The Benjaminites heard that the Israelites had gone up to Mizpah. Then the Israelites said, “Explain how this wicked thing happened!”

So I thought to myself, “The fate of the fool will happen even to me! ¹  Then what did I gain by becoming so excessively ²  wise?” ³  So I lamented to myself, ⁴  “The benefits of wisdom ⁵  are ultimately ⁶  meaningless!”

Now all of this happened ¹  to King Nebuchadnezzar.

As ¹  he was sitting on the Mount of Olives, his disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will these things ²  happen? And what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

I have experienced ¹  help from God to this day, and so I stand testifying to both small and great, saying nothing except ²  what the prophets and Moses said ³  was going to happen:

You ¹  do not know about tomorrow. What is your life like? ²  For you are a puff of smoke ³  that appears for a short time and then vanishes.

The Lord will raise up a king over Israel who will cut off Jeroboam’s dynasty. ¹  It is ready to happen! ² 

Listen to what they are saying to me. ¹  They are saying, “Where are the things the Lord threatens us with? Come on! Let’s see them happen!” ² 

But if you refuse to surrender, the Lord has shown me a vision of what will happen. Here is what I saw:

Now on the topic of times and seasons, ¹  brothers and sisters, ²  you have no need for anything to be written to you.

An officer who was the king’s right-hand man ¹  responded to the prophet, ²  “Look, even if the Lord made it rain by opening holes in the sky, could this happen so soon?” ³  Elisha ⁴  said, “Look, you will see it happen with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of the food!” ⁵ 

But the officer replied to the prophet, “Look, even if the Lord made it rain by opening holes in the sky, could this happen so soon?” ¹  Elisha ²  said, “Look, you will see it happen with your own eyes, but you will not eat any of the food!” ³ 

Again, ¹  I observed this on the earth: ²  the race is not always ³  won by the swiftest, the battle is not always won by the strongest; prosperity ⁴  does not always belong to those who are the wisest, wealth does not always belong to those who are the most discerning, nor does success ⁵  always come to those with the most knowledge – for time and chance may overcome ⁶  them all.

However, there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries, ¹  and he has made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the times to come. ²  The dream and the visions you had while lying on your bed ³  are as follows.

So I perceived there is nothing better than for people ¹  to enjoy their work, ²  because that is their ³  reward; for who can show them what the future holds? ⁴ 

“As for you, O king, while you were in your bed your thoughts turned to future things. ¹  The revealer of mysteries has made known to you what will take place.

But they were expecting that he was going to swell up ¹  or suddenly drop dead. So after they had waited ²  a long time and had seen ³  nothing unusual happen ⁴  to him, they changed their minds ⁵  and said he was a god. ⁶ 

The revelation of Jesus Christ, ¹  which God gave him to show his servants ²  what must happen very soon. ³  He made it clear ⁴  by sending his angel to his servant ⁵  John,

The dream was repeated to Pharaoh ¹  because the matter has been decreed ²  by God, and God will make it happen soon. ³ 

But Jacob did not send Joseph’s brother Benjamin with his brothers, ¹  for he said, ²  “What if some accident ³  happens ⁴  to him?”