Now this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had pride, plenty of food, and comfortable security, but didn’t support the poor and needy.

It sprouted and became a spreading vine,
low in height with its branches turned toward him,
yet its roots stayed under it.
So it became a vine,
produced branches, and sent out shoots.

It had been planted
in a good field by abundant waters
in order to produce branches,
bear fruit, and become a splendid vine.

Therefore, this is what the Lord God says: “As I live, I will bring down on his head My oath that he despised and My covenant that he broke.

He will certainly live because he thought it over and turned from all the transgressions he had committed; he will not die.

It had strong branches, fit for the scepters of rulers;
its height towered among the clouds.
So it was conspicuous for its height
as well as its many branches.

On that day I swore to them that I would bring them out of the land of Egypt into a land I had searched out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most beautiful of all lands.

But I acted because of My name, so that it would not be profaned in the eyes of the nations they were living among, in whose sight I had made Myself known to Israel by bringing them out of Egypt.

But I acted because of My name, so that it would not be profaned in the eyes of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out.

However, I swore to them in the wilderness that I would not bring them into the land I had given them—the most beautiful of all lands, flowing with milk and honey—

And I saw that she had defiled herself; both of them had taken the same path.

“For this is what the Lord God says: I am going to hand you over to those you hate, to those you turned away from in disgust.

You sat on a luxurious couch with a table spread before it, on which you had set My incense and oil.

Yet they had sex with her as one does with a prostitute. This is how they had sex with Oholah and Oholibah, those obscene women.

Set the empty pot on its coals
so that it becomes hot and its copper glows.
Then its impurity will melt inside it;
its rust will be consumed.

You were an anointed guardian cherub,
for I had appointed you.
You were on the holy mountain of God;
you walked among the fiery stones.

“Son of man, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon made his army labor strenuously against Tyre. Every head was made bald and every shoulder chafed, but he and his army received no compensation from Tyre for the labor he expended against it.

Think of Assyria, a cedar in Lebanon,
with beautiful branches and shady foliage
and of lofty height.
Its top was among the clouds.

Therefore the cedar became greater in height
than all the trees of the field.
Its branches multiplied,
and its boughs grew long
as it spread them out
because of the plentiful water.

“Therefore this is what the Lord God says: Since it became great in height and set its top among the clouds, and it grew proud on account of its height,

This happened so that no trees planted beside water would become great in height and set their tops among the clouds, and so that no other well-watered trees would reach them in height. For they have all been consigned to death, to the underworld, among the people who descend to the Pit.

They too descended with it to Sheol, to those slain by the sword. As its allies they had lived in its shade among the nations.

Then, if anyone hears the sound of the trumpet but ignores the warning, and the sword comes and takes him away, his blood will be on his own head.

Since he heard the sound of the trumpet but ignored the warning, his blood is on his own hands. If he had taken warning, he would have saved his life.

Now the hand of the Lord had been on me the evening before the fugitive arrived, and He opened my mouth before the man came to me in the morning. So my mouth was opened and I was no longer mute.

therefore, as I live”—this is the declaration of the Lord God—“I will destine you for bloodshed, and it will pursue you. Since you did not hate bloodshed, it will pursue you.

So I poured out My wrath on them because of the blood they had shed on the land, and because they had defiled it with their idols.

When they came to the nations where they went, they profaned My holy name, because it was said about them, ‘These are the people of Yahweh, yet they had to leave His land in exile.’

Then I had concern for My holy name, which the house of Israel profaned among the nations where they went.

So I prophesied as I had been commanded. While I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone.

After a long time you will be summoned. In the last years you will enter a land that has been restored from war and regathered from many peoples to the mountains of Israel, which had long been a ruin. They were brought out from the peoples, and all of them now live securely.

And the nations will know that the house of Israel went into exile on account of their iniquity, because they dealt unfaithfully with Me. Therefore, I hid My face from them and handed them over to their enemies, so that they all fell by the sword.

I dealt with them according to their uncleanness and transgressions, and I hid My face from them.

I will no longer hide My face from them, for I will pour out My Spirit on the house of Israel.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.

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 Jerusalem had been captured, on that very day the Lord’s hand was on me, and He brought me there.

