And the satraps, the prefects, the governors and the advisors of the king [were] assembling, [and] they saw these men, that the fire had no power over their bodies, and the hair of their heads was not singed, and their garments were not harmed, and the smell of fire did not come from them.

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]."

How great [are] his signs and wonders, how strong [is] his kingdom, {an everlasting kingdom}; and his sovereignty is from generation to generation.

Its foliage [was] beautiful, and its fruit abundant, and in it [was] provision for all. Under it the animals of the field sought shade, and in its branches the birds of heaven nested, and from it all the living beings were fed.

" 'I was looking in the vision of my head [as I lay] on my bed, and look, a watcher, and holy [one], came down from heaven.

He cried {aloud} and so he said: "Cut down the tree and chop off its branches; shake off its foliage and scatter its fruit. Let the animals flee from under it, and the birds from its branches.

Let his mind be changed from [that of a] human, and let [the] mind of an animal be given to him, and let seven times pass over him.

And [inasmuch] that the king saw [the] watcher, a holy [one] coming down from heaven and he said, "Cut down the tree and destroy it, but the stump of its root in the earth leave with a band of iron and bronze in the grass of the field, and let it be watered with the dew of heaven and [let] his lot [be] with [the] animals of the field {until seven times have passed over him}."

you will be driven away {from human society} and {you will dwell} with the animals of the field, and you will be caused to graze grass like the oxen {yourself}, and you will be watered with the dew of heaven, and seven [periods of] time will pass over you until that you have acknowledged that the Most High [is] sovereign over the kingdom of humankind, and {to whom he wills} he gives it.

[While] the words [were] still in the mouth of the king, a voice from heaven came, [saying], 'To you, King Nebuchadnezzar, [it] is declared that the kingdom has departed from you,

and you will be driven away from {human society} and your dwelling [will be] with the animals of the field and they will cause you to graze [the] grass like oxen, and seven times will pass over you, until you acknowledge that the Most High [is] sovereign over the kingdom of humankind and that he gives it to whom he wills.'

{Immediately} the word was fulfilled {concerning} Nebuchadnezzar, and he was expelled from {human society} and he ate grass like oxen, and his body was bathed with the dew of heaven until his hair [was] like [the hair of] an eagle and his nails grew like bird's [claws].

"But at the end of {that period}, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up my eyes to heaven, and [then] my reason returned to me; and I blessed the Most High and {the one who lives forever} I praised and I honored. "For his sovereignty [is] [an] everlasting sovereignty, and his kingdom [continues] from generation to generation.

{When he tasted the wine}, Belshazzar commanded [that they] bring [the] vessels of gold and silver that Nebuchadnezzar his {predecessor} had taken from the temple that [was] in Jerusalem, so that the king and his lords, his wives and his concubines may drink from them.

Then they brought in the vessels of gold that they took from the temple, the house of God that [was] in Jerusalem, and the king and his lords, his wives and his concubines drank from them.

Then Daniel was brought in before the king, [and] the king {spoke} and said to Daniel, "You [are] Daniel {who are one of the exiles} of Judah whom my {predecessor}, the king, brought from Judah.

But {when} his heart became arrogant and his spirit became hard [so as] to act proudly, he was deposed from the throne of his kingdom and the glory {was taken away from him}.

And he was driven away {from human society} and his mind was made like the animals and his dwelling [was] with the wild asses; [and] {he was given} grass like oxen to eat, and with the dew of heaven his body was bathed, until he acknowledged that the Most High God [is] sovereign over the kingdom of humankind, and {whoever} he wants he sets over it.

And [now] you have exalted yourself against the Lord of heaven, and the vessels of his temple you have brought in before you, and you and your lords, your wives and your concubines, have been drinking wine from them, and you have praised the gods of silver, gold, bronze, iron, wood, and stone that [do] not see and [do] not hear and [do] not know, but the God {who holds your life in his hand} and all of your ways {come from him}, you have not honored.

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

All of [the] administrators of the kingdom, and the prefects, the satraps, the counselors and the governors took counsel [and have] agreed to establish an edict of the king and to enforce a decree that {whoever} will seek a prayer from any god or human except from you [for] up to thirty days will be thrown into {the lion pit}.

Then they approached {and spoke with the king} concerning the edict of the king, "{Did you not sign an edict} that any person who would seek [anything] from any God or human within thirty days except from you, O king, would be thrown into {the lion pit}?" The king answered and said, "The matter [as you have just stated] is certain according to [the] law of [the] Medes and Persians which cannot be revoked."

Then {they responded} and said before the king, "Daniel, who [is] from {the exiles} of Judah, {is not paying any attention} to you, O king, or to the decree that you have signed, {and three times daily} he says his prayer."

