"{As I live}," {declares} the Lord Yahweh, "{Surely} because my flock have become as plunder, and my flock became as food to all the animals of the field, since there was not a shepherd, [since] my shepherds [have] not sought my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and they fed not my flock,'"

And I, Yahweh, I will be for them {as God}, and my servant David [will be] a leader in the midst of them. I, Yahweh, I have spoken.

And you will know that I, Yahweh, I have heard all of your contemptible words that you said against the mountains of Israel, {saying}, 'They will be desolate; they are given to us as food.'

Therefore, mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord Yahweh; thus says the Lord Yahweh to the mountains and to the hills, to the river channels and to the valleys and to the ruins that [are] desolate and to the cities that [are] abandoned [and] that have become as plunder and as scorn for the remainder of the nations that [are] from all around.

Therefore prophesy against the land of Israel, and you must say to the mountains and to the hills, to the river channels and to the valleys, thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Look! I spoke in my passion and in my anger [the] insult of [the] peoples you have endured."

And I will consecrate my great name, which [was] profaned among the nations [and] which you have profaned in the midst of them, and the nations will know that I [am] Yahweh!" ' declaration of the Lord Yahweh, {when I show myself holy} {before} their eyes.

And the nations who are left all around, you will know that I, Yahweh, I built {that which was destroyed}; I planted the desolate [land]; I, Yahweh, I have spoken, and I will act.'

And I will put my breath into you so that you may live, and I will cause you to rest on your soil, and you will know that I, Yahweh, I have spoken, and I will act!" ' {declares} Yahweh."

And I will make them into one nation in the land on the mountains of Israel, and {they will all have one king as their king}, and they will not again be two nations and will not again divide into two kingdoms again.

Sheba and Dedan and traders of Tarshish and all its strong lions, they [will] ask you, 'To loot loot are you coming? To plunder plunder [have] you summoned your assembly, to take away silver and gold, to take livestock and goods, to loot great amounts of loot?" '

On the surface of the field you will fall, for {I myself} have spoken," {declares} the Lord Yahweh.

Look! [it is] coming, and it will happen," {declares} the Lord Yahweh. "It is the day {about which I have spoken}.

And the ones going through, they will go through within the land, and if [anyone] sees [the] bones of person, [then] he will build beside it a sign [to remain] until the buriers have buried him in the Valley of Hamon-Gog.

"And I will display my glory among the nations, and all of the nations will see my judgment that I have executed and my hand that I have laid upon them.

Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: "Now I will restore the fortunes of Jacob, and I will have compassion on all of the house of Israel, and I will be jealous for {my holy name}.

And they shall not approach me to serve as priest for me and to come near to all of my holy objects, {to the most holy objects}, and they will bear their disgrace and [the results of] their detestable things they have done.

In the first [month], on the {fourteenth} day of the month, you shall have the Passover, feast [lasting for] {seven days}, [when] you shall eat unleavened breads.

And then you shall allocate it as an inheritance for yourselves and for the aliens dwelling as aliens in the midst of you who have children in the midst of you, and [so] they shall be to you [just] like full citizens among the {Israelites}. With you they shall be allotted with an inheritance in the midst of the tribes of Israel.

And the Levites {alongside} the territory of the priests [shall have] twenty-five thousand [cubits] [in] length and in width ten thousand [cubits], its {full length}, twenty-five thousand [cubits] and its [full width], ten thousand [cubits].

youths who {have no physical defect}, and [who are] {handsome}, and [who are] prudent in all wisdom and {endowed with knowledge}, and [who] understand insight, and who [have] the {ability} in them to serve in the palace of the king. [And the king ordered him] to teach them the literature and the language of [the] Chaldeans.

And the king said to them, "{I have had a dream} and my spirit is anxious to know the dream."

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},

for if you [do] not make the dream known to me, {your verdict is fixed}, and you have conspired to say lying and deceitful word to me until the {circumstances} will change. Therefore, tell me the dream, and I will know that you can tell me its explanation."

