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 these men assembled together to the king, and said to the king, "Know, O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians, that no decree nor statute which the king establishes may be changed."

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?"

I make a decree, that in all the dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel; for he is the living God, and steadfast forever. His kingdom shall not be destroyed; and his dominion shall be to the end.

The first was like a lion, and had eagle's wings. I saw until its wings were plucked, and it was lifted up from the earth, and made to stand on two feet as a man; and a man's mind was given to it.

I saw until thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool. His throne was fiery flames, and its wheels burning fire.

As for the rest of the animals, their dominion was taken away, yet their lives were prolonged for a season and a time.

There was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.

As for me, Daniel, my spirit was grieved in the midst of my body, and the visions of my mind troubled me.

Then I desired to know the true meaning concerning the fourth animal, which was different from all of them, exceedingly terrible, whose teeth were of iron, and its claws of bronze; which devoured, broke in pieces, and stamped what was left with its feet.

And concerning the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn which came up, and before which three fell, even that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that spoke arrogant things, whose look was larger than the others.

As for the ten horns, out of this kingdom shall ten kings arise, and another shall arise after them; and he shall be diverse from the former, and he shall put down three kings.

The kingdom and the dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the holy ones of the Most High. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.'

Here is the end of the matter. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts troubled me greatly, and my face turned pale. I kept the matter to myself."

And I saw in the vision, and when I looked, I was in the citadel of Susa, which is in the province of Elam. And I saw in the vision, and I was by the river Ulai.

As I was considering, behold, a male goat came from the west over the surface of the whole earth, and did not touch the ground. And the goat had a prominent horn between his eyes.

Now as he was speaking with me, I fell into a deep sleep with my face toward the ground; but he touched me, and stood me upright.

The male goat is the king of Greece, and the large horn that is between his eyes is the first king.

As for that which was broken, in the place where four stood up, four kingdoms shall arise out of his nation, but not with his power.

The vision of the evenings and mornings which has been told is true; but seal up the vision because it refers to many days from now."

We have sinned, and have done what is wrong and wicked, and have rebelled, even turning aside from your commandments and from your ordinances.

Lord, righteousness belongs to you, but to us open shame, as at this day, to the men of Judah, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, who are near, and who are far off, through all the countries where you have driven them, because of their unfaithful deeds that they have committed against you.

LORD, to us belongs open shame, to our kings, to our leaders, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against you.

And have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets.

Yes, all Israel has transgressed your law, and turned away, refusing to obey your voice. Therefore has the curse been poured out on us, and the oath that is written in the Law of Moses the servant of God, for we have sinned against you.

He has confirmed his words, which he spoke against us, and against our rulers who ruled us, by bringing on us a great calamity; for under the whole heaven such has not been done as has been done on Jerusalem.

As it is written in the Law of Moses, all this calamity has come on us. Yet have we not tried to gain the favor of the LORD our God, that we should turn from our iniquities, and have discernment in your truth.

Therefore has the LORD watched over the calamity, and brought it on us, for the LORD our God is just in all he has done, and we have not obeyed his voice.

Lord, according to all your righteousness, let your anger and please let your wrath be turned away from your city Jerusalem, your holy mountain; because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and your people have become a reproach to all who are around us.

Now therefore, our God, listen to the prayer of your servant, and to his petitions, and cause your face to shine on your sanctuary that is desolate, for the Lord's sake.

My God, turn your ear, and hear; open your eyes, and see our desolation, and the city which is called by your name. For we do not present our petitions before you for our righteousness, but for your great mercy.

He shall make a firm covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the offering to cease. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who destroys, and even until a complete destruction, until the decreed end is poured out on the one who destroys."

In the third year of Cyrus king of Persia a word was revealed to Daniel, whose name was called Belteshazzar; and the word was true: a great war. And he understood the word, and had understanding of the vision.

In the four and twentieth day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river, which is the Tigris,

And behold, one in the likeness of a human touched my lips. Then I opened my mouth and spoke and said to him who stood before me, "My lord, it is because of the vision anguish has come upon me, and I have no strength.

For how can this servant of my lord talk with my lord? As for me, no strength remains, and I am breathless."

But I will tell you that which is inscribed in the Book of Truth. And there is no one who contends with me against them except Michael, your prince."

"And as for me, in the first year of Darius the Mede, I stood up to support and strengthen him.

And now what I show you is true. Behold, there shall arise three more kings in Persia, and the fourth shall be far richer than all of them; and when he has grown strong through his riches, he shall stir up all against the kingdom of Greece.

And a powerful king shall arise, who shall rule an extensive empire, and do as he pleases.

And his sons shall wage war, and shall assemble a multitude of great forces, which shall advance and overflow and pass through, and they shall return and wage war, as far as his fortress.

But he who comes against him shall do as he pleases, and no one shall be able to withstand him. And he shall stand in the beautiful land, and destruction will be within his power.

And large armies shall be swept away and shattered before him, as well as the prince of the covenant.

And after an alliance is made with him he shall work deceitfully; for he shall become strong with a small force.

As for both these kings, their minds shall be fixed on evil, and they shall speak lies at the table; but it shall not succeed; for still the end shall be at the appointed time.

At the appointed time he shall return, and come into the south; but this time the outcome shall not be as it was before.

And those who are wise among the people shall instruct many; yet they shall fall by the sword and by flame, by captivity and by plunder for some time.

Some of those who are wise shall fall, to be refined, purified and cleansed until the time of the end; for the appointed time is still to come.

And the king shall do as he pleases. And he shall exalt and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak outrageous things against the God of gods. And he shall prosper until the indignation is accomplished; for that which is decreed shall be done.

And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever.

Many shall be purified, cleansed and refined; but the wicked shall act wickedly. And none of the wicked shall understand, but those who are wise shall understand.

