I will turn the land into a desolate ruin; her confident pride will come to an end. The mountains of Israel will be so desolate no one will pass through them.

were the chambers ¹  which were toward the south. There was an opening at the head of the passage, the passage in front of the corresponding wall toward the east when one enters.

An area eight and a quarter miles ¹  in length and three and one-third miles ²  in width will be for the Levites, who minister at the temple, as the place for the cities ³  in which they will live.

“‘Alongside the portion set apart as the holy allotment, you will allot for the city an area one and two-thirds miles ¹  wide and eight and a quarter miles ²  long; it will be for the whole house of Israel.

“‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Enough, you princes of Israel! Put away violence and destruction, and do what is just and right. Put an end to your evictions of my people, ¹  declares the sovereign Lord.

“‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: In the first month, on the first day of the month, you must take an unblemished young bull and purify the sanctuary.

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 

You have issued an edict, O king, that everyone must bow down and pay homage to the golden statue when they hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, trigon, harp, pipes, and all kinds of music.

So I issued an order ¹  for all the wise men of Babylon to be brought ²  before me so that they could make known to me the interpretation of the dream.

Let his mind ¹  be altered from that of a human being, and let an animal’s mind be given to him, and let seven periods of time ²  go by for ³  him.

Thus there was found in this man Daniel, whom the king renamed Belteshazzar, an extraordinary spirit, knowledge, and skill to interpret ¹  dreams, solve riddles, and decipher knotty problems. ²  Now summon ³  Daniel, and he will disclose the interpretation.”

Now this Daniel was distinguishing himself above the other supervisors and the satraps, for he had an extraordinary spirit. In fact, the king intended to appoint him over the entire kingdom.

Then the king was delighted and gave an order to haul Daniel up from the den. So Daniel was hauled up out of the den. He had no injury of any kind, because he had trusted in his God.

His body resembled yellow jasper, ¹  and his face had an appearance like lightning. His eyes were like blazing torches; ²  his arms and feet had the gleam of polished bronze. His voice ³  thundered forth like the sound of a large crowd.

His sons ¹  will wage war, mustering a large army which will advance like an overflowing river and carrying the battle all the way to the enemy’s ²  fortress. ³ 

For the king of the north will again muster an army, one larger than before. At the end of some years he will advance with a huge army and enormous supplies.

There will arise after him ¹  one ²  who will send out an exactor ³  of tribute to enhance the splendor of the kingdom, but after a few days he will be destroyed, ⁴  though not in anger or battle.

These two kings, their minds ¹  filled with evil intentions, will trade ²  lies with one another at the same table. But it will not succeed, for there is still an end at the appointed time.

Plead earnestly ¹  with your ²  mother (for ³  she is not my wife, and I am not her husband), so that ⁴  she might put an end to her adulterous lifestyle, ⁵  and turn away from her sexually immoral behavior. ⁶ 

They consult their wooden idols, and their diviner’s staff answers with an oracle. The wind of prostitution blows them astray; they commit spiritual adultery ¹  against their God.