“They are the ones who may enter My sanctuary and draw near to My table to serve Me. They will keep My mandate.

“In a dispute, they will officiate as judges and decide the case according to My ordinances. They must observe My laws and statutes regarding all My appointed festivals, and keep My Sabbaths holy.

“This will be their inheritance: I am their inheritance. You are to give them no possession in Israel: I am their possession.

They will eat the grain offering, the sin offering, and the restitution offering. Everything in Israel that is permanently dedicated to the Lord will belong to them.

The best of all the firstfruits of every kind and contribution of every kind from all your gifts will belong to the priests. You are to give your first batch of dough to the priest so that a blessing may rest on your homes.

The priests may not eat any bird or animal that died naturally or was mauled by wild beasts.

“When you divide the land by lot as an inheritance, you must set aside a donation to the Lord, a holy portion of the land, 8⅓ miles long and 6⅔ miles wide. This entire tract of land will be holy.

In this area there will be a square section for the sanctuary, 875 by 875 feet, with 87½ feet of open space all around it.

From this holy portion, you will measure off an area 8⅓ miles long and 3⅓ miles wide, in which the sanctuary, the most holy place, will stand.

It will be a holy area of the land to be used by the priests who minister in the sanctuary, who draw near to serve the Lord. It will be a place for their houses, as well as a holy area for the sanctuary.

There will be another area 8⅓ miles long and 3⅓ miles wide for the Levites who minister in the temple; it will be their possession for towns to live in.

“As the property of the city, you must set aside an area 1⅔ of a mile wide and 8⅓ miles long, adjacent to the holy donation of land. It will be for the whole house of Israel.

And the prince will have the area on each side of the holy donation of land and the city’s property, adjacent to the holy donation and the city’s property, stretching to the west on the west side and to the east on the east side. Its length will correspond to one of the tribal portions from the western boundary to the eastern boundary.

This will be his land as a possession in Israel. My princes will no longer oppress My people but give the rest of the land to the house of Israel according to their tribes.

The dry measure and the liquid measure will be uniform, with the liquid measure containing 5½ gallons and the dry measure holding half a bushel. Their measurement will be a tenth of the standard larger capacity measure.

The shekel will weigh 20 gerahs. Your mina will equal 60 shekels.

The quota of oil in liquid measures will be one percent of every cor. The cor equals 10 liquid measures or one standard larger capacity measure, since 10 liquid measures equal one standard larger capacity measure.

Then the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and drink offerings for the festivals, New Moons, and Sabbaths—for all the appointed times of the house of Israel—will be the prince’s responsibility. He will provide the sin offerings, grain offerings, burnt offerings, and fellowship offerings to make atonement on behalf of the house of Israel.

You must do the same thing on the seventh day of the month for everyone who sins unintentionally or through ignorance. In this way you will make atonement for the temple.

“In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, you are to celebrate the Passover, a festival of seven days during which unleavened bread will be eaten.

On that day the prince will provide a bull as a sin offering on behalf of himself and all the people of the land.

During the seven days of the festival, he will provide seven bulls and seven rams without blemish as a burnt offering to the Lord on each of the seven days, along with a male goat each day for a sin offering.

He will also provide a grain offering of half a bushel per bull and half a bushel per ram, along with a gallon of oil for every half bushel.

At the festival that begins on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, he will provide the same things for seven days—the same sin offerings, burnt offerings, grain offerings, and oil.

“This is what the Lord God says: The gate of the inner court that faces east must be closed during the six days of work, but it will be opened on the Sabbath day and opened on the day of the New Moon.

The prince should enter from the outside by way of the gate’s portico and stand at the doorpost of the gate while the priests sacrifice his burnt offerings and fellowship offerings. He will bow in worship at the threshold of the gate and then depart, but the gate must not be closed until evening.

The people of the land will also bow in worship before the Lord at the entrance of that gate on the Sabbaths and New Moons.

The grain offering will be half a bushel with the ram, and the grain offering with the lambs will be whatever he wants to give, as well as a gallon of oil for every half bushel.

He will provide a grain offering of half a bushel with the bull, half a bushel with the ram, and whatever he can afford with the lambs, together with a gallon of oil for every half bushel.

When the people enter, the prince will enter with them, and when they leave, he will leave.

At the festivals and appointed times, the grain offering will be half a bushel with the bull, half a bushel with the ram, and whatever he wants to give with the lambs, along with a gallon of oil for every half bushel.