Now there was a wall surrounding the outside of the temple. The measuring rod in the man’s hand was six units of 21 inches; each unit was the standard length plus three inches. He measured the thickness of the wall structure; it was about 10 feet, and its height was the same.

There were three recesses on each side of the east gate, each with the same measurements, and the pilasters on either side also had the same measurements.

The recesses and their pilasters had beveled windows all around the inside of the gateway. The porticoes also had windows all around on the inside. Each pilaster was decorated with palm trees.

Its three recesses on each side, its pilasters, and its portico had the same measurements as the first gate: 87½ feet long and 43¾ feet wide.

Its windows, portico, and palm trees had the same measurements as those of the gate that faced east. Seven steps led up to the gate, and its portico was ahead of them.

The inner court had a gate facing the north gate, like the one on the east. He measured the distance from gate to gate; it was 175 feet.

He brought me to the south side, and there was also a gate on the south. He measured its pilasters and portico; they had the same measurements as the others.

Both the gate and its portico had windows all around, like the other windows. It was 87½ feet long and 43¾ feet wide.

Its stairway had seven steps, and its portico was ahead of them. It had palm trees on its pilasters, one on each side.

The inner court had a gate on the south. He measured from gate to gate on the south; it was 175 feet.

Then he brought me to the inner court through the south gate. When he measured the south gate, it had the same measurements as the others.

Its recesses, pilasters, and portico had the same measurements as the others. Both it and its portico had windows all around. It was 87½ feet long and 43¾ feet wide.

Its portico faced the outer court, and its pilasters were decorated with palm trees. Its stairway had eight steps.

Then he brought me to the inner court on the east side. When he measured the gate, it had the same measurements as the others.

Its recesses, pilasters, and portico had the same measurements as the others. Both it and its portico had windows all around. It was 87½ feet long and 43¾ feet wide.

Its portico faced the outer court, and its pilasters were decorated with palm trees on each side. Its stairway had eight steps.

Then he brought me to the north gate. When he measured it, it had the same measurements as the others,

as did its recesses, pilasters, and portico. It also had windows all around. It was 87½ feet long and 43¾ feet wide.

Its portico faced the outer court, and its pilasters were decorated with palm trees on each side. Its stairway had eight steps.

I saw that the temple had a raised platform surrounding it; this foundation for the side rooms was 10½ feet high.

carved with cherubim and palm trees. There was a palm tree between each pair of cherubim. Each cherub had two faces:

The doorposts of the great hall were square, and the front of the sanctuary had the same appearance.

The altar was made of wood, 5¼ feet high and 3½ feet long. It had corners, and its length and sides were of wood. The man told me, “This is the table that stands before the Lord.”

The great hall and the sanctuary each had a double door,

and each of the doors had two swinging panels. There were two panels for one door and two for the other.

For they were arranged in three stories and had no pillars like the pillars of the courts; therefore the upper chambers were set back from the ground more than the lower and middle stories.

He measured the temple complex on all four sides. It had a wall all around it, 875 feet long and 875 feet wide, to separate the holy from the common.

The vision I saw was like the one I had seen when He came to destroy the city, and like the ones I had seen by the Chebar Canal. I fell facedown.

“Say to the rebellious people, the house of Israel: This is what the Lord God says: I have had enough of all your detestable practices, house of Israel.

In the four corners of the outer court there were enclosed courts, 70 feet long by 52½ feet wide. All four corner areas had the same dimensions.

Again he measured off a third of a mile, and it was a river that I could not cross on foot. For the water had risen; it was deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be crossed on foot.

When I had returned, I saw a very large number of trees along both sides of the riverbank.

God had granted Daniel favor and compassion from the chief official,

So Daniel said to the guard whom the chief official had assigned to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,

At the end of the time that the king had said to present them, the chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar.

In the second year of his reign, Nebuchadnezzar had dreams that troubled him, and sleep deserted him.

he said to them, “I have had a dream and am anxious to understand it.”

Then Daniel responded with tact and discretion to Arioch, the commander of the king’s guard, who had gone out to execute the wise men of Babylon.

