came to the bottom of the den.