To you, O God of my ancestors, I give thanks and I give praises, for the wisdom and the power you gave to me, and now you have made known to me what we have asked from you, for you have made known to us the matter of the king."

Then Arioch {quickly} brought Daniel in before the king and thus he said to him: "I have found a man among {the exiles} of Judah who {can relate} the explanation to the king.

{The king then asked} and said to Daniel, whose name [was] Belteshazzar, "Are you able to make known to me the dream that I have seen and its explanation?"

{And just as} you saw the feet and the toes, {partly potter's clay} and {partly iron}, it will be a divided kingdom; and {some hardness} of the iron will be [in it], {just as} you have seen the iron mixed with the wet clay.

You, O king, have made a decree that {everyone} who hears the sound of the horn, the flute, [the] lyre, [the] trigon, [the] harp and [the] drum and all kinds of music, he shall fall down and shall worship the statue of gold.

[However] there are Judean men whom you have appointed over the affairs of the province of Babylon--Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego--these men, O king, {pay you no heed} [and] [were] not serving your god, and the statue of gold that you set up they are not worshiping."

Nebuchadnezzar answered and said to them, "[Is it] true, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, [that] you are not serving my god, and [you are] not worshiping the statue of gold that I have set up?

Now if you are ready so that {when} you hear the sound of the horn, the flute, the lyre, [the] trigon, [the] harp and [the] drum and all kinds of music, you fall down and you worship the statue that I have made, [that will be good]. But if you do not worship it, {immediately} you will be thrown into the midst of the furnace of blazing fire, and {who is the god} who will rescue you from my hands?"

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 if not, let it be known to you, O king, that {we will not serve your gods}, and the statue of gold that you have set up we will not worship."

--it is you, O king, who have grown [great] and you have grown strong, and [so] your greatness has increased and it has reached to heaven and your sovereignty to the end of the earth.

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.

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."

And I have heard that a spirit of the gods [is] in you and enlightenment and insight and excellent wisdom was found in you.

But I have heard concerning you that you are able {to produce interpretations} and to solve riddles; now if you are able to read the writing and to make known its explanation to me, you will be clothed [in] purple and necklace of gold [will be placed] around your neck and you will rule [as] third [in command] in the kingdom."

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

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.

" 'Tekel'--you have been weighed on scales and you have been found wanting.

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."

My God sent his angel and he shut the mouth of the lions and they did not hurt me, {because} before him {I was found} blameless, and also before you, O king, I have not done [any] wrong."

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.

We have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes and our ancestors and to all the people of the land.

"{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.

Yahweh, on us [is] open shame, on our kings, on our princes, and on our ancestors, because we have sinned against you.

{Compassion and forgiveness belong to the Lord, our God}, for we have rebelled against him,

and we have not listened to the voice of Yahweh our God, by following his law {which he placed before us} by [the] hand of his servants the prophets.

"And all Israel transgressed your law and turned aside [so as] not to listen to your voice, and [so] the curse and the oath which [was] written in the law of Moses, the servant of God, has been poured out upon us, because we have sinned against him.

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.

So Yahweh [has] kept watch over the calamity, and [now] he [has] brought it upon us. Indeed, Yahweh our God [is] righteous concerning all his works that he has done, but we have not listened to his voice.

"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 he instructed [me] and he spoke with me and he said, "Daniel I have now come out to teach you understanding.

At the beginning of your pleas for mercy, a word went out, and [now] I have come to declare [it], for you [are] highly esteemed, and [so] consider the word and understand the vision.

"And after the sixty and two weeks an anointed one shall be cut off, and {he shall have nothing}, and [the] people of the coming leader will destroy the city and the sanctuary, and its end [will be] with the flood and [on] to [the] end [there shall be] war; [these] desolations are determined.

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.

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 I have come to instruct you about what will happen to your people {in the future}, for [there is] a further vision [here] {for the future}.