Therefore Daniel went to Arioch, whom the king had assigned to destroy the wise men of Babylon. He came and said to him, “Don’t kill the wise men of Babylon! Bring me before the king, and I will give him the interpretation.”

The king said in reply to Daniel, whose name was Belteshazzar, “Are you able to tell me the dream I had and its interpretation?”

The head of the statue was pure gold, its chest and arms were silver, its stomach and thighs were bronze,

Wherever people live—or wild animals, or birds of the air—He has handed them over to you and made you ruler over them all. You are the head of gold.

King Nebuchadnezzar sent word to assemble the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the rulers of the provinces to attend the dedication of the statue King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

So the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the rulers of the provinces assembled for the dedication of the statue the king had set up. Then they stood before the statue Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

Therefore, when all the people heard the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, and every kind of music, people of every nation and language fell down and worshiped the gold statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

Then Nebuchadnezzar was filled with rage, and the expression on his face changed toward Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. He gave orders to heat the furnace seven times more than was customary,

So these men, in their trousers, robes, head coverings, and other clothes, were tied up and thrown into the furnace of blazing fire.

Since the king’s command was so urgent and the furnace extremely hot, the raging flames killed those men who carried Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego up.

When the satraps, prefects, governors, and the king’s advisers gathered around, they saw that the fire had no effect on the bodies of these men: not a hair of their heads was singed, their robes were unaffected, and there was no smell of fire on them.

I had a dream, and it frightened me; while in my bed, the images and visions in my mind alarmed me.

“Belteshazzar, head of the diviners, because I know that you have a spirit of the holy gods and that no mystery puzzles you, explain to me the visions of my dream that I saw, and its interpretation.

In the visions of my mind as I was lying in bed, I saw this:

There was a tree in the middle of the earth,
and its height was great.

This is the dream that I, King Nebuchadnezzar, had. Now, Belteshazzar, tell me the interpretation, because none of the wise men of my kingdom can make the interpretation known to me. But you can, because you have the spirit of the holy gods.”

Then Daniel, whose name is Belteshazzar, was stunned for a moment, and his thoughts alarmed him. The king said, “Belteshazzar, don’t let the dream or its interpretation alarm you.”

Belteshazzar answered, “My lord, may the dream apply to those who hate you, and its interpretation to your enemies!

Under the influence of the wine, Belshazzar gave orders to bring in the gold and silver vessels that his predecessor Nebuchadnezzar had taken from the temple in Jerusalem, so that the king and his nobles, wives, and concubines could drink from them.

So they brought in the gold vessels that had been taken from the temple, the house of God in Jerusalem, and the king and his nobles, wives, and concubines drank from them.

Daniel distinguished himself above the administrators and satraps because he had an extraordinary spirit, so the king planned to set him over the whole realm.

When Daniel learned that the document had been signed, he went into his house. The windows in its upper room opened toward Jerusalem, and three times a day he got down on his knees, prayed, and gave thanks to his God, just as he had done before.

The king then gave the command, and those men who had maliciously accused Daniel were brought and thrown into the lions’ den—they, their children, and their wives. They had not reached the bottom of the den before the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.

In the first year of Belshazzar king of Babylon, Daniel had a dream with visions in his mind as he was lying in his bed. He wrote down the dream, and here is the summary of his account.

“The first was like a lion but had eagle’s wings. I continued watching until its wings were torn off. It was lifted up from the ground, set on its feet like a man, and given a human mind.

“While I was watching, another beast appeared. It was like a leopard with four wings of a bird on its back. It had four heads and was given authority to rule.

“While I was watching in the night visions, a fourth beast appeared, frightening and dreadful, and incredibly strong, with large iron teeth. It devoured and crushed, and it trampled with its feet whatever was left. It was different from all the beasts before it, and it had 10 horns.

“While I was considering the horns, suddenly another horn, a little one, came up among them, and three of the first horns were uprooted before it. There were eyes in this horn like a man’s, and it had a mouth that spoke arrogantly.

“As I kept watching,

thrones were set in place,
and the Ancient of Days took His seat.
His clothing was white like snow,
and the hair of His head like whitest wool.
His throne was flaming fire;
its wheels were blazing fire.