"Son of man, what [is] this proverb {you people have} about the land of Israel, {saying}, '{The days are prolonged}, and every vision has come to nothing.'

Therefore say to them, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "I will put an end [to] this proverb, and they will not quote it as a proverb again in Israel." ' But say to them, 'The days are near, and [also] the word of every vision.'

Therefore speak with them, and you must say to them, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Every person from the house of Israel who brings up his idols into his heart and {places before himself} a stumbling block of his guilt and [yet] he comes to the prophet, I Yahweh, I will respond to him through this act with [respect to] the multitude of his idols,

And you took from your clothes and you made for yourself colorful shrines, and you prostituted on them; {this had not happened before}, and it {will not continue to happen}.

And you increased your fornication to [the] land of traders, [to] Chaldea, and even with this you were not satisfied.

Look! This was the iniquity of Sodom, your sister: Pride, abundance of food, and {prosperous ease} was to her and to her daughters, and {she did not sustain the needy and the poor}.

" '"And there was another great eagle, great of wings and [with] abundant plumage, and look! This vine stretched out its roots toward him and extended its branches to him to water it from the garden bed {where it was planted}.

"{What do you mean by} quoting this proverb about the land of Israel, {saying}, 'The fathers, they ate unripe fruit, and the teeth of the child became blunt.'

{As I live}, {declares} the Lord Yahweh, it will surely not any longer be {appropriate for you} to quote this proverb in Israel!

And [so] fire has gone out from the stem of its branches; its fruit it has consumed, and [there] was not in it {a strong branch}, a scepter for ruling.'" This [is] a lament, and {it will be used as a lament}.

"Therefore speak to the house of Israel, son of man, and you must say to them, 'Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Again [in] this your ancestors blasphemed me {at their display of infidelity toward me}." '

And I said to them, 'What [is] the high place to which you are going?' And {it is called} Bamah until this day.

A ruin, a ruin, a ruin I will make it! Also this has not [ever] happened; [it will remain] until the coming of [the one] [to] whom the judgment belongs and I have given it [to him].'

Also they did this to me: they defiled my sanctuary on that day, and they profaned my Sabbaths

and when they slaughtered their children for their idols, they came to my sanctuary on that day to profane it. And look, {this is what they did in my house}!

"Son of man, write for yourself the name of the day, {this very day}. The king of Babylon laid siege to Jerusalem on exactly this day!

Vedan and Javan from Uzal, they exchanged wrought iron, cinnamon, and reed spice for your merchandise; [all this] was for your wares.

And they will raise over you with their wailing a lament, and they will chant a lament over you: 'Who is like Tyre, like [this] destruction in the midst of the sea?'

[This occurred] so that all of [the] trees [with abundant] water will not become tall, and they will not set their treetop between [their] thick foliage, and [so that]{all of the trees that are abundantly watered} {will not stand up to them} in their tallness, for all of them, they have been given [over] to death, to [the] world below in the midst of {mortals}, to [the people] going down to the grave."

{This is} a lament, and they will chant it as a lament; the daughters [of] the nations will chant it as a lament over Egypt, and over all of its hordes they will chant it as a lament," {declares} the Lord Yahweh.

[I do this] because of your saying, 'The two nations and the two lands, they will be {mine}, and we will take possession of it,' and [yet] Yahweh was there.

And they will say, "{This desolate land} has become like the garden of Eden, and the wasted and desolate and destroyed cities, [now] being refortified, are inhabited."

"Thus says the Lord Yahweh: 'Again this [time] I will let {myself be inquired of} by the house of Israel, to do [something] for them; I will cause them to increase {their population like a flock}.

In the twenty-fifth year of our exile, at the beginning of the year, on the tenth [day] of the month, in the fourteenth year after the city was destroyed, in this day exactly, the hand of Yahweh was on me, and he brought me there

And the man spoke to me, "Son of man, look with your eyes and listen with your ears and apply your heart to all that I [am] showing you, for you were brought here in order to show you [this]; tell all that you [are] seeing to the house of Israel."

And the pavement {flanked} the side of the gates {and all along the gates}; this [describes] the lower pavement.

And he said to me, "This chamber {with its face toward the south} [is] for the priests [who are] taking care of the responsibility of the temple.

And he brought me to the temple [sanctuary], and he measured the pilasters, {six cubits wide on each side}; [this was] the width of the tent.

And he measured its length [as] twenty cubits and [its] width [as] twenty cubits to [the] front of the temple, and he said to me, "This [is] {the most holy place}.

And [the] face of a human {was toward} the palm tree image {on the one side}, and [the] face of a fierce strong lion {faced} the palm tree image {on the other side}; {this work was executed} for the entire temple {all the way around}.

{a wooden altar} [that] [was] three cubits high, and its length [was] two cubits, and its corners for it and its length and its walls [were of] wood. And he spoke to me, "This [is] the table that [is] {before} Yahweh."

And he said to me, "Son of man, [this is] the place of my throne and the place for the soles of my feet {where I will dwell} in the midst of the {Israelites} to eternity, and they, the house of Israel, they and their kings, will not again defile {my holy name} with their fornication and with their offerings for the dead of their kings [on] their high places.