From the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away, and the abomination that causes desolation is set up, there shall be one thousand two hundred ninety days.

Blessed is he who waits, and comes to the one thousand three hundred thirty-five days.

The word of the LORD that came to Hosea the son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.

Yet the number of the children of Israel will be as the sand of the sea, which can't be measured nor numbered; and it will come to pass that, in the place where it was said to them, 'You are not my people,' they will be called 'sons of the living God.'

Contend with your mother. Contend, for she is not my wife, neither am I her husband; and let her put away her prostitution from her face, and her adulteries from between her breasts;

Lest I strip her naked, and make her bare as in the day that she was born, and make her like a wilderness, and set her like a dry land, and kill her with thirst.

I will give her vineyards from there, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope; and she will respond there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt.

The LORD said to me, "Go again, love a woman loved by another, and an adulteress, even as the LORD loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods, and love cakes of raisins."

Hear the word of the LORD, you children of Israel; for the LORD has a charge against the inhabitants of the land: "Indeed there is no truth, nor goodness, nor knowledge of God in the land.

There is cursing, lying, murder, stealing, and committing adultery; they break boundaries, and bloodshed causes bloodshed.

As they were multiplied, so they sinned against me. I will change their glory into shame.

They sacrifice on the tops of the mountains, and burn incense on the hills, under oaks and poplars and terebinths, because its shade is good. Therefore your daughters play the prostitute, and your brides commit adultery.

"Though you, Israel, play the prostitute, yet do not let Judah offend; and do not come to Gilgal, neither go up to Beth Aven, nor swear, 'As the LORD lives.'

Ephraim is joined to idols. Leave him alone.

"Listen to this, you priests. Listen, house of Israel, and give ear, house of the king. For the judgment is against you; for you have been a snare at Mizpah, and a net spread on Tabor.

I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from me; for now, Ephraim, you have played the prostitute. Israel is defiled.

Their deeds won't allow them to turn to their God; for the spirit of prostitution is within them, and they do not know the LORD.

Ephraim is oppressed, he is crushed in judgment; Because he is intent in his pursuit of idols.

"When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah his wound, Then Ephraim went to Assyria, and sent to king Jareb: but he is not able to heal you, neither will he cure you of your wound.

"Come, and let us return to the LORD; for he has torn us to pieces, and he will heal us; he has injured us, and he will bind up our wounds.

After two days he will revive us. On the third day he will raise us up, and we will live before him.

Let us acknowledge the LORD. Let us press on to know the LORD. As surely as the sun rises, The LORD will appear. He will come to us like the rain, like the spring rain that waters the earth."

"Ephraim, what shall I do to you? Judah, what shall I do to you? For your love is like a morning cloud, and like the dew that disappears early.

Gilead is a city of those who work iniquity; it is stained with blood.

As gangs of robbers wait to ambush a man, so the company of priests murder in the way toward Shechem, committing shameful crimes.

In the house of Israel I have seen a horrible thing. There is prostitution in Ephraim. Israel is defiled.

"For you also, Judah, there is a harvest appointed for you, when I restore the fortunes of my people.

When I would heal Israel, then the iniquity of Ephraim is uncovered, also the wickedness of Samaria; for they commit falsehood, and the thief enters in, and the gang of robbers ravages outside.

They are all adulterers. They are burning like an oven that the baker stops stirring, from the kneading of the dough, until it is leavened.

For they have made ready their heart like an oven, while they lie in wait. Their baker sleeps all the night. In the morning it burns as a flaming fire.

They are all hot as an oven, and devour their judges. All their kings have fallen. There is no one among them who calls to me.

Ephraim, he mixes himself among the nations. Ephraim is a pancake not turned over.

"Ephraim is like an easily deceived dove, without understanding. They call to Egypt. They go to Assyria.

When they go, I will spread my net on them. I will bring them down like the birds of the sky. I will chastise them, as their congregation has heard.

"Put the trumpet to your lips. Something like an eagle is over the LORD's house, because they have broken my covenant, and rebelled against my law.

Israel has cast off that which is good. The enemy will pursue him.

For this is even from Israel. The workman made it, and it is no God; indeed, the calf of Samaria shall be broken in pieces.

Israel is swallowed up. Now they are among the nations like a worthless thing.

I wrote for him the many things of my law; but they were regarded as a strange thing.

As for the sacrifices of my offerings, they sacrifice flesh and eat it; But the LORD doesn't accept them. Now he will remember their iniquity, and punish their sins. They will return to Egypt.

The days of visitation have come. The days of reckoning have come. Israel will consider the prophet to be a fool, and the man who is inspired to be insane, because of the abundance of your sins, and because your hostility is great.

A prophet watches over Ephraim with my God. A fowler's snare is on all of his paths, and hostility in the house of his God.

They have deeply corrupted themselves, as in the days of Gibeah. He will remember their iniquity. He will punish them for their sins.

I found Israel like grapes in the wilderness. I saw your fathers as the first ripe in the fig tree at its first season; but they came to Baal Peor, and consecrated themselves to the shameful thing, and became abominable like that which they loved.

As for Ephraim, their glory will fly away like a bird. There will be no birth, none with child, and no conception.

"All their wickedness is in Gilgal; for there I hated them. Because of the wickedness of their deeds I will drive them out of my house. I will love them no more. All their rulers are rebels.

Ephraim is struck. Their root has dried up. They will bear no fruit. Even though they bring forth, yet I will kill the beloved ones of their womb."

Israel is a luxuriant vine that puts forth his fruit. According to the abundance of his fruit he has multiplied his altars. As their land has prospered, they have adorned their sacred stones.

Their heart is divided. Now they will be found guilty. He will demolish their altars. He will destroy their sacred stones.