“When the prince makes a freewill offering, whether a burnt offering or a fellowship offering as a freewill offering to the Lord, the gate that faces east must be opened for him. He is to offer his burnt offering or fellowship offering just as he does on the Sabbath day. Then he will go out, and the gate must be closed after he leaves.

“You must offer an unblemished year-old male lamb as a daily burnt offering to the Lord; you will offer it every morning.

They will offer the lamb, the grain offering, and the oil every morning as a regular burnt offering.

“This is what the Lord God says: If the prince gives a gift to each of his sons as their inheritance, it will belong to his sons. It will become their property by inheritance.

But if he gives a gift from his inheritance to one of his servants, it will belong to that servant until the year of freedom, when it will revert to the prince. His inheritance belongs only to his sons; it is theirs.

The prince must not take any of the people’s inheritance, evicting them from their property. He is to provide an inheritance for his sons from his own property, so that none of My people will be displaced from his own property.”

He said to me, “This is the place where the priests will boil the restitution offering and the sin offering, and where they will bake the grain offering, so that they do not bring them into the outer court and transmit holiness to the people.”

He said to me: “These are the kitchens where those who minister at the temple will cook the people’s sacrifices.”

Every kind of living creature that swarms will live wherever the river flows, and there will be a huge number of fish because this water goes there. Since the water will become fresh, there will be life everywhere the river goes.

Fishermen will stand beside it from En-gedi to En-eglaim. These will become places where nets are spread out to dry. Their fish will consist of many different kinds, like the fish of the Mediterranean Sea.

Yet its swamps and marshes will not be healed; they will be left for salt.

All kinds of trees providing food will grow along both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. Each month they will bear fresh fruit because the water comes from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be used for food and their leaves for medicine.”

This is what the Lord God says: “This is the border you will use to divide the land as an inheritance for the 12 tribes of Israel. Joseph will receive two shares.

You will inherit it in equal portions, since I swore to give it to your ancestors. So this land will fall to you as an inheritance.

“This is to be the border of the land:

On the north side it will extend from the Mediterranean Sea by way of Hethlon and Lebo-hamath to Zedad,

So the border will run from the sea to Hazar-enon at the border of Damascus, with the territory of Hamath to the north. This will be the northern side.

On the east side it will run between Hauran and Damascus, along the Jordan between Gilead and the land of Israel; you will measure from the northern border to the eastern sea. This will be the eastern side.

On the south side it will run from Tamar to the waters of Meribath-kadesh, and on to the Brook of Egypt as far as the Mediterranean Sea. This will be the southern side.

On the west side the Mediterranean Sea will be the border, from the southern border up to a point opposite Lebo-hamath. This will be the western side.

You will allot it as an inheritance for yourselves and for the foreigners living among you, who have fathered children among you. You will treat them like native-born Israelites; along with you, they will be allotted an inheritance among the tribes of Israel.

In whatever tribe the foreigner lives, you will assign his inheritance there.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.

“Now these are the names of the tribes:

From the northern end, along the road of Hethlon, to Lebo-hamath as far as Hazar-enon, at the northern border of Damascus, alongside Hamath and extending from the eastern side to the sea, will be Dan—one portion.

Next to the territory of Dan, from the east side to the west, will be Asher—one portion.

Next to the territory of Asher, from the east side to the west, will be Naphtali—one portion.

Next to the territory of Naphtali, from the east side to the west, will be Manasseh—one portion.

Next to the territory of Manasseh, from the east side to the west, will be Ephraim—one portion.

Next to the territory of Ephraim, from the east side to the west, will be Reuben—one portion.

Next to the territory of Reuben, from the east side to the west, will be Judah—one portion.

“Next to the territory of Judah, from the east side to the west, will be the portion you donate to the Lord, 8⅓ miles wide, and as long as one of the tribal portions from the east side to the west. The sanctuary will be in the middle of it.

“The special portion you donate to the Lord will be 8⅓ miles long and 3⅓ miles wide.

This holy donation will be set apart for the priests alone. It will be 8⅓ miles long on the northern side, 3⅓ miles wide on the western side, 3⅓ miles wide on the eastern side, and 8⅓ miles long on the southern side. The Lord’s sanctuary will be in the middle of it.

It will be a special donation for them out of the holy donation of the land, a most holy place adjacent to the territory of the Levites.

“Next to the territory of the priests, the Levites will have an area 8⅓ miles long and 3⅓ miles wide. The total length will be 8⅓ miles and the width 3⅓ miles.