This [is] the law of the temple: On the top of the mountain, all of its territory, {all the way around it}, {will be most holy}. Look, this [is] the law of the temple.

And these [are] the measurements of the altar in the cubits (a cubit [is] a cubit and a handbreadth): now its gutter {is a cubit in depth by a cubit in width} and its rim along its edge all around is one span, and this [is] [also] the height of the altar.

And Yahweh said to me, "This gate will be shut. It shall not be opened, and {no one} will go through it, for Yahweh, the God of Israel, has entered it, and it will be shut.

And [there] shall be from this [area] five hundred [cubits] by five hundred [cubits], squared all around, for the sanctuary; and fifty cubits [of] open space [shall be] for it all around [it].

And from this measured area you shall measure a length of twenty-five thousand [cubits] and a width of ten thousand [cubits], and in it will be the sanctuary, {the most holy place}.

[This] shall be to him {with respect to the land} as property in Israel; [and so] my princes shall not again oppress my people, but they shall give the land to the house of Israel according to their tribes."

Thus says the Lord Yahweh, "Enough [of this] for you, the princes of Israel; put away violence and destruction and do justice and righteousness; revoke your [acts of] dispossession from upon my people!" {declares} the Lord Yahweh.

This [is] the contribution [offering] which you shall present: a sixth of the ephah from a homer of wheat, and a sixth of the ephah from a homer of barley.

"All of the people of the land shall join [in] to this contribution with the prince in Israel.

And when the prince comes, on the way of the portico of the gate he shall come and by this way he shall go out.

And he said to me, "This [is] the place where the priests will boil the guilt offering and the sin offering, [and] where they shall bake the grain offering [in order] not to bring [them] out to the outer courtyard to make the people holy.

And he asked me, "Son of man, did you see [this]?" And he made me go, and he brought me back [along] the bank of the stream.

Thus says the Lord Yahweh: "This [is] the boundary [by] which you shall distribute the land for {the twelve} tribes of Israel: Two shares [shall be for] Joseph.

And you must take possession of it, each [one] [a share] like his brother, [of this land] which {I swore} to give it to your fathers, and [so] this land shall fall to you as an inheritance.

And this [is] the boundary of the land: {On the north side}, from the great sea [by] the way of Hethlon {until you come to Zedad},

And [so] [the] boundary will be from the sea to Hazar Enan [at] the boundary of Damascus northwards and the boundary of Hamath [to the north], and this [is the boundary on the] side of [the] north.

{And the eastern boundary} [will be] between Hauran and Damascus, and from between Gilead and the land of Israel [along] the Jordan [River] from [the] boundary on the eastern sea to Tamar. And {this is the border on the east}.

{And on the south side the border} [will run] from Tamar up to the waters [of] Meribot Kadesh [and along] the wadi to the Great Sea. And this [is] {the boundary to the south}.

{And on the west side} the Great Sea [shall be] the boundary up to opposite Lebo-Hamath. {This is the western boundary}.

You shall divide this land for yourselves according to the tribes of Israel.

This [is] the land that you shall allot as [an] inheritance to the tribes of Israel, and these [are] their portions," {declares} the Lord Yahweh.

So he agreed to this proposal with them, and he tested them [for] ten days.

The king answered and said, "{Certainly} I know that {you are trying to gain time} {because} you have seen {that this matter is firmly decreed by me},

The {astrologers} answered the king and said, "There is not a man on earth that is able to reveal the word of the king; {in fact}, no great and powerful king has [ever] asked a thing like this of any magician or conjurer or {astrologer}.

Because of this the king became angry, and he became very much enraged, and he said [that] all the wise men of Babylon [are] to be destroyed.

and [told them] to seek mercy {from the God of heaven} concerning this mystery, so that Daniel and his companions, along with the remainder of the wise men of Babylon, would not be killed.

But there is a God in heaven [who] reveals mysteries, and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what [it is] that will be at the end of days. This [is] your dream and the visions of your head on your bed.

And as for me, [it is] not because of wisdom that is in me more than {any other living person} [that] this mystery is revealed to me, but {in order that} the explanation may be made known to the king and you will {understand} the thoughts of your {mind}.

"You, O king, were looking and, look, there was one great statue. This statue [was] huge and its brilliance extraordinary, standing [there] before you, and its appearance [was] frightening.

The head of this statue [was] of fine gold, its chest and its arms of silver, its belly and its thighs of bronze,

"This [was] the dream, and [now] we will tell its interpretation to the king.

The king answered Daniel and said, "{Truly} your God [is] the God of gods and the Lord of kings, and he reveals mysteries, for you are able to reveal this mystery."

{Therefore} {at this time} [some] {astrologers} came forward and {they denounced the Jews}.

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego answered and said to the king, Nebuchadnezzar, "We have no need on this matter {to present a defense to you}.

And from me {is set forth} a decree that any people, nation, or language that [may] utter criticism against their God--[the God of] Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego--will be broken into pieces and their house will be made like ruins. {For} there is not another God who is able to rescue like this [God]."

