‘These large beasts, which are four in number, represent four kings who will arise from the earth.

Let the king also be aware that if this city is built and its walls are completed, no more tax, custom, or toll will be paid, and the royal treasury ¹  will suffer loss.

In the first year of his reign, ¹  King Cyrus gave orders concerning the temple of God in Jerusalem: ²  ‘Let the temple be rebuilt as a place where sacrifices are offered. Let its foundations be set in place. ³  Its height is to be ninety feet and its width ninety ⁴  feet, ⁵ 

What the king is asking is too difficult, and no one exists who can disclose it to the king, except for the gods – but they don’t live among mortals!” ¹ 

So Arioch quickly ushered Daniel into the king’s presence, saying to him, “I ¹  have found a man from the captives of Judah who can make known the interpretation to the king.”

The king replied to Daniel, “Certainly your God is a God of gods and Lord of kings and revealer of mysteries, for you were able to reveal this mystery!”

Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent out a summons to assemble the satraps, prefects, governors, counselors, treasurers, judges, magistrates, ¹  and all the other authorities of the province to attend the dedication of the statue that he ²  had erected.

At that very moment the fingers of a human hand appeared ¹  and wrote on the plaster of the royal palace wall, opposite the lampstand. ²  The king was watching the back ³  of the hand that was writing.

Due to the noise ¹  caused by the king and his nobles, the queen mother ²  then entered the banquet room. She ³  said, “O king, live forever! Don’t be alarmed! Don’t be shaken!

There is a man in your kingdom who has within him a spirit of the holy gods. In the days of your father, he proved to have ¹  insight, discernment, and wisdom like that ²  of the gods. ³  King Nebuchadnezzar your father appointed him chief of the magicians, astrologers, wise men, and diviners. ⁴ 

Then they said to the king, “Daniel, who is one of the captives ¹  from Judah, pays no attention to you, O king, or to the edict that you issued. Three times daily he offers his prayer.” ² 

So the king gave the order, ¹  and Daniel was brought and thrown into a den ²  of lions. The king consoled ³  Daniel by saying, “Your God whom you continually serve will rescue you!”

Rehum the commander ¹  and Shimshai the scribe ²  wrote a letter concerning ³  Jerusalem to King Artaxerxes as follows:

(This is a copy of the letter they sent to him:) “To King Artaxerxes, ¹  from your servants in ²  Trans-Euphrates:

We therefore are informing the king that if this city is rebuilt and its walls are completed, you will not retain control ¹  of this portion of Trans-Euphrates.”

So I gave orders, ¹  and it was determined ²  that this city from long ago has been engaging in insurrection against kings. It has continually engaged in ³  rebellion and revolt.

Powerful kings have been over Jerusalem who ruled throughout the entire Trans-Euphrates ¹  and who were the beneficiaries of ²  tribute, custom, and toll.

So the work on the temple of God in Jerusalem came to a halt. It remained halted until the second year of the reign of King Darius of Persia. ¹ 

This is a copy of the letter that Tattenai governor of Trans-Euphrates, Shethar-Bozenai, and his colleagues who were the officials of Trans-Euphrates sent to King Darius.

So Darius the king issued orders, and they searched in the archives ¹  of the treasury which were deposited there in Babylon.