God has made everything fit beautifully ¹  in its appropriate time, but ²  he has also placed ignorance ³  in the human heart ⁴  so that ⁵  people ⁶  cannot discover what God has ordained, ⁷  from the beginning to the end ⁸  of their lives. ⁹ 

The Lord answered, ¹  “This will happen ²  because my people are foolish. They do not know me. They are like children who have no sense. ³  They have no understanding. They are skilled at doing evil. They do not know how to do good.”

I thought, “Surely it is only the ignorant poor who act this way. ¹  They act like fools because they do not know what the Lord demands. ²  They do not know what their God requires of them. ³ 

The Lord who rules over all ¹  spoke about Edom. ²  “Is wisdom no longer to be found in Teman? ³  Can Edom’s counselors not give her any good advice? ⁴  Has all of their wisdom turned bad? ⁵ 

But if you can disclose the dream and its interpretation, you will receive from me gifts, a reward, and considerable honor. So disclose to me the dream and its interpretation!”

Now the wise men and ¹  astrologers were brought before me to read this writing and make known to me its interpretation. But they were unable to disclose the interpretation of the message.

I, Daniel, was exhausted ¹  and sick for days. Then I got up and again carried out the king’s business. But I was astonished at the vision, and there was no one to explain it.

The Son of Man will go as it is written about him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would be better for him if he had never been born.”

For the Son of Man will go as it is written about him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would be better for him if he had never been born.”

For although they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or give him thanks, but they became futile in their thoughts and their senseless hearts ¹  were darkened.

They ¹  show that the work of the law is written ²  in their hearts, as their conscience bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or else defend ³  them, ⁴ 

Where then is your sense of happiness ¹  now? For I testify about you that if it were possible, you would have pulled out your eyes and given them to me!

“This is its meaning,” Joseph said to him. “The three branches represent ¹  three days.

Joseph replied, “This is its meaning: The three baskets represent ¹  three days.

We each had a dream one night; each of us had a dream with its own meaning. ¹ 

“So now Pharaoh should look ¹  for a wise and discerning man ²  and give him authority ³  over all the land of Egypt.

(Now ¹  they did not know that Joseph could understand them, ²  for he was speaking through an interpreter.) ³ 

And so ¹  you are to separate the Levites from among the Israelites, and the Levites will be mine.

I wish that they were wise and could understand this, and that they could comprehend what will happen to them.”

The matter seemed appropriate to the king and the officials. So the king acted on the advice of Memucan.