Then the king went to his palace and spent the night in fasting, and no food was brought in before him and his sleep fled from him.

And {when he came near} to the pit, he cried out to Daniel with distressed voice, [and] the king {spoke} and said to Daniel, "O Daniel, servant of the living God, your God whom you serve faithfully, was he able to rescue you from the lions?"

Then the king was exceedingly glad over it and commanded [that] Daniel be lifted up from the pit; and [there] was not any wound found on him, because he had trusted in his God.

[He is] rescuing, delivering, and working signs and wonders in the heavens and on earth, for he [has] rescued Daniel from the {power} of the lions."

And four great beasts [were] coming up from the sea, differing {from one another}.

The first [was] like lion and {had} [the] wings of an eagle. I was watching until its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the earth and it was raised on [its] feet like a human, and a human heart 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.

A stream of fire issued forth and flowed {from his presence}; thousands [upon] thousands served him and ten thousand [upon] ten thousand stood before him. The judge sat, and [the] books were opened.

'These great beasts which are four [in number] [are] four kings [who] will arise from the earth.

"Then I desired to make certain concerning the fourth beast that was different from {all the others}--exceedingly terrifying, with its iron teeth and its claws of bronze; it devoured and crushed [and] stamped the remainder with its feet--

"And he said, 'The fourth beast [is] the fourth kingdom [that] will be on the earth that will be different from all the [other] kingdoms, and it will devour the whole earth and it will trample it and it will crush it.

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.

I saw the ram charging westward and northward and southward, and {none of the beasts stood before it}, and there was no rescuing from {its power}, and it did {what it wanted} and it became strong.

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 saw it approaching the ram and it was furious at it, and it struck the ram, and it broke its two horns, and {there was not strength in the ram to stand before him}, and he threw it down to the ground and trampled it, {and there was no one who could rescue the ram} from its power.

{And from one of them} came forth horn, {a little one}, and it grew exceedingly toward the south, and toward the east, and toward the beautiful land.

Even against the prince of the hosts it acted arrogantly and took away from him the regular burnt offering, and the place of his sanctuary was overthrown.

And the [horn] [that] was broken, and [then] there arose four [horns] in place of it--[these are] four kingdoms [that] will arise from [his] nation, but not with his power.

In [the] first year [of] Darius, [the] son of Ahasuerus, from [the] offspring of [the] Medes, who became king over [the] kingdom of [the] Chaldeans--

we have sinned and we have done wrong and we acted wickedly and we rebelled and [have been] turning aside from your commandments and from your ordinances.

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.

Lord, according to all your righteousness, please let your anger and your rage turn away from your city Jerusalem, {your holy mountain}, because through our sins and through the iniquities of our ancestors Jerusalem and your people have become an object of mockery among all of our neighbors.

And you must know and you must understand [that] from [the] time of the going out of [the] word to restore and build Jerusalem until [an] anointed [one]-- leader--[will be] {seven weeks and sixty-two weeks}; it will be restored and will be built [with] streets and moat, but {in a time of oppression}.

And he said to me, "You must not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and to humble yourself {before} your God, your words were heard, and I [myself] have come because of your words.

And a branch from her roots will rise up [in] his place, and he will come against the army and he will enter the stronghold of the king of the north and he will take action against them and he will prevail.

And military forces from him {will occupy} and will profane the {sanctuary stronghold}, and they will abolish the regular burnt offering, and they will set up the abomination that causes desolation.

And he will come {into the beautiful land} and many will fall victim, but these will escape from his power: Edom and Moab and the best part of the {Ammonites}.

But reports will terrify him from [the] east and from [the] north, and he will go out with great fury to destroy and [to] exterminate many.

And many from [those] sleeping {in the dusty ground} will awake, some to {everlasting life} and some to disgrace and {everlasting contempt}.

And from [the] time the regular burnt offering is removed and [the] abomination that causes desolation {is set up} [there will be] one thousand two hundred and ninety days.

Plead with your mother, plead-- because she [is] not my wife, and I [am] not her husband. Let her put away her whoring {from before her}, and her adultery from between her breasts.

And now I will uncover her nakedness before the eyes of her lovers, and no one will rescue her from my hand.

From there I will give her her vineyards, and the Valley of Achor as a doorway of hope. And there she will respond, as [in] the days of her youth, just as [in] the day of her coming out of the land of Egypt.

I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, and they will no longer be mentioned by their name.

I will make a covenant for them on that day, with the animals of the field, with the birds of the heaven, and [with] the creeping things of the ground; [the] bow, [the] sword, and [the] war I will abolish from the land, and I will let them lie down in safety.

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from acting as a priest for me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget your children.

My people, consult {their wooden idols}, and their divining rod gives them oracles; because a spirit of whoredom led [them] astray, and they played the whore from under their God.