“The remaining area, 1⅔ of a mile wide and 8⅓ miles long, will be for common use by the city, for both residential and open space. The city will be in the middle of it.

The city’s open space will extend:

425 feet to the north,
425 feet to the south,
425 feet to the east,
and 425 feet to the west.

“The remainder of the length alongside the holy donation will be 3⅓ miles to the east and 3⅓ miles to the west. It will run alongside the holy donation. Its produce will be food for the workers of the city.

The city’s workers from all the tribes of Israel will cultivate it.

The entire donation will be 8⅓ miles by 8⅓ miles; you are to set apart the holy donation along with the city property as a square area.

“The remaining area on both sides of the holy donation and the city property will belong to the prince. He will own the land adjacent to the tribal portions, next to the 8⅓ miles of the donation as far as the eastern border and next to the 8⅓ miles of the donation as far as the western border. The holy donation and the sanctuary of the temple will be in the middle of it.

Except for the Levitical property and the city property in the middle of the area belonging to the prince, the area between the territory of Judah and that of Benjamin will belong to the prince.

“As for the rest of the tribes:

From the east side to the west, will be Benjamin—one portion.

Next to the territory of Benjamin, from the east side to the west, will be Simeon—one portion.

Next to the territory of Simeon, from the east side to the west, will be Issachar—one portion.

Next to the territory of Issachar, from the east side to the west, will be Zebulun—one portion.

Next to the territory of Zebulun, from the east side to the west, will be Gad—one portion.

Next to the territory of Gad toward the south side, the border will run from Tamar to the waters of Meribath-kadesh, to the Brook of Egypt, and out to the Mediterranean Sea.

This is the land you are to allot as an inheritance to Israel’s tribes, and these will be their portions.” This is the declaration of the Lord God.

there will be three gates facing north, the gates of the city being named for the tribes of Israel: one, the gate of Reuben; one, the gate of Judah; and one, the gate of Levi.

On the east side, which is 1½ miles, there will be three gates: one, the gate of Joseph; one, the gate of Benjamin; and one, the gate of Dan.

On the south side, which measures 1½ miles, there will be three gates: one, the gate of Simeon; one, the gate of Issachar; and one, the gate of Zebulun.

On the west side, which is 1½ miles, there will be three gates: one, the gate of Gad; one, the gate of Asher; and one, the gate of Naphtali.

The perimeter of the city will be six miles, and the name of the city from that day on will be: Yahweh Is There.”

The Chaldeans spoke to the king (Aramaic begins here): “May the king live forever. Tell your servants the dream, and we will give the interpretation.”

The king replied to the Chaldeans, “My word is final: If you don’t tell me the dream and its interpretation, you will be torn limb from limb, and your houses will be made a garbage dump.

They answered a second time, “May the king tell the dream to his servants, and we will give the interpretation.”

If you don’t tell me the dream, there is one decree for you. You have conspired to tell me something false or fraudulent until the situation changes. So tell me the dream and I will know you can give me its interpretation.”

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.”

But there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, and He has let King Nebuchadnezzar know what will happen in the last days. Your dream and the visions that came into your mind as you lay in bed were these:

Your Majesty, while you were in your bed, thoughts came to your mind about what will happen in the future. The revealer of mysteries has let you know what will happen.

“This was the dream; now we will tell the king its interpretation.

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.

“After you, there will arise another kingdom, inferior to yours, and then another, a third kingdom, of bronze, which will rule the whole earth.

A fourth kingdom will be as strong as iron; for iron crushes and shatters everything, and like iron that smashes, it will crush and smash all the others.

You saw the feet and toes, partly of a potter’s fired clay and partly of iron—it will be a divided kingdom, though some of the strength of iron will be in it. You saw the iron mixed with clay,

and that the toes of the feet were partly iron and partly fired clay—part of the kingdom will be strong, and part will be brittle.

You saw the iron mixed with clay—the peoples will mix with one another but will not hold together, just as iron does not mix with fired clay.

“In the days of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, and this kingdom will not be left to another people. It will crush all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, but will itself endure forever.

You saw a stone break off from the mountain without a hand touching it, and it crushed the iron, bronze, fired clay, silver, and gold. The great God has told the king what will happen in the future. The dream is true, and its interpretation certain.”

But whoever does not fall down and worship will immediately be thrown into a furnace of blazing fire.”