Remember the ancient days; bear in mind ¹  the years of past generations. ²  Ask your father and he will inform you, your elders, and they will tell you.

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

After some time Hannah became pregnant and gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, thinking, “I asked the Lord for him. ¹ 

I said to the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people, “The work is demanding ¹  and extensive, and we are spread out on the wall, far removed from one another.

On that same day King Ahasuerus gave the estate ¹  of Haman, that adversary of the Jews, to Queen Esther. Now Mordecai had come before the king, for Esther had revealed how he was related to her.

So Elihu son of Barakel the Buzite spoke up: ¹  “I am young, ²  but you are elderly; that is why I was fearful, ³  and afraid to explain ⁴  to you what I know.

Later the Lord explained, “In the same way that my servant Isaiah has walked around in undergarments and barefoot for the past three years, as an object lesson and omen pertaining to Egypt and Cush,

Baruch answered, “Yes, they came from his own mouth. He dictated all these words to me and I wrote them down in ink on this scroll.” ¹ 

Say, ‘I am an object lesson for you. Just as I have done, it will be done to them; they will go into exile and captivity.’

The king issued an order ¹  to summon the magicians, astrologers, sorcerers, and wise men ²  in order to explain his dreams to him. ³  So they came and awaited the king’s instructions. ⁴ 

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!”

Daniel replied to the king, “The mystery that the king is asking about is such that no wise men, astrologers, magicians, or diviners can possibly disclose it to the king.

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.

Daniel explained: ¹  “I was watching in my vision during the night as ²  the four winds of the sky ³  were stirring up the great sea. ⁴ 

I approached one of those standing nearby and asked him about the meaning ¹  of all this. So he spoke with me and revealed ²  to me the interpretation of the vision: ³ 

Then I heard a human voice coming from between the banks of the Ulai. It called out, “Gabriel, ¹  enable this person to understand the vision.”

He spoke with me, instructing me as follows: ¹  “Daniel, I have now come to impart understanding to you.

He replied, ¹  “You have been given ²  the opportunity to know ³  the secrets ⁴  of the kingdom of heaven, but they have not.

This fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet: ¹  “I will open my mouth in parables, I will announce what has been hidden from the foundation of the world.” ² 

and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and will be united with his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? ¹