Then look, there was {one in the form of a human}; he touched my lips and I opened my mouth and I spoke and I said to the [one] standing {before me}, "My lord, because of the vision my anxieties fell upon me and I [have] not retained [my] strength.

So {how am I, a servant of my lord} to speak with {you, my lord}, and I {just now} {have no strength in me}?"

And he said, "You must not fear, beloved man. {Peace be to you}; be strong and be courageous!" And {when he spoke} with me, I was strengthened and I said, "Let my lord speak, for you have strengthened me."

Then he asked, "Do you know why I have come to you? And now I return to fight against the prince of Persia and I [myself] [am] going, and look, [the] prince of Javan will come.

And in his place a despicable person will arise on whom they have not conferred the majesty of [the] kingdom, and he will come in {without warning} and he will seize [the] kingdom by deceit.

And those who have insight {will instruct} the many, but they will fall by sword and by flame, by captivity and by plunder {for some time}.

And [even] some of those {who have insight} will fall [in order for] them to be refined by it, and to be purified and cleansed until the time of [the] end, for the appointed time [is] still to come.

"Now at that time, Michael, the great prince, will arise, {the protector} over the sons of your people, and it will be a time of distress that has not been since [your people] {have been} a nation until that time. And at that time your people will escape, {everyone who is found} written in the scroll.

Many will be purified and will be cleansed and will be refined, but [the] wicked will act wickedly {and none of the wicked will understand}, but {those who have insight} will understand.

And she conceived again and bore a daughter, and he said to him, "{Name her} Lo-ruhamah, for I will no longer have pity on the house of Israel or {forgive them}.

But I will have pity [on] the house of Judah and I will save them by Yahweh their God, and will not deliver them by bow, sword, war, horses, or horsemen.

And I will not have pity on her children, because [they are] children of whoredom.

I will sow her for myself in the land; I will have pity on Lo-ruhama; I will say to Lo-ammi, "You are my people," and he himself will say, "[you are] my God."

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.

They will eat and not be satisfied; they will play the whore and not multiply, because they have forsaken Yahweh {to devote themselves to

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;

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

They have dealt faithlessly with Yahweh because they have borne illegitimate children. Now [the] new moon will devour them with their fields.

The princes of Judah have become like those who remove a landmark; on them I will pour out my wrath like water.

Therefore, I have hewn [them] by [the] prophets; I have killed them by the words of my mouth, and my judgment goes forth like the light.

In the house of Israel I have seen something horrible; Ephraim's unfaithfulness [is] there. Israel is defiled.

All of them are hot as an oven, and they devour their rulers. All their kings have fallen; there is none who calls to me amongst them.

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.

[Put] to your lips [the] trumpet like a vulture over the house of Yahweh, because they have {broken my covenant} and rebelled against my law.

Because they sow the wind, they will reap the whirlwind. [The] standing grain does not have heads; it will not yield flour. [And] if it would yield, strangers would devour it.

For they have gone up [to] Assyria, a wild donkey alone to itself; Ephraim has sold itself [for] lovers.

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.

The days of punishment have come; the days of retribution have come; Israel knows! The prophet [is] a fool, the man of the spirit [is] acting like a madman. Because of the greatness of your sin, [your] hostility [is] great.

For now they will say, "We have no king; indeed, we did not fear Yahweh, and what can a king do for us?"

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?

You have plowed wickedness, you have reaped injustice, you have eaten the fruit of lies, because you have trusted in your strength, in the multitude of your warriors.

And Ephraim said, "Surely, I am rich, I gained wealth for myself; in all my toil they have not found guilt in me that is [sin].

Return to Yahweh your God, Israel, for you have stumbled because of your sin.

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.

It has made my vine a desolation, and my fig tree a completely splintered stump. It has stripped them bare and thrown [them] down; their branches have turned white.

{Before them} [the] earth quakes; [the] heavens tremble; [the] sun and [the] moon grow dark, and [the] stars {have withheld} their splendor