" 'This [is] the dream [that] I, Nebuchadnezzar the king, saw. Now you, Belteshazzar, declare its explanation, {for} all of [the] wise men of my kingdom were not able to make the explanation known to me, but you are able because [the] spirit of holy gods [is] in you.'

This [is] the explanation, O king, and it [is] a decree of the Most High that has come upon my lord the king:

{All this happened} to Nebuchadnezzar the king.

And the king answered and said, "Is this not the great Babylon which I have built as a royal palace by the strength of my own power, and for the glory of my own majesty?"

The king cried {aloud} to bring [in] the conjurers, the {astrologers} and the diviners; the king {spoke} and said to [the] wise men of Babylon, "Any man that can read this writing and can tell me its explanation will be clothed [in] purple and [will have] necklace of gold [hung] around his neck and he will rule [as] third [in authority] in the kingdom."

There is a man in your kingdom {who has the spirit of the holy gods in him}. And in the days of your {predecessor}, enlightenment and insight and wisdom like the wisdom of the gods was found in him; and, O king, Nebuchadnezzar your {predecessor} appointed him [as] chief of the magicians, the conjurers, the {astrologers}, [and] the diviners. Your {predecessor} the king [did this]

And now the wise men [and] the conjurers were brought in before me [so] that they could read this writing [in order to] make its explanation known to me, but they were not able to disclose the explanation of the matter.

"But you his {successor}, Belshazzar, have not humbled your heart {even though} you knew all this.

So then the palm of the hand was sent out from his presence and this writing was inscribed.

"Now this was the writing that was inscribed: 'Mene, Mene, Tekel and Parsin.'

"This [is] the explanation of the matter: 'Mene'--God has numbered your kingdom and brought an end [to] it.

Then these men {said}, "We will not find any pretext against this Daniel unless we find it in connection with the law of his God."

So this Daniel prospered during the kingdom of Darius and during the kingdom of Cyrus the Persian.

After this I was watching and look, another [beast] like a leopard; {it had four wings} of a bird on its back, and {the beast had} four heads, and dominion was given to it.

After this in the visions of the night I was looking and there was a fourth beast, terrifying and frightful and exceedingly strong, and {it had} {great iron teeth}, [and it was] devouring and crushing, and it stamped the remainder with its feet; and it was different from all [the other] beasts {that preceded it} {and it had ten horns}.

I was considering the horns, and look, another little horn came up {among} them, and three of the earlier horns {were rooted out} from before it, and there were eyes like the eyes of human in this horn and [also] a mouth [that was] speaking boastfully.

[So] I approached one of the attendants and I asked him [about] the truth concerning all this; and he told me [that] he would make known to me the explanation of the matter.

and concerning the horns that [were] on its head, and [concerning] [the] other [horn] that came up and {before which three horns fell}, and this horn {had eyes} and mouth speaking {boastfully}, and its appearance [was] larger than its companions.

{I continued watching}, and this horn made war with [the] holy ones and it prevailed over them,

And [as for] the ten horns [coming] from it, [from] this kingdom ten kings will arise, and another will arise after them. And he will be different from the earlier [ones], and he will subdue three kings.

{This is the end of the account}. {As for me, Daniel}--my thoughts terrified me greatly and my face changed over me, but I kept the matter in my heart."

And I was considering [this], and look, a he-goat coming from the west across the face of the whole earth, and [it] was not touching the ground; and the he-goat [had] {a conspicuous horn} between its eyes.

And I heard [the] voice of a human at [the] Ulai, and he called and said, "Gabriel, [make] this [man] understand the vision."

"{Righteousness belongs to you, O Lord}, and on us [is] open shame, [just] as [it is] this day to the people of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to all Israel, {those who are near and those who are far off} in all the lands [to] which you have driven them, because of their infidelity which they displayed against you.

Just as [it is] written in the law of Moses, all of this calamity has come upon us, and {we have not implored} the face of Yahweh our God [so as] to turn from our iniquities and to attend closely to your faithfulness.

"And now, Lord our God, who have brought your people out from [the] land of Egypt with a strong hand, and you [have] made for yourself a name [until] this day--we have sinned, we have acted wickedly.

And I myself, Daniel, alone saw this great vision, and [as a result] {no strength was left in me} and {my complexion grew deathly pale}, and I did not retain any strength.

And he said to me, "Daniel, man beloved, pay attention to the words that I [am] speaking to you and {stand upright where you are}, for I have now been sent to you." And {while he was speaking} with me this word, I stood up trembling.

Then I looked, I myself, Daniel, and look, there were two others standing: {one on this bank of the stream and one on the other}.

Hear this, priests! Give heed, house of Israel! Listen, house of the king! Because the judgment [applies] to you; because you have been a snare for Mizpah, and a net spread out on Tabor;

The pride of Israel {testifies against him}-- they do not return to Yahweh their God; they do not seek him for all of this.

They turn, not to the Most High, like a slack bow; their officials will fall by the sword because of the anger of their tongue. This [is] their scorn in the land of Egypt.

Hear this, O elders, and give ear, all the inhabitants of the land. Has this happened in your days? Or the days of your ancestors?