I myself know Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from me; because now you have played the whore, Ephraim-- Israel is defiled.

With their flocks and herds they will go to seek Yahweh, but they will not find him; he has withdrawn from them.

All of them commit adultery, like a burning oven whose baker has stopped from stirring the fire, and from kneading [the] dough until it is leavened.

Woe to them, because they have strayed from me! Destruction to them, because they have rebelled against me! I myself would redeem them, but they speak lies against me.

They do not cry out to me from their heart, but they wail on their beds; because of grain and new wine they lacerate themselves; they depart from me.

Because [it is] from Israel, an artisan made it, it [is] not a god; for the calf of Samaria will be broken [to] pieces.

Even though they have sold themselves to the nations, now I will gather them. They will soon writhe from the burden of kings and princes.

Do not rejoice, Israel, do not exult like the nations! For you played the whore, departing from your God; you loved a harlot's wage on all the threshing floors of grain.

For look! [If] they flee from the destruction, Egypt will gather them; Memphis will bury them. Nettles will possess their precious things of silver; thorns [will be] in their tents.

Even though they bring up their children, I will bereave them before maturity. Woe to them indeed, when I depart from them!

Every evil of theirs [began] at Gilgal, so I [began] to hate them there; because of the evil of their deeds I will drive them out from my house. I will love them no more; all their officials [are] rebels.

The inhabitants of Samaria tremble for the calf of Beth-aven. Indeed, his people will mourn for it, and his idolatrous priests will wail over it-- over its glory because it has departed from it.

It will also be brought to Assyria, [as] tribute to [the] great king. Ephraim will obtain disgrace and Israel will be ashamed from his advice.

From the days of Gibeah you have sinned, Israel; there {they have remained}. Will not war in Gibeah overtake them against the children of evil?

When I called them, they went from my face. They sacrificed to the Baals, and they sacrificed to idols.

My people are bent on backsliding from me. To the Most High they call, he does not raise them at all.

They will go after Yahweh; he roars like a lion. When he roars, his children will come trembling from [the] sea.

They will tremble like birds from Egypt, and like doves from the land of Assyria; and I will let them return to their homes-- a declaration of Yahweh.

And by a prophet Yahweh brought Israel up from Egypt, and by a prophet he was watched over.

And now they sin again, and they make for themselves a molten idol, idols from their silver metal according to their understanding, all of them the work of skilled craftsmen. To these they say, "Sacrifice!" People are kissing bull calves.

Therefore, they will be like the morning cloud, and like [the] dew of early morning going [away], like chaff swirling from [the] threshing floor, or like smoke from a window.

Should I redeem them from {the power} of Sheol? Should I deliver them from death? Where [are] your plagues, Death? Where [is] your destruction, Sheol? Compassion is hidden from my eyes.

Although he may flourish among reeds, [the] east wind will come, a wind of Yahweh rising from [the] desert; his fountain will dry up, his spring will be parched. It will plunder his treasury, every object of desire.

I will heal their disloyalty; I will love them freely because my anger has turned back from them.

Ephraim, {what have I to do} with idols? I myself have answered and looked after you. I am like a luxuriant cypress; your fruit comes from me.

Wake up, drunkards, and weep! Wail, all drinkers of wine, over the new wine, for it is cut off from your mouth.

The offering and libation are withheld from the house of Yahweh. The priests mourn, the ministers of Yahweh.

Gird yourselves and lament, O priests! Wail, ministers of [the] altar! Come spend the night in sackcloth, ministers of my God, because offering and libation are withheld from the house of your God.

Ah! For the day! For the day of Yahweh is near. It will come like destruction from Shaddai.

[Is] not food cut [off] before our eyes, from the house of our God, joy and gladness?

A day of darkness and gloom, a day of cloud and thick darkness, like the dawn spreads on the mountains, a great and strong army! There has been nothing like it from old, and after it nothing will be again {for generations to come}.

{From before them} nations writhe, all faces {turn pale}.

They run like mighty warriors, they scale the wall like men of war; each goes on its own way, and they do not swerve [from] their paths.

Rend your hearts and not your garments, and return to Yahweh your God, because he [is] gracious and compassionate, {slow to anger} and great in loyal love, and relenting from harm.

gather [the] people, consecrate [the] assembly; assemble [the] elders, gather [the] children, even those [who are] breast-feeding; let [the] bridegroom come out from his private room, and [the] bride from her canopy.

{The northerners} I will remove from you; I will drive them to a desert and desolate land, its front to the eastern sea, and its rear into the western sea; its stench and odor will rise up because he has done great things.

And the sons of Judah and Jerusalem you sold to the sons of the Greeks, in order to remove them from their border.

Look! I [am] rousing them from the place where you have sold them, and I will return what you deserve on your head!